***OFFICIAL POSTGAME THREAD: MINNESOTA 29 - NW 12

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MGGopher

MGGopher

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Defense. Rules.

That is all.
 

imagine if we had an offense as good as our defense. We might be undefeated right now.
 

That beautiful 4th quarter drive was lifted directly from 2014. I've been hard on the offense but they delivered when the chips were down today.

Let's hope Good Mitch shows up early next week.
 

So, I think it's pretty apparent what happened today, defense was incredible and offense certainly had its struggles. Overall, though, it's a win and there were some great moments on both sides of the ball.

First of all, despite his struggles, and there were many, I was still happy to see Mitch's TD pass and then his rushing score for the dagger. Don't get me wrong, I was certainly frustrated, but on senior day, when he needed to, he did some things to help get the win.

Second, Brooks and Smith once again showed up again. Brooks especially had some fantastic plays, the dude just never stops running. It's great seeing a player with the ability to plow through the defense like that.

However, the big star was the defensive unit. So many times the game was in the balance and they showed up. Seven sacks! Amazing effort.

It wasn't always perfect or pretty, but with everything coming together as it did, the Gophers got their eighth win and on Senior Day, too. Ski U Mah
 

I watch all games by stream. At the end of today's game, the stream showed some of the NU players also huddled with ours in prayer. is this common?
 


Pompous Elitist said:
That beautiful 4th quarter drive was lifted directly from 2014. I've been hard on the offense but they delivered when the chips were down today.

Let's hope Good Mitch shows up early next week.
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Yeah, the offense was pretty weak for 3 quarters but they came up big when the team needed them to in order to seal the win in the 4th. Will have to do much better next week for us to have a shot against the Badgers.

On the flip side the defense was awesome all game. The only negative would be yet another targeting call (one that I don't think anyone can really argue with). Outside of that the entire D was the MVP in this one keeping the Wildcats off the board while the offense struggled to find the endzone and complete drives even when given great field position.

Carpenter had a rough one but hopefully it was just a blip on the radar in what has been a very nice season for him.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
That beautiful 4th quarter drive was lifted directly from 2014. I've been hard on the offense but they delivered when the chips were down today.

Let's hope Good Mitch shows up early next week.
Click to expand...

Absolutely right. Fault them all you want -- and it's certainly warranted for their horrendous play most of the game -- but the offense nutted up and marched it all the way down the field to ice the game. Everyone was great that drive: OL, Shannon, and especially Mitch. It's gonna be tough sledding next week, but hopefully we keep it close and see what happens at the end...

But the defense though. Holy goodness. NW is a legit offensive team. Our D showed up and played big boy FB, and NW did not like it or handle it at all. I'm very proud and impressed.
 


apana said:
I watch all games by stream. At the end of today's game, the stream showed some of the NU players also huddled with ours in prayer. is this common?
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You mean they weren't taking a knee to protest the injustices of the bourgeoisie capitalist pigs against the working class and downtrodden poor?
 



Excellent game. Best defense all year. No issues until Hardin and McGee went out.

Unless the AD thinks 8 wins 3 out of 4 years isn't sustainable, Claeys and staff should be back and extended to have 4-5 years remaining. I think OC and HC deserve a shot with their QB.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Claeys said he received letters about not having team on the sideline.for the anthem and was happy to put the team back out there today.

Christensen

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Tully55 said:
You mean they weren't taking a knee to protest the injustices of the bourgeoisie capitalist pigs against the working class and downtrodden poor?
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They were discussing how to seize the means of production.
 




GopherFanatic19 said:
imagine if we had an offense as good as our defense. We might be undefeated right now.
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With a better offense we might well be undefeated. Gophers have played good teams close: Michigan, Iowa, Ohio State last year (and TCU) and Iowa, Nebraska this year. Still, 8-3 looks good to me, as does 8-4. Mitch came through in the clutch today.
 

Mitch has earned most of the scorn tossed his way this season, but it was nice to see him lead the 4th quarter TDs to salt this thing away.

Of all the teams in the B1G, I think I dislike Northwestern the most for some odd reason. Maybe it's because they have been so frickin' lucky against us over the years. Glad to see that Fitzgerald finally crapped out the horseshoe that's been up his butt for the past decade against us.
 

IceBoxGopher said:
So, I think it's pretty apparent what happened today, defense was incredible and offense certainly had its struggles. Overall, though, it's a win and there were some great moments on both sides of the ball.

First of all, despite his struggles, and there were many, I was still happy to see Mitch's TD pass and then his rushing score for the dagger. Don't get me wrong, I was certainly frustrated, but on senior day, when he needed to, he did some things to help get the win.

Second, Brooks and Smith once again showed up again. Brooks especially had some fantastic plays, the dude just never stops running. It's great seeing a player with the ability to plow through the defense like that.

However, the big star was the defensive unit. So many times the game was in the balance and they showed up. Seven sacks! Amazing effort.

It wasn't always perfect or pretty, but with everything coming together as it did, the Gophers got their eighth win and on Senior Day, too. Ski U Mah
Click to expand...

Bayfield...Smith had a horrible game that's why Brooks got most of the carries in the second half. The last two games Smith is trying to get to cute. He is running laterally instead of cutting up inside. If you were at the game a blind man could see it.
 

Great game by Richardson today. I can't get it to link on my phone, but look at what Richardson Tweeted at NW following the game.
 

An 8 win season in his first year. Claeys could see tt become a 9 or 10 victory season. This is a very nice accomplishment and he deserves an extension.
 

Breakin' The Plane said:
Great game by Richardson today. I can't get it to link on my phone, but look at what Richardson Tweeted at NW following the game.
Click to expand...

"Hey @Northwestern am I still too short to play Big Ten football?"


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

MaxyJR1 said:
"Hey @Northwestern am I still too short to play Big Ten football?"


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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LMAO...that's a man who carries a grudge. Hey, Steve, Wisconsin passed on you too. Go get 'em...
 

ruppertflywheel said:
Bayfield...Smith had a horrible game that's why Brooks got most of the carries in the second half. The last two games Smith is trying to get to cute. He is running laterally instead of cutting up inside. If you were at the game a blind man could see it.
Click to expand...

I get what you mean, I should have worded it better. What I meant was that the duo has been reliable, in the sense that they're both good running backs and that at least one of them usually makes plays. So my point was less about Smith having a good game today and more about the Gophers having two good backs, and this was another game that showed that both of them can have big impacts.

But, I should have worded that better, my bad.
 

While Pat Fitzgerald has had some good seasons at Northwestern, I personally think he is vastly overrated. Today proves that point IMO.

What in the heck was he doing going for 2 down 15? If you fail, you are now down two scores...as we all know, they failed. He then compounded that mistake later in the 4th quarter by passing on a short field goal attempt down 9 points (15-6). He needed 2 scores to win the game at that point. Why pass up a short-ish FG attempt and risk a 4th down play?

All of this happened in the last 17 minutes of the game. It was baffling. I was laughing.
 

Stan The Caddy said:
While Pat Fitzgerald has had some good season at Northwestern, I personally think he is vastly overrated. Today proves that point IMO.

What in the heck was he doing going for 2 down 15? If you fail, you are now down two scores...as we all know, they failed. He then compounded that mistake later in the 4th quarter by passing on a short field goal attempt down 9 points (15-6). He needed 2 scores to win the game at that point. Why pass up a short-ish FG attempt and risk a 4th down play?

All of this happened in the last 17 minutes of the game. It was baffling. I was laughing.
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Fitz has never been shy being aggressive. My guess is that he realized how few opportunities our defense was giving them....and that they had to capitalize and maybe take a few risks.
 

stocker08 said:
Fitz has never been shy being aggressive. My guess is that he realized how few opportunities our defense was giving them....and that they had to capitalize and maybe take a few risks.
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There is a difference between being aggressive and knowing what it takes mathematically to win the game. When the score is 15-6 going for 2 does not matter. In fact, it is plain stupid. Kicking the EP gets you within 1 score. That is what it should have been about for Fitz. When trailing you do not go for 2 until you absolutely have to. It made no sense. Neither did passing on the FG.

I am normally a "go for it" guy on 4th and 1. But you must play situational football in the 4th quarter of a game you are trailing. Passing on the FG was another decision that made no sense.
 

Northwestern needed a win to get bowl eligible. Has been impressive after a very slow start. Potent offense. Us... Came off a disappointing loss. The third in three where we've been RIGHT THERE. Would have been easy to come in deflated. And struggled to beat a team with a lot of momentum. Gopher D was intense and intimidating. Offense was not impressive, but closed out the game for us. Team looked motivated. Well prepared. Time to get Claeys an extension while maintaining a favorable buy-out. Coyle should be working on it now.
 

Fitzgerald call the Gophers unsportsmanlike on the post game int. Big baby. He loves to point to the their fans when they win. Glad we didn't see it tonight
 

Mvgopher said:
Fitzgerald call the Gophers unsportsmanlike on the post game int. Big baby. He loves to point to the their fans when they win. Glad we didn't see it tonight
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Seriously? What did he say? Besides the targeting call (which didn't look intentional), what else did MN do? I've never heard another team say that about the Gophers. Definitely does sound like whining. I've lost a little respect for Fitz.
 

Stan The Caddy said:
There is a difference between being aggressive and knowing what it takes mathematically to win the game. When the score is 15-6 going for 2 does not matter. In fact, it is plain stupid. Kicking the EP gets you within 1 score. That is what it should have been about for Fitz. When trailing you do not go for 2 until you absolutely have to. It made no sense. Neither did passing on the FG.

I am normally a "go for it" guy on 4th and 1. But you must play situational football in the 4th quarter of a game you are trailing. Passing on the FG was another decision that made no sense.
Click to expand...

When down by 15 you need 2 TDs with 1 XPt and 1 2-Pt conversion. I actually think it is typical to go for the 2 first. At least I have seen it that way more often than not.


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NW was 36th in the Saragin ratings and we were 52nd. Surprising, shows you how are wins are viewed. I would expect to jump up after today.


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Spoofin said:
When down by 15 you need 2 TDs with 1 XPt and 1 2-Pt conversion. I actually think it is typical to go for the 2 first. At least I have seen it that way more often than not.


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Not sure why you lead with the bolded...I completely understand the math and how football scoring works, but thanks I guess.

It is not typical to go for the 2 first, because if you fail, you are still down two scores. Hello.
 

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