Post Game Thread: Gophers 1-0 After 23-10 Win Over Buffalo




First, happy to see a season opener! Plenty of positives, from the defense holding the Bulls to 10, to the offense moving the ball. That last TD play was a beauty.

Certainly frustrating, though, that quite a few points were left off the scoreboard. Plenty of trips in the red zone and not punching it in won't cut it in other games this season. At least it was in the first game, so it can be cleaned up.

Also, there was no need for Taylor to still be in that late. Give the dude a break. The way the offense was moving, I think another back could have grinded those last minutes.

Side note, I do wish the Bulls all the luck the rest of the way. There was plenty written about that defense and they showed definite toughness. Hopefully they win plenty more and make this win look even better.
 




Good: Drake Lindsey can ball. We will enjoy having him for however long that is. DT continues to be DT. D overall looks good in terms of tackling and fundamentals. Should be a sound unit.
No mistakes in the kicking game
Bad: lots of pan hands and sloppy line communication
Ugly: whatever the hell that Bob Dylan homage and singing was and PJ deciding DT needed another 8 carries on the last drive
 

That bull rush from Smith was impressive
The off the foot interception was amazing to behold in its beautiful awfulness
I like this new QB. He’ll probably throw some to better defenses but first impressions very favorable
Some stone hands out there
I’d like PJ to be more aggressive on 4th down over the 50 but tonight we got the non-gambler. I’ll get over it.
 

1) Drake is a legit QB.

2) We had some drops.

3) The smallest things went against us and we still won.

4) PJ should have gone for 2 when it was 22-10

5) Take Darius out of the damn game for those last 7 or 8 plays.

6). We have some good young players. Recruiting has been good.

7) Our RT got beat way too much.
 



1) Drake is a legit QB.

2) We had some drops.

3) The smallest things went against us and we still won.

4) PJ should have gone for 2 when it was 22-10

5) Take Darius out of the damn game for those last 7 or 8 plays.

6). We have some good young players. Recruiting has been good.

7) Our RT got beat way too much.
#4 is very true and for a guy with a mantra of coach everything, that is absolutely textbook where you make the margins
 



Good: Drake Lindsey can ball. We will enjoy having him for however long that is. DT continues to be DT. D overall looks good in terms of tackling and fundamentals. Should be a sound unit.
No mistakes in the kicking game
Bad: lots of pan hands and sloppy line communication
Ugly: whatever the hell that Bob Dylan homage and singing was and PJ deciding DT needed another 8 carries on the last drive
I think he actually had 11 carries the last drive lol.
 



Some thoughts:

(1) I thought all three running backs looked good.
(2) Nathan Roy is going to be really good.
(3) Jalen Smith is going to be really good, he really does get open with ease
(4) Nestor played quite a bit. He looked good out there. I wasn't expecting to see as much of him.
(5) The DL is really good. Our best front 4 in a long time.
(6) We'll see on the secondary, Buffalo doesn't throw the ball well.
(7) Baranowski was all over the place, I hope he's okay.
(8) I really liked what they did with D. Williams. I thought he struggled last year.
(9) Obviously, Lindsey looks legit. Big arm. Natural thrower.
(10) Gold uniforms looked awesome, especially this time of year at night.
(11) I asked Grok who Bret Bielema looks like and some of its answers:
  • A young Will Smith (in a specific photo context, though this seems outlier).
  • An "unathletic lightskin Swerve Strickland" (referring to the AEW wrestler's features but less athletic).
  • Ken Griffey Jr. with gigantism: A more niche but pointed sports-related jab, suggesting Bielema resembles the baseball legend but in an exaggerated, larger-than-life (and bulkier) form.
  • A shiny, disjointed robot from Alpha Centauri (a sci-fi exaggeration of his facial symmetry).


Take what you will from (11).
 

About what I expected. Some growing pains with new qb and mostly new receivers. Plenty to work on but lots of good too. Thought OL protected well and they did their job on last drive.
Too many drops. Need Green back. Couple of the field goals were a little squirrly. Still a little worried about cornerbacks.
 

Some thoughts:

(1) I thought all three running backs looked good.
(2) Nathan Roy is going to be really good.
(3) Jalen Smith is going to be really good, he really does get open with ease
(4) Nestor played quite a bit. He looked good out there. I wasn't expecting to see as much of him.
(5) The DL is really good. Our best front 4 in a long time.
(6) We'll see on the secondary, Buffalo doesn't throw the ball well.
(7) Baranowski was all over the place, I hope he's okay.
(8) I really liked what they did with D. Williams. I thought he struggled last year.
(9) Obviously, Lindsey looks legit. Big arm. Natural thrower.
(10) Gold uniforms looked awesome, especially this time of year at night.
(11) I asked Grok who Bret Bielema looks like and some of its answers:
  • A young Will Smith (in a specific photo context, though this seems outlier).
  • An "unathletic lightskin Swerve Strickland" (referring to the AEW wrestler's features but less athletic).
  • Ken Griffey Jr. with gigantism: A more niche but pointed sports-related jab, suggesting Bielema resembles the baseball legend but in an exaggerated, larger-than-life (and bulkier) form.
  • A shiny, disjointed robot from Alpha Centauri (a sci-fi exaggeration of his facial symmetry).


Take what you will from (11).

No Beavis or Jabba ? Grok….cmon, man
 






As the Billds say "Winning is better."

All in all not bad but Mrs. Billd has some doubts given the competition. In particular she thought it was boneheaded not to take Taylor out at the end. Probably trying to run up his yardage but he was not needed at that point. I noted that Coach has indeed been known to run players into the ground...literally.

Otherwise we're 1-0 and no immediate concerns with the QB.

All the points above are on target. Lots of potential on the field tonight but there are kinks to work out too.
 

My thoughts after attending my first game in about 8 years:
  • Stadium is still as fun as ever. Crowd was nice. Student section was rocking.
  • Team still starts the season slow. Seems to be every Fleck team.
  • They completely lost the crowd at halftime. Zero energy until that life-saving late TD. But after halftime, the majority of the student section was gone. And by the 4th quarter, I'd say the stadium was less than half full. That was disappointing.
  • Hope the offense can continue to mesh as we go forward. Enjoyed the win!

gopher_fb.jpg
 

Drake Lindsey could end up being the best Gopher QB ever.
Our running game is nowhere near what it was under Ciarrocca.
Our red zone offense was terrible.
The defense was good.
D line was good.
 


My thoughts after attending my first game in about 8 years:
  • Stadium is still as fun as ever. Crowd was nice. Student section was rocking.
  • Team still starts the season slow. Seems to be every Fleck team.
  • They completely lost the crowd at halftime. Zero energy until that life-saving late TD. But after halftime, the majority of the student section was gone. And by the 4th quarter, I'd say the stadium was less than half full. That was disappointing.
  • Hope the offense can continue to mesh as we go forward. Enjoyed the win!

View attachment 38604
Thursday night with many working tomorrow. At no time did I feel the game was in jeopardy, so the early exits were expected from my perspective.
 

Thursday night with many working tomorrow. At no time did I feel the game was in jeopardy, so the early exits were expected from my perspective.
"Fans" leave early when we play I-O-W-A or USC or PSU...and they have missed some really great football moments as Gophers.

Why would it be any different for the University of Buffalo?

We are Bitter Enders that fortunately have generally seen less bitterness than in the past.

Progress.
 


My thoughts after attending my first game in about 8 years:
  • Stadium is still as fun as ever. Crowd was nice. Student section was rocking.
  • Team still starts the season slow. Seems to be every Fleck team.
  • They completely lost the crowd at halftime. Zero energy until that life-saving late TD. But after halftime, the majority of the student section was gone. And by the 4th quarter, I'd say the stadium was less than half full. That was disappointing.
  • Hope the offense can continue to mesh as we go forward. Enjoyed the win!

View attachment 38604
Welcome back!
 

I didnt come away from the game thinking we have any glaring weaknesses. Probably most nervous about the run game (our splits/scheme just seems … off) and our pass D wasn’t really tested. But Drake clearly has a ton of talent, which is all that matters.
 




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