Meineke Car Care Bowl vs. Texas Tech: Pregame Thread

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Gopher07

Gopher07

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The Red Raiders season looks a bit like ours, in that it started fast (as of 10/20 they were 6-1) and ended with a thud (they lost four of their last five games, the only win coming in overtime against 1-11 Kansas).

What does Tommy Tuberville's squad do well?


  • They throw the ball. A lot. The #2 passing offense in the country behind the arm of Seth Doege goes for about 362 yards per game (for reference, Syracuse went for an average of 302 per game this year).

  • They score, a lot. To the tune of 38 points per game.

  • They defend the pass reasonably well, #22 pass defense in the country surrendering 196 yards per game through the air.

Where are their deficiencies?


  • Rushing defense leaves a lot to be desired. They give up 171 yards per game on the ground (#74 in the country).

  • They turn the ball over, averaging -1 turnover margin per game this year (good for #106 in the nation).

  • Despite a good pass defense, they do not rush the passer well, just 1.25 sacks per game (#105).

  • Punting is poor. Net average is 35 yards per, about on par with us.

Given their struggles against the run, and the extra time off, I would certainly not be surprised to see us employ Gray in the QB role much more in this game and think we can match up pretty well overall if our pass defense is up to the task.
 

I think this is the best match-up we could have hoped for. Our pass defense is OK, especially if everyone is healthy. And with the Olsons and Christenson healthy (which moves Epping back to RG), the run game should be motoring.
 

I just hope we get the O-Line back we were supposed to have this year. I think our D can hold up against Tech if our O can hold the ball for 35 minutes and score touchdowns. Turnovers will be very important.

Don't be surprised if Gray starts at QB...he is our best hope of a ball control offense that converts third downs and scores touchdowns. Plus he is a SR.
 







We are going to need to put points on the board to win this one. While we do have a good pass defense, it is not elite. Texas Tech has an elite pass offense and they will get their points. We will need to score 30 to win this game.
 









BleedGopher said:
Michael Rand: Spencer Hall grades Gophers bowl game last in "every bowl game" rankings

http://www.startribune.com/sports/blogs/181920371.html

Go Gophers!!
Click to expand...

Wow dead last. There are some pretty funny comments in there....but dead last? Looking at those bowl matchups....so many bad pointless games between very average football teams. If they would just eliminate like 10 games at least you could get rid of most of the 6-6 teams (yes I know that includes us). Would love to get back to the days where making a bowl game actually meant you had a good team not that you showed up and managed to not suck half the year. Oh well I guess going to a bowl is better than not going to one. Pass defense wasn't tested much during the conference season, let's hope the defense that showed against Syracuse takes the field against Texas Tech and their extremely pass happy squad. On paper probably a good matchup for us all things considered.
 


BleedGopher said:
MN Daily: University could lose money in bowl game
The University will likely receive less money from the Big Ten than last year, when it didn’t play in a bowl.

http://www.mndaily.com/2012/12/04/university-could-lose-money-bowl-game

Go Gophers!!
Click to expand...

Wow that is a terrible headline and horribly written story. The University does not lose money because they are going to a bowl game. The university gets less money from the conference because there are fewer Big Ten teams in bowls and only one in the BCS.

At some point people will stop looking at the individual bowl game payouts as some indicator of what the team makes because that is not the case at all. I even think the writer of the story gets that on some level but it is so poorly written it is tough to tell for sure.
 

BleedGopher said:
MN Daily: University could lose money in bowl game
The University will likely receive less money from the Big Ten than last year, when it didn’t play in a bowl.

http://www.mndaily.com/2012/12/04/university-could-lose-money-bowl-game

Go Gophers!!
Click to expand...


There is more truth to this than we can imagine. A couple of years ago in Sports Illustrated, an article about the Bowl Games had a comment from the Michigan AD, concerning the prior year which was a non-bowl year for Michigan. He said (paraphrased), that Michigan made money that year because they did not have a bowl game.
 

My issue with the story is the idea that the U could Lose money on the deal. They could end up making less then their full share if they exceed the 1.5 million in expense money provided by the conference but the U still makes money on the conferences bowl game pool. This year the entire conference will make less because there are fewer bowl teams and only one BCS bowl team.

There still seems to be the misconception that the Gophers make more going to Houston as opposed to Dallas because there is a 500K difference in payout. When it is all said and done the share of revenue the Gophers would get would be the same no matter which game we actually played in.
 


32-inch TV?? Perfect for the dorms, though I'm sure most of them already got one.
 


This is how I imagine BleedGopher whenever he/she sees a post that is just asking for copious amounts of links:



not-that-i-condone-fascism-or-any-ism-for-that.gif
 



This game will be very interesting.

As mentioned before, Minnesota's best bet is to have Marquis at QB and the cornerbacks must be on the very top of their game! This game could get out of hand quickly and become ugly, but at the same time I feel it's more winnable than Michigan State.

Go Gophers!!!
 

MNVCGUY said:
Wow that is a terrible headline and horribly written story. The University does not lose money because they are going to a bowl game. The university gets less money from the conference because there are fewer Big Ten teams in bowls and only one in the BCS.

At some point people will stop looking at the individual bowl game payouts as some indicator of what the team makes because that is not the case at all. I even think the writer of the story gets that on some level but it is so poorly written it is tough to tell for sure.
Click to expand...



Anybody know if Ohio State and Penn State still receive their share of Big Ten Bowl revenue sharing? Due to their ineligibility caused by their own actions, the rest of the conference teams will be getting less money... It doesn't seem right if they still get part of the booty...
 

Maverick said:
Anybody know if Ohio State and Penn State still receive their share of Big Ten Bowl revenue sharing? Due to their ineligibility caused by their own actions, the rest of the conference teams will be getting less money... It doesn't seem right if they still get part of the booty...
Click to expand...

Penn State does not get their share of bowl revenue, but it's not going to be distributed to the other teams. Instead it is going to charity: https://twitter.com/Ben_Jones88/status/227416435910115328
 

Creative Charters first plane is full.

Gopher Fans -

The Gold Trip - first plane is full - Call now to get your reservation in for the MAROON .
(and for those of you who caught the typo - the Gold flight arrives MSP at 11:00 pm on the 29th)

The Official University of Minnesota Bowl tour for the Meineke Car Care Bowl.

MAROON TRIP

Wednesday,December 26, Depart Minneapolis Terminal 2 at 5:30 pm - Arrive Houston 7:45 pm
Saturday, December 29, Depart Houston 8:30 pm - Arrive Minneapolis 11:30 pm
 



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