From row 5 behind Gophs Bench in IA - thoughts, review and preview of NU

[GOPHER.NATION.]

THE GAME
- We were ready to play. We came out hard. We messed up and then got beat up mentally and physically.
- Iowa was ready to play. They were100% ready to handle Shortell. Why? Because Shortell runs the same system that Q does, which also puts Shortell in a less advantageous situation since the Gopher style does not suit him the best. All the formations were similar, Iowa just had to adjust to the fact that Shortell will pass a little better and run much worse than MQG; hence, they didn’t have to put the extra defender in the box to stop the run. That made it more difficult for a WR to get open and for a QB to find him. However, we were able to get open, but did a terrible job of catching the ball and making a good pass.
- Our O line didn’t ever really get a good push (besides in the 4th when IA was playing fully against the pass). This makes it hard for even the best running back to do anything.
- Our D line during the second quarter was getting pushed 3 yards backwards as the IA O line dominated.
- Towards the end of the first quarter, it appeared that nobody on the gopher sideline thought we could win the game. It was a sad sight to see after every offensive possession the WRs, RB,s and QBs just sat on the bench with their heads down waiting to get the ball back. EVERYBODY was mentally defeated.
- We had only a few seniors playing a large number of minutes – not a recipe for success
- We will get better and healthy and be ready in 7 days, 21, and 49 minutes

SHORTELL
- he is our backup QB. He is not better than MQG. He plays in a system that does not suit his strengths. The loss was not his fault as EVERYBODY played poorly for the Minnesota Golden Gophers

NELSON
- If he is better than Shortell, he would have started the game. Let me preface my next question and statements by saying that the following only applies b/c we are talking about a QB and not any other position. DO YOU REALLY THINK A COACH WOULD HOLD OUT A BETTER QB (which is the most important position in football and possibly all sports) IN THE BIG TEN OPENER TO YOUR #2 RIVAL, IN A TROPHY GAME, IN A GAME WHERE THE GOPHERS COULD GO TO 5 AND 0 AND BECOME NATIONALLY RANKED JUST SO HE DOESN’T HAVE TO BURN A REDSHIRT???? NO. This is college football . . . and college football = recruiting . . . if you win these big games then you recruit bigger and better players . . . I hope 3 years down the road that a bomb-diggity (I can’t believe I just used that description) QB comes in a dominates while Nelson has to watch from the sidelines b/c we have built a program that wins big games.

MarQueis / Q / QUEEEEIIIISSSSS!!!!! / MQG
- He has shown in the past he compete and beat big ten opponents. The game would have been completely different if was healthy and would have played (not saying we would have won, but our chances for winning would have increased). I said it at the beginning of the season that Q is the best QB in the Big Ten and I am sticking with it (pretty nice stats prior to getting hurt . . . and other teams / QBs played some “cupcakes” too . . .)
- MQG should have travelled with the team – see the last section under JERRY for further explanation

JERRY KILL / JERRY JERRY JERRY / KILL KILL KILL / JERR BEAR
- I trust 100% of what he is doing. When we hired him my mom looked at me and said she has a good feeling he is going to be a great coach – nuff said
- Why don’t the fans chant KILL instead of JERRY??? I think that would be pretty intimidating being on the opposing team and hearing the roars of KILL reigning over The Bank. Jerry has told us before “no more Minnesota nice” . . . so we should chant KILL for him. KILL M ALL!!!
- In the interview on thurs on kfan, Jerry pointed out he should have burned a TO and possibly even take a delay of game just to rally his troops and get their heads back in the game. I am glad he admitted that b/c it was obvious from right behind the gopher bench on row 5 that every player was ready to get to halftime. I think that would have paid huge dividends for the remainder of the game and we would not have went into half 24 nil
- ONE FLAW FROM IA – Jerry should have brought Quies to the game even if he did not dress. Q would have provided so much support and helped the team get through the rough start to the game. I know it is much different when a player is injured and is trying to get your head in the game than a player out in the battlefield with you, but I believe his presence alone in the sideline would have helped tremendously. Q would have definitely been able to help Shortell stay focused and positive. I’m sure it was hard for Shortell to come to the sidelines and take advice from Nelson and Leidner (or whatever the 3rd stringers name is, sorry . . . I forgot  ) And if you say that the travel squad has a player limit, then why did Jerry decide to bring 5 kickers / punters (3 of which were #36)? I believe one of the punters or kickers is the holder for field goals / pats . . . it’s not that hard to have a WR do it or one of the back up kickers / punters.
o HOWEVER, if Gray needed to be held in MN to get treatment on his ankle to get him back to the field MUCH FASTER than possible if he had not travelled, then I am all for having him stay in MN – we need him

KINNICK
- Great old-school football stadium. Great fans who were very passionate who are nice people too. Most people stood – especially when the ball was inside either of the 30s
- BEST PART OF KINNICK EXPERIENCE – an iowa dad had 3 kids with him. The other GOPHER.NATION. Fans in the seats next to me were standing up. The dad told the Goph fans to sit down so the kids could see. Then, an Iowa fan standing in the row in front of us turned around and told the Iowa dad to tell the kids to stand on the bleachers. The kids then stood on the bleachers and could see everything . . . problem solved . . .
- Worst things about kinnick – HORRIBLE replay screen – not HD and tiny. CRAMPED. Saw one or two food / drink vendors going up and down my aisle (actually . . . probably a good thing . . . I hate it when they pack the isles . . .). also, I had a little MN tote bag with all my clothes I was wearing at 6 am when I was waiting for the bus in Chicago, and security said the bag was too big . . . so I put the clothes on and stuff the bag in my side pocket of my shorts . . . not really a big deal but it was annoying . . .
- I didn’t try any of the food so no comment on that
- They did not sell beer in the stadium – man, tcf is awesome!!!
- The first two rows behind the Gopher bench (running from about the 35 to the 35) were covered and watched by security so nobody could sit in them. That was quite nice of them since there was about 8.73 (just my approximation) yards from the field to the brick wall that started the grandstand
- I would definitely make this trip again, but would stay in IA on Friday night . . .

SURROUNDING AREA
- Nice little town they got down there . . . they had a big area of bars that a ton of college students were at after the game. I would have went there if the Gophs won, but didn’t want to deal with college punks since we lost 
- I only saw 2 dumb iowa kids doing dumb college things . . . not bad at all . . .

HOMECOMING / NU
- We are fine. It is one game. Any athlete ever could tell you that you can shake a horrible game and bounce to get a big win. Jerry will have them ready. Win or Lose, it will be close. and we need Queis in the game . . .

see you all at The Bank!!!

SKI-U-MAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Fuzzy Rumpton]

ONE FLAW FROM IA – Jerry should have brought Quies to the game even if he did not dress. Q would have provided so much support and helped the team get through the rough start to the game. I know it is much different when a player is injured and is trying to get your head in the game than a player out in the battlefield with you, but I believe his presence alone in the sideline would have helped tremendously. Q would have definitely been able to help Shortell stay focused and positive. I’m sure it was hard for Shortell to come to the sidelines and take advice from Nelson and Leidner (or whatever the 3rd stringers name is, sorry . . . I forgot  ) And if you say that the travel squad has a player limit, then why did Jerry decide to bring 5 kickers / punters (3 of which were #36)? I believe one of the punters or kickers is the holder for field goals / pats . . . it’s not that hard to have a WR do it or one of the back up kickers / punters.
o HOWEVER, if Gray needed to be held in MN to get treatment on his ankle to get him back to the field MUCH FASTER than possible if he had not travelled, then I am all for having him stay in MN – we need him

This was one of my major thoughts after the game as well. His leadership could have been very valuable to help calm some of the young players we have.

 

[Golden Elephant]

Good write-up. College is an emotional game and with the players being so young they can get too low too fast. So the heads down thing is very interesting and it would've been nice if Kill had noticed it during the game and done something about it - as he admitted himself.

Some minor quibbles & questions: I completely agree about bringing 5 K's & P's - several of these guys can do both, you shouldn't really have to bring more than 3. But that said, the 1st string holder should absolutely come, even if he's a backup. The holder & snapper are key cogs, you don't want to mess with them. But bringing Gray in place of a backup guy would've been the right call, unless as you said he needed to rehab in Mpls.

Does Iowa always block out the 1st 2 rows behind the visitor's bench? Why are they there then? Did they have recent problems with this? This is very odd.

 

[OddStack]

Let me preface my response by saying I'm not sure if Nelson is better than Shortell, but regardless, I disagree with your one game redshirt take. However, Nelson is undoubtedly a better multiple threat than Shortell.

THE GAME

NELSON
- If he is better than Shortell, he would have started the game. Let me preface my next question and statements by saying that the following only applies b/c we are talking about a QB and not any other position. DO YOU REALLY THINK A COACH WOULD HOLD OUT A BETTER QB (which is the most important position in football and possibly all sports) IN THE BIG TEN OPENER TO YOUR #2 RIVAL, IN A TROPHY GAME, IN A GAME WHERE THE GOPHERS COULD GO TO 5 AND 0 AND BECOME NATIONALLY RANKED JUST SO HE DOESN’T HAVE TO BURN A REDSHIRT???? NO. This is college football . . . and college football = recruiting . . . if you win these big games then you recruit bigger and better players . . . I hope 3 years down the road that a bomb-diggity (I can’t believe I just used that description) QB comes in a dominates while Nelson has to watch from the sidelines b/c we have built a program that wins big games.

Totally disagree. You don't burn a redshirt year for 1 possible win at this point in the program's development, when you see a brighter future ahead. (If this year was a little further down the development journey...well then...maybe.) You win, perhaps, one game at the expense of playing perhaps a lesser QB than Nelson 4 years down the road and weakening an entire season? Why MAYBE be ranked in top 25 in the early half of a season now, as it likely doesn't last too long, when you might have the chance to be ranked at the conclusion of a season 4 years from now? Afterall, that's the journey we'd like to believe we're on!! We are, after all, Gopher fans and optimistic of Kill's vision.

The difference between the 2 will shrink if Nelson is behind, or grow if Nelson is ahead. Even if Nelson is better, the difference is minimal as Shortell is serviceable given he has more time in the system. He gives them a decent chance just on that fact alone, and why risk an ENTIRE YEAR for ONE game when you had a better than good chance with Shortell?

Kill sees a brighter future down the road than he does right now. He continually talks about the team's youth and lack of depth; thus, the team will in his eyes be better down the road.

 

[GOPHER.NATION.]

in reference to the first two rows:

Obviously, the stadium was built a long time ago so they can't move the bleachers back now. I would imagine the Big Ten teams made Iowa not allow anybody to sit in the first two rows. Safety is probably the biggest concern. I have never seen a sideline so close to the field before in my life. The space is so small between the field and the stands. A fan could literally reach out and almost tough a player who is a few yards from the game. There is a tiny walkway between the bench and the stands for the cheerleaders, camera men, etc to walk through. I only saw Goldy once during the game b/c it is so hard to get from one side of the field to the other when you're actually on the sidelines . . .

OddStack:

well stated . . . and I BELIEVE IN KILL!!! however, i left out some information that would have helped support my statements. Kill most likely has good information on how ready MQG will be for the NU game. He is isn't able to go, then the backup would have to make 2 big ten starts which is huge! and with a high ankle sprain, it can take over a month or two to get back to full speed - barring any reoccurring injury. Which would then mean the backup QB would have to play even more . . . so if Nelson is better now, I say play him knowing the backup will be getting huge minutes in a huge rebuilding season . . . either way . . . i like what Kill & Co have done so far . . . GOPHER.NATION.

 

[Great Plains Gopher]

Completely agree on a time out when the defense was being shredded (Kill admitted as much); I've never understood why coaches don't burn "defensive" timeouts more often, to stop opponent's momentum and regroup the troops. Would also liked to have seen Q on the sidelines providing some moral support.