SI: Extreme punt gaffe among 5 things that stood out in Gophers' loss

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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Per Joe:

1. Ben Bryant vs. Athan Kaliakmanis​

It's tough to compare the two but at the end of the night Bryant completed 33 of 49 passes for 396 yards and four touchdowns while Kaliakmanis was 14 of 19 for 153 yards and two touchdowns.

While Bryant was slinging passes for first downs and touchdowns in the fourth quarter and overtime, Kaliakmanis was doing almost nothing. The redshirt sophomore was 8 of 8 for 97 yards and two scores in the first half only to go 6 of 11 for 56 yards and no touchdowns the rest of the night.

And while Bryant hit his receiver between the numbers for the game-tying score with two seconds left in the fourth quarter, Kaliakmanis threw high to tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford and the Gophers had to settle for a field goal in overtime, opening the door for Bryant to deliver the dagger on a 25-yard walk-off touchdown pass.

One team got a great performance from its QB and the other didn't.

2. Minnesota cannot stop the pass​

That's two weeks in a row that Minnesota's passing defense has been shredded. Drake Maye and North Carolina lit up the Gophers 414 pass yards before Northwestern put an even 400 pass yards on the board.

This is the same Minnesota defense that has All-American hopeful Tyler Nubin roaming around at safety, right? Whatever is happening, defensive coordinator Joe Rossi needs to figure it out in a hurry because his defense has allowed a whopping 1,011 yards of offense the last two games and it only gets harder after hosting Louisiana this coming Saturday.


3. Darius Taylor can't be stopped​


It's too early to say Taylor is the next great Gophers running back, but his numbers after three starts are eye-popping. After getting just one carry in the season opener against Nebraska, Taylor popped Eastern Michigan for 193 yards and then put 158 yards on North Carolina.

His 198 yards against Northwestern give him 532 for the season and a three-game average of 176.3 yards. That puts him on pace to rush for 1,940 yards as a true freshman. That probably won't continue against the likes of Iowa, Michigan and Ohio State, but he still looks like he's going to put up numbers that would make the first year performances of some of the great running backs in program history blush.

Here's how some of the best Gophers running backs did their first year.

  • Darrell Thompson: 1,240 yards, 8 touchdowns
  • Thomas Hamner: 883 yards, 3 touchdowns
  • Marion Barber III: 742 yards, 7 touchdowns
  • Laurence Maroney: 1,121 yards, 10 touchdowns
  • Rodney Smith: 670 yards, 2 touchdowns
  • Mohamed Ibrahim: 1,160 yards, 9 touchdowns

Cause for concern, though? Taylor didn't play in overtime and head coach P.J. Fleck said afterward that the trainer took him out of the game. It's unclear why, so that'll be a story requiring follow-up information.

4. Extreme punt coverage gaffe​

Leading 31-24 with just over two minutes to play, the Gophers got a perfect punt from Mark Crawford. It should've been easily downed at the 1-yard line but special-teamer Quentin Redding apparently lost track of where he was and fielded the ball in the end zone. It was quite literally the most bizarre play on a very strange night of football.

5. Offense disappeared in the second half​

Minnesota's offense in the first quarter wasn't good. They punted after a running play on 3rd-and-4 was stuffed. They then scored one play after Northwestern coughed up a fumble deep in their own territory. On the third offensive possession, the Gophers went three-and-out after a run on 3rd-and-5 failed.


Go Gophers!!
 

#4 pisses me off more than anything. Redding had one job. One that simply required him to know where he was on the field. Making a bad play or a gaffe happens. Paying zero attention to what you are doing as the team is falling apart around you is unacceptable.
 

That’s a pretty telling list. It’s shocking to read just how awful our passing offense is. I just don’t think you can really be a top level team without being able to pass. It’s like a grade school passing offense...why cant they pass for 200-250 per game and still run the ball? I liked the balance vs North Carolina, hated the execution. It might get ugly with the expanded league next year. God awful D the last 2 games are just as big of an issue.
 

NotAFanOfBecky said:
That’s a pretty telling list. It’s shocking to read just how awful our passing offense is. I just don’t think you can really be a top level team without being able to pass. It’s like a grade school passing offense...why cant they pass for 200-250 per game and still run the ball? I liked the balance vs North Carolina, hated the execution. It might get ugly with the expanded league next year. God awful D the last 2 games are just as big of an issue.
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Oh, I think it'll get ugly. That's what's so frustrating. Watching Oregon yesterday, I couldn't help but think that there's no way we're going to compete with them and USC is as good, if not better. And most years the other two are going to be a class above us.

It's like this year is our last chance to do anything, but we might have been too optimistic about the QB; some of the guys we were really counting on haven't had good years or have not played; and the wheels have come off of Rossi's defense.

Years past, I would have been a swearing, sputtering idiot watching that 4th quarter. Last night I just watched with a feeling of dread as they kept doing the same thing over and over on offense.
 

The throw to BSF wasn't perfect but that was 90% on Brevyn. Playmakers bring those in and he's supposed to be a playmaker. I don't want to hear about how it came in like a missile either. That was a catchable pass!
 


Gophers7NatTitlesBadgers0 said:
The throw to BSF wasn't perfect but that was 90% on Brevyn. Playmakers bring those in and he's supposed to be a playmaker. I don't want to hear about how it came in like a missile either. That was a catchable pass!
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Totally disagree on MN QB passes. Yes he has a cannon but he has to learn to have touch on many of his passes. He reminds of the Bobby Douglass who was the QB for Chicago Bears years ago. He would about break receivers hands. They always thought he would be good if he learned to put touch on a ball but he never did.
 

stocker08 said:
#4 pisses me off more than anything. Redding had one job. One that simply required him to know where he was on the field. Making a bad play or a gaffe happens. Paying zero attention to what you are doing as the team is falling apart around you is unacceptable.
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Not to be picky but he probably has more responsibilites than downing the ball (and not in the end zone). 1) he may have had a blocking assignment so that we could get the punt off; 2) he would have had responsibility to tackle the punt returner had he caught it and started a return; 3) since the ball was not caught by the returner his job was to down it on the one or two yard line. Which he clearly failed to do. I'm sure the he feels terribly about it. Hard to imagine that he didn't know where he was on the field, but he apparently didn't. Not that it was his fault that we lost the game, we screwed up in plenty of other ways, but that was a bizarre F'up. As Gutekunst used to say, or something to this effect, "the good thing is that we have another game next week to prepare for, let's move on."
 

MNSpaniel said:
Totally disagree on MN QB passes. Yes he has a cannon but he has to learn to have touch on many of his passes. He reminds of the Bobby Douglass who was the QB for Chicago Bears years ago. He would about break receivers hands. They always thought he would be good if he learned to put touch on a ball but he never did.
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A capable TE catches that same pass 9 out of 10 times. You won't change my mind.
 

denguegopher said:
Not to be picky but he probably has more responsibilites than downing the ball (and not in the end zone). 1) he may have had a blocking assignment so that we could get the punt off; 2) he would have had responsibility to tackle the punt returner had he caught it and started a return; 3) since the ball was not caught by the returner his job was to down it on the one or two yard line. Which he clearly failed to do. I'm sure the he feels terribly about it. Hard to imagine that he didn't know where he was on the field, but he apparently didn't. Not that it was his fault that we lost the game, we screwed up in plenty of other ways, but that was a bizarre F'up. As Gutekunst used to say, or something to this effect, "the good thing is that we have another game next week to prepare for, let's move on."
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He's a gunner, so he wouldn't have been blocking anyone. And yes, if someone would have fielded the punt, he would have had to try and tackle them.....but it was a pooch punt due to how close they were....so that wasn't the case.

Just a situation of when it rains....it pours. Basically everything went wrong in that fourth quarter. I'm guessing that Redding wasn't the only guy who took plays off.
 



stocker08 said:
He's a gunner, so he wouldn't have been blocking anyone. And yes, if someone would have fielded the punt, he would have had to try and tackle them.....but it was a pooch punt due to how close they were....so that wasn't the case.

Just a situation of when it rains....it pours. Basically everything went wrong in that fourth quarter. I'm guessing that Redding wasn't the only guy who took plays off.
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Fair enough.
 

stocker08 said:
He's a gunner, so he wouldn't have been blocking anyone. And yes, if someone would have fielded the punt, he would have had to try and tackle them.....but it was a pooch punt due to how close they were....so that wasn't the case.

Just a situation of when it rains....it pours. Basically everything went wrong in that fourth quarter. I'm guessing that Redding wasn't the only guy who took plays off.
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I have to ask; why can't Crawford angle it OOB? That has completely become a lost skill with these punters!

You talk about one job, Crawford has one job AND his glory would have been to place it OOB at the 1 in a game with 2 minutes left.

Instead he kicked it hoping someone else would make the play!
 

stocker08 said:
#4 pisses me off more than anything. Redding had one job. One that simply required him to know where he was on the field. Making a bad play or a gaffe happens. Paying zero attention to what you are doing as the team is falling apart around you is unacceptable.
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I really think he was confused by Northwestern's endzone. Still a horrible play, but it would at least make some sense.
 

DanvilleGopher said:
I have to ask; why can't Crawford angle it OOB? That has completely become a lost skill with these punters!

You talk about one job, Crawford has one job AND his glory would have been to place it OOB at the 1 in a game with 2 minutes left.

Instead he kicked it hoping someone else would make the play!
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By "hoping someone else would make the play" you mean he kicked it perfectly assuming his teammate would be able to know where he was on the field and scoop up a ball that was practically rolling? That's like saying the QB shouldn't throw a perfect pass into the endzone because it might get dropped, and it would just be better if he ran it into the end zone instead of throwing it and hoping a receiver would make a play.
 



bleedsmaroonandgold said:
By "hoping someone else would make the play" you mean he kicked it perfectly assuming his teammate would be able to know where he was on the field and scoop up a ball that was practically rolling? That's like saying the QB shouldn't throw a perfect pass into the endzone because it might get dropped, and it would just be better if he ran it into the end zone instead of throwing it and hoping a receiver would make a play.
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Not even close to the same, but believe what you will. Your analogy misses in so many ways, but that's a matter of opinion I guess.

IF he would have 'kicked it perfectly', we wouldn't be having this conversation. A perfect kick would have rolled out at the 1. That to me my friend is the perfect kick.

By no means was it a horrible kick... I didn't say that BUT it could have been placed even better to remove the reliance on another player to make the play.

Make the play yourself when given the chance! I guess if it was you, you'd be angry at the guy for NOT making the play when trying to down the ball...
 

DanvilleGopher said:
Not even close to the same, but believe what you will. Your analogy misses in so many ways, but that's a matter of opinion I guess.

IF he would have 'kicked it perfectly', we wouldn't be having this conversation. A perfect kick would have rolled out at the 1. That to me my friend is the perfect kick.

By no means was it a horrible kick... I didn't say that BUT it could have been placed even better to remove the reliance on another player to make the play.

Make the play yourself when given the chance! I guess if it was you, you'd be angry at the guy for NOT making the play when trying to down the ball...
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The coaches tell him whether to try to kick it out of bounds or pooch it and have our guys down it. Been watching football for 50 years and I’ve never seen anything like what our guy did here 4 yards into the end zone.
 

Gopherchase said:
The coaches tell him whether to try to kick it out of bounds or pooch it and have our guys down it. Been watching football for 50 years and I’ve never seen anything like what our guy did here 4 yards into the end zone.
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Closest thing i can remember is about 10 years ago, a Vikings punter kicked one that was going out at the 1, the gunner (I think it was Andre Allison) made a diving play to "save" it from going out of bounds, it went off another viking and into the end zone. The color analyst started going on and on about what an incredible atheltic play it was, until finally the play by play guy interjected that he could have just let it go and it would have been down at the 1, and instead it was a touchback.
 

DanvilleGopher said:
I have to ask; why can't Crawford angle it OOB? That has completely become a lost skill with these punters!

You talk about one job, Crawford has one job AND his glory would have been to place it OOB at the 1 in a game with 2 minutes left.

Instead he kicked it hoping someone else would make the play!
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Wow...this is a baaaaad take.

Spectacular in its fundamental wrongness.

Well done!
 

STPGopher said:
I really think he was confused by Northwestern's endzone. Still a horrible play, but it would at least make some sense.
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I mean....you'd also have to ignore the absence of hashmarks (which he was standing right in front of) in the end zone.
 

DanvilleGopher said:
I have to ask; why can't Crawford angle it OOB? That has completely become a lost skill with these punters!

You talk about one job, Crawford has one job AND his glory would have been to place it OOB at the 1 in a game with 2 minutes left.

Instead he kicked it hoping someone else would make the play!
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You have got to be kidding me. That was a perfect punt that should have been easily downed at the one foot line if Redding doesn’t screw up.
 

Underrated moment in the Redding gaffe: If you watch him field the punt, one of his feet ends up just touching the outline of the NORTHWESTERN in the end zone. The other Gopher down there facing Redding has his hands out in the LeBron/JR Smith meme and Redding briefly looks back at his heel. He thinks his heel has caused the touchback and is still unaware that he's 3 yards deep in the end zone.

I am still baffled by how this happened. Many theorized it's because Northwestern's end zones are not painted, but Redding had been the gunner on at least two other punts that game (PJ loves punting on a short field!) where they were hoping to pin Northwestern deep. That still seems like the likely correct theory, but it's just so odd for it to be an issue that deep in to the game.
 

EG#9 said:
Underrated moment in the Redding gaffe: If you watch him field the punt, one of his feet ends up just touching the outline of the NORTHWESTERN in the end zone. The other Gopher down there facing Redding has his hands out in the LeBron/JR Smith meme and Redding briefly looks back at his heel. He thinks his heel has caused the touchback and is still unaware that he's 3 yards deep in the end zone.

I am still baffled by how this happened. Many theorized it's because Northwestern's end zones are not painted, but Redding had been the gunner on at least two other punts that game (PJ loves punting on a short field!) where they were hoping to pin Northwestern deep. That still seems like the likely correct theory, but it's just so odd for it to be an issue that deep in to the game.
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Have to believe the endzone's lack of color may have played a role but the bottom line is that just can't happen in that situation. Feel bad for Redding because he seems like a good kid and I am sure nobody feels worse about it than he does. Mental mistakes happen all the time just a shame it ended up happening in such a key late game situation.

Unfortunately the defense couldn't bail him out and those extra 25 yards along with getting out of the shadow of their own endzone were killers on that drive.
 

STPGopher said:
I really think he was confused by Northwestern's endzone. Still a horrible play, but it would at least make some sense.
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I call Bee-Ess. He had to know where he was. He is a gunner. Gunners are aware of the sidelines. The end zone pylon was so close to him that he should have seen it. There are few excuses for that play, none of which are good. 20230924_184124.png
 

I believe most gunners, in a situation like this (short punt), come down the field, locate the goal line, and then turn to, hopefully, make a play on the ball. Typically, they've already located the "no go" line before making the play. I only watched the replay once (too painful), but if I recall it seems as though Redding took up such safe spot but then inexplicably backed up--like he was playing a punt midfield. The situational awareness disappeared for a second? I truly feel for the kid. It was a big blunder. But there were so many other missed opportunities to put this game on ice, both on offense and defense--he certainly didn't cause the loss.

Even after his blunder, NW had to march 80 yards without timeouts with very little time on the clock, requiring multiple blunders by our defense to succeed. And our offense couldn't hold the ball when it was their turn. Make one more first down on any of our three possessions in the 4th Q and the game is probably over. Everybody had a major hand in this loss. Still hard to fathom how it was even possible for the Gophers to lose with a three touchdown lead going into the 4th Q when NW didn't benefit from any field-flipping turnovers.

Part of my wonder, I suppose, is the PJ, God bless him, has never, ever in his 6+ season at the Gophers come back to win from a 14 point deficit. He has come back only once (Nebraska, 2022) to win from a 10 point deficit. To see NW comeback, in the span of one quarter, from a 21 point deficit--and to see how they did it--was really pretty amazing as well as heartbreaking.
 

BSF is REALLY over-hyped at this point. We were all excited about him when he signed. His frame and perceived athleticism were a potentially exciting combo. It took him forever to see the field, but last season he started to make some grabs while the D was busy worrying about other weapons. He's at a point in his career where he should be dominating, if he's that type of player. Sadly, he isn't. He's not a top-shelf athlete. I watch him block on the Wham play and he has a very difficult time making any direction change & often misses his man. The throw off his fingers on the goal line should have been caught, but he's not the type of athlete to make a difficult catch. He's not what we wanted him to be.
 

stocker08 said:
I mean....you'd also have to ignore the absence of hashmarks (which he was standing right in front of) in the end zone.
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Stuff happens. Sometimes players have mental lapses. If an all-pro DL can run the wrong way and score a TD for the opponent, anything can happen. I'm not convinced that all of the team left the lockerroom for the second half mentally.
 


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