Week 7 Other Games Thread

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bleedsmaroonandgold said:
To me, "playing not to lose" is not the same as simply playing conservative or being run heavy. If your game plan, identity, and personnel make that work for you, go ahead. "Playing not to lose" is when you play one way for most of the game, get a lead, and then call off the dogs under the misguided hope that, if you avoid the big play, the clock will run out before the other team is able to catch up.

If a service academy runs the triple option all game, that's an identity. If a team is winning the game with an efficient passing game, and then in the 4th quarter with a two score lead stops throwing the ball and has a bunch of three and outs because they decided that keeping the ball on the ground so the clock keeps running is more important than doing what worked for them and giving themselves a better chance to keep moving the sticks and put up more points, that's playing not to lose.
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Got it. So playing not to lose is making up trends that may or may not exist and complaining that they are the reason the team lost.
 


Texan Gopher said:
Had the same thoughts this weekend. I watched a lot of football and saw a lot of teams with the exact same issues as us.
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There aren’t that many great teams. The difference between being an others receiving votes team and a 5-7 team at the end of the year is strength of schedule and about 6-10 plays
 

Some guy said:
Michigan sleepwalked into a rain game against the worst team in the conference is going to win by 50
But because Indiana hit a first quarter double pass they have more talent than Minnesota.
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I’m confused by this post. Michigan beat us 52-10. Beat Indians 52-7. The game before that we lost to jNW. What exactly should we be puffing our chests about?
 

Some guy said:
There aren’t that many great teams. The difference between being an others receiving votes team and a 5-7 team at the end of the year is strength of schedule and about 6-10 plays
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Portal parity!

NCAA football is the fastest growing sport in TV viewership, per an article in The Athletic.

The portal has also created a “hot stove” off-season as well, extending its reach beyond the normal scheduled games.
 


bleedsmaroonandgold said:
To me, "playing not to lose" is not the same as simply playing conservative or being run heavy. If your game plan, identity, and personnel make that work for you, go ahead. "Playing not to lose" is when you play one way for most of the game, get a lead, and then call off the dogs under the misguided hope that, if you avoid the big play, the clock will run out before the other team is able to catch up.

If a service academy runs the triple option all game, that's an identity. If a team is winning the game with an efficient passing game, and then in the 4th quarter with a two score lead stops throwing the ball and has a bunch of three and outs because they decided that keeping the ball on the ground so the clock keeps running is more important than doing what worked for them and giving themselves a better chance to keep moving the sticks and put up more points, that's playing not to lose.
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But at some point in the game based on time left and the size of your lead it is standard procedure to run the clock out, regardless of how a lead was built.
 

Spoofin said:
I’m confused by this post. Michigan beat us 52-10. Beat Indians 52-7. The game before that we lost to jNW. What exactly should we be puffing our chests about?
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I asked the same question.

Apparently an extra field against Michigan is the equivalent of winning the B1G West for some GopherHolers.
 

Spoofin said:
I’m confused by this post. Michigan beat us 52-10. Beat Indians 52-7. The game before that we lost to jNW. What exactly should we be puffing our chests about?
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Stuff said:
I asked the same question.

Apparently an extra field against Michigan is the equivalent of winning the B1G West for some GopherHolers.
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Context matters. Go back to page three and read Les's idiotic post. The only reason why this even came up in the thread.
 

Unregistered User said:
If you think Rutgers won that game because of offense, you didn’t watch that game.
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You’re right, I didn’t watch the game but their offense is much improved and they are 5-2, which is immensely improved from like the last umpteen years. Looks like their offense was able to run 25 plays and score 2 TD’s in the 4th qtr. They ran 12 plays to run out the clock with a 3 point lead. Sure would be awesome to have an offense that could do that.
 





btowngopher said:
But at some point in the game based on time left and the size of your lead it is standard procedure to run the clock out, regardless of how a lead was built.
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Wholeheartedly agree. At the extreme end, if you have the ball and can kneel out the clock, you should do that. The problem is, across sports (soccer, football, basketball, hockey) coaches seem to overestimate how much the clock can protect them, especially if they have a multiple score lead. There was one year it seemed like Tubby was repeatedly taking a good lead into the last 5 minutes, and then switching to an offense that was mostly focused on using the whole shot clock, and our lead evaporated. And with NFL teams, 10 or so years ago, with a lead late in the game, it was amazing how many coaches were content to run into a stacked box three times and punt, because at least it forced the other team to burn their timeouts. With the latter, I think most coaches have come around on the notion that there is value in trying to end the game by getting the first down and never giving the ball back.
 




stocker08 said:
Context matters. Go back to page three and read Les's idiotic post. The only reason why this even came up in the thread.
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Haha, you are!
You're right- this current Gopher squad is WAY better than IU :ROFLMAO:
 


swelna said:
I think there's still a great shot of us winning the west even if we lose to OSU. Wisconsin was without QB1 in the second half, I think Rutgers, Illinois, or Nebraska have a chance to generate enough offense to knock Iowa off.

Doesn't matter if we don't win next week though.
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The Gophers chances were blown against NW. Odds of beating Iowa are about 10 to 20%.
 


Some Day...Maybe said:
The Gophers chances were blown against NW. Odds of beating Iowa are about 10 to 20%.
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I think the odds are higher than that.
It’s slightly less than a toss up. The line will be like Iowa -3-4ish I think.

Issue is, even if Minnesota wins.
They would need to go unbeaten against Wisconsin, Michigan state, Illinois, and Purdue
AND Iowa would have to lose another game AND Nebraska would have to lose another game.
 

Gopher_In_NYC said:
Portal parity!

NCAA football is the fastest growing sport in TV viewership, per an article in The Athletic.

The portal has also created a “hot stove” off-season as well, extending its reach beyond the normal scheduled games.
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I saw that, but I wonder how much of that is driven by legalized sports betting and the “unique” governance model and non-parity rather than genuine fan interest. I don’t know. Pure speculation.
 


RememberMurray said:
I'm posting the box score from the Iowa-Wisconsin game.
www.espn.com

Iowa 15-6 Wisconsin (Oct 14, 2023) Box Score - ESPN

Box score for the Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Wisconsin Badgers NCAAF game from October 14, 2023 on ESPN. Includes all passing, rushing and receiving stats.
www.espn.com www.espn.com

Here's what jumps out, to me:

Iowa had 200 yards rushing on 48 carries. That's 4.16 yards per attempt. But look closer: Leshon Williams had an 82-yard run for a TD. That's the only explosive play, and the only TD scored by either team. Other than that play, Iowa ran for 118 yards on 47 carries — which is 2.5 yards per carry.

Meanwhile, Iowa had 14 total pass attempts for 37 total yards.

Iowa stayed with their game plan, patiently, almost stubbornly, and just kept 'pounding the rock'. They let their all-world punter put their opponent in terrible field position, time after time. They allowed their defense to do their thing.

Iowa had no turnovers. Wisconsin had an interception and lost a fumble. Iowa wins the turnover battle, 2 to 0.

The result: Iowa won a rivalry game by 9 points, on the road... in a game in which they were 8.5 point underdogs!

College Football Las Vegas Odds - NCAAF Betting Lines

Find College Football Las Vegas Sportsbook Odds, Betting Lines and Point Spreads for the 2021-22 College football season provided by VegasInsider
www.vegasinsider.com www.vegasinsider.com

This is no fluke. They do it all the time. This is simply what Iowa does, and what Iowa is.

I have to give them respect. They don't get enough credit. They know who and what they are, and they win with it.
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Exactly, once or twice can be a fluke but time and time again is them imposing their will. It’s super solid, well coached defense & special teams. They also typically have a well coached runnIng game.
 

btowngopher said:
But at some point in the game based on time left and the size of your lead it is standard procedure to run the clock out, regardless of how a lead was built.
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My Notre Dame friends are still grumbling about their game versus Ohio State. Specifically leading 14-10 not running the clock down at the end of the fourth with consecutive runs, instead attempting a screen for a kill shot at that failed. Ohio State got the ball back with an additional 40 seconds of clock to march down the field and that was maybe the difference.

Arguable decision.

I think the knock on PJ is going slow in the second half even when behind. With a lead going into a turtle is maybe more defensible if the D is good, and the opposing team is struggling.
 

Some Day...Maybe said:
Exactly, once or twice can be a fluke but time and time again is them imposing their will. It’s super solid, well coached defense & special teams. They also typically have a well coached runnIng game.
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It is like the opposite of when people kept pointing at various stats of Scott Frosts' Nebraska teams and kept saying things like "unlucky" and "better than their record." I kept wondering how many times he had to lose games where his team put up a lot of yards before people came around on the notion that other parts of the game matter too, and he was exactly as bad as his record.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
My Notre Dame friends are still grumbling about their game versus Ohio State. Specifically leading 14-10 not running the clock down at the end of the fourth with consecutive runs, instead attempting a screen for a kill shot at that failed. Ohio State got the ball back with an additional 40 seconds of clock to march down the field and that was maybe the difference.

Arguable decision.

I think the knock on PJ is going slow in the second half even when behind. With a lead going into a turtle is maybe more defensible if the D is good, and the opposing team is struggling.
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The knock on PJ is losing too much

Everything else is just conjecture
 

bleedsmaroonandgold said:
It is like the opposite of when people kept pointing at various stats of Scott Frosts' Nebraska teams and kept saying things like "unlucky" and "better than their record." I kept wondering how many times he had to lose games where his team put up a lot of yards before people came around on the notion that other parts of the game matter too, and he was exactly as bad as his record.
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Winning close games is definitely a skill
Some of it is luck but there is a reason some teams get unlucky all the time and others get lucky
 

RememberMurray said:
Minnesota's problems are definitely not because of offensive play-calling.
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This couldn’t be more incorrect. This and poor coaching are THEE #1 problems. Until they change this team will continue to be average at best. Play calling is of utmost importance on both sides of the ball. I’ve seen both offenses and defenses switch play callers and the units go from awful to awesome. The DC at Ohio St a few years ago, Joe Rossi at MN, etc etc.

PJ’s inability to replace Ciarocca has been his Achilles heel.
 



Texan Gopher said:
Had the same thoughts this weekend. I watched a lot of football and saw a lot of teams with the exact same issues as us.
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Watching Final Drive much-maligned Gavin Wimsatt threw a beautiful looping fade over the DB to the corner of the end zone. Not sure our QB has that in his quiver right now.

That kickoff turnover was amazing!
 

SHGopher said:
I mostly read/skimmed Brian Billick's book on offense. He wrote about increasing the statistical probabilities, which means what is most likely to work and also setting that up.

I have no way to know what is most likely to work for the Gophers. Maybe they are not doing stuff because it lessens their chances, based on how likely the players convert against who they are playing. I don't know. Or maybe they are squeezing the beat enough for more sugar. Maybe veterans here know what's going
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You mentioned “setting that up”, something our play caller is horrendous at. There is also getting the offense in a rhythm and Lee that rhythm, another thing our play caller into good at, particularly for the level Fleck wants to play at.
 

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