Sums up the Gophers season pretty well. My only gripe is while he says that our linebackers were probably the best in the big 10, he didn't give any of them even an honorable mention on his all big 10 team.
This is a pretty good analysis by Adam Rittenberg. Was I disappointed at the Gophers 6-6 record? Absolutely. At the same time the doom and gloom reaction here has been way overblown by local media people who themselves admit they know next to nothing about college football. The main reason for this backlash is not the record itself, but the late season lack of offense combined with losing two very winnable games against Wisconsin and Illinois. Refusing to play MarQueis Gray more (especially against an inferior SDSU team) was a rather large mistake both for his development and for the fans who want to see that kind of freakish athleticism on the field as much as possible
However, a program's progress is ultimately about its players and how they develop. The Defensive statistics weren't great, but that's ultimately because the offense constantly went 3 and out or gave up turnovers. The truth is that the Gophers Defense possesses a myriad of young talent who began to contribute this year in a big way. The Special Teams was also extremely impressive. The Gophers are blessed with athletes on defense who are vastly superior to anything the Gophers have fielded in living memory. Brewster has recruited a lot of great athletes and they are just beginning to pay dividends. Next year the Gophers will win 7-8 games and 2011 will be the year they make a legitimate run at a Big Ten Title
