Hole Poll: What Grade Would You Give the Gophers Season Opening Performance?

[GopherHole Staff]

Take it all into account - What Grade Would You Give the Gophers Season Opening Performance?

 

[mnsports1]

B- it has to be at least "goodish" when you win by 4 TD's

 

[cncmin]

Couldn't find "D".

 

[skauma]

Couldn't find "D".

Elements are part of the game, so the 100 degree weather should not be an excuse, however, when you score 3 non offensive TDs, which in turn gives the game right back to the defense, it is a little bit of an excuse. Fatigue played a big role on the defense today.

 

[MadtownGopher]

Offense could have been a little better and there were some mental lapses on D that hurt us early, but in years past we would have never made the big plays (Blocked FG, Kick Return TD, Pick-6) that allowed us to jump out to the big lead in the 2nd half.

 

[Rescooter]

Offense could have been a little better and there were some mental lapses on D that hurt us early, but in years past we would have never made the big plays (Blocked FG, Kick Return TD, Pick-6) that allowed us to jump out to the big lead in the 2nd half.

I totally agree. Nelson actually did well - stats tell very little about his performance. He ran the offense well, he had a couple lapses, but generally speaking he took charge. He had 2 outstanding possessions - the bootleg (run to perfection) and the 2-minute offense to close out the half. Our receivers did not get open consistently - being jammed at the line took them out.

Defense played a very good game. Cornett is a B1G calibre back - he did well shrugging tackles. We'll need to clean that part up in the coming games. D-Line played the best I've seen in probably 10 years. UNLV spread out with quick hitters which always neutralized the line if executed properly.

Special teams - Excellent!

Hoping Kirkwood's ankle is Ok. He's our back right now - we were stymied on runs when he was out.

All around a very good game.

 

[MNVCGUY]

Offense could have been a little better and there were some mental lapses on D that hurt us early, but in years past we would have never made the big plays (Blocked FG, Kick Return TD, Pick-6) that allowed us to jump out to the big lead in the 2nd half.

I am not going to go back through all our cupcake games in the past, but I can guarantee you can find lots of big plays in those games.

That being said it wasn't pretty, especially in the first half, but the important part is we got the W. Coaches got a lot of film they can look at and teach from.

 

[Gopherpride13]

I say a B-

 

[Deleted_User]

This was a traunce. It gets an A because of all the big plays. As for team preparation, the offense needs work. Did that detract from the grade? No. The result is still a thumping of the other squad. There were so many plays beyond 50 yards for the touchdown that it did not matter where it came from. The defense did what good defense does, keep the other team from scoring rapidly and too much. This team showed it is very opportunistic. It wants to change the game and tone at any given moment.

Take it from UNLV, they are not going to want to play the Gophers again this year. They had the game stripped from them. Ripped, torn and shorn.

We have a week to practice, recover, and prepare for improvement. I believe it is unrealistic to expect all aspects of the game to be perfect week one. I expect improvement in incremental steps and that is how good teams do it. Every team on every game played needs improvement. The Gophers thumped UNLV soundly. A thrashing is a thrashing. Celebrate it.

 

[50PoundHead]

Like I said in the chat room last night during a brief appearance, just a funky game. First game and all, so there are going to be some fits-and-starts. Some things to be pleased with (obviously) and a few things that look to need improvement. I thought the DBs were really inconsistent, but there's very little experience on the corner. LB play is also going to have to improve.

I thought Nelson did alright. I was of the impression that Kill didn't want him to run much this year, but with 8 in the box, his performance on reads where he ran was absolutely crucial. He throws a nice short ball, but I don't know if it's arm strength or lack of receiver separation that seems to hurt him on the long ball. I thought the O-line did okay. It looked like we used a scaled-back playbook (hard to tell with Limegrover), so one has to keep that in mind as well.

Like Dean S says, celebrate the win.

 

[Gopher in Dixie]

Give a "C". Lots of things to work on.

 

[Halsey Hall]

Place kicking D-
Punting C
Special teams A+
Defense C-
Offense C-
Play calling D
Defensive prep D
Offensive line D+
PA announcer F
Support staff, game experience F

 

[Iceland12]

Wow, okay how about this?

1st Quarter - D
2nd - B
3rd - B+
4th - A- (the big run that set-up their last TD got the "minus")

Overall - B (rounded-up for 51 points!)

Place kicking D-
Punting C
Special teams A+
Defense C-
Offense C-
Play calling D
Defensive prep D
Offensive line D+
PA announcer F
Support staff, game experience F

 

[stocker08]

"B"

Offense needs some work, but it was a solid win.

 

[GopherInPittsburgh]

I said B. Watching all these week 1 games shows me that anything can happen. A lot of teams are scratching their heads wondering what the hell happened after they only beat a bad team by 3 or even lost. We won by 28.

 

[mkAz]

I cannot give a 28 point victory less than a B.

 

[WolfontheProwl]

B- The Gophers won by a wide margin but I was hoping to see better all around play. Big plays are great but being more consistent one play to the next is a big hill for this team to climb.

 

[BarnBoy]

Considering the opponent and the expectations many had that we needed to take a step forward, I gave us a B-. Still pretty good. Still an OK grade to show your parents. But needs work.

Let's hope for a Texas-like, 700+-yard-performance against NMSU to quiet those that have concerns about our offense, including me.