Kaliakmanis leads the nation in passing yards (1150).

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GopherJack said:
Hard to believe the early Vegas lines has us -5.5. I'm not that optimistic.
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I am not a gambler, but if I were I swear these week 4ish games are where Vegas hasn't quite picked up on the hints that the season has given so far. I can remember a lot of games like this where I swear the odds are noticeably off ... for lots of teams.
 






While most eyes will be on "how does Drake do?" my focus will be on "how does our pass D do?" given this statistic.

Unfortunately Cal provided a lot of tape on how to shred our defense with an aggressive pass-first game plan. I'm sure this has been a focus of the bye week but it looks like we're probably going to be tested again.

As others have noted I'm glad that Kaliakmanis has found a better fit and is so far doing well. I'm sure he still has some Minnesota chip on his shoulder to work off on Saturday. Need the D to step up plus Drake and the O to get the W.

Otherwise it looks like it will be a glorious Saturday morning into early afternoon...clear skies in the mid-70s. Great weather for a maroon-out.
 



A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
Glad to see he has improved from not being able to make a touch light pass to a TE to win the game (and another game like that).... I'm not bitter at him, I'm just in therapy.
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He has definitely improved but many of the issues we saw when he was here were on full display in the second half against Iowa. He missed on some key throws late in the game and one of them was a touch throw with no touch on it.

Rutgers seems to be a much better first half team then second half team so far this year. Tossing out their game against Norfolk they have scored 76 points in the first half and just 31 in the second half (21 of those against Miami OH).
 

The Rutgers receivers looked impressive frequently running free, big/fast, caught contested balls. Those make a lot of QBs look good. MN will need to some way, somehow get pressure on Athan to hopefully force a turnover or two. Given the Cal game, not sure how likely that is.

That said, we’ve all seen the team transform over the season in both execution and approach.
 

BilldGopher said:
While most eyes will be on "how does Drake do?" my focus will be on "how does our pass D do?" given this statistic.

Unfortunately Cal provided a lot of tape on how to shred our defense with an aggressive pass-first game plan. I'm sure this has been a focus of the bye week but it looks like we're probably going to be tested again.

As others have noted I'm glad that Kaliakmanis has found a better fit and is so far doing well. I'm sure he still has some Minnesota chip on his shoulder to work off on Saturday. Need the D to step up plus Drake and the O to get the W.

Otherwise it looks like it will be a glorious Saturday morning into early afternoon...clear skies in the mid-70s. Great weather for a maroon-out.
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So the ass-kicking he gave us last year wasn't enough?
 




Fleck's brand of football didn't fit with AK. That slow, methodical run all the time type offense didn't do him any favors.
 


GoldenMAV30266 said:
Fleck's brand of football didn't fit with AK. That slow, methodical run all the time type offense didn't do him any favors.
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Did you happen to watch 2024? We won't be confused with an air raid team but we had 413 pass attempts and 404 rushes. We also had more pass attempts than our opponents.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Did you happen to watch 2024? We won't be confused with an air raid team but we had 413 pass attempts and 404 rushes. We also had more pass attempts than our opponents.
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It helps when you've finally got that quarterback that can go through progressions and has a bit of accuracy so you can veer from the RUTM mentality.
 


Pompous Elitist said:
The Rutgers receivers looked impressive frequently running free, big/fast, caught contested balls. Those make a lot of QBs look good. MN will need to some way, somehow get pressure on Athan to hopefully force a turnover or two. Given the Cal game, not sure how likely that is.

That said, we’ve all seen the team transform over the season in both execution and approach.
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Agreed, their receivers are legit with both size and speed. If our defense plays like it did against Cal, I do not see how we stop them. Our best corner is 5'9" while their top two receivers are 6'3" and 6'5" and not afraid to go up and get the ball. If our defensive line does not generate pressure, it is going to be a long day.
 

dbrad29 said:
Agreed, their receivers are legit with both size and speed. If our defense plays like it did against Cal, I do not see how we stop them. Our best corner is 5'9" while their top two receivers are 6'3" and 6'5" and not afraid to go up and get the ball. If our defensive line does not generate pressure, it is going to be a long day.
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Ian Strong is very good. And our secondary seemed terrible last year. They ate us up last year on long passes and the inability to cover them from a speed standpoint or put pressure on AK.

Who do you think is the best corner at 5'9"?
 


Homerpalooza said:
Ian Strong is very good. And our secondary seemed terrible last year. They ate us up last year on long passes and the inability to cover them from a speed standpoint or put pressure on AK.

Who do you think is the best corner at 5'9"?
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Bryan
 

dbrad29 said:
Agreed, their receivers are legit with both size and speed. If our defense plays like it did against Cal, I do not see how we stop them. Our best corner is 5'9" while their top two receivers are 6'3" and 6'5" and not afraid to go up and get the ball. If our defensive line does not generate pressure, it is going to be a long day.
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Time for Koi to flash
 


FredCoxRocks said:
It helps when you've finally got that quarterback that can go through progressions and has a bit of accuracy so you can veer from the RUTM mentality.
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Yep....almost like the coaches are willing to adjust play calling to meet the skillsets of the players...
 


One of the best ways you can ensure playing really well against a Minnesota team is to have once played for the Minnesota team you are now playing. The sport or level doesn't seem to matter.

I'm worried about the Gophers ability to stop the Greek Rifle but last year I never would have thought the same team that coughed up a home loss to North Carolina would come back and look so good against USC. So, I am going to try to not overreact, remember the past, and hope for improved play this week against Jersey Shore.
 



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