Gopher Football
Offense hurts itself again
For the second straight week the offense had large stretches where it was inept, often shooting itself in the foot with bad passes, dropped passes, turnovers, missed blocks and penalties. My impressions of the first three quarters are pretty much the same as the problems the offense had at Syracuse. There does not seems to be one dominating issue that is preventing the offense from moving the ball, rather, it just seems to be the culmination of several little issues. It looks as though there are still timing issues and getting used to the new offense, coupled with untimely penalties. Even though the offense has struggled for about 5.5 of the 8 quarters they’ve played this year, I still have the feeling that this offense has the potential to be pretty good once they can eliminate the kinks and mistakes.
MarQueis Gray plays, them fumbles
After being used only as a decoy last week at Syracuse, MarQueis finally got his first touches this game, but they were all in the first half. MarQueis was used in two plays in the Gophers second drive: The first was him pitching to Adam Weber before Weber threw a pass to Eric Decker, and the second play was a 4-yard run up in the middle. However, MarQueis’ third touch of the game would be his last. After he took the snap he ran the left for an 8-yard gain, but then fumbled at the end of the play and Air Force recovered. Gray did not get any more touches after that. I didn’t notice this at the game, but the BTN crew made a good point that MarQueis did not switch the ball to the outside hand on the run. Because the ball was being carried on the side of the defenders, it was easier for them to knock out. For those of you who have been calling for MarQueis to play in front of Weber, a play like this shows you why he’s not. Even though he is immensely talented, there are still some things that need to be learned. Despite the fumble, you could see on that play the type of game that MarQueis will eventually bring to the table for the Gophers.
Weber Improves
Aside from a few passes early in the game, I thought that Adam Weber had a pretty nice game. He finished the game 20-29 passing for 219 yards. One thing Weber did that was pretty obvious was to not always look to Decker so much. On several of his passes, Weber looked did a better job scanning the field and looking to other receivers first like Troy Stoudermire. This is an encouraging aspect of Weber’s development. Another encouraging thing about yesterday was how Weber seemed to be getting better as the game went on, especially when he came out from under center. Early on it there were some ugly passes when he came out from under center, but by the fourth quarter Weber was zipping passes to the WRs and looked much more comfortable.
Defense does the job
I don’t know if I could be any happier with how the defense played. There was the blown coverage by Ryan Collado that allowed for Air Force’s only TD, and then there was the constant inability of the LBs and DBs to account for the outside pitch man in the option. But beyond that there really isn’t a lot to complain about. Yes, the Gophers did give up some yardage and many first downs, but the defense made plays when they had to (most notably the fumble returned for a TD and a fourth down stop deep in Gophers territory) and did a good job keeping Air Force out of the end zone. To give you some comparison, last year Air Force’s lowest point total was 10, and that was to TCU, one of the nation’s best defenses. The Gopher linebackers did the job yesterday, with each of them recording double-digits in tackles.
Players of the game
Offense – There wasn’t really an absolute standout on offense, but Eric Decker once again was the player that dominated the stats chart. Decker is now 2-2 in 100 yard games this year, catching 10 balls for 113 yards in this one. Decker’s strong game also allowed him to pass Tutu Atwell and move into 2nd place in the all-time Gophers receiving list with 2657 yards. Even though Decker was flagged for a couple penalties, he continues to be the Gopher’s MVP on that side of the ball. Honorable mention goes to Adam Weber, who became the Gophers all-time leader in career completions with 540, passing Cory Sauter. Seeing that Weber is barely halfway through his career, it looks like he may break some records that may never be broken.
Defense ““ The easy answer goes to Nate Triplett. The senior LB had 17 tackles, and had three plays really stand out. First was after the MarQueis Gray fumble. Air Force was driving and had a 3rd and goal from the 4 yard line. Triplett fought off a block and tackled Tim Jefferson on the 2, forcing the Falcons to settle for the FG. The second was at the end of Air Force’s opening drive of the second half. The Falcons had a 4th and 1 from the Gophers 9 yard line, and once again Triplett stepped up a made a big play, stopping the play for no gain, and giving the ball back to Minnesota. The biggest play however was the 52-yard fumble return for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter. Triplett got a nice bounce off a Brandon Kirksey strip and took it back for the score, really shifting the momentum to Minnesota’s favor for the remainder of the game.
Special Teams – You have to be impressed with Eric Ellestad. After sitting on the bench for three years, the junior kicker is now 5-6 on FGs this season (the lone miss was not entirely his fault), with several of them being made in high-pressure situations. Ellestad is also perfect on XPs on the season. The one question remaining for Ellestad is just how much range he will have on FGs; his longest this year is 39. Ellestad also put several kickoffs in the end zone.
Next Up
Next week the Gophers will really be tested, as they host an explosive Cal team. Cal has one of the best running backs in the nation in Jahvid Best, and overall is one of the most talented offenses in the nation. The Minnesota offense will have to show up in top form if the Gophers are to pull off the upset.
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