Gopher Football
Temple’s record coming into this game is 0-2, but the really telling stat is that Temple has not scored a touchdown and has just 3 points in those two games. Last week they lost 62-0 to a ranked Louisville team (it was 42-0 at halftime), and the week before that they lost to Buffalo 9-3 in overtime. Needless to say Temple is not a good offensive football team, and under no circumstance (except possibly garbage time) should they score more than 14 offensive points against Minnesota. Temple likes the run a little more than pass, so the only interesting storyline I can see is whether they completely abandon their running to try and take advantage of a Minnesota pass defense that is still licking their wounds from last week.
As far as storylines go that about as much as I can say about this game. It could be among the top 5 easiest matchups that Minnesota has had under Glen Mason (it could be almost scrimmage-like). The only games I can see that were easier were: SW Texas State (2002), Murray State (2001) and Illinois State (in 1999) all D-1AA teams “¦ and then possibly a 1-10 Buffalo team (2002). This is a game Minnesota should, and needs to win easily. If Temple is able to keep the game close for more than a half or if they score more than one touchdown against our first team defense I think it could be a worrisome sign heading into Purdue.
Goals for Saturday
1. Strive for perfection – After making numerous mistakes last week, both of offense and on defense, the Gophers know they have a lot to fix. I’m sure that during practice this week many of these issues were addressed, and so this Saturday I think the key will be to execute properly and not make any sloppy mistakes. I think there is a danger out there that the Gophers could come out lazy, because they know that even without their best effort they should be able to roll over the Owls. I don’t want to see that. I want to see the team come out fired up and eager to show they can take control of the game, and to see some crisp execution.
2. Work on the pass – As someone on “˜The Hole’ message boards pointed out earlier in the week, Mason tends to like to run the ball a lot against inferior defenses because he knows they won’t be able to stop it. While there is a lot of value in that, and while it is a good way to take control of the game, what I’d like to see a little more of is for the Gophers to work on their passing as well. As we saw last week there is still a lot of work to be done in this department, and this game is as good as any to work on it. We know the Gophers probably will be good at running the football this year, so let’s see some more passing this week to make Purdue start thinking about a more diverse offense.
3. Get some reserves some playing time – This is always an important factor in games that are blowouts, but this year I feel that it’s even more important. As we know, the Gophers are pretty low on scholarship players this year and the depth charts to not go very deep at all. If a starter were to get injured this season, in many cases a young, inexperienced player will have to step into their void. If the game becomes a blowout early, I’d love to see many reserves get a chance to play for most of the second half.
Bottom Line
Like I mentioned above, this is a game the Gophers should win very easily. Temple is one of the worst teams in the nation and should provide little resistance to the Gophers. Just like 80% of the non conference home games under Coach Mason, this game will likely be a blowout, and could be over by halftime. It’s too bad that this week had to be a home game for Minnesota considering there are a slew of other important, high powered college football games being played at the same time. Hopefully the players don’t feel the same way I do though and they come out pumped up and ready to dominate.
Prediction: Minnesota 52 ““ Temple 13