Postgame Thread: Gophers Lose to North Carolina

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Defense: Not concerned. We stopped the run, had some big play miscues by inexperienced guys, and this is the best QB the Gophers will play against for years. Barring injuries North Carolina will likely finish in the top 15 at the end of the year.

Offense: I admire patience, particularly in college football, but without an accurate QB and competent OC expect 6-6 to 9-3 seasons.
 

Being at the game- my biggest concern was Athan’s accuracy. A couple of deep balls that were just misses, too many balls behind receivers on slants.

I wasn’t as down on the overall performance as I’m seeing others on here- we were in it for the majority of the game. Before Kramer tried to play hero ball, really just felt like we were one play away. Have some things to figure out for conference play, but I’m not hitting the panic button quite yet.
 


short ornery norwegian said:
all off-season, Ryan Burns was telling us that Athan had "arm talent" and would be the best Gopher QB in years.

I'm sorry Burnsie, but I don't see it. AK has no touch - throws every pass the same speed - and frequently throws into coverage. to quote someone (can't remember), AK throws it where the receiver is - not where the receiver is going to be.

that doesn't mean it's a lost cause. he has athletic ability - he has the potential to improve. but if he doesn't improve, then good defenses will be able to make the Gophers one-dimensional, and Mo is not around to bail them out anymore.

I still see this team becoming bowl eligible - maybe 7-5. 8-4 if they figure out the passing game.
need to get healthy.
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I can confirm that every Gopher has big time talent according to Burnsie.
 

kisarazu said:
Defense: Not concerned. We stopped the run, had some big play miscues by inexperienced guys, and this is the best QB the Gophers will play against for years. Barring injuries North Carolina will likely finish in the top 15 at the end of the year.

Offense: I admire patience, particularly in college football, but without an accurate QB and competent OC expect 6-6 to 9-3 seasons.
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this. the hate on the d is ridiculous. very few guys in CFB can sit back and dissect you (it is part of why I wish rossi would've mixed it up; the concept works but you can't drop 8 almost all the time. has to be more diverse). against college kids, most will throw you the ball frequently or come off reads. Maye can go through it all. they won't see another like him all year, even if they make the BT championship
 


GopherTakes said:
I've never watched a football team that has such an awful passing attack.
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You didn't watch QB Demry Croft & Co in Fleck's first season? Granted this team's passing game is awful but I have seen an even worse one from a Gopher team in recent memory.
 






Bad game. We’ll have some good games yet. One game has no bearing on the others.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
all off-season, Ryan Burns was telling us that Athan had "arm talent" and would be the best Gopher QB in years.

I'm sorry Burnsie, but I don't see it. AK has no touch - throws every pass the same speed - and frequently throws into coverage. to quote someone (can't remember), AK throws it where the receiver is - not where the receiver is going to be.

that doesn't mean it's a lost cause. he has athletic ability - he has the potential to improve. but if he doesn't improve, then good defenses will be able to make the Gophers one-dimensional, and Mo is not around to bail them out anymore.

I still see this team becoming bowl eligible - maybe 7-5. 8-4 if they figure out the passing game.
need to get healthy.
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He’s got Strength, size and can run. But he’s really inconsistent and not accurate. I think he’ll develop well. But it’ll be a long season.
 

Here's a sobering thought popping into my head. Was Clint Brewster right? I thought he was a dink, but is AK truly a below average QB in the B1G? After watching three games, there's a trend. What's his sustainable ceiling? The receiver corps is supposed to be pretty good (we know Jackson is good while Crooms and Spencer have proven success), but they aren't catching his balls and often aren't open when AK targets them, so it makes me wonder if his reads and timing are poor?

If AK maxes out as a mediocre QB, at what point does Fleck pull the trigger and give some reps to a young guy to see what he can do? Do the Gophs waste a whole year with a decent receiving corps and budding star in Taylor at RB?

Uffda.
 




Oops after oops -- most notably not running the ball more because they could and the passing had multiple issues.

They could have won and actually looked really good but for when they did not.
 



upnorthkid said:
this. the hate on the d is ridiculous. very few guys in CFB can sit back and dissect you (it is part of why I wish rossi would've mixed it up; the concept works but you can't drop 8 almost all the time. has to be more diverse). against college kids, most will throw you the ball frequently or come off reads. Maye can go through it all. they won't see another like him all year, even if they make the BT championship
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Again, I only saw the second half, but when the Gophers did mix things up and send extra guys, Maye was able to counterpunch that with relative ease by either running or buying time with his legs. I thought the Gophers could have finished a little better on some of those plays. But overall, they did stop the run.

Maye is as good as advertised. He's an early 1st round pick in 2024.
 

kg21 said:
What say I?

I have never been more down on this program than I am now. We are so far away athletically. We were going to have this hot shot qb and passing game, laughable. We literally can't score for another year. 13 points against Nebraska's crap defense and 13 more against this one.

It's just painful and boring to watch. Thank gawd for a couple of picks today or they put 45 on us. The defense played an offense today and basically got demolished. No pass rush again.

Nothing changes.

Fleck.....meh!

I'm always a gopher fan and will watch the games, but this is just pathetic.

Literally worried about scoring and beating friggin Northwestern next week. Then again, does it matter?
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You're an absolute fucking tool. Your parents should be ashamed for making you.
 

Taji34 said:
I know it's inevitable, but posting this before the game is officially over is not the move.
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If they don't want it happening, then they should be more competitive.
 

Panthadad2 said:
Here's a sobering thought popping into my head. Was Clint Brewster right? I thought he was a dink, but is AK truly a below average QB in the B1G? After watching three games, there's a trend. What's his sustainable ceiling? The receiver corps is supposed to be pretty good (we know Jackson is good while Crooms and Spencer have proven success), but they aren't catching his balls and often aren't open when AK targets them, so it makes me wonder if his reads and timing are poor?

If AK maxes out as a mediocre QB, at what point does Fleck pull the trigger and give some reps to a young guy to see what he can do? Do the Gophs waste a whole year with a decent receiving corps and budding star in Taylor at RB?

Uffda.
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go look at where sims, altmeyer and mordecai are. his list is ass
 

50PoundHead said:
Again, I only saw the second half, but when the Gophers did mix things up and send extra guys, Maye was able to counterpunch that with relative ease by either running or buying time with his legs. I thought the Gophers could have finished a little better on some of those plays. But overall, they did stop the run.

Maye is as good as advertised. He's an early 1st round pick in 2024.
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he is, but that is where he turned it over in the 1st half and where we sacked him. against the run, they were outstanding today
 




Panthadad2 said:
If AK maxes out as a mediocre QB, at what point does Fleck pull the trigger and give some reps to a young guy to see what he can do? Do the Gophs waste a whole year with a decent receiving corps and budding star in Taylor at RB?
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Backup QBs of quality were never plentiful for this team (and most similar ones) but I think the open portal has made the situation worse. I certainly don't trust Kramer any more than Athan and the 3rd man is a true freshman. I think we live or die with Athan.

I'm not sure I see the receiving corps as that decent based on the evidence this year so far
 

Offense:
1. AK is a work in progress.
2. Receivers need to create separation and win more contested balls.
3. If Spann-Ford wants to be a high draft choice he needs to rein in passes that are not necessarily perfect, AND use his physical size advantage to gain yards after a catch.

Defense:
1. What can you say, Mayes appears to be the real deal. He puts the ball right where it needs to be, and makes good decisions.
2. Red Zone offense? Putrid over multiple games now. Bringing in the jumbo package when 5-6 yards was needed? Nuts. We don't have that brahma bull back anymore. 1-2 yards fine. 5-6? go with our routine set.
3.Coaches have to be better prepared to have the personnel they need on the field on much shorter notice.
 

upnorthkid said:
go look at where sims, altmeyer and mordecai are. his list is ass
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AK had the 3rd worse passer rating in the B1G before today and it ain't getting better after today. Brewster was right so far on this one, unfortunately. It is what it is.
 

Didn’t read all of the previous posts so apologies if this is a repeat of someone else’s take. I’m only looking at the positives. Darius Taylor is a certified dude. O line and d line played great I thought. Kesich remains confident
 

Vandy said:
Offense:
1. AK is a work in progress.
2. Receivers need to create separation and win more contested balls.
3. If Spann-Ford wants to be a high draft choice he needs to rein in passes that are not necessarily perfect, AND use his physical size advantage to gain yards after a catch.

Defense:
1. What can you say, Mayes appears to be the real deal. He puts the ball right where it needs to be, and makes good decisions.
2. Coaches have to be better prepared to have the personnel they need on the field on much shorter notice.
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After watching a good QB today in Maye, I think #2 on your list partly due to the QB. Maye consistently waited for the routes to develop or take off running if pressured. AK just let's it rip into heavy coverage, sometimes before being pressured.
 

btowngopher said:
Agree with most of this, but let’s ease up on 7, he’s a young player and will get better. Why was he playing so much this game though?
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Gousby was beat once, on the first TD. At that, it took a perfect throw by Maye on the run. The second one is on D coaching staff. They made subs while NC was ready to snap the ball. Our guys looked like they were just stepping out of a bar to smoke.
 

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