Some Monday Perspective

[Go Gophers Rah]

I took a couple of days off of looking at the Gopherhole and from really thinking about the Gophers at all. It helped that I had a little run of 26.2 miles to occupy my time

So now 48 hours later, here are my observations:

1) At the end of August, I wrote down my predictions for wins/losses and am 100% correct thus far (I had Purdue marked down as a victory).

2) It is possible that Wisconsin might be a very good football team this year. CollegeFootballNews has them ranked at #10. They are especially good at the things that we match up most poorly against.

3) I have mixed feelings about our O-Line. In the beginning of the game, they were giving Weber plenty of time, but he was not able to capitalize. Then Wisconsin had our game plan figured out in the 2nd half so they were a lot more effective against our O-Line.

4) I still think our defense is playing very well. The defense either picked up a fumble, intercepted a pass or forced a punt on 6 of Wisconsin's 11 posessions and allowed only FG's on 2. Meanwhile our offense gave our D little time to breathe and gave the badgers the ball with good field position on many occasions. I know this isn't stellar defensive play, but given the effectiveness of Wisconsin's offense this year combined with our offense doing them no favors, I think our D held up well.

5) Even if you put the blame on our offensive line, Weber sure doesn't look very sharp. I don't think its Fisch's problem, because I don't think Adam has looked confident since the Northwestern game last year. I wish they would let him (or direct him to) run it more, this seems to loosen him up.

6) As it stands, there are only two 2-0 teams in first place in the conference (Ohio St and Wisconsin). We are still very much in the picture for a good conference record if we can play up to our potential for the next 7 weeks. This year could still end in our best bowl game since 1961. I'm not ready to give up on that dream yet.

7) I think the Gophers should just burn the Wisconsin game film and game plan and take another look at what made the Northwestern outing a succesful one. That was, in my opinion, the best game we had played since Illinois last year.

8) Saturday is homecoming. It should be a special day. As fans, we too should just erase our memories of Saturday and get out there and support the Maroon & Gold.

9) Go Gophers.

10) Rah!

 

[metrolax]

Good post GGR.....

I just watched the 1st half during lunch today. I managed to catch the 2nd half on
Saturday at a party my kids were at.

I agree pretty much with what you said. From what I saw Saturday, I thought
Wisconsin is a team that will challenge Ohio State for the Big 10 title. Despite
getting beaten in the 2nd half, we still managed to keep plugging and clearly
did not quit. We only lost by 3.

Too many posters are saying that Brewster's through, Weber needs to be benched,
the defense stinks, the O-line should be lined up and shot, etc. Its amazing
how a 3-point loss to a New Year's Day Bowl team like Wisconsin (that's where
I think they'll be) can cause such hand-wringing.

I believe that if this team focuses and picks themselves up and plays well against
Purdue, they'll be 4-2 and in pretty good position. And, I also believe that this Gopher
team can be competitive with anyone left on the schedule.

This Saturday the fans REALLY need to step it up and raise the morale of this
football team. There's a chance they may come out flat, and a good solid vibe
from the crowd can help overcome this.

 

[metrolax]

Also GGR....

Congrats on the 26.2. That's always a tremendous accomplishment!

 

[Schnauzer]

Hey way to go on the marathon! I'm sure that had a way of clearing your mind that I can't even comprehend.

Sometimes I get a little uptight about the Gophers and sink into a "poor me" mode where I see the glass as half empty and Gophers only missing jerseys that say "Cubs" on them to complete the package. Most of what you said really hit the nail on the head for me. I too avoided the 'on line community' until today. It was a tough, tough loss. Going in I expected the Gophers to win but there is NO WAY I would have been surprised at a loss.

Your comments about the defense really help put things into perspective for me. All in all they DID do their part and 24 hours ago I wasn't thinking that way. There was a thread on this board late last week wondering if Weber would have his breakout game. It of course wasn't all his fault but regardless... we got the answer to that question loud and clear.

Your points are all well taken. In my mind it can all be boiled down to this... Weber and co (offensive line) will either 'breakout' or they will keep playing at the level we have seen up to this point in the season. If they keep playing at the current level... we will see a 6-6 team. If they hit their stride, they will be 7-5 or maybe even better. I hope I am wrong but I am not seeing much to help me think they will reinvent themselves offensively. But, I also don't think this would change with a different QB at the helm either.

Decker deserves more. He is a joy to watch.

 

[Iceland12]

Great job on the marathon; always remember the first guy to do it DIED!

I agree with what was posted in this thread. It's hard to believe that if Clay stays healthy that the Badgers don't give everyone in the Big Ten fits.

Some other points:

- Time and again Wisconsin had a guy coming-off the end untouched, often the guy lined-up untouched! Why they didn't go to some roll-out or two back sets to counter this is beyond my limited knowledge.

- Bennett catches the ball and he looks like Minnesota's best runner or best outside of Whaley. I wish his fumble "discipline" was kept to a Quarter in length.

- Maybe Whaley DOES suffer from turf toe!

- To balance the money the Gophers were a favorite. The number of TV, radio and newspaper people picking the game went to the Badgers.

- That was a BAD, error-filled game to watch. Exciting, frustrating but badly played.

To hell with the rain and cold last Saturday, sitting in TCF with 6 or 7 thousand Badger fans was a heck of a lot better then sitting in a dry, 72 degree Dome with 20,000 plus Badger fans!

 

[skiumah2]

I hate to be the "Johnny Raincloud" here but God is it pathetic how we are justifying this. Cal beat us with very little problems even though we hung with them for 3 quarters. The next 2 games they get absolutely drilled. It looks like they may have been overrated. Now Wisconsin beats us and all of a sudden some of you think they will contend for the Big Ten? Are you serious? They are a decent team but a Big Ten contender? I don't know, I don't claim to be an expert but if the Badgers contend for a Big Ten title, I will be very surprised. I'm even leery about expecting them to play in a January bowl game.

Wisconsin is a solid team that made some pretty bad mistakes. Not as bad as ours, but bad enough. Why did it take them an entire half to figure out we couldn't stop them on the ground? How is it that you can run the ball for almost 300 yards and still almost lose the game? They were nothing special people. This is not a team that should have beaten us on our field unless we screwed up. We did, they took advantage of it, and we let them.

We need to start expecting better and eliminate the "Oh for Pete's sake we sure hung with em didn't we?" attitude. If we want to be an elite program we have to expect the best. We didn't get it done on Saturday and we need to start demanding a little accountability. For starters, I wish someone could explain to me how Brewster and company got out coached by a half wit like Bret Bielema. How is it we're calling a pass play on 1st and goal from the 1? Why were Gray and Whaley left on the bench for most of the game? Why does this team continue to commit way too many penalties?

I don't know, maybe I'm expecting too much. However, if someone doesn't start demanding excellence, will we ever get it?

 

[1983]

However, if someone doesn't start demanding excellence, will we ever get it?

NO

 

[wait!what?]

Maybe the Gophs will win the remaining games in 2009...anything is possible.

 

[STPGopher]

Just a thought here......

I hate to be the "Johnny Raincloud" here but God is it pathetic how we are justifying this. Cal beat us with very little problems even though we hung with them for 3 quarters. The next 2 games they get absolutely drilled. It looks like they may have been overrated. Now Wisconsin beats us and all of a sudden some of you think they will contend for the Big Ten? Are you serious? They are a decent team but a Big Ten contender? I don't know, I don't claim to be an expert but if the Badgers contend for a Big Ten title, I will be very surprised. I'm even leery about expecting them to play in a January bowl game.

Wisconsin is a solid team that made some pretty bad mistakes. Not as bad as ours, but bad enough. Why did it take them an entire half to figure out we couldn't stop them on the ground? How is it that you can run the ball for almost 300 yards and still almost lose the game? They were nothing special people. This is not a team that should have beaten us on our field unless we screwed up. We did, they took advantage of it, and we let them.

We need to start expecting better and eliminate the "Oh for Pete's sake we sure hung with em didn't we?" attitude. If we want to be an elite program we have to expect the best. We didn't get it done on Saturday and we need to start demanding a little accountability. For starters, I wish someone could explain to me how Brewster and company got out coached by a half wit like Bret Bielema. How is it we're calling a pass play on 1st and goal from the 1? Why were Gray and Whaley left on the bench for most of the game? Why does this team continue to commit way too many penalties?

I don't know, maybe I'm expecting too much. However, if someone doesn't start demanding excellence, will we ever get it?

Why were Gray and Whaley left on the bench for most of the game?

Perhaps Gray and Whaley didn't get as many reps is because of UW's ground attack. They had the ball for almost the entire second half. Did we even run 50 plays?

Hopefully we can make adjustments for upcoming games against MSU, OSU, PSU, and the season finale against that team south of us.

While this loss hurt, there is still way too much season to be played. I highly doubt that any team will finish undefeated in conference. With that said, we still have a chance.

Play the games!!!