1. F the refs- There were probably 3 PI's that were uncalled on tOSU defenders that were more egregious than the one actually called on T-time. To not get either targeting was absolutely brutal with the second one being one of the more clear cut examples of helmet to helmet you will see.
2. The Conner Olson penalty changed the game. Gophers were up 4 with good field position and momentum and Olson decides to push a guy. The Dunlap hold on the next play set us back another 10 and the typical give up on 3rd down had us punting from bad field position for the first time all game. tOSU scores immediately to take the lead and we'd be down 2 scores soon after
3. That soon after was the scoop and score. It would be nice if Tanner ever felt pressure or at least didn't give up the strip sack. This particular one would have been almost impossible to prevent as Morgan. To make matters worse, Morgan was in the process of throwing to a wide open receiver. Game of inches there.
4. Tanner could have had 3 or 4 picks in this game. The Gophers had two huge breaks in this game with Tanner throwing the pick getting called back for the hit to his helmet (correct call but pass would be picked either way) and Stroud missing behind an open receiver that ended up a Gophers interception. Going in to half, the drop by Wright followed by Tanner missing Jackson for what would have been a TD was brutal.
5. 29 carries for anyone through 3 quarters is way too many especially in game 1 against one of the 3 best programs in the nation.
6. Joe Rossi better get this fixed...NOW. The first TD for Ohio State looked exactly like a number of the untouched long runs they gave up last year. Concerning that nobody could catch that tOSU runner either as he wasn't exactly a burner. Giving up a TD immediately out of half, giving up the big play TD right after tOSU took over at around the 45. Literally every possession in the 2nd half was a worst case scenario for our team as our defense looked completely unprepared to stop anything. The Dline did not provide the pressure that many suggested it would. This type of effort on defense is going to give up 35 to just about anyone on the schedule.
7. Overall, this was a much better performance than our last 3 featured games at home after the win against Penn State. Hopefully it was good enough to keep people engaged with the program and hopefully there will be another chance in late November to get a very significant win at home that leads to Indy..and they get the job done this time. The Gophers will only get so many chances at these featured games, and they have to start capitalizing. Programs where the Gophers are either move up in the pecking order or they get passed by those behind them who make changes...they don't stay in the same place.
8. PJ Fleck has to change his best. The early focus was on the gutsy 4th and 1 call, but what the F was the 3rd and 4 (long 3?) call that preceded that? You are down 10-0 at home and run a wildcat formation run against one of the most athletically dominant teams in college football? Horrific. We hadn't stopped Ohio State at all to that point and it was ball game if we had to punt there. Even more disappointing was this sequence down 10 in the 4th quarter: 1st and 15 from the tOSU 34: RUN for 2 yards. 2nd and 13 from the tOSU 32 RUN for 3 yards. 3rd and 10 from tOSU 29 run the clock all the way down, use a timeout. Come out and RUN AGAIN for 1 yard. You are playing the #4 team in the country and have a shot at a program changing win. The first two calls are indefensible. The run on third down AFTER WASTING A TIMEOUT was somehow beyond that. The disturbing thing is we've seen this from PJ before. In big games (see Wisconsin 2019). We are simply never going to get over the hump leaving opportunities on the field like this. Going further IF Mo is out, you have to think his overuse played a role in the injury. We refused to let Tanner throw the football. The team showed, once Mo went out, that they were capable of moving the ball through the air with some nice throws from Morgan to Jackson, Brown-Stephens, and Spann-Ford. If that happened earlier in the game, maybe things go differently. Obviously the defense is the primary concern relative to this one game, but for the big picture PJ can't keep leaving opportunites on the field because he's afraid something bad will happen. Something bad is happening with the decisions he's making.
2. The Conner Olson penalty changed the game. Gophers were up 4 with good field position and momentum and Olson decides to push a guy. The Dunlap hold on the next play set us back another 10 and the typical give up on 3rd down had us punting from bad field position for the first time all game. tOSU scores immediately to take the lead and we'd be down 2 scores soon after
3. That soon after was the scoop and score. It would be nice if Tanner ever felt pressure or at least didn't give up the strip sack. This particular one would have been almost impossible to prevent as Morgan. To make matters worse, Morgan was in the process of throwing to a wide open receiver. Game of inches there.
4. Tanner could have had 3 or 4 picks in this game. The Gophers had two huge breaks in this game with Tanner throwing the pick getting called back for the hit to his helmet (correct call but pass would be picked either way) and Stroud missing behind an open receiver that ended up a Gophers interception. Going in to half, the drop by Wright followed by Tanner missing Jackson for what would have been a TD was brutal.
5. 29 carries for anyone through 3 quarters is way too many especially in game 1 against one of the 3 best programs in the nation.
6. Joe Rossi better get this fixed...NOW. The first TD for Ohio State looked exactly like a number of the untouched long runs they gave up last year. Concerning that nobody could catch that tOSU runner either as he wasn't exactly a burner. Giving up a TD immediately out of half, giving up the big play TD right after tOSU took over at around the 45. Literally every possession in the 2nd half was a worst case scenario for our team as our defense looked completely unprepared to stop anything. The Dline did not provide the pressure that many suggested it would. This type of effort on defense is going to give up 35 to just about anyone on the schedule.
7. Overall, this was a much better performance than our last 3 featured games at home after the win against Penn State. Hopefully it was good enough to keep people engaged with the program and hopefully there will be another chance in late November to get a very significant win at home that leads to Indy..and they get the job done this time. The Gophers will only get so many chances at these featured games, and they have to start capitalizing. Programs where the Gophers are either move up in the pecking order or they get passed by those behind them who make changes...they don't stay in the same place.
8. PJ Fleck has to change his best. The early focus was on the gutsy 4th and 1 call, but what the F was the 3rd and 4 (long 3?) call that preceded that? You are down 10-0 at home and run a wildcat formation run against one of the most athletically dominant teams in college football? Horrific. We hadn't stopped Ohio State at all to that point and it was ball game if we had to punt there. Even more disappointing was this sequence down 10 in the 4th quarter: 1st and 15 from the tOSU 34: RUN for 2 yards. 2nd and 13 from the tOSU 32 RUN for 3 yards. 3rd and 10 from tOSU 29 run the clock all the way down, use a timeout. Come out and RUN AGAIN for 1 yard. You are playing the #4 team in the country and have a shot at a program changing win. The first two calls are indefensible. The run on third down AFTER WASTING A TIMEOUT was somehow beyond that. The disturbing thing is we've seen this from PJ before. In big games (see Wisconsin 2019). We are simply never going to get over the hump leaving opportunities on the field like this. Going further IF Mo is out, you have to think his overuse played a role in the injury. We refused to let Tanner throw the football. The team showed, once Mo went out, that they were capable of moving the ball through the air with some nice throws from Morgan to Jackson, Brown-Stephens, and Spann-Ford. If that happened earlier in the game, maybe things go differently. Obviously the defense is the primary concern relative to this one game, but for the big picture PJ can't keep leaving opportunites on the field because he's afraid something bad will happen. Something bad is happening with the decisions he's making.
