Know The Foe: Week One V.S. Minnesota

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BleedGopher

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Per Dylan:

Minnesota’s Changes on Offense

We all know the changes within the program here at Nebraska, but the Gophers have a decent amount of changes themselves.

The offense in Minneapolis is going through its biggest change since Head Coach P.J. Fleck has been at the helm. Minnesota loses all three interior offensive linemen and six-year quarterback Tanner Morgan. The toughest loss of all is their all-time leading rusher, Mohamed Ibrahim who accumulated 4,668 yards and 53 touchdowns.

Western Michigan tailback transfer Sean Tyler looks to be the best option for Fleck’s offense. Even though Fleck will keep prioritizing establishing the run, sophomore quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis is the new starter. Kaliakmanis offers a strong-arm and has a very good receiving core to throw to.

They added some potential high-impact wide receivers from Elijah Spencer (Charlotte) and Corey Crooms Jr. (Western Michigan). With all of that, the offense should be good to go come August.

Minnesota’s Changes on Defense

The Gophers only return five starters on defense that ranked fourth nationally in scoring defense and ninth in yards allowed last season. The secondary position group took a big hit with losing safety Jordan Howden and cornerback Terell Smith to the NFL.

They also lost nickel back Michael Dixon, who transferred to Rutgers. Sophomore Darius Green looks to start at safety, who started for Minnesota in the Pinstripe Bowl against Syracuse last December.

Junior linebacker Cody Lindenberg will take over fully at the position after Mariano Sori-Marin leaves for the NFL. Minnesota will look to improve their pass rush after having a tough year, ranking 118th nationally in sacks.

Even with all the changes within the program, Minnesota should be a contender in the West division race. It will come down to the Golden Gophers’ performance in its most important games.

www.yardbarker.com

Know The Foe: Week One V.S. Minnesota

Matt Rhule doesn’t get an easy start to his first campaign in Lincoln. The Minnesota Golden Gophers get the honor of hosting Nebraska week one on Thursday Aug.
www.yardbarker.com www.yardbarker.com

Go Gophers!!
 



MaxyJR1 said:
The people who left are known and the replacements are really unknown, so I'm not sure what more analysis you can get.
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They mentioned, "Minnesota loses all three interior offensive lineman" - they could have followed that up with, "but center Nathan Boe is experienced and got some playing time last year. Also, former top in-state recruit Quinn Carrol could slide into one of the guard positions. Plus they have an uber-talented LT in Ersery - all of whom have multiple years under their belts". It's not like we're going with 3 newcomers (I know Ersery isn't interior, but if you're talking about our O-line, he needs to be mentioned).

They also talk about Lindenberg taking over for MSM "leaving for the NFL", which is misleading. The impression you'd get is that MSM was some talent that got drafted, when in reality he just ran out of eligibility and signed as an UDFA (who is now waived). Plus, Lindenberg is going to play the Will, right, not the Mike?

They mention the secondary group taking a big hit with Howden and Smith to the NFL, but no mention of Walley, who recently was on a list as the 6th-best CB in the B1G? And a CB we brought in (Henderson) was listed 4th on that same list. Isn't that the type of analysis that could be included?

Along with our lack of sacks last year, which they certainly call out, pointing out we were 118th nationally - they could have pointed out that last year's defensive ends were a little green and, as Burns stated elsewhere, they started playing their best ball in the last handful of games.

Is that enough additional analysis for you? And that's just what I came up with while sitting at my desk eating lunch. If someone was paying me....
 

GopherTheJugular said:
They mentioned, "Minnesota loses all three interior offensive lineman" - they could have followed that up with, "but center Nathan Boe is experienced and got some playing time last year. Also, former top in-state recruit Quinn Carrol could slide into one of the guard positions. Plus they have an uber-talented LT in Ersery - all of whom have multiple years under their belts". It's not like we're going with 3 newcomers (I know Ersery isn't interior, but if you're talking about our O-line, he needs to be mentioned).

They also talk about Lindenberg taking over for MSM "leaving for the NFL", which is misleading. The impression you'd get is that MSM was some talent that got drafted, when in reality he just ran out of eligibility and signed as an UDFA (who is now waived). Plus, Lindenberg is going to play the Will, right, not the Mike?

They mention the secondary group taking a big hit with Howden and Smith to the NFL, but no mention of Walley, who recently was on a list as the 6th-best CB in the B1G? And a CB we brought in (Henderson) was listed 4th on that same list. Isn't that the type of analysis that could be included?

Along with our lack of sacks last year, which they certainly call out, pointing out we were 118th nationally - they could have pointed out that last year's defensive ends were a little green and, as Burns stated elsewhere, they started playing their best ball in the last handful of games.

Is that enough additional analysis for you? And that's just what I came up with while sitting at my desk eating lunch. If someone was paying me....
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I doubt the writer is interested enough or is given enough time to dig that deep into the opponents.
 


Fleck consistently rotated guys through all last year on both lines. I am not worried about the line play. Lindenberg is an upgrade for MSM, IMHO. That guy is instinctive and has a nose for the ball. Saw some great end rushing in the practices and the Spring game, so I'm excited to see how much better they get come Fall.
 


Gophers7NatTitlesBadgers0 said:
I doubt the writer is interested enough or is given enough time to dig that deep into the opponents.
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The article is titled, "Know The Foe: Week One V.S. Minnesota" - the name of the team the author is writing about appears in the title and he/she isn't interested enough??? And as for time, isn't this the person's job?

Anyone of us could peruse an opponent's message board and get some ideas and write a decent article in one day. This person has 40/week to do this stuff.

If they aren't interested, find a new job that they are interested in.
 

STPGopher said:
Nebraska fans still think they are in the National title hunt every year.
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It'll be interesting to see if they start out ranked in the top 25. I can't see how, but it happened in the past when they've then gone on to a miserable season. The rationale this year would obviously be the "Rhule effect" lol.
 





GopherTheJugular said:
They mentioned, "Minnesota loses all three interior offensive lineman" - they could have followed that up with, "but center Nathan Boe is experienced and got some playing time last year. Also, former top in-state recruit Quinn Carrol could slide into one of the guard positions. Plus they have an uber-talented LT in Ersery - all of whom have multiple years under their belts". It's not like we're going with 3 newcomers (I know Ersery isn't interior, but if you're talking about our O-line, he needs to be mentioned).

They also talk about Lindenberg taking over for MSM "leaving for the NFL", which is misleading. The impression you'd get is that MSM was some talent that got drafted, when in reality he just ran out of eligibility and signed as an UDFA (who is now waived). Plus, Lindenberg is going to play the Will, right, not the Mike?

They mention the secondary group taking a big hit with Howden and Smith to the NFL, but no mention of Walley, who recently was on a list as the 6th-best CB in the B1G? And a CB we brought in (Henderson) was listed 4th on that same list. Isn't that the type of analysis that could be included?

Along with our lack of sacks last year, which they certainly call out, pointing out we were 118th nationally - they could have pointed out that last year's defensive ends were a little green and, as Burns stated elsewhere, they started playing their best ball in the last handful of games.

Is that enough additional analysis for you? And that's just what I came up with while sitting at my desk eating lunch. If someone was paying me....
Click to expand...
Word count. They only get so many characters. I agree that it's a very bland and novice look at the roster.
 

Leave the opponent's armchair experts to muddle this. 💩💩💩🤧
 



Are we really gonna stand for this level of disrespect? Liebert needs to write an article in the next few days focusing on the guys that left their team. That’ll show em.
 

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