Yup. Another overlooked facet, Iowa “outgained” us by over 100 yards in the punt and PR game with their total punt yards and the +24 edge in return yards. Had to work to get those yards back every drive with our lack of ability to return or catch a punt
The Gophers first 2 offensive series were into the wind. Not a single point scored in that direction. Only serious drive into the open side of the stadium was the one that resulted in Mo's fumble.
How could our defense ever have confusion against that vanilla offense?!per Chip:
A year ago, Fleck played for field goals at Iowa, and it backfired. This decision did, too. Matthew Trickett's 34-yard field goal missed wide right with 38 seconds left until halftime.
Fleck's decision might have been influenced by him having already used all his timeouts. He called his first timeout early in the game to mull a fourth-and-1 decision. He ended up punting.
Fleck had to burn his second timeout when his defense showed confusion. He called his final timeout with 11:08 left in the half when he noticed something askew with the offense.
Those sequences made the Gophers look disorganized. Then they turned overly cautious. Then they leaned on Ibrahim to carry them to the finish line.
That formula nearly worked but close doesn't count.
Eight losses in a row is a trend. An ugly trend. And the Gophers keep falling into the trap.
P.J. Fleck's choice of cautious play-calls over boldness backfires again
Riding Mohamed Ibrahim only took them so far, when it was clear field goals weren't going to cut it against the Hawkeyes.www.startribune.com
Go Gophers!!
Our special teams may have set a record this year for number of times punt team had to call timeout to avoid delay penalty. One yesterday and two in a previous game. May have been more earlier.
Coach Timeout's offensive philosophy is designed to beat inferior teams. It guarantees six to eight wins a year.
That is logic. Immaterial to a coach who believes shortening game is the goal no matter the opponent or circumstances on the field.
yeah but that had absolutely nothing to do with special teams
When I referred to punt team I was not talking about the players. I am talking about coaches. Should have made that clear. As an aside, I have never seen, heard, or read Ryan Burns.
We had our punt returner lined up 60 yards deep. We don’t try to block, return, or field it.
Count your blessings
If the wind was blowing in from the west as that would have been basically right in my face, which it never was. It was from the North the entire game. The team flags on the top north and those on the pole at the west end were pointing straight to the south.
Disagree. Game planning is the reason we didn’t cover Iowa’s receiver who had 85% of the receiving yards. Take their tight end out of the equation and we win.
What did Iowa do that was Bold? 4 games in the B1G conference were won by the winning team scoring less than 20 points. What do these people expect to be done in November with the wind and cold that has taken place? What would they have wrote had we won 13-10 and 8-3 headed into Wisconsin?
Yeah I don’t get it.
Watching USC/UCLA on TV Saturday night it felt like I was watching a different sport than what I witnessed in person in the afternoon.
Where did BSF go in this game? He caught 2 passes in the first quarter and never was targeted again! Talk about a mismatch... look at what Iowa did with their TE's!
I assume the "rhetoric" he is getting at is just an issue with PJ not growing or changing his best.
Yes, leaving LaPorta uncovered was puzzling. For some reason, it looked like we didn't respect him. But the game overall was close. Two plays made the difference. We failed to intercept a deflection and they didn't.
I’m going to cancel because I subscribe to newspapers for reporting not hot take machine. And that’s what they’ve becomeYou're going to cancel because you don't like a correct take. Ok
True. Will be interesting if the conference moves towards that or if they move more towards the big ten.
www.startribune.com
www.startribune.com
www.startribune.com
It seems insane that if you actually still subscribe to a newspaper, that this would be the article that ended it for you.
I don’t always. Off and on. Subscribe during football season and then unsubscribe after.
Lol did you read the second of those three? That’s the definition of a hot take article. You’re right, they do have some people in reporting still. Not enough focus on it.The Strib has plenty of non "hot take" articles on the Gopher/Hawkeye game.
Iowa kicks late field goal to beat Gophers 13-10, claim Floyd of Rosedale for eighth straight time
Mohamed Ibrahim rushed 39 times for 263 yards and a touchdown against Iowa's stout defense, but also had a late fumble, and an interception thrown by Athan Kaliakmanis set up Iowa's winning kick.
Five things we learned from the Gophers' 13-10 loss to Iowa
The statistics might have favored Minnesota, but the Hawkeyes made big plays when it counted most.
Gophers football insider: Mohamed Ibrahim vows to 'keep fighting' after star-crossed day
The running back gained 263 yards and is approaching the school rushing record, but his fourth-quarter fumble proved fateful in Saturday's loss to Iowa.