STrib: Q&A with Michigan beat writer Mark Snyder, who has a hunch Morris will start

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BleedGopher

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STrib: Q&A with Michigan beat writer Mark Snyder, who has a hunch Morris will start

per Joe:

1. Do you think Brady Hoke is ready to start Shane Morris, or will he stick with Devin Gardner?

A: I'm past the point of trying to figure out his decisions, because we don't know enough about the criteria. But I assume he would try to go with Morris because, if not, what was all this for? If he stays with Gardner after a week of making him re-earn his job, that seems like a very public demerit. If he goes with Morris, Gardner knows it's an ongoing competition.

5. How big of a crowd would you expect for Saturday and what will be their mood at kickoff?

A: It may be still over 100,000 but possibly not by much. At least this is an opponent that people have heard of and I assume Berkley Edwards' fan base will fill in the empty seats. Seriously, though, there will be a short fuse with the fans that are there, wanting to see improvement. But whatever the crowd, it'll still be more than 98% of the teams in the country, which is still pretty darn impressive.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/gophers/277203051.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Go Gophers!!
 

BleedGopher said:
5. How big of a crowd would you expect for Saturday and what will be their mood at kickoff?

A: It may be still over 100,000 but possibly not by much. At least this is an opponent that people have heard of and I assume Berkley Edwards' fan base will fill in the empty seats. Seriously, though, there will be a short fuse with the fans that are there, wanting to see improvement...
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Tells me if we can get up quickly off a turnover the crowd will be ready to turn on the home team. Quick start and let them beat themselves up the rest of the game. That is what is needed.
 

Every prediction I've seen from a Michigan writer on who will be their QB tomorrow has said Morris. Nobody is very confident in their prediction though. I hope they're all right.
 

jaymil said:
Every prediction I've seen from a Michigan writer on who will be their QB tomorrow has said Morris. Nobody is very confident in their prediction though. I hope they're all right.
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+1. I think Morris gives us our only chance at victory. Let's hope Hoke is as bad a coach as people are saying and decides to keep Gardner on the bench.
 

GopherHomer said:
+1. I think Morris gives us our only chance at victory. Let's hope Hoke is as bad a coach as people are saying and decides to keep Gardner on the bench.
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I disagree. Gardner is a turnover machine that is never ending. Minnesota's defense can capitalize on that.
 



I want Morris to play. He's not a threat to run and doesn't have much experience. This plays into the hand of our secondary - who usually plays tight coverage. It will be one less option to have to cover - the threat of the QB run. That will help our DL and LBs focus on stopping the run and less on trying to contain Gardner and his legs.
 

Morris starting and Gardner coming in to save the day with his legs is what I don't want.
 

GopherHomer said:
+1. I think Morris gives us our only chance at victory. Let's hope Hoke is as bad a coach as people are saying and decides to keep Gardner on the bench.
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I refuse to believe that we need a certain starter to even have a chance at victory against a team who had a worse record in the B1G we did last year, and (unlike TCU) looks to be much worse this year.
 



jaymil said:
Every prediction I've seen from a Michigan writer on who will be their QB tomorrow has said Morris. Nobody is very confident in their prediction though. I hope they're all right.
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I agree. It seemed that one of the big problems last year is that Gardner would buy time with his legs after the Gopher defense did a good job on the planned play. Gardner would then improvise and make a play.
 

I'm not worried about who they start. I think Claeys and the D have the talent and gamplan to stop both. What's worrisome is our offense. I fear the only chance of them putting up enough points is the D/ST giving them great field position.
 

bleedsmaroonandgold said:
I refuse to believe that we need a certain starter to even have a chance at victory against a team who had a worse record in the B1G we did last year, and (unlike TCU) looks to be much worse this year.
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I agree that my rhetoric of us needing Gardner not to play for there to be a chance at victory may be bit strong, but their B1G record last season is irrelevant for so many reasons.
 

BTN reporter in Ann Arbor just now said that Hoke won't say WHO will start at QB, only that he's going to stick with whoever he starts.

To me, that says it's going to be Gardner. Gardner has owned the Gophers for the most part and he's going to start. No doubt in my mind.

I thought Funchess was the difference in the game last year and I hope the Gophers find a way to contain him this year. If they can limit Funchess to 3-4 catches, they'll be a lot better off.
 




GopherHomer said:
I agree that my rhetoric of us needing Gardner not to play for there to be a chance at victory may be bit strong, but their B1G record last season is irrelevant for so many reasons.
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The record itself doesn't say everything, but they are a bad team. They got shut out (and blown out) by Notre Dame, and they got beat soundly at home by Utah.
 

bleedsmaroonandgold said:
The record itself doesn't say everything, but they are a bad team. They got shut out (and blown out) by Notre Dame, and they got beat soundly at home by Utah.
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Not to be argumentative but it's a LITTLE stretch to say they "got beat soundly at home by Utah".

Michigan outgained Utah in total yards, owned Time of Possession, had more First Downs, was better on Third Down, and had half as many penalties as Utah. Michigan turned it over 4 times and lost.

I think the Gophers need to be at least +2 in Turnover margin to come out on top in this one.
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
I thought Funchess was the difference in the game last year and I hope the Gophers find a way to contain him this year. If they can limit Funchess to 3-4 catches, they'll be a lot better off.
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Agreed, Funchess was the biggest issue we had last year. Some people are talking about Gardner eating us alive with his feet, but that wasn't the case last year. It was Funchess grabbing everything thrown his way that was the problem. Here's there stat lines from last year.

Funchess: 7 rec, 151 yds, 1 TD
Gardner: 13-17, 235 yds, 1 passing TD and 7 carries for 17 yds, and 1 rushing TD
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
Not to be argumentative but it's a LITTLE stretch to say they "got beat soundly at home by Utah".

Michigan outgained Utah in total yards, owned Time of Possession, had more First Downs, was better on Third Down, and had half as many penalties as Utah. Michigan turned it over 4 times and lost.

I think the Gophers need to be at least +2 in Turnover margin to come out on top in this one.
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I hear what you are saying, and Michigan certainly outplayed Utah in many facets of the game. But turnovers are part of the game too, and at the end of the day, they only managed to put ball in the endzone once on their own turf while giving up 26 points to Utah.
 

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