Last Spring, PJ Fleck publicly stated that this 2021 Gopher football team is special. Here is a chance to win the Big Ten West outright.
With the extra year Covid exemption, suddenly the Gophers have the deepest and most experienced Offensive Lines in college football. The Transfer Portal also brought the key missing pieces for the Defense.
Well, I hate to crash his party. There are two intertwining problems.
1. They are stuck with a TOP game plan with no imaginative contingencies that they expected the rest of the Big Ten West will have difficulty with. Where are the slants, short passes, and putting the WRs in the best positions? I don't see the creativity of a Kirk Ciarrocca-run Offense.
2. They have an Offensive Coordinator and QB coach who seem unimaginative speaking kindly. Well, he did mention they have some creative plays in mind for Illinois.
Then came the monumental upset by BGSU. Elite coaches don't make this happen in their watch.
We thought the wake-up call had righted the ship because they won the next four games. Then came unranked Illinois and their veteran head coach Bielema.
The Gopher Offense seemed lost. The Defense seemed confused in the first half. Somewhere I heard that Illinois studied the BGSU film in detail as well the other Gopher games. They loaded the left side and disrupted Tanner Morgan's rhythm big time. Why couldn't Sanford Jr do something to counter the opponent's game planning? Why can't they make effective game-time adjustments?
The Gophers will be facing the top two Defense in the Big Ten West in the next three weeks. I think it may be too late.
PJ Fleck has the proof with the BGSU and Illinois loses. Sanford Jr may have already ruined the chances of winning the Big Ten West title outright. How long does he intend to link his coaching career to Sanford Jr? This is Robb Smith 2.0.