Post Game Thread: Gophers lose to Illinois

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Panthadad2 said:
Nobody talked about Illinois' passing attack before this game. Either they are really good or the Gophs D really sucked today. The Illini QB and receivers were on fire.
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Our DBs' coverage was soft compared to theirs so they were able to catch shorter passes most of the time and even gain some additional yardage. Illinois didn't throw long very often. Their DBs were very tough and physical (either over the line or right on the line on most plays) and fast too.
 


Panthadad2 said:
Purdue produced the recipe for beating MN, and it will be like this the rest of the year. Run blitz like crazy and play extremely physical man-to-man defense on MN receivers that can't handle the physicality and don't get separation. It's the same recipe as last year. Ciarocca's offense suddenly looks a lot like Sanford's. I had hoped the receivers would step it up this year...not. I think it was GopherGrandpa after the MSU game who mentioned how important it was that the receivers caught everything thrown to them. It was an anomaly.

I guess the extra week off didn't help Rossi scheme Illinois. Absolutely terrible D. It reminded me of the Illinois game in 2018 that got that coordinator fired and Rossi promoted in the first place.
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This. Until the line learns to block blitzes and stunts we are going to have a "bad" offense. It worked for Purdue and Illinois and it will work for everyone else until Ciarocca's figures it out.

I don't thing the D was that bad - I think they were on the field for 80 plays against a very hot QB
 

diefirma said:
This. Until the line learns to block blitzes and stunts we are going to have a "bad" offense. It worked for Purdue and Illinois and it will work for everyone else until Ciarocca's figures it out.

I don't thing the D was that bad - I think they were on the field for 80 plays against a very hot QB
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There was the play in the 2nd half where Bryce Williams did a fly route out of the backfield and was wide open but the throw was way under thrown because Morgan got hit. Instead of Carroll picking up the blitz he double teamed a guy with the guard. Complete lack of recognition by him. Would have been a big play too.
 


cjbfbp said:
Our DBs' coverage was soft compared to theirs so they were able to catch shorter passes most of the time and even gain some additional yardage. Illinois didn't throw long very often. Their DBs were very tough and physical (either over the line or right on the line on most plays) and fast too.
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I never thought our db's coverage this year would be soft. I thought we'd be physical and up in people's faces.

That might be the most disappointing thing about today. It's why we couldn't get off the field. It was pitch and catch all game. 3rd an 8, just pitch and catch.

I'm still rather stunned by it.
 

diefirma said:
This. Until the line learns to block blitzes and stunts we are going to have a "bad" offense. It worked for Purdue and Illinois and it will work for everyone else until Ciarocca's figures it out.

I don't thing the D was that bad - I think they were on the field for 80 plays against a very hot QB
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Illinois scored on 4 of their first 5 drives and were near perfect on 3rd and 4th down conversions in that time. The D sucked donkey.
 

GopherGod said:
PJ’s recruiting isn’t keeping up with most of the other Big Ten programs . just because his recruiting is better than rhe previous regime doesn’t mean much if he isn’t gaining on the other Big Ten programs, which he isn’t. PJ liked to fill his class before other programs so he can market and tell fans he has a top 25 class. Then by the time the other programs fill their classes his drop significantly and fall outside the top 25
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I concur. The recruiting has improved. The Gophers need to be at a higher level of recruiting.

The Gophers need a couple of legitimate blue chippers in each class, not 4-Star rethreads. I am not espousing the star ratings, but for heaven's sake, the Gophers need a break in recruiting. They need a couple of turn-key players that Bama and tOSU are accustomed to.

We are missing Daniel Fa'alele at RT.
 

O line needs to get back to playing up to expectations. Obviously our receivers aren’t good enough either. Can’t get separation and let balls bounce off their hands too often.
 



kg21 said:
The defense sucked balls. They had a guy run for 220, and a qb that seemed like he completed 90% of his passes. I blame the defense more than the offense.

We had three possessions the whole first half, because Illinois went on 100 play drives into oblivion.

Both times we scored, we should have had all the momentum, and they went down the field at total will.
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This is the golden era of offense in college football. It’s never been easier for teams to score points.

Gophers scored 1 TD against Purdue and basically 1 TD today. This offense is abysmal.
 

theTurning said:
This is the golden era of offense in college football. It’s never been easier for teams to score points.

Gophers scored 1 TD against Purdue and basically 1 TD today. This offense is abysmal.
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What does basically 1 TD mean when we actually scored 2 legit TD's?
 

CentralGopher said:
O line needs to get back to playing up to expectations. Obviously our receivers aren’t good enough either. Can’t get separation and let balls bounce off their hands too often.
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This is problem A. The offensive line in pass protection was downright terrible. There were very few plays where Morgan dropped back and had reasonable time to find a receiver. Completely different story for Devito....who often looked like he had all the time in the world.

And you also hit on problem B. The receivers are not doing their job. They aren't getting open enough and they are dropping passes. MBS straight up needs to see the field less. He should rarely be running the A option route....as he simply isn't reliable enough.
 




gopherdudepart2 said:
In what universe is a punch to the head not called a personal foul. Don't care about intent, or that he is a runner, it is not a play allowed under current rules. That was as blatantly bad as the hit to the chin Iowa player delivered to Leidner in 2014 that went uncalled.
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Was it going to change the outcome if they threw a flag?? Nope so who cares….
 

theTurning said:
This is the golden era of offense in college football. It’s never been easier for teams to score points.

Gophers scored 1 TD against Purdue and basically 1 TD today. This offense is abysmal.
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Offense was brutal, but we had 3 possessions in first half and scored a td on one of them.

How the hell do you only have 3 possessions?

Answer: Your defense is getting destroyed

If we could have ever gotten off the field, Mo may have run them into the ground.

We go up 14-13, have all the momentum, and let them go on a 17 play drive. Friggin Puke.

With Crab out, I was not that surprised about the offense struggling. I suggested this may happen and was bludgeoned for the thought weeks ago. I never thought this defense would get done by Illinois like this. I'm quite stunned by it. Didn't DeVito start like 11 of 11. That's ridiculous.
 
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TheDudeAbides said:
Are you dumb enough to think he was actually trying to punch your hapless QB in the head?? He went for the ball but the qb was going down and he missed bad
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Hey....thanks for stopping by and trolling before the game.....we have enough resident trolls here we no longer need your assistance......really no reason for you to hang around here anymore.
 

TheDudeAbides said:
Are you dumb enough to think he was actually trying to punch your hapless QB in the head?? He went for the ball but the qb was going down and he missed bad
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You can go frame by frame and see where the ball was, the head was and see where the punch started and ended.

So, yeah, I guess I am dumb enough to think he was taking a cheap shot and should sit out a game.

Now piss off.

 

I think there are some drawbacks to playing a soft non conference schedule. It's great for gaining confidence, but not much is learned about the team. The big questions mark going in was the offensive line. And with good reason. They are starting Carroll, who could never seem to climb up the depth chart for true meaningful snaps at ND and did not appear he ever would, and the Michigan transfer. He was a starter at the beginning of the season the last two years. However, he lost his job both years. Plus, a former walk on that was iffy to begin with. Now we are seeing that it is line that is a big drop off from last year. I don't blame anyone for the schedule cuz when they scheduled Colorado, who knew they would be so miserable. But it's hard to get so exposed at mid season and then try to make changes.
 

GopherGod said:
PJ’s recruiting isn’t keeping up with most of the other Big Ten programs . just because his recruiting is better than rhe previous regime doesn’t mean much if he isn’t gaining on the other Big Ten programs, which he isn’t. PJ liked to fill his class before other programs so he can market and tell fans he has a top 25 class. Then by the time the other programs fill their classes his drop significantly and fall outside the top 25
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Are you saying he takes less talented players just so he can brag about a top ranking early on?
 

Just re-watched the Goph offense quickly on DVR. It wasn't the line. Illini usually sent at least 6 on 5 on the passing downs which made it tough, but Morgan still usually was able to throw a catchable ball to a receiver. The RT had a guy beat him for a sack, but it was on Morgan...he stood there like a statue and could have easily avoided it by stepping up in the pocket.

The receivers had maybe the worst game I've seen from a Gopher team. There had to be at least 6 or 7 drops. #22 can't catch a 50/50 ball...that throw should never be made because it has a better chance of getting picked off than caught. Jackson had 1 or 2 drops. BSF had at least one easy drop. Wright had at least 2 if not 3 drops, though on one he was clearly interfered with but no flag. What a puke offensive performance. So much for the balanced offense I thought the Gophs had a few weeks ago.

edit add: I forgot that Williams had a key 3rd down drop too on not a perfect ball, but catchable.
 
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Panthadad2 said:
Just re-watched the Goph offense quickly on DVR. It wasn't the line. Illini usually sent at least 6 on 5 on the passing downs which made it tough, but Morgan still usually was able to throw a catchable ball to a receiver. The RT had a guy beat him for a sack, but it was on Morgan...he stood there like a statue and could have easily avoided it by stepping up in the pocket.

The receivers had maybe the worst game I've seen from a Gopher team. There had to be at least 6 or 7 drops. #22 can't catch a 50/50 ball...that throw should never be made because it has a better chance of getting picked off than caught. Jackson had 1 or 2 drops. BSF had at least one easy drop. Wright had at least 2 if not 3 drops, though on one he was clearly interfered with but no flag. What a puke offensive performance. So much for the balanced offense I thought the Gophs had a few weeks ago.
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The part that just blows is we have no real receiver recruits to be excited about. Next year Mo is gone, Tanner is gone, and one of the top centers in the nation is gone.

Where is this all headed? This has potential disaster written all over it.
 



kg21 said:
I never thought our db's coverage this year would be soft. I thought we'd be physical and up in people's faces.

That might be the most disappointing thing about today. It's why we couldn't get off the field. It was pitch and catch all game. 3rd an 8, just pitch and catch.

I'm still rather stunned by it.
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I think Rossi’s defense usually has the secondary playing zone probably to help with run defense. Purdue and Illinois both played physical man (with Illinois holding a lot).
I don’t think the Gophers currently have a good enough front 7 to play man.
 

SPEGOPHER said:
- WR talent is horrendous. Biggest disappointment considering Fleck’s history
- Quinn Carroll is really bad
- Oliver is over aggressive
- Offensive scheme doesn’t allow for easy completions
- Defense is pretty good, but zero pass rush
- Walley hasn’t been very good this year
- Nubin and Mo are incredible
- This program isn’t trending in the right direction
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I've been thinking all of these things with the exception of the Nubin/Mo bullet (which is correct; I just wasn't thinking it). You watch college football and receivers are open all over, but not for us. That's scheme and WR talent. And, after hearing Carroll was in a three-way race for the RT job, mix in one of the others.
 


After our Purdue game I wanted to be optimistic and wrote on a different thread that the West is up for grabs and a three-loss team could easily win it so all was not lost for the Gophers. It's pretty obvious that Minnesota is out of the equation having lost to both Purdue and Illinois now.
Illinois and Purdue have the best shot and I would give the edge to Illinois.

I'll probably call later today and cancel my hotel reservations for Pasadena...again.
 

Illinois is a better team this year, that’s clear. Last year the won because of poor scheme and they dominated the dline but Minnesota was the better team. This year it’s no contest, they are just better. Their D could be aggressive because they have a great front 4, we do not. They have Chase Brown who is arguably the best back in the country and your front 4 isn’t going to probably contain him so you go zone. Give their QB credit he was lights out but holy cow were the Illini receivers wide open. That’s not good. In contrast our WR did not get off the line and were not physical at all. As pointed out they drop ballls constantly which kills drives. Who would have thought that no CAB would kill the passing game, because I didn’t!?!? PJ better recruit some bigger, more physical WRs because they need at least one (thought Wright would be that guy).
 

GoodasGold said:
Why doesn’t the offense wear out?🤔
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The more the offense plays, the more successful they are. When on a positive roll, you don't notice the tired as much. Physically you expend energy. Mentally, each play enhances your belief and positive outlook on winning the game.

BUT, going back to the Mason days that was one of our problems. In close, hard fought games, the offensive line got tired late. The lack of depth caused the run game to lose effectiveness at the worst time. They got tired and lost effectiveness (it happened with every coach, but Mason's running attacks were so successful it happened more under him).

The converse, the defense when they're on the field too long, is because they're getting beat and out schemed. That takes more out of you because the wearing down is both physical and mental.
 

caliGopher said:
The more the offense plays, the more successful they are. When on a positive roll, you don't notice the tired as much. Physically you expend energy. Mentally, each play enhances your belief and positive outlook on winning the game.

BUT, going back to the Mason days that was one of our problems. In close, hard fought games, the offensive line got tired late. The lack of depth caused the run game to lose effectiveness at the worst time. They got tired and lost effectiveness (it happened with every coach, but Mason's running attacks were so successful it happened more under him).

The converse, the defense when they're on the field too long, is because they're getting beat and out schemed. That takes more out of you because the wearing down is both physical and mental.
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Agree, it takes more energy to play good defense. Plus, as stated, when being driven on, it is demoralizing for the defense.
 

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