College football's biggest potential shockers in 2021 (Minnesota upsets Ohio State in Week 1)

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Bayfieldgopher said:
I say go for it right off the get go.

Onside kick if OSU ends up receiving. Go for the 1 on 1 coverage stop and go and deep throw to our fastest receiver. Or throw some trick plays at their inexperienced D and hope someone screws up. Like others have said put the pressure on the OSU QB. You get the drift.

I hope Fleck doesn't try to go conservative and toe to toe right away. Keep OSU off balance and take some chances.
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You gotta think Fleck knows that's you have to be on the gas the entire time to beat Ohio state, even with a lead...
 

Win or loss, this team will know who they are after the tOSU game.
 




MplsGopher_fan said:
I hope we blitz a TON. I mean like half the plays. No reason to just let tOSU march down the field against a 4 man pass rush - make that new QB earn every completion.
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That is exactly how I have things playing out in my head during my workouts to strengthen my core, and spindly ankles, in preparation for jumping over the railing to storm the field.
 

hungan1 said:
Win or loss, this team will know who they are after the tOSU game.
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They will have a better idea of who they are then they would after a typical creampuff non-conf game. But biggest change in a team usually happens between games 1 and 2. First games are screwy because you don't truly know what you are going to get out of some guys until the lights come on and you really see how they perform.
 


The Gophers are in a quandary.

Play a conservative TOP game, or open up the playbook like this is their national championship game?

The team depth and coaching miscues will determine the Gophers' fate.
 



As like every game ... they'll go into it with a script for the first X plays (20, 25, whatever). Try to get a feel for how OSU is running things, before going off-script.
 

MplsGopher said:
As like every game ... they'll go into it with a script for the first X plays (20, 25, whatever). Try to get a feel for how OSU is running things, before going off-script.
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Both teams would want to get their "sea legs" back in a few snaps and get a feel for the other team's scheme and strength.
 

hungan1 said:
The Gophers are in a quandary.

Play a conservative TOP game, or open up the playbook like this is their national championship game?

The team depth and coaching miscues will determine the Gophers' fate.
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Conservative TOP on offense; open up the playbook on defense. Our new FG kickers might determine this game …
 

Gophs should come out with a whole different look and game plan on their first position, like Iowa did.
 



gopheraschells said:
disagree. Fleck is one of the most conservative coaches in the B10. He would be grinding clock with Mo
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Even sporting a horrible defense and a kicker with a sports hernia Fleck still wanted to Tresselball it against Maryland. At least he is being clear about who he is.
 


PMWinSTP said:
Gophs should come out with a whole different look and game plan on their first position, like Iowa did.
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Or, do it in the second half, when OSU’s young LBs won’t have time to be instructed how to adjust.
 

Gophergrandpa said:
Or, do it in the second half, when OSU’s young LBs won’t have time to be instructed how to adjust.
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My thought is start that way and then switch again in the second half to his ball control TOP style. You have to think Fleck is preparing like for the Auburn bowl game.
 

I’ve been scanning the Eleven Warriors fan forum. This OSU team is, judged by 247 player rankings, the most talented team OSU has ever fielded in the modern era. Most OSU fans are very comforted by that. Only question mark on offense is whether the new QB will be high four star CJ Stroud or freshman five star phenom Kyle McCord. On defense, fan worry is over a new set of LBs, all very talented but not a one who has ever started or played meaningful minutes in a B1G game. Only a few fans think Minnesota has any chance. Keys: on D, upset the new QB, whoever he is; don’t let him get in a rhythm or gain confidence. On O, play “confuse a LB.”
 

Gophergrandpa said:
I’ve been scanning the Eleven Warriors fan forum. This OSU team is, judged by 247 player rankings, the most talented team OSU has ever fielded in the modern era. Most OSU fans are very comforted by that. Only question mark on offense is whether the new QB will be high four star CJ Stroud or freshman five star phenom Kyle McCord. On defense, fan worry is over a new set of LBs, all very talented but not a one who has ever started or played meaningful minutes in a B1G game. Only a few fans think Minnesota has any chance. Keys: on D, upset the new QB, whoever he is; don’t let him get in a rhythm or gain confidence. On O, play “confuse a LB.”
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Yeah the sad truth is that in this era the blue bloods have guys way down on the 3 deep that would start day one on MANY teams... just how it is talent wise.

Doesn't mean it's impossible to win, but the mountain is high.
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
Yeah the sad truth is that in this era the blue bloods have guys way down on the 3 deep that would start day one on MANY teams... just how it is talent wise.

Doesn't mean it's impossible to win, but the mountain is high.
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Good news is that they only get to put eleven of those guys on the field at once. And even the most talented of athletes can suffer momentarily from inexperience. If our offense is predictable, advantage OSU LBs. If we mix things up, show looks that haven’t been seen (as we did to Auburn), the OSU LBs might make some misjudgments. One can always hope!
 
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PMWinSTP said:
My thought is start that way and then switch again in the second half to his ball control TOP style. You have to think Fleck is preparing like for the Auburn bowl game.
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Auburn defenders said that the Gophs came out in “looks” they hadn’t seen in film. Caught them off guard on some plays.
 
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Gophergrandpa said:
Auburn defenders said that the Gophs came out in “looks” they hadn’t seen in film. Caught the off guard on some plays.
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There were a lot of new plays, whole line shifts on runs we didn't run and etc for sure. DBs were playing WAY back and etc.

At the same time Aruburn didn't adapt at all ... or even seem to try to (classic Gus as I understand it).
 



Gophergrandpa said:
Good news is that they only get to put eleven of those guys on the field at one. And even the most talented of athletes can suffer momentarily from inexperience. If our offense is predictable, advantage OSU LBs. If we mix things up, show looks that haven’t been seen (as we did to Auburn), the OSU LBs might make some misjudgments. One can always hope!
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Talent is one thing. Getting players to play cohesively for a longer time together is another.

We learned from the Olympics that you can't just throw a team together in basketball full of the nation's top players. They have to spend time playing together to gel.
 

IceBoxGopher said:
I don't know if it's just the hype of the college football season, but I'm cautiously optimistic about this one.
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Me too. I mean....I'm an eternal optimist when it comes to Gophers football....but I really think that the offense is going to be able to move the ball with some success.
 

stocker08 said:
Me too. I mean....I'm an eternal optimist when it comes to Gophers football....but I really think that the offense is going to be able to move the ball with some success.
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Same here, maybe it's amplified by the fact that a regular CFB season is some semblence of the old "normal" before COVID too, but even without that these types of circumstances feel like we have the potential to do great.

Realizing that potential is another thing, but this is one of the first seasons where I think without a doubt the Gophers have the ability to win the West without needed Wisconsin or Iowa to trip up somewhere along the line. We could absolutely clinch the division before the last game if we execute well.
 


SixBySix said:
Didn't that team end up winning gold anyway?
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Lucky for them. They lost to Australia and Nigeria in the prelims before the Olympics. Then, just as they were to depart for the games three players worried bout Covid abruptly left the team. They lost to France minus replacement players still in quarantine. The game against Spain was too close for comfort until the 4th quarter. They beat France 82-87 in the Gold Medal rematch. The foreign teams spend more time playing together. Many can have dual citizenship players like Nigeria.
 

hungan1 said:
Talent is one thing. Getting players to play cohesively for a longer time together is another.

We learned from the Olympics that you can't just throw a team together in basketball full of the nation's top players. They have to spend time playing together to gel.
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But it sure gives you a better chance at it ...
 

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