Iowa/Minnesota O/U 32.5 lowest ever?

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The cold weather won't help either, though some of those games can end in routs if one team implodes (see 2019 Gopher/Badger).
 





The scoring in this one could be like when Notre Dame and NC State played in an active hurricane in 2016 and the Wolfpack won 10-3 on a blocked punt TD. Somehow two field goals were made.

It will be early practice for a World Cup mentality where the first score probably wins.
 






GophersInIowa said:
Iowa has multiple blocked punts this year so it may make sense to just take a knee on 4th down too.

I'm joking....sort of.
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Its crazy that what I'm most worried about on a team is their special teams. They can very easily win this game for them. Our special Teams in on the edge of decent at best... Will be interesting to see if we can pin them downfield during any point in the game.
 

GopherTakes said:
Its crazy that what I'm most worried about on a team is their special teams. They can very easily win this game for them. Our special Teams in on the edge of decent at best... Will be interesting to see if we can pin them downfield during any point in the game.
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Field goals kept us in the Nebraska game.
 



GopherTakes said:
Its crazy that what I'm most worried about on a team is their special teams. They can very easily win this game for them. Our special Teams in on the edge of decent at best... Will be interesting to see if we can pin them downfield during any point in the game.
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Yes, it seems like the type of game where both coaches would defer if they win the toss, try to get a quick three and out and then play field position the rest of the first half until they get a score. Turnovers and situational punting will rule the day.
 


Iowa is way better at the field position game than we are (much better punter). But, thankfully, Iowa often does little with good field position.
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
Field goals kept us in the Nebraska game.
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I think our special teams being bad in 2020 and early 2021 have caused people to think they’re still bad.
I tend to think they’re average to slightly above this year
 

Radical proposition: Iowa game is the breakout game for Dylan Wright. He kind of, almost got there against NW. Didn’t help that Athan was off. We throw to Dylan 4 or 5 times. He catches 80% for technically explosive plays. I can dream, can’t I?
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
Field goals kept us in the Nebraska game.
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Yeah Trickett has been excellent this year outside of Purdue, when I refer to our special teams being decent at best I'm mostly talking about punting. Dead last in the B1G ten in longest punt and second to last in average distance. The key playing Iowa will be making them drive long distances. Crawford needs to step up and play well. I think he did great against Rutgers If I remember correctly.

I'd also like to see our return game play a bigger factor although I don't know if this game would be the one to see improvement on that.

Especial considering our Coordinator is the 4th highest paid in the conference...
 


A lot of posters on GH like to joke about whether TM2 can throw a pass over 40 yards (spoiler: he can). The more pertinent question to me is whether Crawford can punt consistently over 40 yards. He is pretty good at pinning teams well inside the 20 when a long punt isn’t needed (and that is much appreciated), but when a long punt could “flip the field,” he often seems not to have the length. Reminds me of Leroy Hoard: “If you need one yard I’ll get you two; if you need three yards, I’ll get you two.” Iowa’s punter often flips the field. That is a part of why their D is so effective.
 

Gophergrandpa said:
A lot of posters on GH like to joke about whether TM2 can throw a pass over 40 yards (spoiler: he can). The more pertinent question to me is whether Crawford can punt consistently over 40 yards. He is pretty good at pinning teams well inside the 20 when a long punt isn’t needed (and that is much appreciated), but when a long punt could “flip the field,” he often seems not to have the length. Reminds me of Leroy Hoard: “If you need one yard I’ll get you two; if you need three yards, I’ll get you two.” Iowa’s punter often flips the field. That is a part of why their D is so effective.
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There is zero doubt they have the better punter but one positive with Crawford's shorter punts is that they rarely lead to any sort of return. Our net punting average is 37.9 yards and Iowa's is 41.

We have a definite advantage on kickoffs. 84% of Kesich's kicks end up as touchbacks whereas only 60% of the Iowa kickers do.
 

MNVCGUY said:
There is zero doubt they have the better punter but one positive with Crawford's shorter punts is that they rarely lead to any sort of return. Our net punting average is 37.9 yards and Iowa's is 41.

We have a definite advantage on kickoffs. 84% of Kesich's kicks end up as touchbacks whereas only 60% of the Iowa kickers do.
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Agree on both points.
 

Gophergrandpa said:
A lot of posters on GH like to joke about whether TM2 can throw a pass over 40 yards (spoiler: he can). The more pertinent question to me is whether Crawford can punt consistently over 40 yards. He is pretty good at pinning teams well inside the 20 when a long punt isn’t needed (and that is much appreciated), but when a long punt could “flip the field,” he often seems not to have the length. Reminds me of Leroy Hoard: “If you need one yard I’ll get you two; if you need three yards, I’ll get you two.” Iowa’s punter often flips the field. That is a part of why their D is so effective.
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As I remember it, the Leroy Hoard quote was:

"If you need 2 yards, I'll get you 3. If you need 5 yards, I'll get you 3."

but I agree with your overall point. with the Gophers special teams, my assessment is
Place-Kicking - solid.
Punting - below average
KO Return - minimal impact
Punt Return - minimal impact

In 10 Games, Redding has 13 KO returns for a 23.8 average, and 11 Punt Ret for a 6.8 avg.

FWIW: Iowa has 17 KO returns for 22.4 avg - and 24 Punt Returns for a 9.8 avg.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
As I remember it, the Leroy Hoard quote was:

"If you need 2 yards, I'll get you 3. If you need 5 yards, I'll get you 3."

but I agree with your overall point. with the Gophers special teams, my assessment is
Place-Kicking - solid.
Punting - below average
KO Return - minimal impact
Punt Return - minimal impact

In 10 Games, Redding has 13 KO returns for a 23.8 average, and 11 Punt Ret for a 6.8 avg.

FWIW: Iowa has 17 KO returns for 22.4 avg - and 24 Punt Returns for a 9.8 avg.
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The difference in our STs is essentially one thing: Iowa’s punter often flips the field—which is complementary football in PJ lingo. When we punt from deeper in our own territory we don’t flip the field.
 

MNVCGUY said:
There is zero doubt they have the better punter but one positive with Crawford's shorter punts is that they rarely lead to any sort of return. Our net punting average is 37.9 yards and Iowa's is 41.

We have a definite advantage on kickoffs. 84% of Kesich's kicks end up as touchbacks whereas only 60% of the Iowa kickers do.
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The first team with 2 kickoffs wins.
 




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