Rank the teams in the Big Ten West Heading into Conference Season

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Otis said:
Curious, how many B1G QB’s would you take over Morgan?

Stroud, no doubt.
Tagliowhatever, probably
After that, i don’t see enough talent to make up for Tanner’s ability to run the offense, limit turnovers and stay out of the RB’s way.
He’s hitting on over 70% of his passes and averaging a high number per completion. His 1 interception bounced off the guys chest!

He is built for this offense.
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I agree with your take, this gets to be such a tough question to answer because it all depends on which Morgan you are getting. If you are talking 2019 Morgan there are VERY few QBs that anyone would take over him. If you are talking 2021 Morgan there a quite a few QBs that might be a better option.

So far in 2022 he looks much more like 2019 than 2021 due to having a competent OC running the show again as opposed to the train wreck of the past 2 seasons.
 

MNVCGUY said:
I agree with your take, this gets to be such a tough question to answer because it all depends on which Morgan you are getting. If you are talking 2019 Morgan there are VERY few QBs that anyone would take over him. If you are talking 2021 Morgan there a quite a few QBs that might be a better option.

So far in 2022 he looks much more like 2019 than 2021 due to having a competent OC running the show again as opposed to the train wreck of the past 2 seasons.
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Your comparing Sanford coached Tanner to KC coached Tanner.

Which is why there are only a few QBs I’d take over Tanner.
 

Otis said:
Your comparing Sanford coached Tanner to KC coached Tanner.

Which is why there are only a few QBs I’d take over Tanner.
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For sure: Stroud, McCarthy, O'Connell
Maybe: Thompson, Thorne
 

noamfromm said:
For sure: Stroud, McCarthy, O'Connell
Maybe: Thompson, Thorne
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Disagree on O'Connell. Dude is a statue. I think Morgan would have similar if not better numbers if he was the QB at Purdue as their system.

Tua at Maryland would be one that might get taken over Morgan. He can make some really great plays but also tends to be prone to some bonehead ones as well.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Human nature. I have no doubt the coaches will work hard to get the team ready to play, but their level of investment is not going to be the same because they know at the end of the year they are all going to be searching for new jobs. Nature of coaching and something that other coaches will not hold against them.

It is tough to explain, they will still put in the time, coach the players, setup game plans.....it just isn't the same as it would be under normal circumstances.

Look at it this way, if you knew you were getting fired on November 29th, would you work your butt off for your current job, doing everything in your power to help the boss that is going to fire you in a couple months, or would you do your job for the sake of the players while also working your connections and getting a jump on where you and your family are going to be next year?
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We're pretty close to agreeing. I would do the latter ... work for the sake of the players while also working my connections for next year. Maybe it's just me, but I would work hard at both tasks. My final take: I think that some of the key players on Nebraska--mostly the transfers w/o Nebbie loyalty thrust into starting roles--will dial back effort before the coaches throw in the towel. Anyway, I have enjoyed watching the Nebraska dumpster fire over the past four years. I'll watch it closely to the end this year, for the human drama and psychology which we are speculating about in our posts. It won't be as much fun once the rebuild begins next year.
 


MNVCGUY said:
Disagree on O'Connell. Dude is a statue. I think Morgan would have similar if not better numbers if he was the QB at Purdue as their system.

Tua at Maryland would be one that might get taken over Morgan. He can make some really great plays but also tends to be prone to some bonehead ones as well.
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Forgot about Tua
 

Gophergrandpa said:
We're pretty close to agreeing. I would do the latter ... work for the sake of the players while also working my connections for next year. Maybe it's just me, but I would work hard at both tasks. My final take: I think that some of the key players on Nebraska--mostly the transfers w/o Nebbie loyalty thrust into starting roles--will dial back effort before the coaches throw in the towel. Anyway, I have enjoyed watching the Nebraska dumpster fire over the past four years. I'll watch it closely to the end this year, for the human drama and psychology which we are speculating about in our posts. It won't be as much fun once the rebuild begins next year.
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I actually think it works the other way with the players, at least the ones with eligibility left. Those players will want to put their best play on tape to either impress the next coach or boost their stock when looking to transfer. If another team sees them obviously going through the motions and not giving great effort they are going to be far less likely to want to bring that player in.

On the subject of transfers, I wonder how Thompson is feeling about his decision to come to Nebraska.
 





GopherWeatherGuy said:
And none of them are 'game changing QB's' other than CJ Stroud. Morgan is as good as any of the rest.
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Morgan is a manager of the game. He is not a game changer. When the Gophers will need a game changing play, Tanner will struggle to change the game.
 


Over the years I've learned don't bet on the Gophers because some where they will disappoint.
 

1. Wisconsin 2. Iowa 3. Minnesota 4. Purdue 5. Illinois 6. Northwestern 7. Nebraska. Until proven otherwise. All right Minnesota, be the better team and start with a beat down of MSU this Saturday.
 



MennoSota said:
Morgan is a manager of the game. He is not a game changer. When the Gophers will need a game changing play, Tanner will struggle to change the game.
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lol....never change....

You may not like him but I am thrilled that Tanner Morgan is our starting QB. I don't know why some fans see being a game manager as a bad thing.
 


MNVCGUY said:
lol....never change....

You may not like him but I am thrilled that Tanner Morgan is our starting QB. I don't know why some fans see being a game manager as a bad thing.
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It's not a bad thing...as long as you don't need a game changing moment. Can we go undefeated in the B1G West without a game changing QB?
 

MennoSota said:
It's not a bad thing...as long as you don't need a game changing moment. Can we go undefeated in the B1G West without a game changing QB?
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Yes, yes you can. As long as you have a great defense and running game.
 

MennoSota said:
It's not a bad thing...as long as you don't need a game changing moment. Can we go undefeated in the B1G West without a game changing QB?
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Would you have described Alex Hornibrook or CJ Beathard as "game changing"?
 

MNVCGUY said:
Yes, yes you can. As long as you have a great defense and running game.
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RogueGopher said:
Would you have described Alex Hornibrook or CJ Beathard as "game changing"?
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Perhaps we can win the West since it is so vastly less than the East this season, but there are at least 3 teams in the East who are above the Gophers and when we would need a quick strike to get back in the game, we wouldn't have anyone capable of doing that.
Mo is a good/great short distance runner, but has no breakaway speed. Tanner is never going to run so the opposing defense can ignore him running away from anyone. There is no dynamic receiver who will demand double coverage. This team will have to rely on its defense not allowing points and the offense sucking up as much time as possible to win close games. If we ever had to play Ohio or Michigan (and perhaps our game against Penn State) we would have no possible means of coming back if our defense can't hold.
 

MennoSota said:
Perhaps we can win the West since it is so vastly less than the East this season, but there are at least 3 teams in the East who are above the Gophers and when we would need a quick strike to get back in the game, we wouldn't have anyone capable of doing that.
Mo is a good/great short distance runner, but has no breakaway speed. Tanner is never going to run so the opposing defense can ignore him running away from anyone. There is no dynamic receiver who will demand double coverage. This team will have to rely on its defense not allowing points and the offense sucking up as much time as possible to win close games. If we ever had to play Ohio or Michigan (and perhaps our game against Penn State) we would have no possible means of coming back if our defense can't hold.
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Your original question was "Can we go undefeated in the B1G West without a game changing QB?"
MNVCGUY said:
Yes, yes you can. As long as you have a great defense and running game.
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You did not answer my question.
RogueGopher said:
Would you have described Alex Hornibrook or CJ Beathard as "game changing"?
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Were these two QBs game changing? If not, then the answer to your original question is yes, the Gophers can go undefeated in the West without a game changing QB.
 

RogueGopher said:
Your original question was "Can we go undefeated in the B1G West without a game changing QB?"

You did not answer my question.

Were these two QBs game changing? If not, then the answer to your original question is yes, the Gophers can go undefeated in the West without a game changing QB.
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I thought I answered the first question. We may be able to win the West and go undefeated against West opponents this season since the West is decidedly down this year.

Second, I cannot recall Hornibrook or Beathard. Were they QBs in the West whose teams won? I'm not going to look them up so I will concede that non-athletic, game managers can occasionally win.
 


MennoSota said:
I thought I answered the first question. We may be able to win the West and go undefeated against West opponents this season since the West is decidedly down this year.

Second, I cannot recall Hornibrook or Beathard. Were they QBs in the West whose teams won? I'm not going to look them up so I will concede that non-athletic, game managers can occasionally win.
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They were both quarterbacks that won the Big Ten West with a 12-0 regular season record. Beathard with Iowa in 2015, and Alex Hornibrook in 2017. You could even throw in Clayton Thorson with Northwestern in 2018 who went 7-0 against West teams.
 

MennoSota said:
I thought I answered the first question. We may be able to win the West and go undefeated against West opponents this season since the West is decidedly down this year.

Second, I cannot recall Hornibrook or Beathard. Were they QBs in the West whose teams won? I'm not going to look them up so I will concede that non-athletic, game managers can occasionally win.
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By game manager, do you mean non-running? Because if you look at stats like yards per attempt, Morgan ranks pretty highly, especially with Ciarocca as his OC.
 

Word said:
By game manager, do you mean non-running? Because if you look at stats like yards per attempt, Morgan ranks pretty highly, especially with Ciarocca as his OC.
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His career yards per attempt ranking:
1663778155961.png
Top 3 are all OSU QBs, including their current one. One spot above Michigan's head coach.
Currently this year Tanner is throwing 11.7 yards per attempt, which is #1 in the conference.
www.sports-reference.com

Big Ten Conference Career Leaders and Records for Passing Yards Per Attempt | College Football at Sports-Reference.com

Big Ten Conference Career Leaders and Records for Passing Yards Per Attempt
www.sports-reference.com www.sports-reference.com

More than just yards per attempt, he's the Big Ten's leader in yards per play since 1956. (He is the only Big Ten player since 1956 in the top 50 of all of the NCAA)

1663777965214.png
www.sports-reference.com

Big Ten Conference Career Leaders and Records for Total Yards Per Play | College Football at Sports-Reference.com

Big Ten Conference Career Leaders and Records for Total Yards Per Play
www.sports-reference.com www.sports-reference.com
 

RogueGopher said:
His career yards per attempt ranking:
View attachment 20600
Top 3 are all OSU QBs, including their current one. One spot above Michigan's head coach.
Currently this year Tanner is throwing 11.7 yards per attempt, which is #1 in the conference.
www.sports-reference.com

Big Ten Conference Career Leaders and Records for Passing Yards Per Attempt | College Football at Sports-Reference.com

Big Ten Conference Career Leaders and Records for Passing Yards Per Attempt
www.sports-reference.com www.sports-reference.com

More than just yards per attempt, he's the Big Ten's leader in yards per play since 1956. (He is the only Big Ten player since 1956 in the top 50 of all of the NCAA)

View attachment 20599
www.sports-reference.com

Big Ten Conference Career Leaders and Records for Total Yards Per Play | College Football at Sports-Reference.com

Big Ten Conference Career Leaders and Records for Total Yards Per Play
www.sports-reference.com www.sports-reference.com
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Nice find. Not sure why some work so hard to find things wrong with Morgan and his game. Those stats are really impressive when you consider the joke of an OC he had to work with these past 2 years.
 

MennoSota said:
For the West, Tanner is fine. There may be 5 or more better QBs in the East right now
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Who? I can see an argument for Stroud, Tua, McCarthy but the rest look like solid QBs at best, statistically.

We’ll see how 2019 plays out but I’ve seen Morgan make many clutch plays. He has definitely been a difference maker. Protection has to be there, sure. He’ll run it when he needs to.


.
 
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RogueGopher said:
His career yards per attempt ranking:
View attachment 20600
Top 3 are all OSU QBs, including their current one. One spot above Michigan's head coach.
Currently this year Tanner is throwing 11.7 yards per attempt, which is #1 in the conference.
www.sports-reference.com

Big Ten Conference Career Leaders and Records for Passing Yards Per Attempt | College Football at Sports-Reference.com

Big Ten Conference Career Leaders and Records for Passing Yards Per Attempt
www.sports-reference.com www.sports-reference.com

More than just yards per attempt, he's the Big Ten's leader in yards per play since 1956. (He is the only Big Ten player since 1956 in the top 50 of all of the NCAA)

View attachment 20599
www.sports-reference.com

Big Ten Conference Career Leaders and Records for Total Yards Per Play | College Football at Sports-Reference.com

Big Ten Conference Career Leaders and Records for Total Yards Per Play
www.sports-reference.com www.sports-reference.com
Click to expand...

Amazing, really. He’s not a captain checkdown horizontal game qb like some BIG TEN QBs past and present.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Nice find. Not sure why some work so hard to find things wrong with Morgan and his game. Those stats are really impressive when you consider the joke of an OC he had to work with these past 2 years.
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Morgan's career stats include season and a half playing with one hand tied down and a piano on his back.
 


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