Post Game Thread: Gophers With AMAZING Comeback Win!!!

[Go Gophs]

Our run game wasn't good, but I also thought we were surprisingly impatient with it. I thought we ran the ball OK With Tyler and we should have continued to go to the well a bit more.

With playcalling, it seems like it's always a balance between imposing your game plan on the opposition and taking what the defense is giving you. At time last year, I think we were too narrowly focused on imposing our game plan. I think tonight, we saw the CBs playing back and became too fixated on what Nebraska was giving us.

I was astounded how often we threw the ball. We flat out looked like Purdue with Drew Brees. Didn't even really try to establish a running game.
One thing though, there is ALOT of talent in that receivers group. Athan will keep getting better and better. This could be fun to watch. Still need to be able to move the ball on the ground better though. Much better actually.

 

[Go Gophs]

The Gophers seem to find ways to win these games more times than not under Fleck, even when they're not playing well. Some veterans really stepped up there to make big time plays.

And that there is the difference between what he brings and what guys of the past brought. That game was ugly, they didn't play well offensively. They actually also let Nebraksa pound the ball down their throats for a couple of drives too.
That said, they flat out did not give up and always have that mentality that WE WILL WIN.

 

[A_Slab_of_Bacon]

I was astounded how often we threw the ball. We flat out looked like Purdue with Drew Brees. Didn't even really try to establish a running game.
One thing though, there is ALOT of talent in that receivers group. Athan will keep getting better and better. This could be fun to watch. Still need to be able to move the ball on the ground better though. Much better actually.

I think we tried but man it wasn’t there…

 

[Go Gophs]

I think we tried but man it wasn’t there…

Agreed. It wasn't there alot right away the last few years either though and eventually the big boys up front wore em down.

 

[A_Slab_of_Bacon]

Agreed. It wasn't there alot right away the last few years either though and eventually the big boys up front wore em down.

Also Mo.

Mo turned a lot of sure 2 yard losses into 5 and 6 yard gains. When someone doesn't that the ground game stops fast...

I think in past years without Mo our run game would die too.

 

[DEGopherfan]

Is there a link anywhere to the post game presser?

 

[A_Slab_of_Bacon]

Is there a link anywhere to the post game presser?

Strange that only fox9 has it but there ya go.

 

[Panthadad2]

The route he ran to get there was jaw dropping. He is a human highlight reel.

That route made me wonder if he, and the team, have been studying JJ.

 

[FredCoxRocks]

Was Zach Evans hurt or has he dropped in the depth chart?

That's what I want to know, too.

 

[WoodburyTim]

Lots of big plays, but the forced fumble just stands out for me. That doesn't happen, and I just can't see how we win that game or have a shot at any of the subsequent big plays.

 

[fan of Ray Williams]

Great comeback win, but Gophers had only 55 yards rushing, a 2.2 average. That won't work with the schedule they have. Too bad the two super frosh runners jumped ship a few years ago - they would have made the difference tonight. Fleck has to recruit the talent he needs to win and should not be without one or two B10 level rushers. It may be a long season, with Athan passing 40 times a game.

You might want to worry about your cornhuskers. Don’t look now, but they are 0-1

 

[Panthadad2]

I'm watching the B1G in 60 replay. I was very critical of the o-line yesterday in the running game. After re-watching some, it looks like they put in some new wrinkles that simply didn't work against a good defensive front. They tried blocking with a receiver early instead of a TE or H-Back that didn't work at all. They tried blocking with one H-Back that either wasn't blocked well (linebackers running free) or Nebby overwhelmed with numbers. When they ran zone blocking with two TEs on early downs like they did a lot last year, they'd get 4 or 5 yards but I don't think they want to make a habit of that. They even threw in a trap play or two that did OK.

Mo could have gotten a few more yards but probably not much. I don't remember him lighting things on fire against Nebby last year.

In the end, you gotta give Nebraska some credit for running a tough confusing defense. The refs let the D backs play physical which also helped Nebby.

 

[A_Slab_of_Bacon]

I'm watching the B1G in 60 replay. I was very critical of the o-line yesterday in the running game. After re-watching some, it looks like they put in some new wrinkles that simply didn't work against a good defensive front. They tried blocking with a receiver early instead of a TE or H-Back that didn't work at all. They tried blocking with one H-Back that either wasn't blocked well (linebackers running free) or Nebby overwhelmed with numbers. When they ran zone blocking with two TEs on early downs like they did a lot last year, they'd get 4 or 5 yards but I don't think they want to make a habit of that. They even threw in a trap play or two that did OK.

Mo could have gotten a few more yards but probably not much. I don't remember him lighting things on fire against Nebby last year.

In the end, you gotta give Nebraska some credit for running a tough confusing defense. The refs let the D backs play physical which also helped Nebby.

Yeah blocking with WRs or odd type blockers in college either works, and if it does it's a great play.

But often it doesn't and the play is toast.

 

[cemba99]

My two cents worth regarding Nebraska and their season outlook from here:
- their defense certainly had some speed and appeared to have some schemes that gave our offense problems, however
- Sims is not gonna lead them to the promised land anytime soon. (And it may get worse) Without any game film to go on, the Gophers managed to keep them in check mostly due to causing turnovers. All the other Husker opponents going forward have a much better handle on how to prepare for Sims and his rather limited offensive weapons (he can run, that's about it).

Some are saying that they may win 8 games this year, I think they will be lucky to win 6

 

[jonnyganas]

When was the last time the Gopher Offense had 44 pass attempts in a game?

 

[46Gophers]

I must admit that I was not impressed with the overall performance of the team. There were some bright spots but I thought we would be dominant on both sides of the ball. Hey a win is a win though! After thinking about this further, the Cornholes had abundant film and knew what looks we would likely be showing them on offense and defense. The Gophers on the other hand had to figure out what they were going to see and have the ability to adjust to the unexpected. They were not in the ideal game planning situation for this game. Here's hoping this is like 2019 where we looked shaky in beating much less talented teams before finding a groove and having a great season.

 

[Dakota2]

My two cents worth regarding Nebraska and their season outlook from here:
- their defense certainly had some speed and appeared to have some schemes that gave our offense problems, however
- Sims is not gonna lead them to the promised land anytime soon. (And it may get worse) Without any game film to go on, the Gophers managed to keep them in check mostly due to causing turnovers. All the other Husker opponents going forward have a much better handle on how to prepare for Sims and his rather limited offensive weapons (he can run, that's about it).

Some are saying that they may win 8 games this year, I think they will be lucky to win 6

They are a bowl team with 6 or 7 wins because of their defense.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

missed most of the game Thursday night, so finally got a chance to watch it this afternoon.

thoughts --
-- 1st game of the season, so don't want to over-react, but....
--offense needs to be better at finishing drives. had a lot of possession in the 1st half but very few points.
--OL had its issues - but with 3 new starters, have to expect that this will be a work in progress
--newcomers made impact on defense. the transfers made plays in the secondary, and Baranowski had some good moments at LB. Have to think it will look better with Lindenberg back.
--D-Line was active and productive. Eastern had some nice moments. against a less mobile QB, this D-Line will get its share of sacks
--Athan had some shaky moments, but made plays when he had to. lot of room for improvement.
--RB's - need help from the O-line. Tyler has speed, but needs space to run. would like to see Evans get some touches (assuming he's healthy). Surprised how much Williams played.

special teams were not special. have to improve.

 

[DEGopherfan]

Has anyone found out why Zach Evans didn’t play? Is he in the dog house or what? After his terrific spring game, i expected to see him on par with Tyler. What’s up?

 

[Breakin' The Plane]

That's what I want to know, too.

I know last year when people were looking for him to play, he was in street clothes for the first few games.
He was absolutely dressed in full pads last night.

 

[MNVCGUY]

I was astounded how often we threw the ball. We flat out looked like Purdue with Drew Brees. Didn't even really try to establish a running game.
One thing though, there is ALOT of talent in that receivers group. Athan will keep getting better and better. This could be fun to watch. Still need to be able to move the ball on the ground better though. Much better actually.

The Purdue comparison is a good one. They used to use the short passing game as their running game essentially. Lots of short easy throws to open receivers.

 

[Hates Monikers]

I must admit that I was not impressed with the overall performance of the team. There were some bright spots but I thought we would be dominant on both sides of the ball. Hey a win is a win though! After thinking about this further, the Cornholes had abundant film and knew what looks we would likely be showing them on offense and defense. The Gophers on the other hand had to figure out what they were going to see and have the ability to adjust to the unexpected. They were not in the ideal game planning situation for this game. Here's hoping this is like 2019 where we looked shaky in beating much less talented teams before finding a groove and having a great season.

I'll say it's hard to be too critical of the defense. Holding any team to 10 points is never easy. They came up with big plays at big times.

Someone is going to say, "Nebraska gained yards but we got lucky that they had interceptions and fumbles." But we get credit for making those big plays, too.

The Huskers started gashing us on the ground in the fourth quarter. Before that, the QB was the only player hurting us. But Rossi's philosophy is to limit big plays so the offense has a lot of opportunities to make mistakes. It worked.

 

[MGGopher]

Has anyone found out why Zach Evans didn’t play? Is he in the dog house or what? After his terrific spring game, i expected to see him on par with Tyler. What’s up?

On his pod yesterday, Burns was speculating that the coaches went with experience in Tyler and Bryce since they were unsure what Nebraska would throw at them in certain situations. He speculated that Evans and Taylor would get more and more run as they earn it in practice and play teams with a pretty consistent scheme. Guess we'll see.

 

[DCinOK]

Our left tackle, Ersery, had better be coached up to not take that first slide step backwards too quick on pass plays. There's no doubt he could have been flagged for it several times.

 

[fan of Ray Williams]

Tre’Von Jones sure racked up the tackles. 8 solo to go along with the interception. Him and Crooms with some good numbers in this first game.

 

[PoockItInfor6]

On his pod yesterday, Burns was speculating that the coaches went with experience in Tyler and Bryce since they were unsure what Nebraska would throw at them in certain situations. He speculated that Evans and Taylor would get more and more run as they earn it in practice and play teams with a pretty consistent scheme. Guess we'll see.

I got the impression we were trying to save both (hoping to redshirt one or both?) - When the game was still on the line in the 4th is when we saw Darius… Presume we realized we need both of them this season though at this point…

 

[jonnyganas]

I got the impression we were trying to save both (hoping to redshirt one or both?) - When the game was still on the line in the 4th is when we saw Darius… Presume we realized we need both of them this season though at this point…

Evans redshirted last year?

 

[PMWinSTP]

Ya, Cal Stoll is the only coach in history who thought it took a couple of games to get an offensive line to come together. I'd guess most coaches would agree with that. Just my opinion.

Definitely the case in 2019.