Since the offense didn't perform close to their capabilities anyone critiquing the game is obligated to say it without making excuses for them. No fan base in the Top 25 ever makes excuses for their team when their offense is shutout.
Believe me, I'm the first person wishing we would have executed better on offense and won the game. However, we started two freshman WRs and a frosh tight end, in addition to missing our leading receiver because of injury. Our leading rusher wasn't even on the depth chart at the beginning of the year, our leading rusher from last year was a total non-factor this season, and our only running back with top-end speed (Berkley Edwards) never saw the field. Our biggest home-run threat at this point in the year is probably Donovahn Jones and he was a non-factor until the Nebraska game. Don't forget how the departure of our leading receiver last year, Barker, impacted both the stability of the team and offensive production this season.
Sure, we dropped balls and Nelson made some poor decisions, but we were going up against a defense that ranked in the top 5 nationally in certain defensive statistical categories, as well as near the top of the Big Ten (probably second to MSU). Borland tied the NCAA-record for career forced fumbles by stripping Nelson in the first half. That said, Nelson had an open target on that 3rd and 10 that would have been a first down if caught, but decided to wait and go for a bigger gain - underclassman mistake - and that split-second hesitation resulted in a fumble. We have a large number of underclassmen overall, but especially at the offensive skill positions. As for the Top 25 ranking, we were profoundly lucky to even achieve this considering the adversity we have faced this season, particularly regarding Coach Kill's health.
As for our fairly anemic offense against becky (great opposing defense, weather, and youth aside), I would rather develop a strong defense first and fill-in the offense second. It seems like Gopher fans have an incredibly short memory regarding the painful offensive-defensive imbalance of Brewster, Mason, and Wacker. Look at Illinois and Indiana - both teams have highly potent offenses early in their coach's stint (2nd year for Beckman, 4th year for Wilson). They obviously developed offense first and are struggling mightily because of essentially nonexistent defense.
At the end of the day, we are 8-3 in Year 3 of the Jerry Kill era. The badgers have been building their program since 1990, when they decided they wanted to be good in football. That's a big advantage, and we still gave them a ballgame with all of their size and talent - ultimately beating ourselves. For the first time in 60+ years, we have the backing of the University with Kahler, the Board of Regents, and Teague all behind Gopher football. Mark my words, Jerry Kill will have a bronze statue outside TCF one day - next to one of Bronko Nagurski holding up the plow.
