Postgame Thread: Gophers Lose to North Carolina

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This was not just a bad day at QB. AK8 is sitting at 51% completion, 1 TD, 3 INT and 148yd/gm passing average for the season. I was hard core in the "don't overreact on Athan" train. However, 3 games is enough of a sample size to start drawing conclusions. He is BAD. Close throws he whips it way too hard and there have been a number of drops due to that. Throwing very poorly resulting in tipped passes that end up in INT.

Kramer looked good in the spring game, but he's shown his limitations. This is a spot where I'd like to see Knuth get some play in the next two weeks where we SHOULD get a lead. However, since he left it's basically Athan or bust. There is zero chance PJ throws Viotto out there even for a series or two. So at this point it's keep throwing him out there and hope for a different result. Not exactly confidence inspiring.

At the very least, if they get a lead against NU and UL, I want to see AK8 keep on throwing it. Give him some easy throws when you're up by 14 to give him some confidence. Running the ball 50 may be the best way to win that week, but you may lose the war in spite of winning the battle.
 
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Dakota2 said:
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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This. Both those throws go against Gousby, but that first one was perfect coverage. Second one was the coaching staff not adjusting to the way UNC was subbing/not subbing fast enough. I know you like to rotate players, PJ, but when the other teams plays uptempo, they can catch you flat-footed and you CANNOT sub at any time unless they sub first.
 

Panthadad2 said:
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.
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And altmeyer threw 4 picks and sims won’t be the qb at Nebraska by years end. Using Brewster as the citation like it’s a right ranking is silly. If he’s right, the entire 70% of p5 teams need new QBs
 

forever a gopher said:
This was not just a bad day at QB. AK8 is sitting at 51% completion, 1 TD, 3 INT and 148yd/gm passing average. I was hard core in the "don't overreact on Athan" train. However, 3 games is enough of a sample size to start drawing conclusions. He is BAD. Close throws he whips it way too hard and there have been a number of drops due to that. Throwing very poorly resulting in tipped passes that end up in INT.

Kramer looked good in the spring game, but he's shown his limitations. This is a spot where I'd like to see Knuth get some play in the next two weeks where we SHOULD get a lead. However, since he left it's basically Athan or bust. There is zero chance PJ throws Viotto out there even for a series or two. So at this point it's keep throwing him out there and hope for a different result. Not exactly confidence inspiring.

At the very least, if they get a lead against NU and UL, I want to see AK8 keep on throwing it. Give him some easy throws when you're up by 14 to give him some confidence. Running the ball 50 may be the best way to win that week, but you may lose the war in spite of winning the battle.
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Dayum team is so bad we’re goin to a qb not even on the roster in Knuth
 

Is Simons the wr coach? If so, I don't see how that gives him a chance to be better at OC.
 


Out coached, all day long. I swear PJ was in an interview on the sideline when the defense wasn’t even set on the field for long TD pass. Seriously, what was going on there, he usually calls timeout if we are set to go. Poor decisions from the play booth and on the field left Minnesota looking like the JV team scrimmaging again Varsity. Taylor may get called up to varsity and be gone next year.
 


HoustonTXGopher said:
Out coached, all day long. I swear PJ was in an interview on the sideline when the defense wasn’t even set on the field for long TD pass. Seriously, what was going on there, he usually calls timeout if we are set to go. Poor decisions from the play booth and on the field left Minnesota looking like the JV team scrimmaging again Varsity. Taylor may get called up to varsity and be gone next year.
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That’s taped between quarters, not live
 

Not even close. There better be some sort of huge change because at this rate we lose at least three more in blowouts.
 



upnorthkid said:
Dayum team is so bad we’re goin to a qb not even on the roster in Knuth
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Did you read my entire post or are you intentionally being obtuse? Knuth is a guy that didn't just graduate high school (like Viotto), so he would be a viable option to throw out there were the Gophers to go up on NU by 14+ points next week to get him some run. However, as I stated, "since Knuth left, it's Athan or bust". Knuth transferring out hurt the team in the sense that there are very few viable options behind Athan. Thus, there is really nothing to do but hope Athan gets better.
 

Gophers1992 said:
I’m going to go against the grain here and take the glass half full approach. We went on the road against a top 20 team and were toe to toe for about 53 minutes. Passing game is a concern, people were fooling themselves if they didn’t think Athan would have some growing pains. We will not see another QB that is nearly as good as Maye, and our defense found a way to keep it competitive. We have also found the next great gopher RB. Disappointing loss? Of course. Discouraging for the rest of the season? I don’t think so.
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Agree with you that Maye is special but JJ McCarthy is close
 

forever a gopher said:
Did you read my entire post or are you intentionally being obtuse? Knuth is a guy that didn't just graduate high school (like Viotto), so he would be a viable option to throw out there were the Gophers to go up on NU by 14+ points next week to get him some run. However, as I stated, "since Knuth left, it's Athan or bust". Knuth transferring out hurt the team in the sense that there are very few viable options behind Athan. Thus, there is really nothing to do but hope Athan gets better.
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More just giving you shit for even bringing him up. We all love the backup (well backup to the backup as it’d still be Kramer) when the starter is struggling. But its rare we get the backup to the backup
 

upnorthkid said:
More just giving you shit for even bringing him up. We all love the backup (well backup to the backup as it’d still be Kramer) when the starter is struggling. But its rare we get the backup to the backup
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Kramer would be listed as the backup QB (if PJ did depth charts) in the sense that if AK8 goes down (like this game), then Kramer would be the one going in. If the starting QB were playing poorly and needed to be replaced mid-season or got injured for multiple weeks, Kramer may very well not be the guy to replace him. Most people would likely agree Kramer has a relatively low ceiling. Higher floor than a guy like Knuth or Viotto, but likely a lower ceiling. So yes, Kramer is officially the backup QB, but it's been pretty obvious PJ has never seen Kramer as anything more than a fill-in when absolutely necessary.

I never alluded to the idea that were Knuth on the team that he would be leading the team to a B1G championship. But look at the stats and the eye test. Has AK8 shown anything this year to give you confidence? Nebraska has already pulled Sims due to poor play. It's not unreasonable if you have a guy in the program you feel good about to put him out there for a couple series in the next two games to at least get their feet wet and see what they can do in live game action. If Athan doesn't get better fast, this season has a good chance of turning ugly.
 





AK had a rough day....no way around that. He missed some open throws and in general really struggled all game. Too early to give up on him but he has to play better and it needs to start next week.

Can't afford to make mistakes when trying to beat good teams, especially on the road. Far too many missed opportunities on both offense and defense today.

Next two games are very winnable leading up to Michigan in 3 weeks. Need to win both and fix some of the issues we are seeing. Flush this one and move on. West looks soft so there are a lot of winnable games on the schedule.
 

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

Not to put lipstick on a pig, but it wasn't too long ago that we would have died for that outcome.
 

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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Wonder what kind of QB coach Harbaugh is? Is he any good? Same ole broken record, without Ciarocca Fleck’s offense is terrible. He needs to find a suitable replacement for KC. I’ve bet on Rutgers 3 straight weeks and they’ve covered by a mile all 3 weeks. Schiano defense, Ciarocca offense. They’d dust this Gopher team right now. Facts.
 

50PoundHead said:
Watching other teams' passing schemes, I always seem to notice that there are more secondary routes and that their receivers seem to be able to make adjustments when a play breaks down. Kaliakmanis has to be more decisive if he decides to run (hurt him a couple of times today) and the passing attack needs to enter the 21st century, both in terms of WR and QB play.
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I said this during the game. I've seen high school offenses with more advanced passing attacks than the Gophers.

They don't need to be the "Air Raid" Wacker-years Gophers, but they don't even seem to have schemes to beat the coverages they see.

Cover 0 and 1
Crossing and Rub Concepts - They run these usually to the TE, but AK is unable to hit them in stride or throws it so hard it bounces off their hands.

Cover 2 and 4
Post-Dig Concepts - I can't remember the last time I saw a Gopher receiver catch a deep crossing route. Probably Rashod?

Cover 3
Flood Concepts - This could be covered by the boot game they use, but they don't seem to have any "variations" of the concept each game. Always seems like one boot concept.
Bubble Concepts - They tried a bubble/swing to the RB today. Colossal failure. The strength of the bubble is that the ball gets wide quickly.
Four Vertical Concepts - How many catches did their top receiver have just on that quick seam pass against our zone coverage? It was getting awfully frustrating.

So those are things that I see at least that they need to have in the playbook and READY to run each week. Sometimes it feels like they go into a game with ONE or TWO ideas and that is ALL that they are going to do. If they work, awesome, but when they don't, they are in trouble unless the OL can manhandle the opponent. And that just doesn't work against the better teams they play.
 

Well, since were bashing 8 today and for good reason, may I add could he stop chewing on his mouthguard like a middle school kid. It looks ridiculous.
 

Disappointing day for sure, but I am not as down on team as some.

Offensive line played well. Taylor really looks the part. Run defense was good.

The passing game still has a ways to go. AK needs to better. We need more from (and better utilize) BSF. In a game where we ran and pass blocked fine, the passing game largely misfired.

For a coach who likes to burn timeouts - particularly in the first half - that coverage bust bomb play would have been a good time to use one.

Still think this team can be pretty good, but offense must improve.
 

upnorthkid said:
i

its ok. he'll go back to not posting shortly
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mggoph said:
Offense: I admire patience, particularly in college football, but without an accurate QB and competent OC expect 6-6 to 9-3 seasons.

Not to put lipstick on a pig, but it wasn't too long ago that we would have died for that outcome.
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It is a bit difficult to evaluate play calling when the passing game execution was so bad, especially AK. He missed some throws and often panicked and threw into double coverage or worse (culminating with his last throw to BSF who had no less than five NC defenders surrounding him.

However, the play calling was balanced with 31 rushes and 30 passes which played a big part in Taylor's second great game. The running lanes were somewhat open because of the balance, which takes nothing away from Taylor's exceptional vision, balance, patience, and burst.

Tyler is going nowhere against a big D line which means we don't have much depth at RB unless Evans shows up somewhere along the line.
 


Just watched the Fleck presser, you could tell he was pissed. I’m glad to see it. See some fire.

Athan took full responsibility. Said it was the worst game he’s ever played and that he lost the game for them. The kid was a class act.
 

We had a few bad plays, a few bad decisions by the coaching staff and a few bad calls by the refs. We aren't good enough to win games on the road when those things happen.

As for Gousby, I thought he looked good. I guess he technically got beat on the first touch down but that wasn't terrible coverage. Other than that, he was flying all around.

Athan didn't look good. I'm not trying to remove all blame from him, but the playcalling does not help him. It's incredibly predictable. I thought the passing game was doomed from a couple of drops, a couple of bad throws and a couple of terrible play calls.

OL looked alright.
Defense looked decent.
Taylor is a stud.
 

Warning on hot takes ahead. Stop reading now, fair warning given. After going for a long walk…have to hand it to North Carolina and particularly the incredible Drake Maye. The transfer WR McCollum was phenomenal. We don’t have anyone like that on the roster.

Minnesota ran the ball well, 5.5 ypc. Darius is clearly talented and a real difference maker. Henderson was making plays all over the place. Kesich remains reliable. The defense did enough to win but didn’t get much help from the offense.

AK hasn’t shown he can be a consistent difference-maker at QB. Yes still an inexperienced player but year three now. Outside of flashes here and there (WI) the timing, anticipation, accuracy, touch, decision-making has been average or like today below average. Statistically he is so far a Leidner but less of a running threat, less durably built. There is no Maxx Williams at TE. To my eye there are often times guys running free but the ball is late or being sprayed. The receivers are fine; I think Brockington, Crooms, Jackson have talent but our leading receiver only having 154 yards after 3 games is not good. I don’t know if it’s a mental thing, physical injury (ies) nagging him, or inexperience but he needs to be better, a lot better and soon.

PJ and his timeout issues has already been covered. I’m sure there are many good reasons for the liberal TO use but that critical breakdown when a TO would have actually been a great thing to use was frustrating. Some of the play calls, the punt in the 4th were perplexing. The Jekyll/Hyde of PJ alternately being hyper aggressive or overly conservative reared it’s head again.

Overreacting to wins or losses is par for the course for most of us but this one was deflating. Not going to lie. Off to do some more exercise 😄


.
 
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Most irritating thing for the Billds was pass plays on first down when the running game was working. It may be confidence in AK but for Minnesota you need to run on 1st down, 2nd down, and decide what to do on 3rd.

While there's a lot of negative on our side of the ball gotta give NC credit. THEY DID SOME SCOUTING AND TAPE REVIEW TOO AND IT SHOWED.

Also, their homey's said they didn't have WRs who could make a play. Although their schemes did make it look like we couldn't put a paper towel to cover a spill, they were actually very good. Kudos to them. Even if we were firing on all cylanders, still think they would have risen to beat us. By the way, this is not a shot at the Defense. They did their job. Needed to score points.

Just that kind of matchup. Yuck.
 

forever a gopher said:
This was not just a bad day at QB. AK8 is sitting at 51% completion, 1 TD, 3 INT and 148yd/gm passing average for the season. I was hard core in the "don't overreact on Athan" train. However, 3 games is enough of a sample size to start drawing conclusions. He is BAD. Close throws he whips it way too hard and there have been a number of drops due to that. Throwing very poorly resulting in tipped passes that end up in INT.

Kramer looked good in the spring game, but he's shown his limitations. This is a spot where I'd like to see Knuth get some play in the next two weeks where we SHOULD get a lead. However, since he left it's basically Athan or bust. There is zero chance PJ throws Viotto out there even for a series or two. So at this point it's keep throwing him out there and hope for a different result. Not exactly confidence inspiring.

At the very least, if they get a lead against NU and UL, I want to see AK8 keep on throwing it. Give him some easy throws when you're up by 14 to give him some confidence. Running the ball 50 may be the best way to win that week, but you may lose the war in spite of winning the battle.
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NW will probably be a dogfight/toss-up.
 


Last year we couldn't wait to get rid of Morgan for ak, now we're ready to run ak out of town


Something's never change
 

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