FSN: Gophers report card: Offense lacking in bowl loss (Overall: C)

[BleedGopher]

per FSN:

Overall: C

The Gophers were 4.5-point favorites in this game, but this year's Texas Bowl was an illustration that Las Vegas doesn't always get it right. Minnesota was confident heading into this game despite ending the regular season with a pair of losses. The Gophers were certainly in position to win this one, but for the second year in a row they fell victim to a late comeback in Houston. While the loss certainly stings temporarily, it shouldn't diminish the season that Minnesota had. Third-year head coach Jerry Kill has the program on the right track, and finishing the year with eight wins was no small task. With that said, there's no doubt the Gophers will look back at this bowl game loss and think about the "what ifs" that could have yielded just the eighth nine-win season in the program's history.

http://msn.foxsports.com/north/story/gophers-report-card-122813

Go Gophers!!

 

[littlebigboy]

If our QB's can't learn to throw we are still screwed.

 

[imthewalrus]

Now, littebigboy: with a minute and a half left, the Gophers had a 3 point lead...

If our QB's can't learn to throw we are still screwed.

It looks to me as though terrible punt coverage and some suspect tackling and other defensive lapses had MORE to do with my Golden Gophers losing this game than any problems throwing the ball. Man, didn't you see the way the qb from Syracuse scored with about a minute and twenty seconds left in that game. What kind of defensive effort was that.

Heck, when you hold a three point lead IF your special teams play ANY kind of game, and don't allow a punt return like that it is LIGHTS OUT for Syracuse, GAME OVER and a WIN for my Golden Gophers. But the tackling ALL NIGHT LONG was pretty suspect. How many yards did the cuse qb run for littlebigboy?

No, a decent defensive effort should have been enough to win that game.

And the offensive line and the backs didn't cover themselves in glory.

And why didn't the coaching staff make some adjustments to handle the blitzing that Syracuse was doing.

Sorry, littlebigboy: you just plain don't get to pin this one on the quarterbacks. This was a team effort...or...lack of team effort loss.

In my book, littlebigboy: this one goes directly on the coaching staff...NOT some young, inexperienced quarterbacks.

Virtually every aspect of the game my Golden Gophers played was suspect, flawed and open to criticism. NO individual college aged player should be singled out here unless you put the blame where it really belongs: pin it squarely on the backs of the highly paid coaches. They call the shots. They have access to the players to make adjustments...bust some butts...get the attention of their players. Kick the coaches tails littlebigboy. They didn't have their players ready to go from the opening kickoff to the final gun.

And they are probably going to get raises because of the way the quarterbacks played over-all this season. Even in this game, with 90 seconds left, the quarterbacks had put enough points on the board to be in the lead and win the game.

The loss was a TEAM effort and only the coaches can be named and blamed. Quit trying to pick on the young players. Tell the coaches not to cash their pay checks for their effort in this one...