Post-Game Reaction Thread: Gophers Dominate Northwestern

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Rickman55 said:
It has become obvious that the play calling we see is because of Morgans limitations. Even PJ said the interception was due to a bad throw by Morgan. If we had an elite QB with our running game we would see different play calling and even more points being put up. I appreciate Morgan, but I’m looking forward to next year and beyond to seeing if the other QB’s can raise the level of play.
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Word said:
Which big ten west QB would you rather have? Everyone I've seen is worse than Morgan.
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I wouldn't mind having Taulia Tagovailoa... but I'm perfectly happy with the QBs that the Gophers have. I just want to see some receivers step up and help out Morgan somewhat more consistently.

I'd love to see the Gophers grind away against their opponents, but I foresee a time when they will need to pass to stay alive.
 

hungan1 said:
Evan Hull and his family came to see the Gopher coaches during a visit. PJ finally showed up and Evan was undoubtedly excited.

"That one is on PJ Fleck. That question was like a job interview where you are so excited you blew it. He was excited about a hometown offer possibility. PJ threw in a question Evan didn't know how to answer at the spur of the moment. The kid said he was going to see other offers or something on the excitement. PJ got up and left the room. This thing about you having to want to be a Gopher PJ took too far. The kid wanted to be a Gopher. It sounded like they waited a long time for PJ to come back. He never did. That was hard-breaking for Evan. PJ needs to slow down the high-energy red bull." o_O Post #345 on the official game thread
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I can see how if its a local kid who you think is borderline, you would make your decision based on how much they appear to want it
 

laazrakit said:
I wouldn't mind having Taulia Tagovailoa... but I'm perfectly happy with the QBs that the Gophers have. I just want to see some receivers step up and help out Morgan somewhat more consistently.

I'd love to see the Gophers grind away against their opponents, but I foresee a time when they will need to pass to stay alive.
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He's not in West. Turns it over too much as well.

Since we always play Maryland can see why you thought they're in West
 



Love that we were able to run whenever we wanted, but I am disappointed we didn't take an opportunity to work on our passing game. I don't think we are going to just be able to flip the switch on our passing game. Worried we are going to get into a situation where the run game isn't there and we will look lost throwing.
 


I like Hull but I wouldn't trade him for any of the rbs we have even with the injuries.
 



gopheraschells said:
Love that we were able to run whenever we wanted, but I am disappointed we didn't take an opportunity to work on our passing game. I don't think we are going to just be able to flip the switch on our passing game. Worried we are going to get into a situation where the run game isn't there and we will look lost throwing.
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12-17 for 134 yards in 27 point blowout. Seriously, do some fans want us to treat games like practice. We can throw if we need to....but if we don't need to we shouldn't toss up a bunch of passes with the idea we need some sort of passing practice.
 

MNVCGUY said:
12-17 for 134 yards in 27 point blowout. Seriously, do some fans want us to treat games like practice. We can throw if we need to....but if we don't need to we shouldn't toss up a bunch of passes with the idea we need some sort of passing practice.
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Isnt that what we did at the end of the first half ;)
 


GopherWeatherGuy said:
I know I, and many others have complained about the offense, but the Gophers have scored the most points in the West, and are tied for the 2nd most points in the B1G .
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I’m still not sold on the game planning, play calling, and in game adjustments. If the offense can move the ball and score enough points at Iowa and against Wisconsin, then I’ll gladly admit I was wrong and hopefully enjoy 2 victories and a Big Ten West title. So far the Gophers have played bottom feeding Big Ten defenses outside of Purdue. Ohio States d was bottom half before their coaching change on D.
 




GophersInIowa said:
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I’m betting this is Kendall Moore. His dad responded to a Ryan Burns tweet about backup RBs. I'mg guessing as a walk-on he may not have traveled to this game, so perhaps we see him next week.

 

99Gopher said:
I found LeCaptain's offensive stats for high school. The kid was no joke as a back.

View attachment 15038

I'm sure somebody will ask for the source: https://www.wissports.net/roster_players/17679652
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He was Wisconsin HS athlete of the year in 2018-19 (I saw on another site). He is like Williamson from Owatonna in HS. He was slotted as a LB here (as a PWO). He is no stranger to carrying the ball, and he instantly becomes the big back we haven’t had since Kobe McCrary.
 

MNVCGUY said:
12-17 for 134 yards in 27 point blowout. Seriously, do some fans want us to treat games like practice. We can throw if we need to....but if we don't need to we shouldn't toss up a bunch of passes with the idea we need some sort of passing practice.
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We have 2 healthy scholarship RBs (3 if you count LeCaptain, a PWO who earned a scholie this year and just switched from LB to RB this week). We have 12 healthy scholarship WRs. We have 4 tough games left. I’m with you! Let’s run the ball 75-80% of the time. What could go wrong?
 

Gophergrandpa said:
We have 2 healthy scholarship RBs (3 if you count LeCaptain, a PWO who earned a scholie this year and just switched from LB to RB this week). We have 12 healthy scholarship WRs. We have 4 tough games left. I’m with you! Let’s run the ball 75-80% of the time. What could go wrong?
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So what would make people happy? Bucko and Thomas both got around 20 carries and we attempted 17 passes. So are we supposed to drop their carries down to around 15 each and put it up 10 more times? What if those 10 extra passes lead to another pick so instead of just totally dominating Northwestern we give them the chance to get back into the game?
 

MNVCGUY said:
So what would make people happy? Bucko and Thomas both got around 20 carries and we attempted 17 passes. So are we supposed to drop their carries down to around 15 each and put it up 10 more times? What if those 10 extra passes lead to another pick so instead of just totally dominating Northwestern we give them the chance to get back into the game?
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Right? I would be more in favor of coaches telling the backs and receivers to avoid a little contact when on the sidelines. That is how Bryce was injured today and how MBS got dinged up last week (not going out of bounds)
 


laazrakit said:
I wouldn't mind having Taulia Tagovailoa... but I'm perfectly happy with the QBs that the Gophers have. I just want to see some receivers step up and help out Morgan somewhat more consistently.

I'd love to see the Gophers grind away against their opponents, but I foresee a time when they will need to pass to stay alive.
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Wait! I missed where Maryland moved to the West! Is that why the Gophers play them every single year now?
 

This to me was PJ's ideal game. Dominated time of possession, took basically zero risks on offense, game seemed well in hand by half time, and the entire 4th quarter was garbage time. The improvement of the Oline since they bye has been very notable. I mentioned it before but I don't know if it was a personnel issue, or a technique issue, or something they found in their tendencies in their self scout but they are noticably better in both the run game and pass protection. The only real negative I saw in this game was a hint of our WR's (outside of MBS) being unable to separate on a few plays. The main culprit was Jackson and this was just his first game back, so this is really stretching for something to pick at. I did like the passes to the backs and Morgan keeping one for a TD. The more you can put on tape for those Iowa and Wisconsin defenses to have to cover, the better.

Rossi's defense keeps getting it done. Not concerned about the rushing yards in this game as a number of them were gained after the lead was 2 scores. If the other team wants to run the clock out on themselves, go ahead. Even on the garbage time TD, Thomas Rush was just a split second away from a sack and potential fumble (though not sure what Sori-Marin was dong in coverage) it just seems like we're really locked in on that side of the ball. The Dline gets a lot of praise and rightly so. I can't remember having guys behind the starters who also consistently make plays before this year. I am sure the 5th guy has made plays before, but not 6,7, etc. My one nitpick here is that I hope Oliver starts playing better as our sub package linebacker. A few games ago I thought he was really coming on, but it was a struggle for him against Maryland and (I could be wrong here) I don't think he had a strong game in this one either. It will be interesting to see if we play a more traditional 4-3 against Iowa/Wisconsin and if so if that's Oliver in their with Gibbens and MSM or someone else.

I am still very concerned about those rivalry games. My biggest question is can Minnesota get to these 3rd and shorts and against these better defenses by being this conservative and if they can...can they convert ag the rate they have been recently? I noticed a lot of the 3rd down conversions in this game came after Kramer was hit behind the line of scrimmage or after Irving had to bounce it outside when met with resistance.
 

SanDiegoGopherFan said:
B1G broadcasters mentioning Morgan will have to win a game for gophers at some point this year, if he can get back to 2019, Gophers can win the west.

morgan hasnt been asked to do anything the second half, they better give him some practice soon
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They practice multiple days a week. Typically not on National TV though
 

I don't know if it was a personnel issue, or a technique issue, or something they found in their tendencies in their self scout but they are noticably better in both the run game and pass protection.
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They benched Dunlop who then went into the transfer portal. Was a good player but really struggled this year it seemed. The line seems much stronger since he’s no longer in the rotation. Maybe the issues were elsewhere and it was a coincidence, but he was the weakest lineman in the rotation this year.
 

Thought the initial game plan was pretty conservative again but if it works don’t fix it.
 

Dave H said:
I like Hull but I wouldn't trade him for any of the rbs we have even with the injuries.
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Well, I certainly wish we had him now. At the rate we go through running backs we could have at least another injury before season's end. He made a good decision for his career though. He's a redshirt soph with 187 rushing attempts so far. Treyson Potts is also a redshirt soph and has 138 rushing attempts for his career so far. Perhaps Hull wouldn't have gotten many carries here until this season after Potts went down. And, as far as life after football, a Northwestern degree is always a good thing to have.
 

EG#9 said:
I am still very concerned about those rivalry games. My biggest question is can Minnesota get to these 3rd and shorts and against these better defenses by being this conservative and if they can...can they convert ag the rate they have been recently? I noticed a lot of the 3rd down conversions in this game came after Kramer was hit behind the line of scrimmage or after Irving had to bounce it outside when met with resistance.
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We do not have our 2019 passing game and likely won't rediscover a passing game of that quality and frequency in the near future. However, we have shown this season that we can pass pretty effectively when we need to. Tanner averaged 8.2 per attempt vs. OSU, 9.6 against Colorado, 9.4 against Purdue, 8.7 against Nebraska, 10.4 against Maryland, and 7.9 against Northwestern. Only in the two games against MACC teams was he below average. In contrast, Petras is averaging 6.5 yards per attempt for Iowa and Mertz is averaging 6.0 yards per attempt for Wisconsin.

Iowa's offense is poor right now (both rushing and passing). They may even consider moving to their backup QB who had some bright spots relieving Petras against Wisconsin yesterday. Wisconsin's offense is a bit better right now but I think we have a pretty fair shot of winning if we can hold them to a respectable total for rushing and stay even on the turnovers. If both teams force the other to pass, I think we come out ahead on that dimension.
 

Rickman55 said:
It has become obvious that the play calling we see is because of Morgans limitations. Even PJ said the interception was due to a bad throw by Morgan. If we had an elite QB with our running game we would see different play calling and even more points being put up. I appreciate Morgan, but I’m looking forward to next year and beyond to seeing if the other QB’s can raise the level of play.
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I don't believe that's true at all. Part of my issue with the playcalling is that they aren't the routes that really make the most sense for Tanner (because of his lack of a huge arm). Tanner had a pretty decent game except for that 1 throw.

I actually wish our passing play calls were a bit MORE vanilla. More slants. More max protect. That swing to BSF was a useless play call. Some of the WR swings are pretty useless (they actually take quite a bit of arm strength too).
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
I actually wish our passing play calls were a bit MORE vanilla. More slants. More max protect. That swing to BSF was a useless play call. Some of the WR swings are pretty useless (they actually take quite a bit of arm strength too).
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+1 to this
 

EG#9 said:
I did like the passes to the backs and Morgan keeping one for a TD. The more you can put on tape for those Iowa and Wisconsin defenses to have to cover, the better.
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I have been happy with the RB check downs this year. I think those are a fairly new addition. I don’t remember them in previous years except for when the pocket collapsed and the RB happened to be looking at Tanner or a couple RB wheel routes.
 

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