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BlackStandardAU

BlackStandardAU

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Just wanted to talk football and do some recon. How do y'all think the game will go? Are you excited to have us as an opponent? Do you think any players will sit out the game?

I realize I'm a guest here and I'm not here to troll, just wanted some football discussion.
 

Welcome

First trip to the Outback after they passed on us a few times in the past when we should have gone so people seem pretty excited about the bowl.

Some are nervous about playing Auburn but I see it as a win/win for us. If we lose it will be to a higher ranked opponent and if we win it will get a lot of attention and be a great springboard to next year.

The only guy who I can think of that might sit out is one of our top receivers but my gut tells me he will want to play. We did lose our starting right tackle to an injury in the final game of the season so he is probably out.

I would think players sitting out would be a bigger concern on your team's end. Any indication yet of players skipping the game to prepare for the NFL?

I get the feeling that your fanbase is less than thrilled about Alabama getting picked ahead of you in terms of bowl selection, reaction to having us as an opponent seems fairly mixed from the little I have read so far.
 


Welcome!

I think the game will be tough for the gophers as your defense is pretty solid. Our defense was playing some good ball up until the Wisconsin game and expect that they will be more ready during the bowl game.

I personally am excited to be playing this bowl against Auburn although I know some will say they would have preferred Alabama or preferred playing a high school team to get a for sure victory.

I would be surprised if many sit out as we only have a handful of NFL guys this year. I bet Coughlin plays since he is a diehard MN guy, Winfield has expressed in an interview that he's excited for the bowl game, that leaves a few linebackers and Tyler Johnson. Outside of injuries I expect we will be near full strength.
 

Knew there would be a mountain to climb with drawing Auburn or Alabama, but I think most wanted the challenge/spectacle.

A few folks wanted Tennessee so that the Gophers had a better chance at getting an 11th win, but I'd rather face the big boys and get a true top-10 test.
 


I for one...am very happy that we are playing your team. Always good exposure to go up against a top SEC team.
 

I like Auburn. Very excited for the game. I expect it to be a good/close game. I think Auburn is a better team, but that doesn’t matter often times in Bowl games.
 

Looking forward to seeing what good weather does to our passing game, and excited to see our Gophs take on a top ten opponent. You guys had a great season, so it should be a great celebration of a great year for all.

Plus my daughter's HS is playing at halftime! Not that that should impact the game. I'll be curious to see who might sit out for Auburn, as well.
 

TeeBee said:
Looking forward to seeing what good weather does to our passing game, and excited to see our Gophs take on a top ten opponent. You guys had a great season, so it should be a great celebration of a great year for all.

Plus my daughter's HS is playing at halftime! Not that that should impact the game. I'll be curious to see who might sit out for Auburn, as well.
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Let's not jump to conclusions here, everything matters.
 



I'd also like to mention that I happen to like Auburn as well. Other than the Gophers....I love Auburn's color scheme.

Best uniforms in the nation, imo. Classic look....but also really sharp.
 

Thanks for stopping by! Feel free to tell others to do so -- as long as they're not trollish jerks!

I expect a super competitive game. Just checked out the SP+ rankings and see you guys are 38 on O and 4 on D. MN is 7 on O and 30 on D. So it'll be strength vs. strength and vice versa. Like most games involving good teams, it'll probably come down to who makes the fewer mistakes (especially turnovers) and which team has a better gameplan.

MN really struggled to run the ball and protect the QB in our two losses this year, so coming up with a plan for those two things on O will clearly be critical. We've faced two top 10 defenses and another top 15 this year, so while Auburn will obviously be super tough, I don't think our guys will be shocked or anything.

On the other side, MN is really solid in the secondary, but struggles to rush the QB. That forces us to blitz a lot in passing situations which was exploited by Wisconsin with screens, misdirection, and creating intentional mismatches with LBs covering skills players. Other teams either weren't smart enough to do that or MN gameplanned better, so we'll probably find out early if AU tries some of that.

Front 7 isn't super athletic, so running QBs and misdirection presented problems at time. But all in all our D is much better than people give it credit for. Really only one meltdown against Wisc and a bad quarter against Iowa (but sitll held them under 300 yards total O).

Looking forward to it!
 

MNVCGUY said:
Welcome

First trip to the Outback after they passed on us a few times in the past when we should have gone so people seem pretty excited about the bowl.

Some are nervous about playing Auburn but I see it as a win/win for us. If we lose it will be to a higher ranked opponent and if we win it will get a lot of attention and be a great springboard to next year.

The only guy who I can think of that might sit out is one of our top receivers but my gut tells me he will want to play. We did lose our starting right tackle to an injury in the final game of the season so he is probably out.

I would think players sitting out would be a bigger concern on your team's end. Any indication yet of players skipping the game to prepare for the NFL?

I get the feeling that your fanbase is less than thrilled about Alabama getting picked ahead of you in terms of bowl selection, reaction to having us as an opponent seems fairly mixed from the little I have read so far.
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We are waiting to see if 2 of our best defensive lineman, Derrick Brown and Marlon Davidson sit out or not. I personally don't think they will, they are both very high character, hard working guys. We have good depth on the Dline but they are huge game changers.

We are annoyed that Alabama got the better bowl but $$$ talks and Alabama is a household name. I'm personally happy that y'all are our opponent. I don't believe we've ever played before. I would much rather play y'all than Wisconsin again
 





Have always liked Auburn especially when they play Alabama.

Gophers have struggled to run the ball against the better D front 7s in the B1G. Looking forward to seeing how they do against Auburn's front.

The QB match up should be fun to watch too.
 
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MGGopher said:
Thanks for stopping by! Feel free to tell others to do so -- as long as they're not trollish jerks!

I expect a super competitive game. Just checked out the SP+ rankings and see you guys are 38 on O and 4 on D. MN is 7 on O and 30 on D. So it'll be strength vs. strength and vice versa. Like most games involving good teams, it'll probably come down to who makes the fewer mistakes (especially turnovers) and which team has a better gameplan.

MN really struggled to run the ball and protect the QB in our two losses this year, so coming up with a plan for those two things on O will clearly be critical. We've faced two top 10 defenses and another top 15 this year, so while Auburn will obviously be super tough, I don't think our guys will be shocked or anything.

On the other side, MN is really solid in the secondary, but struggles to rush the QB. That forces us to blitz a lot in passing situations which was exploited by Wisconsin with screens, misdirection, and creating intentional mismatches with LBs covering skills players. Other teams either weren't smart enough to do that or MN gameplanned better, so we'll probably find out early if AU tries some of that.

Front 7 isn't super athletic, so running QBs and misdirection presented problems at time. But all in all our D is much better than people give it credit for. Really only one meltdown against Wisc and a bad quarter against Iowa (but sitll held them under 300 yards total O).

Looking forward to it!
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I agree with your first paragraph, it should be a close game. You have played some good defense, I'll give you that. However, Derrick Brown is a one man wrecking crew that you definitely have to scheme around.

I'm looking forward to see how your D does against our run game, we try a lot of misdirection and it looks like we are starting to run our QB more.
 



I like our O line but feel like it isn't as deep as it should be for a 10-2 team, and that will be put to the test if our big right tackle is indeed out. Others have done a good job here explaining where the Gophers shine, and where there are weaknesses. I especially agree with the comments on the defense where it is very strong in the secondary but struggles to pressure QBs. Regarding offense, The Gophers effectively run the slant as good or better than any team I have ever seen. RPO puts linebackers in a tough situation where they need to not only make quick decisions, but accurate ones because the Gophers are always looking to exploit the numbers of available defenders over the middle.

The Gopher wide receivers were fantastic all season and there is both talent and depth. Johnson and Bateman are as good as any receiving duo in the country, and the QB Morgan makes up for a lack in athleticism and arm strength with excellent accuracy and an often underestimated set of intangibles. He plays well in big games and seems to prove over and over he is simply a "winner."

I feel like the 8 point spread is accurate but must admit that I had very few opportunities to watch Auburn this season. But, just about any college football fan that can look up game results and rankings would of course know Auburn has a really good team that lost three close, tough games to very good competition.

It will be interesting to see how both teams react to the Outback Bowl stage. It is obvious Auburn would rather be playing Michigan in the Citrus Bowl but even the Gophers have regrets, having stumbled twice in the last three games and dropping out of contention for both the Rose Bowl and the CFP a little more than a week ago, thanks to one bad but deserved loss. The Wisconsin game will haunt for a long time, especially after beating them so soundly a season ago.

Thanks for stopping in to comment and please do more of that. It is great to have classy visiting fans contribute to the discussion here on Gopherhole. Bowl season and the gap between the end of the regular season and the bowl game is much more enjoyable with good discussions with opposing fans.
 






Always enjoyed it when Auburn beat Bama. “Punt Bama Punt” and “Kick Six” are two of my favorites.
 

My son went to grad school at Auburn, it is a nice campus and goes crazy on game day. He won a Tommy Tuberville autographed football just before the year he was fired. Know anyone that wants to buy it? lol

I think is will be a very good game. We have faced several good running teams in the B1G.

Also, last time we played Alabama we beat them.
 

We hope to play Auburn many times in the years to come. It will mean we have truly arrived.
 


Schnauzer said:
I like our O line but feel like it isn't as deep as it should be for a 10-2 team, and that will be put to the test if our big right tackle is indeed out. Others have done a good job here explaining where the Gophers shine, and where there are weaknesses. I especially agree with the comments on the defense where it is very strong in the secondary but struggles to pressure QBs. Regarding offense, The Gophers effectively run the slant as good or better than any team I have ever seen. RPO puts linebackers in a tough situation where they need to not only make quick decisions, but accurate ones because the Gophers are always looking to exploit the numbers of available defenders over the middle.

The Gopher wide receivers were fantastic all season and there is both talent and depth. Johnson and Bateman are as good as any receiving duo in the country, and the QB Morgan makes up for a lack in athleticism and arm strength with excellent accuracy and an often underestimated set of intangibles. He plays well in big games and seems to prove over and over he is simply a "winner."

I feel like the 8 point spread is accurate but must admit that I had very few opportunities to watch Auburn this season. But, just about any college football fan that can look up game results and rankings would of course know Auburn has a really good team that lost three close, tough games to very good competition.

It will be interesting to see how both teams react to the Outback Bowl stage. It is obvious Auburn would rather be playing Michigan in the Citrus Bowl but even the Gophers have regrets, having stumbled twice in the last three games and dropping out of contention for both the Rose Bowl and the CFP a little more than a week ago, thanks to one bad but deserved loss. The Wisconsin game will haunt for a long time, especially after beating them so soundly a season ago.

Thanks for stopping in to comment and please do more of that. It is great to have classy visiting fans contribute to the discussion here on Gopherhole. Bowl season and the gap between the end of the regular season and the bowl game is much more enjoyable with good discussions with opposing fans.
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From what I've seen your passing game really worries me. Our secondary is the weakpoint of the defense
Our offense is extremely frustrating due to our mediocre offensive line and our Freshman QB. The key is stopping the run and forcing our QB to beat you.

Thank y'all for having me! Everybody has been very polite so far. I'm really looking forward to the game
 

BlackStandardAU said:
Just wanted to talk football and do some recon. How do y'all think the game will go? Are you excited to have us as an opponent? Do you think any players will sit out the game?

I realize I'm a guest here and I'm not here to troll, just wanted some football discussion.
Click to expand...

My prediction -- Your DL studs skip the game to get ready for the NFL combines (which makes sense for them to do), Capt'n Morgan gets time to pass and pillages your secondary, we get a lead, and then play possession ball to run out the clock (we're very good at making long drives that consume massive amounts of clock time).
 

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