The team we saw last night was ...

[Wouldn't You like to Know]

mcrow - Dpo said it best earlier our 3rd down conversions were terrible coupled with all of the penalties especially on 3rd and short killed us. Gray made beautiful throws to Rabe on the wheel route (that couldn't have been thrown better) and Barker on that 40yard sideline out. His deep ball wasn't there but that will come it was the 1st game!!

We really don't know how good UNLV is yet either. We could have easily beat them by 20 I agree we just missed our chances and had too many penalties.

 

[e.bigelow]

Common dude. Those numbers are not numbers they'd get against any B1G team the way they played last night. They'd have been down 21-0 at half time if this were against top half B1G teams. These stats mean almost nothing considering who they are playing. Remember, UNLV won something like 4 games the last two season combined in a mid major conference.

Of course, if we played the EXACT same game that we played against UNLV against a top B1G ten opponent, yes we would get throttled. But, the fact of the matter is, it wasn't a top B1G ten opponent. It is the first game of the year. Gray did not have an awful game statistically. You are just pick and choosing a few of his mistakes and not highlighting on the good things he did.

No way am I saying that Gray played lights out, he did not. But it was not like he was completely inept out there. It is the first game of the year with a young team and a QB who really is in his 2nd year of playing QB. He is going to take some lumps. That is what the Non-Conference schedule is for. My hope is that he takes time to study an improve on his mistakes he did make.

Outside of a glaring special teams error by Stoudemire, this game, more likely than not, does not go to overtime.

 

[wait!what?]

Last year Jerry Kill stated that his staff/teams wins the close games. well, he did that.

 

[mcrow]

Of course, if we played the EXACT same game that we played against UNLV against a top B1G ten opponent, yes we would get throttled. But, the fact of the matter is, it wasn't a top B1G ten opponent. It is the first game of the year. Gray did not have an awful game statistically. You are just pick and choosing a few of his mistakes and not highlighting on the good things he did.

No way am I saying that Gray played lights out, he did not. But it was not like he was completely inept out there. It is the first game of the year with a young team and a QB who really is in his 2nd year of playing QB. He is going to take some lumps. That is what the Non-Conference schedule is for. My hope is that he takes time to study an improve on his mistakes he did make.

Outside of a glaring special teams error by Stoudemire, this game, more likely than not, does not go to overtime.

I hope you're right but man this game does not make you think 6 wins with our schedule.

 

[Killjoy]

True in most circumstances, but we only had 59 yards of offense in OT, meaning we still had 419 yards of offense in regulation. UNLV also had 64 yards of offense in OT, meaning they had only 211 yards of offense in regulation.

Food for thought:

419 yds/gm offense (regulation) would've been the #37 offense in the country in 2011
211 yds/gm defense (regulation) would've been the #2 defense in the country in 2011 (between Alabama and LSU)

478 yds/game offense (total) would've been the #11 offense in the country in 2011
275 yds/game defense (total) would've been the #4 defense in the country in 2011

If we end up with a top 40 offense and a top 5 defense, we will win at least 10 games this year. Of course, that won't happen, but it seems strange to be Chicken Little after we played a good game last night that was simply devoid of clutch plays by our offense. (P.S. We did win the game, you know.)



I'm telling you, the difference between a narrow win (which, again, we did actually secure last night) and a comfortable victory was 3rd down conversions. We converted 3-of-15 (20%), which, again going back to 2011 stats, would've easily been the worst in the country. If we improve that to even, say, 40% (#70 in the country last year), that means 3 more 3rd down conversions and we win by 3 TDs instead of 3 points. Our O and D actually played very well last night - our clutch play on O (and to a lesser extent, clutch play on D) was atrocious. If our O and D play that well every game and just improve the clutch play even a little, we are easily a bowl team and maybe win 8-9 games. We won't average those totals on O and D this year (probably not even close to those numbers), but do you get my point?

+1 Thanks dpodoll for your MV type analysis. It was great

 

[mcrow]

+1 Thanks dpodoll for your MV type analysis. It was great

BTW, that post was the biggest homer post of all time.

Are we seriously to the point where we're going to take relatively meaningless stats VS a bottom feeder and compare those stats to season long stats of top SEC teams?

 

[Wouldn't You like to Know]

Are we seriously to the point where we're going to take relatively meaningless stats VS a bottom feeder

UNLV was a bottom feeder last year! We have no idea how they will fair this year! They do have a good coach guy was killer at Montana.

Again, we moved the ball with ease that is what Dpo is saying the numbers don't lie. He said if Gray and the O keep up with these numbers.... etc. He never stated it as fact going forward. We missed on Big plays and a lot of them we get that.

 

[dpodoll68]

BTW, that post was the biggest homer post of all time.

Are we seriously to the point where we're going to take relatively meaningless stats VS a bottom feeder and compare those stats to season long stats of top SEC teams?

If you don't understand my point, just say so instead of making yourself look stupid.

 

[GopherInPittsburgh]

What are his stats minus throws longer than 15-20 yards?

 

[mcrow]

If you don't understand my point, just say so instead of making yourself look stupid.

I undetstand the point but it's just so homerish and meaningless. In spite of the intent of your posts (looking on the bright side) I expect more from the Gophers than to barely squeak by with wins over UNLV and the like. IDK, maybe I'm over the top but I'm sick and tired of barely beating bad teams and losing to FCS teams. It is embarrassing. The Gophers at the least should be able to contend for a bowl game every year..........at the very least. Yet, ever since Mason left this team is basically on the level of mid major bottom feeder that has real trouble beating the FCS teams on their schedule. It is completely unacceptable and I'm sick and tired of the excuses and pointing at stupid meaningless stats and saying "Look, it's not that bad". Bull, it is that bad until shown otherwise.

I'm a Gophers fan for life, will always cheer for them and watch every game I can every year no matter how bad they are. However, that does not mean I whave to accept this garbage play we've seen in recent years. So you'll have to excuse me if I see exactly the same problems we had most of last year (minus the turrible defense) right out of the box this year against a poor team and I'm not positive about the season.

 

[Ogee Ogilthorpe]

There is no way you can give him a C+, the guy damn neaer blew the game by himself. How are those numbers respectable VS a team like UNLV? I can probably put up 300 yards vs a garbage can does that make it impressive or even "respectable"?

If Gray had any ability to hit an open WR he probably throws for 400 yards and has 6 TDs in this game. The Gophers WRs were wide open most of the night and Gray couldn't hit hem.

I'm sorry, I can't remember ever agreeing with much of what you say but I'm with you on most of your points here.

It's easy to look at the stat line and say Gray had a decent game. That doesn't nearly tell the story, particularly in this case.

I was at the game, as many were, and Gray didn't just miss some open receivers, he missed them badly, and the ones he missed on the worst were SCORING PLAYS. This game was a 4-5 horribly missed passes from being 38-6.

It's one thing to give UNLV some respect, yes, they are an improved team, but that is far and away the worst secondary the Gophers will face this year. I agree with mcrow here, YES, Gray should have had 400+ yards and 4-5 TD's.

Another alarming thing I was hoping had changed; Particularly on two plays LATE in the game, Gray broke the pocket, major pressure, got past MOST of the UNLV defense and never looked downfield. There's NO way there weren't wide open receivers after the pressure he broke free of, but he never looked to throw, and made a marginal gain both times.

Him being a senior and the (seeming) leadership role he has taken with this team is the only reason I want him at QB. He's a horrendous thrower and really probably not the runner we want to think he is.

That being said, it's the first game, they got the win, and there's something to build on. After sleeping on it, I actually feel like they largely played a really solid game; just a few bad mistakes in crucial times, and marginal QB play.

 

[mcrow]

I'm sorry, I can't remember ever agreeing with much of what you say but I'm with you on most of your points here.

It's easy to look at the stat line and say Gray had a decent game. That doesn't nearly tell the story, particularly in this case.

I was at the game, as many were, and Gray didn't just miss some open receivers, he missed them badly, and the ones he missed on the worst were SCORING PLAYS. This game was a 4-5 horribly missed passes from being 38-6.

It's one thing to give UNLV some respect, yes, they are an improved team, but that is far and away the worst secondary the Gophers will face this year. I agree with mcrow here, YES, Gray should have had 400+ yards and 4-5 TD's.

Another alarming thing I was hoping had changed; Particularly on two plays LATE in the game, Gray broke the pocket, major pressure, got past MOST of the UNLV defense and never looked downfield. There's NO way there weren't wide open receivers after the pressure he broke free of, but he never looked to throw, and made a marginal gain both times.

Him being a senior and the (seeming) leadership role he has taken with this team is the only reason I want him at QB. He's a horrendous thrower and really probably not the runner we want to think he is.

That being said, it's the first game, they got the win, and there's something to build on. After sleeping on it, I actually feel like they largely played a really solid game; just a few bad mistakes in crucial times, and marginal QB play.

Exactly what I can agree with. Finally someone without the homer helmet on.

 

[Wouldn't You like to Know]

I was at the game, as many were, and Gray didn't just miss some open receivers, he missed them badly, and the ones he missed on the worst were SCORING PLAYS. This game was a 4-5 horribly missed passes from being 38-6.

No one on this board is disagreeing with the fact he missed on the BIG plays!

Another alarming thing I was hoping had changed; Particularly on two plays LATE in the game, Gray broke the pocket, major pressure, got past MOST of the UNLV defense and never looked downfield. There's NO way there weren't wide open receivers after the pressure he broke free of, but he never looked to throw, and made a marginal gain both times.

Most of those were designed QB runs!

 

[GophersInIowa]

Whatever, we all know that being a division I player means nothing. The fact is that UNLV is a bottom feeder in a weak confernece . The Gophers are a B1G team which is probably the #2 conference in the entire country. The expectations are that we can handily beat teams that are bottom feeders. Now if we played the top two teams in that confernence and won that would have been impressive. The rest of the teams in the conference should be punchig bags for a B1G team.

Your same logic says that Hutchinson beating Mound-Westonka in a close game is a good win because they're in the same class.

If, based on history, UNLV is a bottom feeder, what does that make us? A bottom feeder.

I saw improvement in certain areas. I also saw things we need to work on. No one has said that we are fine or that the team doesn't need to get better. We're trying to build a program from the ground up, we're not Wisconsin or even Iowa.

 

[Gopher07]

Obviously yardage isn't the whole story ... but ... last year our three worst opponents, by perception and by talent (likely), we gave up an average of 387 yards per game to New Mexico State, Miami and NDSU. We gained an average of 370 yards per game in those three.

Last night, 275 yards against and 478 yards for. One can debate if UNLV (at home) is worse than NMSU, Miami, NDSU (on the road), or how much worse they really are, but generally I think against the level of competition, we made strides year-over-year last night. There is still a lot of stuff to clean up, holy hell those penalties were bad...but I'm happier cleaning it up after a win.

 

[dpodoll68]

Now I'M being called a homer. With a straight face, apparently. ME. Wow.

Now I truly have seen everything on this board.

 

[tikited]

The way I saw it: Gray did not play well. The wide open misses were terrible (3 of them is a lot). The rest of his game was o.k. Add them together and you get a below average game. I'm pretty sure Gray would agree with that. I thought Kirkwood played really well. Gillum was o.k. The receivers (some surprises there) were fine. The O-Line was a bit disappointing. D-Line was better than I thought they would be. LB's were o.k. at best. Def. backs made big plays. Kicking game was spotty. Overall it was a win but nothing to get excited about.

 

[Rosemountian]

If Gray hits his wide open WR the game would have been over at half!!

That's true.

It's funny you see that as a bad sign. I see it as a good sign.

 

[GreasyGopher]

The fact that they won last night, albeit against an inferior opponent, is a step forward from last year. They played some really bad games last year and lost to teams they were supposed to beat. This year they beat a team they were supposed to beat. A win is a win. Let's not try to surmise the results of the rest of the season based on one less than stellar performance.

 

[dpodoll68]

That's true.

It's funny you see that as a bad sign. I see it as a good sign.

You've been a voice of reason sorely needed in these threads today, so thank you for that.

 

[Radio Badger]

I can only imagine how badly you guys want to see the Gophers back to (at a minimum) the competitive level that Mason had during his tenure, but let's try to crawl before you walk. I watched the losses to NMSU and NDSU and SDSU (too many SU's to be frank). They were ugly, and any time the Gophers ran into some adversity in those games it ended badly.

I would focus on the fight that they showed last night in coming back, on the road, to win a much-contested game. Regardless of who it is against, that is a victory they can grow from. Besides, 1-0 is 1-0, five more and you're in a bowl.

 

[Wouldn't You like to Know]

I can only imagine how badly you guys want to see the Gophers back to (at a minimum) the competitive level that Mason had during his tenure, but let's try to crawl before you walk. I watched the losses to NMSU and NDSU and SDSU (too many SU's to be frank). They were ugly, and any time the Gophers ran into some adversity in those games it ended badly.

I would focus on the fight that they showed last night in coming back, on the road, to win a much-contested game. Regardless of who it is against, that is a victory they can grow from. Besides, 1-0 is 1-0, five more and you're in a bowl.

Well said, sir!

 

[GophersInIowa]

I can only imagine how badly you guys want to see the Gophers back to (at a minimum) the competitive level that Mason had during his tenure, but let's try to crawl before you walk. I watched the losses to NMSU and NDSU and SDSU (too many SU's to be frank). They were ugly, and any time the Gophers ran into some adversity in those games it ended badly.

I would focus on the fight that they showed last night in coming back, on the road, to win a much-contested game. Regardless of who it is against, that is a victory they can grow from. Besides, 1-0 is 1-0, five more and you're in a bowl.

That's exactly why I think the positives outweigh the negatives. We made a bunch of mistakes, yet fought through it and won. Baby steps.

 

[CentralGopher]

That's true.

It's funny you see that as a bad sign. I see it as a good sign.

I don't know that I would see it as a good sign. A qb that had all of last year and practice this year to get better and he is still missing badly isn't something you like to see. Then again maybe he just had a bad game or opening night jitters or something. Until I see him play like a steady senior with more accuracy I'm not completely on the bandwagon.

 

[Off-GridTNgopher]

I don't know that I would see it as a good sign. A qb that had all of last year and practice this year to get better and he is still missing badly isn't something you like to see. Then again maybe he just had a bad game or opening night jitters or something. Until I see him play like a steady senior with more accuracy I'm not completely on the bandwagon.

you are expecting to much... hes played qb at the div 1 level for what 18 months...... and thats after playing a diff position for 2 yrs, rs for a year plus missing most of his sr yr in hs cuz of an injury... the people here who expect Q to be this amazing heisman canidate need to open thier eyes... he will have more games like this than not.. expect it... we won, and in the end thats all that matters.. lets go watch some tape... learn from these mistakes and move forward...

 

[ncgo4]

Not even close, this is a MUCH better team. The defense (2 sacks & 3 interceptions) was worlds better than anything we saw until late last year. The offense had 478 yards total offense with almost 300 yards of passing and 200+ yards rushing. Sure we had several untimely penalties and a few missed throws by Gray. Gray, incidentally, had a QB rating of nearly 150 and the production was terrific in spite of the errors.

Oh, incidentally, WE WON! This was a game we can build on by a team that just might be hugely improved from last year.

 

[Bayfieldgopher]

Clearly the Gophers were the better team last night. But they did not play like the better team. This game should have been over by the end of the third quarter.

So, what do we take from being 1-0?

The guys sucked it up and did what it took to get the W. That is a huge positive.

 

[46Gophers]

Better than last year. Make numerous mistakes against an inferior opponent, allow them to stay in the game, fall behind, and still win. Last year this would have been one of those NMSU, NDSU loses.

 

[46Gophers]

That's true.

It's funny you see that as a bad sign. I see it as a good sign.

+1 They really did set up some nice play action pass plays with their running game. Unfortunately the execution is not there yet.

 

[raindog]

I was at the game and I was not impressed with Gray. I got the impression that they are trying to have him stay home more and not take off whenever he feels the need. It appears that is not his default so he has to think more than just play. That makes him less effective until the game the way the coaches want it played slows down for him. I am not sure he ever gets there as he is not a natural passer and his throwing seems about the same as it always has been: able to throw a ball on a rope about 20-25 yards, with an inability to put much touch on anything not right in his wheelhouse. And when the coaches keep stressing the fact that they have to simplify things, fairly or not, what I tend to see between the lines is he is not real bright. What scares me a bit is the fact that there is no one clearly better, otherwise we would have seen that guy.

As for this notion that he only missed a few opportunities, the difference between cashing in on a few opportunities and not doing so is the difference between winning games and losing them...bowling or not. Winning despite ourselves is a good sign and a step in the right direction for the team. But when your quarterback is the guy who is failing to cash in, that concerns me cause it is such a crucial position and can really nullify improvement by the rest of the guys. If I was a wide open guys he either did not throw to or missed by five yards on more than one occasion, I would not be happy with him. I would keep it to myself, but it would bug me.

I was happy with the defense. The line pressured their QB and the dbacks were able to take advantage of that pressure. I agree with whoever put the idea out theri that the linebackers were the weakest link on the D in game one.

I agee that it was great to get the W. It was a hard game to watch in many ways but the fact that the team never folded and walked away with the W, albeit many mistakes, and some poor calls by the officials, makes me happy with the result.