NWMetroGopherFan
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- Jan 29, 2017
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A few quick thoughts:
Pros:
- Was nice to see the Gophers dominate a team they were supposed to dominate. The play calling was incredibly conservative second half and we still managed to win by 23.
- Offensive line was opening up some massive holes in the running game.
- Defense looked great again, allowing less than four yards per play. Will be interesting to see how the run defense holds up against tougher opponents, but I'm optimistic we will see improvement vs last year.
Neutral:
- Bryce Williams is a nice player but doesn't have the "it" factor required to be a star, IMO. He can find and hit the hole hard, but doesn't seem to be able to make anyone miss at the second level. Will be interesting to see what Ibrahim brings next week.
- Annexstad looked good again and his timing was crisp on many throws across the middle, but he struggled again on the deep ball. He also stuck to one read for most of the game, which was disappointing, but presumably due to the struggle pass blocking up front.
(before you attack me, yes, I realize Annexstad is the best QB we've had in a long time. I'm just mentioning two areas where I would like to see him improve)
Cons:
- Nitpicking, but the offense only put up 290 yards on 70 plays (4.1 yards per play). I attribute much of this to the conservative play calling in the second half, but it would've been nice to see the offense continue to move the ball, as yards per play is one of the most predictive metrics in football.
Overall, a great win and an exciting time to be a Gopher fan!
Good lord, you are a moron. Do you think you're watching Alabama?? A true freshman in his second game ever, first start ever at RB, gets 33 carries for 152 yards and also takes a screen pass 35 yards for a key first down, and he doesn't have the "IT" factor? What an idiotic thing to say.
Annexstad needs a little better pocket presence and needs to recognize pressure a little faster, but also, it's his third collegiate start ever. He'll take his lumps and be a better player for it. O-line also must be better in pass protection. But he mostly hit receivers when he had time, and the slant to Johnson for the TD in a tight window was a ridiculous throw. Annexstad was also clearly a bit hobbled most of the game and as a result, may not have trusted his mobility completely to step up in the pocket when he needed to get away from pressure. I think that part was largely mental.
Defense was outstanding, flying to the football and creating turnovers. That's not a bad offense we limited to 3 points, bummer that Miami lost 2 of its big playmakers early to injury. I like to watch a defense play against an offense at its best, healthiest state.
Not sure we were supposed to dominate this team. 13 point favorites. Meanwhile, Nebraska loses at home to Troy, Maryland gets whipped at home against Temple and Wisconsin chokes in a loss to BYU. Be happy the Gophers didn't play their best by any means and still won going way.
I'll be curious to see how we look when the playbook opens completely. Play-calling got conservative in the 2nd half when we were draining the clock since Fleck know our defense wasn't letting points get on the board.
Solid win, no reason why we can't beat Maryland and be hosting Iowa at 4-0. How fun would that be?