Forget the loss, What about the special teams!

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There were some extra loud cheers that I attributed the crowd thinking "hey it went in the end zone"!

If we had our special teams from last year yesterday's game wouldn't have been close at the half even IMO, tOSU would have had too many short fields and just brutalized us because of it.

Big improvement on special teams.
 






Only one below average punt stands out otherwise a flawless game from our special teams. It is nice to have confidence in a place kicker again.
 

gopherlaney said:
Tough one yesterday. Defense will improve and be mid-tier. Losing Mo a huge gut bunch. Let’s focus on something positive.

-kickoffs into the end zone!
-long field goal at a critical moment down the middle!
-punt inside the 10

LETS GO!!!
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Yes. The improved field goal kicking isn't a surprise. I expected that given that we recruited one of the best kickers in college football from two years ago (last year he had only 6 attempts). But, the rest of the kicking and coverage game was much better than usual for this time of the season and I didn't know what to expect there.
 




UpAndUnder43 said:
Well they returned one last night…

also fleck does this against really good teams. Guaranteed to be at the 25. You return it you get a penalty
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Troy Stoudemire is grieving wherever he is now.

TStoud made kickoffs fun, fun, fun!!!
 



UpAndUnder43 said:
Isnt Rodney smith the all time NCAA leader in kick return yards? I might be making this up hi
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UpAndUnder43 said:
Isnt Rodney smith the all time NCAA leader in kick return yards? I might be making this up
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I’ll chalk this up to u being hungover. Troy still holds record for attempts and yardage🍾🎉🍾🎉. Antony Davis, Heisman back from USC averaged 35 pet return - DAMN - that will never be broken.

linky -

List of NCAA football records - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org en.m.wikipedia.org
 
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gopherlaney said:
Tough one yesterday. Defense will improve and be mid-tier. Losing Mo a huge gut bunch. Let’s focus on something positive.

-kickoffs into the end zone!
-long field goal at a critical moment down the middle!
-punt inside the 10

LETS GO!!!
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I agree 100%. Great special teams play. I'll add kick coverage. Solid as well.
 

this is part of what made the not trying to pass the ball on 3rd and 10 all the more frustrating. transfer kicker seems like he's got a huge leg
 


A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
There were some extra loud cheers that I attributed the crowd thinking "hey it went in the end zone"!

If we had our special teams from last year yesterday's game wouldn't have been close at the half even IMO, tOSU would have had too many short fields and just brutalized us because of it.

Big improvement on special teams.
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Nothing new about Kesich kicking the ball into (and through) the end zone. He has done that every game he has kicked off for the Gophers, now a total of six.

Crawford got a couple of punts down around the ten but when he had a lot of field to work with he didn't kick any boomers. Not convinced about his leg. We may see Sparks, the transfer, get an opportunity too.

I have a feeling at the end of the season we will be calling Trickett the key transfer, ahead of Wright, Pinkney, and Gibbens. He is the real deal and the firewall standing between a close win and a loss. Can't imagine a late field goal won't be the difference in one or more games the rest of the way, especially the last three.
 

Firejumper said:
What're the odds we return a single kickoff this year?
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What are the odds you can field kickoffs at the 10 or 11-yard line and get past the 25? I guess about 95%. Odds are about 20% that Potts breaks a big return from the ten once in awhile. Sending him out there with instructions to fair catch everything is way too conservative and not a good idea.
 

Dakota2 said:
What are the odds you can field kickoffs at the 10 or 11-yard line and get past the 25? I guess about 95%. Odds are about 20% that Potts breaks a big return from the ten once in awhile. Sending him out there with instructions to fair catch everything is way too conservative and not a good idea.
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I'll take the free yards and starting at the 25 almost all the time. More bad things can happen than good by bringing it out; penalty, injuries, and just plain getting caught deep. When it was the 20 yd line it was one thing but starting out at the 25 for free, I'll take it.

Trickett's FG was flat out awesome. Under the conditions, I actually questioned putting him out there for that one but him hammering that one through will build a TON of confidence with the coaching staff, the offense, and Trickett himself for the rest of the season. That wasn't an easy kick under the circumstances by ANY stretch.
 

I'm almost to the point of not wincing before each extra point. Maybe after next week.
 

Dakota2 said:
What are the odds you can field kickoffs at the 10 or 11-yard line and get past the 25? I guess about 95%. Odds are about 20% that Potts breaks a big return from the ten once in awhile. Sending him out there with instructions to fair catch everything is way too conservative and not a good idea.
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I agree, i don’t think we can call our special teams effort great when we fair catch everything in sight, with lots of daylight in front of us. Kickoffs were awesome, ‘returns’ ultra conservative. If this is our strategy then so be it. It’s not great IMO.
 

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