Official Post-game Thread: Badgers 20, Gophers 7

Donate To GopherHole
Torres9 said:
Honest question, I never played football. Can someone explain this to me, I've been meaning to ask about it for weeks. When I watch other college games, the DBs turn to face the ball. In our games, our DBs stay facing the receiver. Today it resulted in 2 critical PI calls on passes that weren't really catchable or could have been picked. Is this a difference in technique philosophy? For me, it looks like it causes us more trouble than its worth.
Click to expand...

It is a combination of skill and awareness. When you look back for the ball you lose visual contact with the receiver which means if you look back at the wrong time you run the risk of the receiver getting away from you. The best DB's know how to time things, our guys seem to struggle with that. I highly doubt they are coached not to look back.
 

Couldn't be prouder of the team from a loss. I believe the receivers will be better next week. I believe the team will have learned what they need to from the game and I predict a victory over Sparty.
 

Dean S said:
Couldn't be prouder of the team from a loss. I believe the receivers will be better next week. I believe the team will have learned what they need to from the game and I predict a victory over Sparty.
Click to expand...

It's not often that I walk out of the stadium after a loss, especially one to the skunks, and think, I can't wait for next week. I think we win.
 

I would just add that it was just one of those days where the ball didn't bounce our way. I don't think Wisconsin got lucky or anything but they definitely had some things go their way. The penalties were already mentioned. We fumble three times and all three get recovered by the defense. They fumble twice, one goes out of bounds and the other is recovered by them.

It's the way it goes though. Good teams create "luck" in my opinion.
 

Some personal observations after watching parts of the game that I missed on WatchESPN:

Gophers: Cold Weather=New Ball. This is a lesson learned as all the next Gopher/Badger games are in late November.

2014 @ Wisc Nov 29
2015 @Minn Nov 28
2016 @Wisc Nov 26
2017 @ Minn Nov 25

All these games are the final B1G regular season games


Noticeably, a lot of dropped passes were clearly influenced by the sleakness of the ball. On the other hand, the Badgers used a brand new ball and have a much better luck at hanging on to the ball.

Maybe this contributed in part to the Defense spending too much time on the field.

This game could have easily gone the Gophers way IMHO.
 



Nelson was far from solid. Now his receivers were also far from solid. He was the higher recruited player and has taken more snaps and has to be better. Some of his passes were late and allow WI players to make plays. He tends to be late in any check downs. Jones, Wolitarski, and Williams all have three years left which is great, but they all need to make a big jump this off season.
 

You know your team and program is really turning when defense plays like that.

Our coaches are really starting to build a program that will have staying power. Were not going back to being bottom feeders anymore.
The defense wow, they played a lot of football and played their hearts out against an explosive offense.
Even with the loss yesterday I could not be more proud on how hard the Gophers players and team competed. Our players played physical tough football.
Our student section brought intensity and cheering all game. We were in the game the whole way and offense if you cut out the turnovers could have sustained some momentum.
Credit the other sides defense for stopping our O.
I was impressed with the toughness of our guys especially with that cold playing surface and how much they have improved as the year goes on.
We have some players that are going to get some NFL looks some will even play on Sundays. Hageman, Vareen, Hill, Manual, even Roland Johnson.
Those are just the Seniors, Gophers are starting to build the type of depth and players in the underclassmen ranks that will keep the NFL pipeline going.
I hope we continue to recruit well, these guys are building something big at Minnesota. I could get used to this type of football in a heartbeat. We are not turning
backwards and now the wind is at the backs of our sails. The atmosphere at yesterdays game even with the cold was awesome.
 

Gophers have a red shirt on quarterback from Kansas. Hopefully, he throws a better ball.
Noticed the Wisconsin quarterback was able to throw spirals yesterday.

The Gophers are 12th in the Big Ten in passing. Maybe next year passing will be better to match
the big improvement by the defense.
 



hungan1 said:
Noticeably, a lot of dropped passes were clearly influenced by the sleakness [sic]of the ball.
Click to expand...

Just because 1 sideline guy says it, doesn't make it true. The entire team is more comfortable with an "experienced" ball. They use them every day in practice, and for the first 10 games of the year.
 

gopherveteran said:
The Gopher defense was outstanding today. Considering the offense gave them no help
again, the defense saved the game from being a blow out.

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. Very, Very few passes were on the numbers. Gophers had a chance the first
quarter. Passes were in front of #82 and behind #4.
Click to expand...

Here you go: Your comment has been acknowledged. You can stop posting this comment. This is (at least) the fourth thread you have posted this comment. Thank you for sharing your opinion.
 

Unregistered User said:
Just because 1 sideline guy says it, doesn't make it true. The entire team is more comfortable with an "experienced" ball. They use them every day in practice, and for the first 10 games of the year.
Click to expand...

Glad someone pointed this out. One reporter says it and all of a sudden everyone is blaming the football.
 

PASSING GAME
The loss of Engel was huge, especially given the experience of the receiving corps. Fast, sure-handed, runs good routes. Kill implied Thursday that the bye week is a double edged sword: healing helps, but timing and rhythm hurt. Not sure anyone played that wouldn't have the week before and we lost Engel.

By my count, 9 of the 16 incompletions were on the money. A few were a little late or into coverage. Nelson was about 6 inches off on several that might otherwise have been caught.

PI seemed to be called inconsistently. It's a penalty that has a bigger impact on the game than other calls. If the two on us in the end zone are good calls, the three or four that weren't called on them were bad. I wonder how the game goes if all the PI calls were consistent.

All that said, we're two plays from winning that game. The awful miss to Maxx and the late throw to Fruechte in the end zone on the next series. If he comes back to the ball a bit, the DB has to interfere or he makes the catch.
 




We need more play makers with home run hitting ability. D.Jones can be that guy. Hoping Berkley Edwards can be one. Wr's need more experience. Nelson needs more seasoning. I got no problems with Limegrover.

Our D played well. Excited to see them progress with the talent and ability that they have been showing.

There never is a good loss but we fought hard. Might be a good loss in the sense that we have experienced some success and now we tasted a loss to a program that we all universally dislike.

Borland is a beast. Dude is everywhere and makes plays. Glad he graduates. Can't wait to get that axe back in Vadger land next year.
 

Spoofin said:
wait?what? ???
Click to expand...

I don't know if Leidner is a better pure passer, but he does appear to have a cleaner throwing motion. There's just something in Nelson's motion that looks funny to me (and I admit it might only be me). Doesn't necessarily mean Leidner is a better passer or that Nelson can't get the job done. Nelson just looks funkier than Leidner at times.
 

GOPHER FANS
IMHO, even the Gopher fan base is improving! Record crowd with that weather?! Impressive. On TV it sounded like the place was rockin'.

JK believes the fans are a factor in team success. I agree. Momentum and positive energy influence teams/games. I was a bit nervous about coming here to read today and have to say I’m thoroughly impressed with the Gopher fans. Lots of great posts, good analysis. It's a loss - a painful one - but it wasn't a disaster. Like the other two losses, a couple of plays could have changed the outcome.
 

killme said:
GOPHER FANS
IMHO, even the Gopher fan base is improving! Record crowd with that weather?! Impressive. On TV it sounded like the place was rockin'.

JK believes the fans are a factor in team success. I agree. Momentum and positive energy influence teams/games. I was a bit nervous about coming here to read today and have to say I’m thoroughly impressed with the Gopher fans. Lots of great posts, good analysis. It's a loss - a painful one - but it wasn't a disaster. Like the other two losses, a couple of plays could have changed the outcome.
Click to expand...

I wasn't at the game but the atmosphere looked incredible when Hill picked off that pass and took it to the house. If you watch the crowd, people were going nuts. This needs to become a more common occurrence at home games, and I think we're moving in that direction.
 

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.
Click to expand...

This nails it. We had all the momentum, were running it right at them with great success, never really "needing" to pass. At this precise moment, I told my wife the game was going to turn UW's way, and boy did it EVER.

We needed just about everything to line up for us yesterday, and for the first 1/3 of the game, it did. Our margin of error vs. WI was razor thin, given our lack of WR depth. But from the bogus Borland no-encroachment call (he was in the n. zone before Epping flinched, an easy call that they simply blew) onward, UW got the key calls/no-calls, and the bounces. Game, set match. See ya next year.

Oh, and Leidner most certainly should have seen snaps before halftime yesterday. Nelson played an awful game, clearly did not have "it" at all yesterday. Coaches...that's on you. Fix it next time!
 

Now that the dust has settled, one thing I really enjoyed was the dramatic gopher stare when they were kicking field goals. Hope they keep that up.
 

gopherveteran said:
Passes were in front of #82 and behind #4.
Click to expand...

So you know the pass was behind Jones and that he didn't run the wrong route? You do realize that QBs sometimes throw the ball to where a WR is going and not where they are right? I know the play you are talking about. It happened right in front of me. IMO, Jones ran to the first down line, stopped, and turned. Nelson threw an out pass expecting Jones not to just turn around, but to cut to the sideline. If he had, easy first down.

So maybe, just maybe, a CFB passing scheme is a bit more complicated than you think or see on TV. Maybe, just maybe, what appears to be a bad pass may actually be a bad route. Maybe, just maybe the coaches know Nelson's strengths and weaknesses better than you do. Just maybe.
 

For me, there isn't much to discuss. We were outmatched on offense which is what we expected. For me, the surprise was the defense holding the badgers to 20 points. That showed me that they are the real deal and I couldn't be more excited for next year. Fortunately, we have two games left and a golden opportunity to play spoiler to MSU's BCS bowl chances. I think we win to get in to the Gator Bowl.

Let's remember what the expectations were this season. We have exceeded every expectation that anyone had for us, and we played Bucky tough. Our team has nothing to hang their heads about. We played one of the elites of the Big 10 and held our own. I'm so excited for the last 2 games and for 2014.
 

Agree with many of the posts. While I thought the Gophers would find a way to win, it is evident that MN lacks the playmakers on offense to compete at an elite level. They are well coached and have some good players, and as the players at MN get better the team will improve, IMO it is not a coaching issue at all. I also think the "Vibe" around the team is different, no one expects a collapse after this loss, as has happened in other seasons after a big loss.
 

gopherveteran said:
Gophers have a red shirt on quarterback from Kansas. Hopefully, he throws a better ball.
Click to expand...

No we don't. We have a commitment from a kid from Kansas but it is more than likely (if he even signs) that this kid wouldn't see the field anytime before 2015 because it would be assumed he would redshirt next year.

Noticed the Wisconsin quarterback was able to throw spirals yesterday.
Click to expand...

He also wasn't very accurate either. Throwing a good spiral doesn't make a QB a good one. Peyton Manning doesn't throw a very good spiral and we all know how good he is.
 

Max shortell we really miss as he could come in and throw the ball downfield You win with upper classemen and not young Qb's and receivers - the freshmen receivers could be good down the road but are not ready yet especially in the big ten. Engel was getting separation and running great routes just like Barker did last year. Our passing game would have bee much better with Engel,Barker, and DCT. These guys are very fast and good route runners that takes years to develop. McDonald ran poor routes last year and only had A few catches that e could fend of the defender. He also could have developed into a receiver. We should have worked on the passing game more in the non conference games
 

play hard said:
Max shortell we really miss as he could come in and throw the ball downfield You win with upper classemen and not young Qb's and receivers - the freshmen receivers could be good down the road but are not ready yet especially in the big ten. Engel was getting separation and running great routes just like Barker did last year. Our passing game would have bee much better with Engel,Barker, and DCT. These guys are very fast and good route runners that takes years to develop. McDonald ran poor routes last year and only had A few catches that e could fend of the defender. He also could have developed into a receiver. We should have worked on the passing game more in the non conference games
Click to expand...

Why on earth do people keep talking about DCT like he was some above average player that would have made any difference this year? His departure has had little to no effect on the 2013 team.
 

Unregistered User said:
This picture was at the very top of the homepage on reddit.com

F0jR6A7.png
Click to expand...

If anybody knows where to find that image, it has a home waiting for it as my computer wallpaper.
 



I was traveling and just watched the game. A young offense missing it's #1 receiver and the QB didn't have the game we needed. An excellent, much more experienced defense against a much less experienced offense. I was disappointed in Nelson, don't think he played very well. I'm sure it was tough missing your #1 wideout. Offense just didn't look confident and I didn't really see any fire or leadership on offense. Defense was unbelievable considering who they were going against and the positions they were put in. Keep building and keep developing that belief and physical and mental toughness.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom