Official Post-game Thread: Badgers 20, Gophers 7

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gopherveteran said:
Nelson is exposed when he has to pass. He doesnt throw a good ball and he doesnt have
a strong arm. Must have a good running game, so he can dump to tight ends and backs.

We had end zone view day today. Receivers were open. Passes hung and were often off
target.
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And when the pass was there the receivers didn't make the play. We have a lot of guys on offense that need to grow up and get quite a bit better before we'll have an offense that can win a conference title. Nelson didn't have a good game, didn't show a lot of leadership, and turned the ball over, but he wasn't the only one nor did he have a lot of help. No one on offense stood up at all. Leidner must have been hurt because he sure deserved a few series in the 2nd half. That or the coaching staff thinks Nelson gives us the best chance to win. I wouldn't agree with that...
 

I loved what our defense showed today. Obviously I wish we could have won, and our offense really struggled, but I'm not too mad about this one. Our defense did much better than I figured they would stopping the run, and I think the future looks great. We still have won 8 games this year and have a shot at going 5-3 in the Big Ten still.

I wouldn't say that the refs helped us at all in this one, but I don't want to say that they hurt us too much either. I was upset at a lot of no-calls during the game, but seeing a lot of the replays, the referees seemed to do a better job than my initial reactions would indicate. Overall, decent game and our defense surprised me a bit.
 

beatles said:
I like Limegrover but his offense scored zero points today in the biggest game of the year at home against our arch rival with 2 weeks to prepare. So yes he was an issue today, the MAIN issue.
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Nope. You are wrong.
 

Spoofin said:
Nope. You are wrong.
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Dude the offense didn't score a point after two weeks of preparation. Remind me who coaches the offense? Like I said before I like Limegrover overall but he had a bad game.
 

beatles said:
Dude the offense didn't score a point after two weeks of preparation. Remind me who coaches the offense? Like I said before I like Limegrover overall but he had a bad game.
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How many passes did Limey drop?
How many guys did Limey over throw?
 



beatles said:
You seriously can't admit our offensive coordinator had a bad game after scoring zero points coming off a bye?
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Williams was overthrown for a TD. Not to mention, numerous drops by our receivers.
 


Wisconsin was, and is, a better team than us. We played a great game. Congrats guys.
 



bemidjigopher said:
Our wideouts looked like the freshman they are. Defense played well today, youthful mistakes cost us today, mark my words we will win at Camp Randall next year. I've always believed we would win the axe back in Madtown, and with everyone coming back and all the guys they lose, to go along with the progress we've made this year, next year is our time.
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Well told.
 

The turnovers were so crucial. 2 of them came during promising drives in WI territory, the third when we absolutely needed points and fumbled in our own territory. There were 5 fumbles today. We lost all three, Wisconsin's bounced out of bounds and they kept the other one on the punt return. To win we needed to win the turnover battle.
 


The Gophers defense deserves a lot of credit. They played much better in the redzone than I thought they would. They were very sound for the most part tackling as well. The Badgers left a lot of points on the field, but the main reason was because of the effort of the Gophers defense.

The reason the Gophers struggled so much on offense was because they were playing a really good defense. Everything the Gophers do on offense is predicated on being able to run the ball. The passing game works on play action based on gaps it creates in the defense when it gets out of position trying to stop the run. The Gophers could not run the ball and that caused all kinds of problems for Nelson.
He was never really able to get comfortable and it showed.

On running downs and against certain formations, the Badgers took out one of their cornerbacks (#8) and brought in another safety. That enabled them to move one of their other safeties to more of a linebacker (#7) and on those downs, they were really playing a 3-5. I don't think the Gophers really adjusted to that all game. Without the ability to run the ball, the passing game did not have much of a chance.

In every game, you always want some plays back. It is the nature of the game. I could think of a couple of the top of my head I would like back, but it is an exercise in futility.

The Badgers return 8 starters on offense next year. They also have a ton of experienced players coming back on defense. They do have to replace seven starters on defense, but that is the nature of the beast. It is what makes the game fun. I would not put next years game in the win column for the Gophers quite yet.
 



beatles said:
I like Limegrover but his offense scored zero points today in the biggest game of the year at home against our arch rival with 2 weeks to prepare. So yes he was an issue today, the MAIN issue.
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So Limegrover dropped catchable balls, and Limegrover consistently overthrew open receivers and Limegrover made a horrible throw on 4th down to a wide open TE, and of course it was Limegrover who fumbled the ball 3 times....

The play calling was fine, Wisconsin has a very good defense and our guys didn't execute in a lot of key situations. Can't hang that one on the coaches, we lost to a better team.
 

beatles said:
You seriously can't admit our offensive coordinator had a bad game after scoring zero points coming off a bye?
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When you're playing a top 10 defense in frigid weather with a talent-lacking offense that is missing 3 starters and has a QB play a bad game throwing to young receivers who don't make plays? No reason to think this was a bad game from Limegrover. When were there questionable calls? I don't ever remember thinking after a play, "That was stupid."
 


beatles said:
You seriously can't admit our offensive coordinator had a bad game after scoring zero points coming off a bye?
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You do realize the Gophers played a top 5 scoring defense today. Add in that this was the Gopher's first game without their best receiver. Plus the fact that the Gophers aren't exactly an offensive dynamo and today's result is not exactly unfathomable. Then when drops, errant throws and turnovers are factored in, the outcome is almost expected.

The game was lost between the white lines not in the coaches box. Takeaway the drops and the overthrows and the Gophers score 17-21 points. This game was close. MN just didnt do the things necessary to win this game. This team is better than 95% of people expected. Progress was made today. Even if they lost the game.
 

1. WR's are young and it showed today. Wolitarski needs to attack the ball and go get. Especially the one in the end zone.

2. Every penalty on the Gophers was a good call. They missed the grab of Maxx arm and Jones getting cut off with the guys not knowing where the ball was.

3. Nelson is still late on some reads, but a like that he likes to go down field.

4. I thought the game plan to spread them out a bit was our best chance. Fumbling 3 times was the difference in not getting anything going.

5. Defense was on the field the whole game and gave Wisconsin a good challenge. Claeys with another good game.

6. DB's need to turn and look for the ball. Will come with more experience.
 

beatles said:
I like Limegrover but his offense scored zero points today in the biggest game of the year at home against our arch rival with 2 weeks to prepare. So yes he was an issue today, the MAIN issue.
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Given your take, please tell us how much football you have played/coached. It seems like most folks, including me, took something completely different away from the game, so I would love to know the experiences you have had in the game to lead you to this conclusion.
 

Not sure if anyone noticed or if it was posted earlier that Andersen sent the three MN kids out as captains today? Allen, Kelly, and Marz
 

MaxyJR1 said:
1. WR's are young and it showed today. Wolitarski needs to attack the ball and go get. Especially the one in the end zone.

2. Every penalty on the Gophers was a good call. They missed the grab of Maxx arm and Jones getting cut off with the guys not knowing where the ball was.

3. Nelson is still late on some reads, but a like that he likes to go down field.

4. I thought the game plan to spread them out a bit was our best chance. Fumbling 3 times was the difference in not getting anything going.

5. Defense was on the field the whole game and gave Wisconsin a good challenge. Claeys with another good game.

6. DB's need to turn and look for the ball. Will come with more experience.
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Really? That PI in the endzone was weak. Even the Badger fans near me admitted it when they saw the replay. Yes I know why they threw the flag is because he didn't turn his head. Mistake by a young D back, but in a close game when there was very little contact that disrupted the receiver in the endzone which moves the ball to the 1, you have to keep that flag on your belt. That lead the the second TD. It was 13-7 before that. Seeing that and the miss on Jones plus the one on Max even though they threw it the next play as a make up which didn't help since he caught it, makes me hard to feel bad about their ASU debacle.
 

cjcarter8 said:
You do realize the Gophers played a top 5 scoring defense today. Add in that this was the Gopher's first game without their best receiver. Plus the fact that the Gophers aren't exactly an offensive dynamo and today's result is not exactly unfathomable. Then when drops, errant throws and turnovers are factored in, the outcome is almost expected.

The game was lost between the white lines not in the coaches box. Takeaway the drops and the overthrows and the Gophers score 17-21 points. This game was close. MN just didnt do the things necessary to win this game. This team is better than 95% of people expected. Progress was made today. Even if they lost the game.
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So we are going to use the same excuse next week against Michigan State's defense?
 

The 12th Man said:
Given your take, please tell us how much football you have played/coached. It seems like most folks, including me, took something completely different away from the game, so I would love to know the experiences you have had in the game to lead you to this conclusion.
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Oh spare me. You guys are a bit too sensitive when it comes to Limegrover. He had no answer today that's all I'm saying. Nebraska played against a much better defense last week and put up 28 despite 5 turnovers. I'm sorry but when an offense gets shut out the offensive coordinator and his game plan can be questioned.
 

patrick08 said:
Really? That PI in the endzone was weak. Even the Badger fans near me admitted it when they saw the replay. Yes I know why they threw the flag is because he didn't turn his head. Mistake by a young D back, but in a close game when there was very little contact that disrupted the receiver in the endzone which moves the ball to the 1, you have to keep that flag on your belt. That lead the the second TD. It was 13-7 before that. Seeing that and the miss on Jones plus the one on Max even though they threw it the next play as a make up which didn't help since he caught it, makes me hard to feel bad about their ASU debacle.
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He didn't look for the ball, he didn't know where the ball was and he had more contact on a catchable ball. The Jones play I think was a foul, but the WI player had position and started to look for the ball. The pass led Jones into the defender. I still think it's a foul. The two no calls against WI played huge in the game.
 

patrick08 said:
Really? That PI in the endzone was weak. Even the Badger fans near me admitted it when they saw the replay. Yes I know why they threw the flag is because he didn't turn his head. Mistake by a young D back, but in a close game when there was very little contact that disrupted the receiver in the endzone which moves the ball to the 1, you have to keep that flag on your belt. That lead the the second TD. It was 13-7 before that. Seeing that and the miss on Jones plus the one on Max even though they threw it the next play as a make up which didn't help since he caught it, makes me hard to feel bad about their ASU debacle.
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I also thought the false start in the first half shouldn't have been called. Looked like Borland was in the nuetral zone before our o line moved and he was in the nuetral zone when it was snapped. I could have been wrong but should have been offsides on them from what I saw.
 

CentralGopher said:
I also thought the false start in the first half shouldn't have been called. Looked like Borland was in the nuetral zone before our o line moved and he was in the nuetral zone when it was snapped. I could have been wrong but should have been offsides on them from what I saw.
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This is one I'd like to see again. They must have ruled we moved before Borland was in.
 

I thought the turning point came mid-way through the second quarter. We were up by 4 points and had the ball 2nd and 6 around Wisconsin's 30 yard line, when Epping was flagged for a false start. Epping was reacting to Borland who was trying to anticipate the count on a blitz. The announcers thought as did I that it was encroachment. Had the call gone against Wisconsin, we would have had the ball 2nd and 1 around the Wisconsin 25. Instead, we had it 2nd and more than ten to go, which forced us to pass instead of run, and we just couldn't execute. Had we been able to score at that point, I think we would have had a good chance to go to half-time with a lead, and momentum. Instead we lost the lead, and I thought we went into half-time somewhat deflated.
 

GVBadger said:
The reason the Gophers struggled so much on offense was because they were playing a really good defense. .
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It wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that the Gophers had virtually no seniors playing on offense (other than FB and a part-time OT) and we're relying almost exclusively on Freshmen as playmakers, missing two starters on the OL, with two freshmen starting there?

Bottom line; this game was largely decided by the Gophers' underclass men playing like underclass men. Tall order to expect a pair of true FR to be your playmakers at WR. They weren't up to the task, they dropped a handful of balls that upperclassmen would have likely hauled in.

The game went about exactly as I expected. The defense played more than well enough to win, the offense had trouble moving the ball. The entire front 7 for Wisky are almost entirely seniors who have played a lot of BT football. I was actually surprised how well the Gophers ran the ball when they weren't laying it on the turf or dropping it
 

GVBadger said:
The Gophers defense deserves a lot of credit. They played much better in the redzone than I thought they would. They were very sound for the most part tackling as well. The Badgers left a lot of points on the field, but the main reason was because of the effort of the Gophers defense.

The reason the Gophers struggled so much on offense was because they were playing a really good defense. Everything the Gophers do on offense is predicated on being able to run the ball. The passing game works on play action based on gaps it creates in the defense when it gets out of position trying to stop the run. The Gophers could not run the ball and that caused all kinds of problems for Nelson.
He was never really able to get comfortable and it showed.

On running downs and against certain formations, the Badgers took out one of their cornerbacks (#8) and brought in another safety. That enabled them to move one of their other safeties to more of a linebacker (#7) and on those downs, they were really playing a 3-5. I don't think the Gophers really adjusted to that all game. Without the ability to run the ball, the passing game did not have much of a chance.

In every game, you always want some plays back. It is the nature of the game. I could think of a couple of the top of my head I would like back, but it is an exercise in futility.

The Badgers return 8 starters on offense next year. They also have a ton of experienced players coming back on defense. They do have to replace seven starters on defense, but that is the nature of the beast. It is what makes the game fun. I would not put next years game in the win column for the Gophers quite yet.
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Sadly, this may be the most rational analysis thus far. You guys are...<choke> good, and I am incredibly happy with how we played today. I think we win next week 40% of the time, and that's not a knock on the Gophers, but a testament to how well the Gophs played today. Michigan State will struggle to score against us. The Gophers need a little more experience/natural talent on the lines, and more talent in the skill positions, and with this coaching staff will contend for BIG titles. I am sad, mad, angry, etc., that we lost today, but I am now fully confident in our future.

I would rather be the Gophers with Jerry Kill than the Badgers with Gary Anderson - because we don't know how his teams will shift over time. Granted, I may be wrong in that assessment, but I know the direction of the Gopher program at this point, and I couldn't be more pleased.
 

vagopher said:
I thought the turning point came mid-way through the second quarter. We were up by 4 points and had the ball 2nd and 6 around Wisconsin's 30 yard line, when Epping was flagged for a false start. Epping was reacting to Borland who was trying to anticipate the count on a blitz. The announcers thought as did I that it was encroachment. Had the call gone against Wisconsin, we would have had the ball 2nd and 1 around the Wisconsin 25. Instead, we had it 2nd and more than ten to go, which forced us to pass instead of run, and we just couldn't execute. Had we been able to score at that point, I think we would have had a good chance to go to half-time with a lead, and momentum. Instead we lost the lead, and I thought we went into half-time somewhat deflated.
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Look we can debate good call bad call but the implication that one false start penalty was the reason we lost is just stupid. The problem was not the call it was the part in bold above.

Has anyone noticed that the officiating in our last 4 games was awesome but today the refs were definitely favoring Wisconsin. Just like Iowa and Michigan they wanted us to lose but in the non-conf games and during the winning streak they were spot on with all their calls. Obviously I am exaggerating, but I can't stand the refs cost us the game comments.
 

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