Lucky? Really?

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Recovering a fumbled lateral is not luck. It's a smart, opportunistic play.
 

Lucky - schmucky. There are no asterisks on our won/lost record. The Golden Gophers are 7-2 and unlike two weeks ago heading to a bowl game, and now heading perhaps to a better bowl game than we were a week ago. If we beat PSU next week, and we should at home, we just may be heading to January 1, bowl game. I hope we remain not unlucky next week and if so, we deserve it. We're the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Equally importantly, our recruiting standards may now be elevated, because we were fully prepared to beat Indiana, Nebraska and Northwestern when the opportunities presented themselves. Luck be damned!
 

Dr.Don said:
A pitch is a backward pass that remains live like any other. A fumble is a player losing possession. Definitions are in the FB rule book.
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http://www.gophersports.com/sports/m-footbl/stats/2013-2014/game09.html#GAME.PLY

From the official play by play of the game: Coleman, Tevin rush for loss of 14 yards to the MINN23, fumble by Coleman, Tevin recovered by MINN Hill, Aaron at MINN23, Hill, Aaron for 21 yards to the MINN44 (Coleman, Tevin).

Also, the drive summary lists the drive ending on a fumble and the stats show that Indiana had one fumble and one fumble lost.

So as I said, it was a fumble and ruled a fumble.
 

I don't know if it was "lucky," but if Indiana just does the conventional thing with a run (which we were having a hard time stopping), and they set up for a chance of a TD on the ground, or a FG to send the game into overtime...do we win that game? We couldnt stop their offense, and now here they are about to either take the lead, or send it into overtime. If the game goes into overtime, the odds are heavily in their favor...maybe not lucky, but very fortunate.
 

I'd say Indiana called that play because they wanted to win in regulation if possible, had had great success on the outside and felt the swing pass was a high percentage completion not likely to end in a turnover. Not luck that we sniffed it out and made a badly executed pass impossible to handle and then followed up with a good hit and teammate recovery. They made a safe play into a bad one and the Gophs made 'em pay for it. Football.
 


For everyones sake this thread should probably end. Fighting over whether the play was luck or fortunate(which is was :) ) and the definition of a fumble is sad. We won. Every team catches breaks throughout the season. Enjoy the win and lets focus on winning the next.
 

We had a bunch of lucky tackles, lucky blocks, lucky catches, lucky throws, lucky runs, lucky kicks, lucky play calls (by us AND them), and lucky calls by the officials, and pretty much had luck going for us on every play. Come to think of it, I think we were lucky in the lockerroom. Did I miss anything?
 

BarnBoy said:
You're kidding me, right?

Indiana scores in that position 95 out of 100 times (FG or TD). When's the last time you've seen a game end on a backwards pass ruled a fumble? Their quarterback intentionally threw it backwards. Our player made a good play on the ball. No luck with either of those.

But VERY lucky that the game ended like it did. I bet before they snapped that ball that you thought we had them right where we wanted them, right?

"Fortunate"? Is that a better word?
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And let's be honest. In the normal Minnesota game, that ball is thrown exactly the same and it's called an incomplete pass on the field...
 

Indiana's final offensive play was a case of Lady Luck shining on the Gophers. To admit that doesn't in any way denigrate our team's overall performance because they put themselves in a position to benefit from such luck. However, had the Hoosiers run a more conventional play, OT or a loss were the likely outcomes as opposed to winning in regulation. Indiana had been moving the ball pretty much at will in the fourth quarter. I don't see how we'd have stopped them that close in. That said, considering all the collapses and letdowns we have endured over the years, I'll gladly accept the chance to benefit from another team's heartache for a change.
 



Sometimes a team wins a game and other times the opponent loses the game. Nothing lucky about it - that's football.
 

...I forgot to mention. After the game, my luck continued...I got lucky (wink).
 

You can only control what you do, not what the other guy does. The net result is 22 players moving around trying to carry out their assingment until the play is over.

Any well coached Junior High back knows that you have to cover any incomplete swing pass. He didn't and our guys were right there based on the call by the DC and made the play. Their guy did not carry out his assignment. We did. No luck involved.

Sure IU was having its way with the Gopher D just like the Gophers did putting up a 18 point lead. Was it luck that IU was just inches from the goal line on the two point conversion. No. That's how the play turned out. That is football, not luck.
 

Its not lucky when they call a bad play, execute it poorly, and then aren't focused enough to understand the ball is live. That is stupid and lazy on their part. I don't call it lucky when one team makes a mistake. I may have said this somewhere else, but if we turned the ball over like that with our running back looking at the live ball but trying to recover it, I would not say "oh shoot, that's bad luck", I would say "what the heck was he thinking? his lazy and stupid play just lost us the game."
 



It seems like people are forgetting Vereen's good play that helped cause the fumble. He was blitzing and recognized the swing pass. He got to the RB and hit him during the catch attempt. It was not luck that he was in position to make that play.
 

This is really not a mistake that happens very often. And it's a very unusual one. What's more, part of it can be attributed to a mental lapse on the part of the Indiana player, who should have made a play for the ball instead of just standing there. It's not completely off-base to call it luck, or at the very least a fluke.

Still, this was on our player being more aware than theirs (and Vereen making a play on the back), so it's not like we had nothing to do with it.
 

If the back makes that catch, Vereen tackles him for a loss of 8 yards, and it's 3rd and goal from the 17. Great defense on that play regardless from Claeys and the boys.
 

B1G said:
That's not the case at all. When you throw it backwards, it's not a pass, it's a run. It's no different than a pitch. It's not a muffed backwards pass, it's absolutely a fumble and was DEFINITELY ruled a fumble.
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B1G: Here is a quote taken directly from the NCAA rulebook/definitions:


Touching the Ball; Blocking a Kick
Fumble
ARTICLE 1. To fumble the ball is to lose player possession by any act other
than passing, kicking or successful handing (A.R. 2-19-2-I and A.R. 4-1-3-I).
The status of the ball is a fumble.
Muff
ARTICLE 2. To muff the ball is to make an unsuccessful attempt to catch or
recover a ball that is touched in the attempt. Muffing the ball does not change
its status.
 

A pitch is inherently risky. The Gophers were in position, even if it was caught, it would have been for a loss. Both teams made mistakes, Indiana's mistake just stands out because of when it happened. To say it is lucky is to be dismissive of the Gophers win. Let smack talkers downplay the win.
 

Did Wisconsin get lucky when they beat us a few years ago on the bad snap?

I see everyone posting on this thread about all the Minnesota stats that favor us but are you then dismissing all of Indiana's stats the second half? I think to many posters here just need something to argue about. It was a wild game yesterday and the Gophers got a big win that we will remember not for the offense but for the one big defensive play inside the 5 yard line. Luck or not means nothing neither does the argument. We did get lucky on that play and it doesn't diminish anything the Gophers did.
 

You could probably say we got "lucky" that Indiana made that play call. The call was flat out stupid IMO, considering the situation and how they were rolling. But we played it perfectly and Hill made a play on the ball. That part wasn't luck.
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
Mildly disturbing that some of our fans think the fumble, and therefore the win, was a result of luck. The timing of the IU fumble is what makes it look like luck.

The Gophers turned it over on their own 20 in the first half, handing IU an easy TD. Both teams turned it over once.

If IU turns the ball over the same way on their drive to take the lead, with about 6 minutes left for example, the Gophers likely take it down and score and put the game put of reach.

Lucky win? Good grief... I hope I'm never that kind of fan
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Speaking of luck, I would say we are lucky to have you as a fan!:clap:
 

Perhaps Coach Wilson's statement puts it in best perspective. Nowhere are the words "Luck, Lucky, or Unlucky" mentioned.

On the final play call:

"It was a swing play so there is always a chance for a lateral, it just didn't get executed right. We didn't get on the ball like we should have either. When it's a close game, those fundamentals like always giving the ball to the referee and never leaving it on the field are so important. Don't just assume anything. Always grab the ball just in case. It was poor execution and really not an ideal call at that time in the game, and because of it, we lost the game."
 

Let's make it even more simple, a slightly different, more harsh way to look at it.

Losers find a way to lose games like this. Winners find a way to win games like this. Period.

You see it all the time, and as many other posters have alluded, we've seen it plenty of times with the Gophers on the other end. 6 weeks ago, I don't think they win this game. 6 weeks ago I don't think they watch a 22-pt lead evaporate and turn into a deficit, and yet drive down the field to re-take the lead.

They found a way to win by putting themselves in position to win. And that's pretty impressive
 

Dr.Don said:
B1G: Here is a quote taken directly from the NCAA rulebook/definitions:


Touching the Ball; Blocking a Kick
Fumble
ARTICLE 1. To fumble the ball is to lose player possession by any act other
than passing, kicking or successful handing (A.R. 2-19-2-I and A.R. 4-1-3-I).
The status of the ball is a fumble.
Muff
ARTICLE 2. To muff the ball is to make an unsuccessful attempt to catch or
recover a ball that is touched in the attempt. Muffing the ball does not change
its status.
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You just made my point for me. It's a fumble, not a muffed backwards pass, because the throw backwards isn't considered a pass, it's considered a run. Therefore the player lost possession by an act other than passing. He fumbled a backwards throw. The very rulebook definition of a fumble. To muff it means the ball has already been fumbled and someone tries unsuccessfully to pick it up.
 

Buck_Buchanan said:
Perhaps Coach Wilson's statement puts it in best perspective. Nowhere are the words "Luck, Lucky, or Unlucky" mentioned.

On the final play call:

"It was a swing play so there is always a chance for a lateral, it just didn't get executed right. We didn't get on the ball like we should have either. When it's a close game, those fundamentals like always giving the ball to the referee and never leaving it on the field are so important. Don't just assume anything. Always grab the ball just in case. It was poor execution and really not an ideal call at that time in the game, and because of it, we lost the game."
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Wow he really threw his coaching staff under the bus with that last comment.

This thread has been amusing. This one is pretty simple to me, after playing a great game for 3 1/2 quarters the Gophers were "lucky, fortunate...whatever" to get out of there with a victory because for the final 1 1/2 quarters we were hanging on for dear life. That last play came down to two players, the IU, RB who lost track of the situation and gave up on the play and Hill who had the presence of mind to realize the whistle didn't blow and the ball was still live.

I don't think people are saying there should be an * by the victory or that it counts any less because of that play but any fan that is trying to act like Indiana was not at the very least going to tie the game and send it to OT is kidding themselves. We have seen those "lucky bounces" go against us many many times over the years, fortunately this time it worked in our favor.
 

Indiana is "lucky" our Defense got tired...

Indiana is "lucky" Coleman avoided going out of bounds & avoided a shoe-string tackle on that 3rd & 2 Option play...

Indiana is "lucky" our runner was shoe-string tackled on that Fake Punt...

Indiana is "lucky" Kirkwood fumbled inside the 30 giving them a short field...

Indiana is "lucky" Hageman didn't play as much...

Indiana is "lucky" Maxx Williams scored quickly on that final TD...

See how this game works?

"Luck" didn't rack up 573 yards of Offense & 42 points...
 

MNVCGUY said:
Wow he really threw his coaching staff under the bus with that last comment.

This thread has been amusing. This one is pretty simple to me, after playing a great game for 3 1/2 quarters the Gophers were "lucky, fortunate...whatever" to get out of there with a victory because for the final 1 1/2 quarters we were hanging on for dear life. That last play came down to two players, the IU, RB who lost track of the situation and gave up on the play and Hill who had the presence of mind to realize the whistle didn't blow and the ball was still live.

I don't think people are saying there should be an * by the victory or that it counts any less because of that play but any fan that is trying to act like Indiana was not at the very least going to tie the game and send it to OT is kidding themselves. We have seen those "lucky bounces" go against us many many times over the years, fortunately this time it worked in our favor.
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Correction: I believe you meant 2 1/2 quarters instead of 3 1/2.
 

“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”
 

BBShopGo4 said:
It seems like people are forgetting Vereen's good play that helped cause the fumble. He was blitzing and recognized the swing pass. He got to the RB and hit him during the catch attempt. It was not luck that he was in position to make that play.
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Exactly. Claeys said he called timeout to make sure the players understood the call he made, which they had not run all game. It was a great time to try and force the issue and hope something good happens. Vereen made an outstanding play, recognizing the swing pass and doing just enough to disrupt it. Hill was opportunistic by running to the ball until the whistle. Great coaching and great execution.
 

Come on, it's ridiculous to say that we weren't fortunate there. Our defense had a great gameplan and executed well in the first half. But we were helpless to stop them in the last 23 minutes. They were knocking on the door to score a TD, with a FG at the very least. We were lucky they chose a pass that is susceptible to those errors (but rarely happen - how often has it happened to Indiana this year I wonder?), lucky that it did indeed go backwards and not slightly forward, lucky he couldn't hold on (not taking away Vereen's impact - he was in position and made a good play but did not force the drop, the RB did that on his own), lucky the ball didn't simply roll out of bounds (truly a random outcome of in vs out given the ball's shape), and certainly fortunate that none of their players jumped on the ball (again, not taking away Hill's position and heads up play, but the fact that he was the only one going for the ball made it much more likely he comes up with it). We were also fortunate that the refs didn't blow an inadvertent whistle that could have screwed us.

Our offense played great, our defense came up with many stops all day, and they made a great heads up play when they needed to. But we can't claim Wisconsin was lucky in the 05 game and then turn around and claim no such thing for our own D here. A win is a win and that's what counts, but we were absolutely fortunate it played out the way it did.
 

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