Minnesota rouses at unlikeliest of times - Adam Rittenberg

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e.bigelow

e.bigelow

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Sorry if posted elsewhere....

Maybe the breakthrough was inevitable. It certainly wouldn't have been the first time a Jerry Kill-coached team took a significant step forward in Year 3.

Northern Illinois went from six wins to 10 in Kill's third season (2010). Southern Illinois went from four wins to 10 in Kill's third season in Carbondale (2003). Minnesota has only matched its 2012 wins total, but following back-to-back Big Ten victories, including last Saturday's historic triumph against Nebraska, there's a sense that more success lies ahead.

"Something about that third year," Minnesota defensive back Brock Vereen said.

Perhaps. But Kill's previous Year 3 makeovers didn't occur under circumstances that seemed as unusual and dire as the ones Minnesota faced three short weeks ago.


http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/87934/minnesota-rouses-at-unlikeliest-of-times
 

The first two comments under the story were pretty funny:

Ryan Vogt · Top Commenter · Loras: I'm not buying. I watched every snap of the Iowa game and it looked like a JV vs. Varsity game. It was never close.

Brian Capper · Minnetonka, Minnesota: funny that the "JV" squad became bowl eligible before the "varsity" then...
 

The coaches were carefully building confidence in those games.
 

Very pleasant reading Mr.Bigelow. Thanks for posting.

Minnesota's breakthrough also can be attributed to a mind-set. After a bye week, the Gophers went to Northwestern on Oct. 19 with confidence, as they had held the Wildcats offense in check the year before in Minneapolis.

Whether that confidence would last through the game remained to be seen. There had been some positive signs early in the season, including four decisive non-league wins, but the Gophers had a habit of letting the sideline sink when bad things happened on the field.

Claeys sensed a shift after Minnesota had the go-ahead touchdown at Northwestern called back on a bogus offensive pass interference penalty and then missed a field goal. The response: a pick-six two plays later.

"Northwestern was really the first time in a Big Ten game that we had some things go against us, and we bounced back and really played with a next-play mentality," Claeys said. "It doesn't promise anything, but I told the kids, 'If you do that and you play that way, most of the time in the fourth quarter, you'll have an opportunity to win.'

"It all seemed to come together at Northwestern and gave us a little boost."

Minnesota faced more adversity against Nebraska, which built a 10-0 lead in less than eight minutes. But Claeys sensed a shift after a Theiren Cockran sack stifled a Nebraska drive that had started in Gophers territory.

When Minnesota responded with a 13-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, the confidence was back. The Gophers went on to beat Nebraska for the first time since 1960, as their fans flooded the field.

"Nobody panics anymore," Vereen said. "That first five or six minutes against Nebraska, they really couldn’t have gone any worse. But the atmosphere on the sideline was still very, very positive. There was never any doubt that we had a chance to win.

"In earlier years, it would have created some kind of domino effect. That goes to prove that we're a different team."

As for reading the comments section? :confused: Why bother. :drink:
 

comment sections are the best part, many times i don't even read the article, just go straight to the comments
 


"As for reading the comments section? Why bother."

To reinforce my experiences in life that there are a lot of people out there dumber than I.
 

Dr.Don said:
"As for reading the comments section? Why bother."

To reinforce my experiences in life that there are a lot of people out there dumber than I.
Click to expand...

I watch "World's Dumbest" instead. :)
 


Dr.Don said:
"As for reading the comments section? Why bother."

To reinforce my experiences in life that there are a lot of people out there dumber than I.
Click to expand...

+1 Talk about a confidence builder and it is also another reason to have a beer!:drink:
 



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