New Mexico State Pregame Thread

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BleedGopher said:
ESPN's prediction:

"NEW MEXICO STATE at MINNESOTA

Brian Bennett: The Aggies are bad. Real bad. Perfect opponent for Jerry Kill's debut, as Troy Stoudermire sets Big Ten return record ... Minnesota 35, NMSU 14

Adam Rittenberg: You worry a bit about a letdown as Minnesota has been hearing how impressive they looked in the opener at USC. The Gophers start off a little slowly before MarQueis Gray and the offense surge against the Aggies. ... Minnesota 31, NMSU 13"

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/32251/page/Picks/big-ten-predictions-week-2-2

Go Gophers!!
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Huh?
 

It appears that we will have the honor of listening to Glen Mason and his Pearly Whites doing commentary during the game.
 



Kuato Lives! said:
It appears that we will have the honor of listening to Glen Mason and his Pearly Whites doing commentary during the game.
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Mason was on the radio yesterday and said he was bumped from the Gophers telecast this week, so he will not make his first appearance at TCF Bank Stadium. He said he will be doing either the Miami or NDSU game.
 




Short Preview and some predictions...

http://www.stobblog.com/2011/09/aggies-vs-gophers-preview.html#more

Who is on you "player to watch" list and what will be the final score?

Aggies Players to watch:



Andrew Manley (Quarterback) – Last week against Ohio University, Manley threw for a pair of touchdowns on 362 passing yards. Last week the Gophers secondary struggled stopping the pass, however this week Robert Woods will not be lining up on the opposing side, so there is that….


Gophers Players to watch:


Marqueis Gray (Quarterback) – For the second week in a row, Gray has made the “STOB players to watch” list. In the 4th quarter against the Trojans, Gray was injured allowing Max Shortell to fill in. The Freshman Shortell led the Gophers within 2, just to fall short in the end 19-17. Coach Kill said during an interview this week that Gray will be the starter against the Aggies despite any quarterback controversy. Expect Gray to be on a short leash this Saturday, especially with Shortell waiting in the wings yearning for another shot to impress the new head ball coach.

Lamonte Edwards (Running Back/D-End) – In the game against USC, Edwards was subbed in at defensive end. Edwards stated in a interview with Star Tribune that he was surprised. "They called me over, and I'm on the sideline," Edwards said. “Two days prior, they talked to me about it. I thought it was like, 'OK, we might do this.' I didn't think they'd follow through with it." With his speed and strength, look for Edwards to be lining up on the defensive side more often. The coaching staff says that the Freshman brings a lot of quickness which in turn causes the opposing QB to panic. The Gophers were ranked near the bottom in sacks last season, so Edwards might be just the jolt the Gophers defense needs.


Predictions:


Derrick’s Prediction:

Gophers – 42

Aggies - 17



Ben’s Prediction:

Gophers - 27

Aggies - 7



Ken’s Prediction:

Gophers - 35

Aggies - 3
 

Personally, I'm going to be watching Hawthorne.

I hope he gets at least two FG attempts and I'd like to see how he performs. Maybe I didn't dig deep enough but I never did quite hear for sure if the two blocked kicks were more the fault of blocking, timing/slow approach, or just plain low kicks. Both kicks he should have been expected to make. Sure, 51 is longer, especially for your first kick, but on a beautiful 80-degree day in SoCal with no wind (I think?), that's not an extreme kick.

I wasn't crazy about his response to Kill when he was asked if they were in his range on the first one, the 51-yarder (to which he apparently replied that he didn't know how far out they were, that he doesn't pay attention to the distance, or something to that affect).

First, as soon as you get over midfield, as a kicker you should know from every single yard line of where your team is at just how far the kick will be, what hash/side the ball is one for each play, etc. You need to be ready.

Secondly, the coach knows EXACTLY what your range probably is. If he's even asking you, it IS in your range and he's probably just gauging how assertive and confident your response will be to see if he wants to try the kick. If he's asking, it IS in your range and your answer should be "Absolutely! Let's do it!"

The Gophers need Hawthorne to be rolling into BT play with some confidence under his belt. I hope he gets a few attempts at least in each of the next 3 games and comes through big time.
 



I agree, kickers always get overlooked when they do good things, but he had a bad game.

Granted, like you said, we don't know if it was his fault or what, but this is the big 10, you need a kicker. There are going to be a lot of close games much like last weeks. If you don't have a kicker that can keep you in games (or win them) it's going to be a long year.
 


Ogee Oglethorpe said:
Maybe I didn't dig deep enough but I never did quite hear for sure if the two blocked kicks were more the fault of blocking, timing/slow approach, or just plain low kicks.
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Hawthorne says it was a combo of things. On the first the issue was partly the D's penetration but he also thinks he didn't kick it high enough. The 2nd he feels he hit too low a kick.

On came the sophomore to try a 51-yard field goal, the first of his Minnesota career. And what happened next has taught him, bugged him and driven him this week.
The snap and hold were perfect, Hawthorne said, but plenty of other things went wrong. USC got a good push on the line, with a couple of linemen moving a step or two closer to the ball. And one of them, Matt Kalil, got his fingers on the ball as it flew past, foiling Hawthorne's kick.
"I thought I hit it really well, and it just didn't get it up in the air quick enough, I guess," Hawthorne said. "There was a little bit of penetration on the line, but I needed to get it higher. It would have been nice for that first one to go in, because if we make that, it's a big momentum change."
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http://www.startribune.com/sports/blogs/129472768.html
 






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