That sucked, but there is no reason this team can’t get to 7-2.

Otis

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 13, 2014
Messages
5,646
Reaction score
2,700
Points
113
Yes, that game was awful and we should have been able to win without ever passing once. I mean, 140+ yards by Potts and we score 10 Pts?
My point is, all the games before Iowa are extremely winnable. Even without 2019 Morgan.
The running game and the defense should be able to power us forward if they can just get their crap together.
Go Gophers!
 

Moving forward we will find out what the true version of the 2021 Gopher football team is. We have seen 4 different looks so far.

Ohio State - Played well overall but Defense victimized by big plays and lack of pass rush
Miami OH - Dominant first half followed by terrible 3rd qtr which made game close
Colorado - Dominant performance on both sides of the ball
Bowling Green - Defense played great, offense/special teams/coaches crapped the bed.

So what version of the 2021 team is real? The Colorado version will win a ton of games, the Bowling Green version will lose a ton of games. Odds are we fall somewhere inbetween but my gut says we are closer to the team that took on Colorado than the one that showed up last Saturday.

Purdue game should give us a pretty clear indication of what direction we are headed in for the remainder of the season. My hope is that Saturday was a massive wake up call to everyone in the program that they aren't just good enough to show up and go through the motions.
 


I'm still bullish on the gophers and looking at B1GW there isn't a team we can't beat on the schedule

Of course after the BG loss, it's also true to say there isn't a B1GW that can't beat us

At this stage it looks like Iowa's division to lose, but their offense isn't very good.

Gophers are inconsistent

Wisconsin isn't good at offense either


7-9 wins with and win a trophy game would still be good season, a little disappointing. The bowling green game has no impact on my view of season unless it's a harbinger of things to come
 

We have the talent to be 7-2 after nine games.

The way our defense is playing--fast, confident, well-rounded, adapting to circumstances--gives us a chance to get to 7-2. If our defense continues to improve, to the point where it is scoring points as well as denying points to opponents, then 7-2 is very doable.

The way our offense is playing--plodding, uni-dimensional, predictable--will keep us from being 7-2, or even close. Each team we play will have more game film on our 2021 offense to study. Our predictable play calling, our obvious tendencies, our maddening refusal (or inability) to adapt to punish defenses for overloading and risk taking, will become a bigger handicap with each passing game. If we return to a balanced offense that is adaptable enough to punish teams for excessive blitzing, loading the box, etc., our offense can help get us to 7-2, as well. If our QB once again becomes a positive factor in our offense, either by effective passing (200 yards+, low interceptions) or by being a second realistic running threat, 7-2 looks a lot more achievable. The changes needed on offense may be the mindset of our OC and /or HC, or they may be personnel. Maybe both. But without something changing meaningfully on offense, it is hard to see how we get to 7-2. Ultra conservative, grind it out, predictable one-back running plays on 75% of all plays; "playing not to lose" rather than "playing to win"; wasting the clock and ignoring hurry-up "transition" type opportunities; changing up plays at the line of scrimmage to RUTM into loaded boxes (after absurdly checking the sideline three times); no adaptability to exploit defensive risk-taking; vanilla calls that place zero "stress" on the decision-making of LBs and safeties, etc. just isn't going to cut it. We don't enjoy a great enough talent advantage to get by with this Knute Rockne era approach to offense. Bottom line: football rules greatly favor the passing game; yards per play are typically much greater for passes than runs. Teams that minimize the passing game are running counter to logic and will do poorly unless they are head-and-shoulders more talented than their opponents. This limited form of offense--even if Trey Potts gains 150 yards per game--is a recipe for capitulation in any and all games in which we fall behind by more than 10 points. And we will fall behind sometime in the next five games, guaranteed.

Special teams? Theoretically they could help us get to 7-2, but for now I am just hoping for a "neutral" effect. Do no major damage. We have actually started to try to return a few punts, with good results largely. Who knows? Maybe our punter will flip the field one of these days ...
 
Last edited:



Moving forward we will find out what the true version of the 2021 Gopher football team is. We have seen 4 different looks so far.

Ohio State - Played well overall but Defense victimized by big plays and lack of pass rush
Miami OH - Dominant first half followed by terrible 3rd qtr which made game close
Colorado - Dominant performance on both sides of the ball
Bowling Green - Defense played great, offense/special teams/coaches crapped the bed.

So what version of the 2021 team is real? The Colorado version will win a ton of games, the Bowling Green version will lose a ton of games. Odds are we fall somewhere inbetween but my gut says we are closer to the team that took on Colorado than the one that showed up last Saturday.

Purdue game should give us a pretty clear indication of what direction we are headed in for the remainder of the season. My hope is that Saturday was a massive wake up call to everyone in the program that they aren't just good enough to show up and go through the motions.

The Minnesota/Purdue game all the sudden looks pretty significant in the B1G West. Purdue's win over Oregon State that many people dismissed initially now doesn't look so bad.

The winner definitely has an early leg up in the West with Iowa and Wisconsin looking at losses this week. Especially if Nebraska takes out NW.
 

We have the talent to be 7-2 after nine games.

The way our defense is playing--fast, confident, well-rounded, adapting to circumstances--gives us a chance to get to 7-2. If our defense continues to improve, to the point where it is scoring points as well as denying points to opponents, then 7-2 is very doable.

The way our offense is playing--plodding, uni-dimensional, predictable--will keep us from being 7-2, or even close. Each team we play will have more game film on our 2021 offense to study. Our predictable play calling, our obvious tendencies, our maddening refusal to adapt to punish defenses for overloading and risk taking, will become a bigger handicap with each passing game. If we return to a balanced offense that is adaptable enough to punish teams for excessive blitzing, loading the box, etc., our offense can help get us to 7-2, as well. If our QB once again becomes a positive factor in our offense, either by effective passing (200 yards+, low interceptions) or by being a second realistic running threat, 7-2 looks a lot more achievable. The changes needed on offense may be the mindset of our OC and /or HC, or they may be personnel. Maybe both. But without something changing meaningfully on offense, it is hard to see how we get to 7-2. Ultra conservative, grind it out, predictable one-back running plays on 75% of all plays, wasting the clock and ignoring hurry-up "transition" type opportunities, changing up p[lays to RUTM into loaded boxes (after absurdly checking the sideline three times), zero adaptability to exploit defensive risk-taking, vanilla calls that place zero "stress" on the decision-making of LBs and safeties, just isn't going to cut it. That form of offense is a recipe for capitulation in any and all games in which we fall behind by more than 10 points. And we will fall behind sometime in the next five games, guaranteed.

Special teams? Theoretically they could help us get to 7-2, but for now I am just hoping for a "neutral" effectL do no major damage. We have actually started to try to return a few punts, with good results largely. Who knows? Maybe our punter will flip the field one of these days ...
Gophs punter pinned BG deep twice.
 

Gophs punter pinned BG deep twice.
He is good at pinning teams deep, when we punt with good field position. That is true and a real positive. But when we are punting with poor field position, he isn't able to punt long and flip the field. I think the old joke is: when you need 37 yards he gets you 37, and when you need 57 yards he gets you 37. He is a net positive, but wish he could help us more when we punt from deep in our own territory.
 



He is good at pinning teams deep, when we punt with good field position. That is true and a real positive. But when we are punting with poor field position, he isn't able to punt long and flip the field. I think the old joke is: when you need 37 yards he gets you 37, and when you need 57 yards he gets you 37. He is a net positive, but wish he could help us more when we punt from deep in our own territory.
I agree it would be nice to be able to flip the field more, but if he doesn't have the leg strength, I'd rather settle for shorter punts than have him trying to force more yardage by overkicking the coverage with line drives and getting them run back down our throat (paging Chris Kluwe).
 

He is good at pinning teams deep, when we punt with good field position. That is true and a real positive. But when we are punting with poor field position, he isn't able to punt long and flip the field. I think the old joke is: when you need 37 yards he gets you 37, and when you need 57 yards he gets you 37. He is a net positive, but wish he could help us more when we punt from deep in our own territory.
From what I saw in practices, he has shown the leg strength so we'll have to see.
 

6-6 this year.....Purdue is 50/50.....Nebraska has been competitive....Cant score enough to stay with Maryland......Even when Wisconsin is down we still dont beat them.....Never win in Iowa city.
 

6-6 this year.....Purdue is 50/50.....Nebraska has been competitive....Cant score enough to stay with Maryland......Even when Wisconsin is down we still dont beat them.....Never win in Iowa city.
Hold up....you think we are going to win 4 more games....wow....never thought I would see you this optimistic about our chances....Would have expected you to have us finishing 2-10 after the BG loss.
 



Hold up....you think we are going to win 4 more games....wow....never thought I would see you this optimistic about our chances....Would have expected you to have us finishing 2-10 after the BG loss.
If the offense plays like Saturday they will.....There are some bad B10 teams this year...Especially in the west.....6-6 is still a major letdown considering the veterans we had coming back....I think every gopher fan will agree on that.
 

You are right but expect 8-9 up the rest of the way until we prove we can complete passes.

Big Ten teams will not continue to allow us to run the ball 30-40 times a game against 7 and even 8. They can also squat that slant and take that away as well fairly easily.

Cover 2 with safeties 6-7 yards off is what they are going to see until they prove they have a pulse in the passing game.
 

I can think of a millions reason why we can't get to 7-2, and they all rhyme with "coaching." Okay, actually there's just one. Coaching.
 

Akron beat Northwestern 39-34 in 2018...NW had opened season with close win over Purdue...then lost to Duke 21-7...lost to Akron...lost to Michigan 20-17 late September...NW then swept Big Ten West, Rutgers and MSU (lost to ND mid-season) to win Big Ten West

Iowa lost to NDSU in 2016, and ended up going 6-3 in Big Ten, with wins over #2 Michigan and #17 Nebraska and got an Outback Bowl bid
 
Last edited:




Top Bottom