Post-Game Thread: Minnesota Wins 5th Straight Bowl Game!

[short ornery norwegian]

I wouldn't draw any conclusions about game-planning or play-calling based on this game.

Again, the field conditions were so bad that I honestly believe the Gophers changed all their plans mid-game.

they come out with Faalele running the ball and a two-point conversion off a fake extra point. Certainly not conservative.

Then Morgan slips on the flea-flicker, and the play-calling got a lot more conservative. The final straw was the tipped INT when MBS fell down. if he stays on his feet, that's a catch for a big gain.

after that, my gut tells me that Fleck said "shut it down and let the defense win the game."

Let's see what happens next year with Kirk C running the offense before we draw any conclusions.

 

[DarrenTheGreek]

Row theBoat, Ski-U-Mah, Go Gophers!

Look at Fleck's press conference compared with Dana Holgorsen. Fleck represents the University of Minnesota very well. Holgorsen comes off as a twat.

Holgorsen rips bowl officials in press conference

 

[Bad Gopher]

Elite performance by the defense. It was really clear that the Gophers were going to win this game after the first drive by both teams, even with the missed field goal...barring something really strange happening. Unfortunately that "really strange" occurrence stayed a possibility for far too long due to some really poor play in key situations by the offense. The run game was great, but the turnovers, slips, rb's getting tackled by the ankles on potential long td runs, and some really conservative decisions turned a game that should have been an absolute blowout in to one that ended in just a two score game.

The Faalele TD was great and should be a signature bowl moment this year. The PJ timeout on 3rd and 20 to prevent a 3rd and 25 ... and subsequent give up run after said timeout was the type of thing you'd hope we could finally be past at this point in his coaching career. Rossi got a lot of milage out of rushing 4 but having one of the 4 be a safety/linebacker coming late. Coney Durr was awesome defending those back to back deep shots too.

Hopefully this team ends the year ranked. It's clearly a top 25 team in talent and I think they deserve it.

Going in to next year my biggest thought is I really, really want a QB competition. It won't happen, especially with Ciarrocca coming back, but I am absolutely convinced there should be one.

Even WITH the Bowling Green loss, the Gophs are statistically top 25. Of late, they've been playing like a top 20 team. Although it's hard to be completely satisfied with the season when they were SO CLOSE to bigger accomplishments, I feel good about where things are at and where they're going.

 

[Dakota2]

Elite performance by the defense. It was really clear that the Gophers were going to win this game after the first drive by both teams, even with the missed field goal...barring something really strange happening. Unfortunately that "really strange" occurrence stayed a possibility for far too long due to some really poor play in key situations by the offense. The run game was great, but the turnovers, slips, rb's getting tackled by the ankles on potential long td runs, and some really conservative decisions turned a game that should have been an absolute blowout in to one that ended in just a two score game.

The Faalele TD was great and should be a signature bowl moment this year. The PJ timeout on 3rd and 20 to prevent a 3rd and 25 ... and subsequent give up run after said timeout was the type of thing you'd hope we could finally be past at this point in his coaching career. Rossi got a lot of milage out of rushing 4 but having one of the 4 be a safety/linebacker coming late. Coney Durr was awesome defending those back to back deep shots too.

Hopefully this team ends the year ranked. It's clearly a top 25 team in talent and I think they deserve it.

Going in to next year my biggest thought is I really, really want a QB competition. It won't happen, especially with Ciarrocca coming back, but I am absolutely convinced there should be one.

It is not too much to hope for a QB competition with a fair evaluation. What really is hoped is the of the two young guys is ready and good enough to be the mobile playmaker who can compliment the excellent running backs and put the offense on par with the defense. The last thing we need is Tanner as a placeholder.

 

[Dakota2]

Honestly, what did you see tonight that made you think this? I thought Tanner played pretty well.

Played well? No. Same lack of confidence and staring at one receiver we have seen all year.

 

[Dakota2]

Glad Trickett redeemed himself with that long FG too

His short miss was due to a high snap and late place.

 

[MNVCGUY]

Just a general comment....I will never really understand the style points crowd.

On crap field conditions we went out and dominated a power 5 team. Final score says we won by 12 but anyone who watched the game knows it wasn't that close. As has been pointed out the final margin could have been 19 if we didn't do the classy thing by not punching it in at the end.

Fleck's style isn't always exciting but it works. There were missed opportunities this year (the firing of the OC signifies that Fleck gets that). But to those that don't feel good about what happened last night you really need to readjust your expectations. That was a dominant win in pretty much every way.

 

[DarthGopher]

Dude had ZERO clue about the consequences of what he was talking about.

Hopefully someone kept him from wandering out into traffic “because those drivers should be playing attention “.

Announcer internal monologue: "Must......fill........dead space.. ......with the sound......of my own voice".

 

[PhillyGopher]

It is not too much to hope for a QB competition with a fair evaluation. What really is hoped is the of the two young guys is ready and good enough to be the mobile playmaker who can compliment the excellent running backs and put the offense on par with the defense. The last thing we need is Tanner as a placeholder.

No, the last thing we need is for Tanner to win an open competition and have people complaining that there was no competition.

 

[MNVCGUY]

No, the last thing we need is for Tanner to win an open competition and have people complaining that there was no competition.

The reality is that as long as Tanner is QB there are going to be fans here that don't believe he deserves the job and will work under the assumption that there is no competition and he is guaranteed the job no matter what.

 

[Dakota2]

Just a general comment....I will never really understand the style points crowd.

On crap field conditions we went out and dominated a power 5 team. Final score says we won by 12 but anyone who watched the game knows it wasn't that close. As has been pointed out the final margin could have been 19 if we didn't do the classy thing by not punching it in at the end.

Fleck's style isn't always exciting but it works. There were missed opportunities this year (the firing of the OC signifies that Fleck gets that). But to those that don't feel good about what happened last night you really need to readjust your expectations. That was a dominant win in pretty much every way.

There is nothing classy about standing around two minutes and forty seconds on their five yard line trying not to score. That is an insult to WV whether intended or not, Awkward and dumb and brings no credit to the game, football generally, or to Fleck.

You put in all backups there and let them compete to score.

 

[Dakota2]

No, the last thing we need is for Tanner to win an open competition and have people complaining that there was no competition.

If he wins the job he is a placeholder for a third year and we continue to wait for someone good enough to give us a strong, balanced offensive attack.

 

[Dakota2]

The reality is that as long as Tanner is QB there are going to be fans here that don't believe he deserves the job and will work under the assumption that there is no competition and he is guaranteed the job no matter what.

You are not entirely correct. There are a lot of fans who will remain disappointed we don't have someone better.

 

[WriterGoph]

If he wins the job he is a placeholder for a third year and we continue to wait for someone good enough to give us a strong, balanced offensive attack.

You're making a lot of assumptions that we won't see something similar to 2019 Tanner next year. I don't think it's too crazy to expect that he has a really good year in 2022.

 

[GoodasGold]

I fell asleep late in the 3rd qtr. Anybody else last this long?

 

[MNVCGUY]

You are not entirely correct. There are a lot of fans who will remain disappointed we don't have someone better.

There really are 2 separate issues when it comes to Morgan. Wanting something more is fair as we all saw what Tanner was capable of in 2019 and he hasn't lived up to that same standard the past 2 seasons. But the bigger issue is the assumption that some are making as to why Tanner is the starting QB. Essentially saying he is being given the job even though there are better QBs on the roster. And that there is no competition or evaluation going on, they are just playing Morgan no matter what.

Either way, I am glad to have Morgan out there under center for us. Sure we hope the next superstar is coming or that Morgan will return to 2019 form. But it isn't like the Morgan from the past 2 years is a bad QB and it could be so much worse than how we have it with him at the helm.

 

[Wally]

The fact that we aren’t celebrating a 9-4 season is maybe a great thing.

Says there is hope.

 

[WriterGoph]

I fell asleep late in the 3rd qtr. Anybody else last this long?

Yes. My parents are 75 and they stayed up and watched the whole game with me and then woke up and drove 13.5 hours back to Minnesota today. I guess you could say they're rowing hard.

 

[A_Slab_of_Bacon]

There is nothing classy about standing around two minutes and forty seconds on their five yard line trying not to score. That is an insult to WV whether intended or not, Awkward and dumb and brings no credit to the game, football generally, or to Fleck.

You put in all backups there and let them compete to score.

I’m guessing you get offended a lot…

 

[Dakota2]

There really are 2 separate issues when it comes to Morgan. Wanting something more is fair as we all saw what Tanner was capable of in 2019 and he hasn't lived up to that same standard the past 2 seasons. But the bigger issue is the assumption that some are making as to why Tanner is the starting QB. Essentially saying he is being given the job even though there are better QBs on the roster. And that there is no competition or evaluation going on, they are just playing Morgan no matter what.

Either way, I am glad to have Morgan out there under center for us. Sure we hope the next superstar is coming or that Morgan will return to 2019 form. But it isn't like the Morgan from the past 2 years is a bad QB and it could be so much worse than how we have it with him at the helm.

I put no stock in the notion Fleck is OK losing two or three games just to protect Tanner or his legacy. The elephant in the room is why did we not have a better option these past two years -- and possibly again next year -- when we have guys on the roster that appear to be better athletes?

The answer may not be recruiting failure. It may again trace directly back to Sanford, the QB coach. Is it possible Zach, Clarke, Kramer, and Athan are no better today than two years ago? (One year in AK's case).

Did we have good young QB's that never developed because of a bad position coach?

 

[GophersInIowa]

A little late with my reactions as I went to bed after the game and then spent much of the day driving today.

- The defense was amazing. They had the one bad drive when WV scored where we had a lot of missed tackles. But that was the only time WV got past our 35 yard line. Also saw someone post that WV didn't have a single play of 15+ yards.
- Pass rush is an area of concern for next year IMO. Good to see Joyner get some playing time and get a sack. Good sign for sure.
- Lack of passing game again concerning. Offense opened it up early on, then really shut things down once we went up 15-6. Great performances by both backs (other than Thomas fumble).
- Morgan had some great throws early on. Took a really bad sack on the flea flicker. He was outside the tackle box, should have been an easy throw away.
- Nothing surprises me anymore with Fleck but very bizarre TO to save a 5 yard delay of game penalty on 3rd and 20 when we were going to just run the ball anyway. Another bizarre one at the end of the game.
- Felt like the offense deserved the chance to get another TD at the end. If it was 35-6 or something, then I get it a little more.
- Field was a disgrace.

 

[Great Plains Gopher]

Gophers were so dominant they could have won by 40. OL, defense, running backs, Tanner's passing all top notch - good to see Wright grab a few. 9-4 should be good enough for top 25 and PJ is clicking along at 60% wins, the best since Bierman. Only negatives: attendance at 21,000, though almost a home game for Gophers, and stopping the game with over two minutes left - don't kick a field goal or pass for a TD, but run it. If you score, with only 18 on the board, you are not piling it on. Hope we never see that again.

 

[GopherPete]

Was hoping the 'spare' reference in the tweet meant they were going to end the video with the Fa'alele TD.

 

[Ypsi Gopher]

I say... Rossi is MVP. Offense wasn't great. Run game was good, as well as OL... but Rossi is a stud.

Run game good? 2 Freshmen ran for over 125 yds each.
I call that Fantastic. Talk about Studs. The OL and the RBs

 

[FormerFatOL]

Was hoping the 'spare' reference in the tweet meant they were going to end the video with the Fa'alele TD.

Some of those seems were a mile wide. Wow.

 

[GoldGoldGold]

There is nothing classy about standing around two minutes and forty seconds on their five yard line trying not to score. That is an insult to WV whether intended or not, Awkward and dumb and brings no credit to the game, football generally, or to Fleck.

You put in all backups there and let them compete to score.

Exactly!

 

[plainsgopher]

I was wondering too. I'm guessing the team simply went into ball control mode with 2 receiver sets or less with the defense playing outstanding and the run game working. CAB is an excellent, and I mean excellent, blocker and team leader so he stays out there. I'm assuming Stephens is a good blocker too because he saw a lot of time in the second half even though he wasn't targeted much.

Our son and I have been watching the games this year and the way that he catches the ball and the way he looks as a WR suggests he should be a main target of the offense....I'm really hoping 2022 is his coming out year..

 

[Dave H]

There is nothing classy about standing around two minutes and forty seconds on their five yard line trying not to score. That is an insult to WV whether intended or not, Awkward and dumb and brings no credit to the game, football generally, or to Fleck.

You put in all backups there and let them compete to score.

This is so wrong it is actually quite astounding. It is not an insult to take a knee and run the clock when the game is in hand. Ask any coach at any level.

 

[Unregistered User]

-- when we have guys on the roster that appear to be better athletes?

According to whom? How many practices have you been to?

 

[PhillyGopher]

There is nothing classy about standing around two minutes and forty seconds on their five yard line trying not to score. That is an insult to WV whether intended or not, Awkward and dumb and brings no credit to the game, football generally, or to Fleck.

You put in all backups there and let them compete to score.

Next time I need a ruling on what is or isn't classy I won't call you.