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BilldGopher

BilldGopher

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Here's a short article from NU's perspective that should ring familiar to Gopher fans. It starts like this:

"Sometimes, sports are funny like this. Sometimes, just when you’re sure things are going your way, you find out the hard way they aren’t. Sometimes, even your very best moments get caught up in cruel calamity..."

How very true.

Here's the link:

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/3039...return-in-loss-to-minnesota.html#.VDqBlY0tA5s

Go Gophers! Time to Review Film!
 

Thanks for sharing the link on this Billd. I thought it was a fair and well-written article. Specifically, his point on outgaining us does not matter in how MN plays and also that according to Coach Fitz they gave it to us. Winning is fun.
 

ButchNashGuy said:
Thanks for sharing the link on this Billd. I thought it was a fair and well-written article. Specifically, his point on outgaining us does not matter in how MN plays and also that according to Coach Fitz they gave it to us. Winning is fun.
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For sure. Let's not forget that stats are for the loser of the game.
 


BilldGopher said:
Here's a short article from NU's perspective that should ring familiar to Gopher fans. It starts like this:

"Sometimes, sports are funny like this. Sometimes, just when you’re sure things are going your way, you find out the hard way they aren’t. Sometimes, even your very best moments get caught up in cruel calamity..."

How very true.
Click to expand...

We owe them more than a few of these, so I don't feel bad at all. I'm done having my heart ripped out. Time to be The Ripper!
 



From the article:

That’s a stretch. The Gophers, winners of six of their last eight Big Ten games dating to last season, clearly are in the West hunt for the long haul. Are the Wildcats, too? Their victories over Penn State and Wisconsin certainly suggested as much. Their loss to Minnesota — though excruciating — doesn’t seem like a deal-breaker at all.

Go Gophers!!
 

BleedGopher said:
From the article:

That’s a stretch. The Gophers, winners of six of their last eight Big Ten games dating to last season, clearly are in the West hunt for the long haul. Are the Wildcats, too? Their victories over Penn State and Wisconsin certainly suggested as much. Their loss to Minnesota — though excruciating — doesn’t seem like a deal-breaker at all.

Go Gophers!!
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That's cute.
 




"To Minnesota's credit, Jerry's offense takes half the game away by standing in the huddle and talking about what they're ordering for dinner," Fitzgerald said. "So you can't have self-inflicted errors."

So that's why Limegrover only calls five different plays every game. Play sheet is actually a take out menu.
 

fan of Ray Williams said:
Chicago Tribune article

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...nesota-football-spt-1012-20141011-column.html

....Gophers, a rock-solid group that easily could win the Big Ten West.
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Fitzgerald had warned his players all week about Minnesota's superior special teams. But the Gophers still burned them.
"Terrible job by me making sure we had everything solid and sound," Fitzgerald said.But the coach later added: "Football is not a game of perfect."
Indeed, Northwestern (3-3, 2-1 Big Ten) played well Saturday. Minnesota (4-1, 1-0) played better.

David Cobb muscled his way to 97 yards on 30 carries. Mitch Leidner ran for two scores and passed efficiently, completing 10 of 15 for 153 yards. Minnesota's linebackers and defensive backs were glued to Northwestern's pass-catchers almost the entire game. The Gophers are a superbly coached team, as top dog Jerry Kill knows exactly what his players can and cannot do.
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I had to chuckle when I read these lines from the Chicago Trib. Northwestern had just four first-half possessions and 11 overall. "To Minnesota's credit, Jerry's offense takes half the game away by standing in the huddle and talking about what they're ordering for dinner," Fitzgerald said. "So you can't have self-inflicted errors."
 

The articles are fair takes. This games was about as close as a game can come to how I would 'expect' it to go. At this point, both these teams probably think the other is a team they should beat but could easily lose to unless they execute their game plan well. ...and both teams would be right. Neither is a push over, but neither is really fearsome. If the Gophers and Northwestern played 10 games in a row, I would be very surprised if either team won more than 6 times as they stand today.
 



tato2001 said:
The articles are fair takes. This games was about as close as a game can come to how I would 'expect' it to go. At this point, both these teams probably think the other is a team they should beat but could easily lose to unless they execute their game plan well. ...and both teams would be right. Neither is a push over, but neither is really fearsome. If the Gophers and Northwestern played 10 games in a row, I would be very surprised if either team won more than 6 times as they stand today.
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Very true. Both Kill and Fitzgerald said much the same thing all week too. Well, at least Kill was "speaking the truth" and here Fitzgerald apparently was using "coach speak". :drink:
 

Maybe Northwestern/Minnesota is the NEW rivalry of the B1G? Overshadowing Michigan/OSU et al.
 

I really liked this part "As in the Wildcats’ best five minutes of the season followed by 12 seconds of shock, awe and agony." It really sums up the game.
 

I'm guessing our slow pace drives opposing coaches crazy.

It's part of he reason why we don't give up,tons of points--we limit the number of plays and possessions. It's not voodoo.
 

beavergopher said:
"To Minnesota's credit, Jerry's offense takes half the game away by standing in the huddle and talking about what they're ordering for dinner," Fitzgerald said. "So you can't have self-inflicted errors."

So that's why Limegrover only calls five different plays every game. Play sheet is actually a take out menu.
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Which is ironic since Northwestern had two sixteen play drives and a 13 play 97 yard drive. I'm assuming they won TOP handily.
 

Dr.Don said:
Maybe Northwestern/Minnesota is the NEW rivalry of the B1G? Overshadowing Michigan/OSU et al.
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Hard to call it a rivalry when we're going to beat them the next 24 times in a row, including a national title game in 2019.
 


The Gophers are a superbly coached team, as top dog Jerry Kill knows exactly what his players can and cannot do.

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When was the last time you read anything said like this about our coaching staff? It is nice to see mn coaching staff getting praise outside the tc.
 

GO4INLALALAND said:
The Gophers are a superbly coached team, as top dog Jerry Kill knows exactly what his players can and cannot do.

</aside>
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When was the last time you read anything said like this about our coaching staff? It is nice to see mn coaching staff getting praise outside the tc.[/QUOTE]

They sure don't get it from media inside the Twin Cities.
 

Nice quote from NW Coach:
“Not trying to take anything away [from Minnesota],” Fitzgerald said, “but we gave it to them.”

Now, call me crazy, but when one team "gives it to the other," that suggests they dominated the game. All bias aside, I watched the entire game, and NW did not dominate the game. They gained a lot of yards between the 30's, but the Gopher defense came up with a lot of key stops to force punts. That is part of the game, too. Also, if Botticelli recovers that fumble, and BBC doesn't get called for roughing the QB, that takes 10 points away from NW, and the Gophs win 24-10. How would Pat have rationalized that score?
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Nice quote from NW Coach:
“Not trying to take anything away [from Minnesota],” Fitzgerald said, “but we gave it to them.”

Now, call me crazy, but when one team "gives it to the other," that suggests they dominated the game. All bias aside, I watched the entire game, and NW did not dominate the game. They gained a lot of yards between the 30's, but the Gopher defense came up with a lot of key stops to force punts. That is part of the game, too. Also, if Botticelli recovers that fumble, and BBC doesn't get called for roughing the QB, that takes 10 points away from NW, and the Gophs win 24-10. How would Pat have rationalized that score?
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You read the two articles and you came away thinking that Fitzgerald wasn't respectful enough toward Kill and the Gophers? Seriously? Maybe you are crazy..:cool:

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