Gopher Football
Minnesota Linebackers vs. Alabama Backfield:
Coming into this season, Alabama was actually looking fairly strong in the backfield, but injuries have completely decimated what that group was supposed to be. It started on September 18th against Western Carolina when starting junior Quarterback Brodie Croyle tore his ACL. A few weeks later against Kentucky, the then 2nd ranked rusher in the SEC, senior Ray Hudson, suffered a season ending knee injury of his own. Fast forward a few more weeks and Alabama lost their starting fullback Tim Castille to torn knee ligaments.
So that brings us to Alabama’s second team; the group that possibly will be lining up against Minnesota. After Ray Hudson got injured, sophomore tailback Kenneth Darby stepped in and has done a great job. Unfortunately for Alabama, Darby is having problems trying to recover from an abdominal injury. At this time, his chances of playing are listed at 50/50. If Darby is able to go, Alabama will be fine in the backfield. Since taking over for Hudson, Darby has ran 218 times for 1100 yards and 8 TD’s. If Darby is not able to go, the 4th string running back, true freshman Aaron Johns will get the nod. On the year, Johns has run 47 times for 208 yards. Starting at Quarterback for the Tide will be junior Spencer Pennington. Spencer has been a little erratic for Alabama. He has thrown for 731 yards at 52%, but with just 3 TD passes and 8 interceptions.
After defensive coordinator Greg Hudson left Minnesota for East Carolina a few weeks ago, several defensive personnel changes were announced. The biggest area impacted was at linebacker, and the biggest surprise may have been moving Terrance Campbell to safety. Terrance’s effort has always been very admirable, but in a recent interview he admitted that his size (around 205 lbs) made it difficult for his body to handle the physical pounding of playing this position in the Big Ten. Getting the start at Will linebacker in place of Campbell will be freshman John Shevlin. This will be Shevlin’s first career start, but he has been a been a special teams star this year for Minnesota. Shevlin is still a little undersized at this point (6’1″ 220 pounds), but his ferocity and speed should allow him to make some plays. The other linebacker moved to safety was sophomore Brandon Owens. Owens has seen the field a lot this year in passing situations, but he never really seemed to find his grove at LB. With the personnel losses in the secondary next year, the decision to move Brandon back to his natural safety position makes sense.
The other two starting linebacker spots are in tact. At drop linebacker, Dominique Sims will be playing in his last game for the maroon and gold. After being a prized recruit who struggled to see the field for four years, it has been nice to see Dominique finally find his groove for his senior season. Backing up Sims is Mario Reese, another player who has been moved since the end of the season. In the middle, junior Kyle McKenzie will make another start. McKenzie has started every game this year (with the exception of Northwestern due to the spread offense), and has been Minnesota’s most consistent player at linebacker.
Summary:
Thing are a bit of a mess for both teams in this matchup. Alabama had the talent in place, but they all got injured. Minnesota still has some talent, but the personnel has been unsettled. Despite that, I actually think the Minnesota linebackers will turn in a good performance. McKenzie and Sims have started almost all the games this year and have seen a lot in their day. I think Shevlin (or Brian Smith) can be a capable replacement for Campbell. Alabama has really struggled passing the ball since Croyle was lost, so this should allow Minnesota’s linebackers to focus their game on stopping the run. If past history tells us anything, it’s that Gopher linebackers do much better against running teams than they do against spread offense teams. If Darby plays for Alabama I think it will tilt this matchup more towards even, but without him, or even with him at less than 100%, and Alabama will likely struggle a bit.
Advantage: Minnesota
Minnesota D-Line vs. Alabama O-Line:
If you are wondering why the Alabama offense didn’t fall off the face of their earth when their entire backfield was lost for the season, the answer lies in their offensive line. When you have injuries at quarterback and running back like Alabama has, a good offensive line is the best cure. There have been some knicks here and there with the O-Line, but this line accomplished the impressive feat of keeping their entire starting five in tact for the entire season. Because of them the Alabama offense still has a pulse. It is a veteran group (SR, SR, JR, SR, SO) that has a lot of career starts between them. They are actually very similar to Minnesota in that they have a few multi year starters, and that they’re tall and relatively lean (averaging 6’5″ 294 lbs).
The Tide are led by senior left tackle Wesley Britt. Wesley is a giant in every sense of the word. At 6’8″ 300 pounds, Britt is an imposing figure who has the game to back up his frame. Britt is a 4 year starter, and a 3 time All-SEC first team performer. As far as importance and accomplishments, Britt is to Alabama as Greg Eslinger is to Minnesota. The other star for the Tide on the offensive line is left guard Evan Mathis. Like Britt, Mathis is a senior who is a four year starter. Mathis joined Britt on the All-SEC team this year and the two of them give Alabama a very good left side.
No unit on Minnesota’s team had as many problems as the defensive line did this year. The moving of Mario Reese to defensive end did not work out, and his co-starter Eric Clark hasn’t done much to improve on his lackluster freshman season. After showing some promise at defensive end last year, Mark Losli’s move to tackle was really not a success in any way. He did manage to get 2 sacks on the stat sheet, but most of the time Mark was unable to generate any pressure on the quarterback. Seeing that Losli plays tackle, it was even more disappointing to see teams push him out of the way and run right up the gut on the defense. Anthony Montgomery has been the second best player on the defensive line for Minnesota this year. Monty had some nice flashes (as he has in the past), but in watching him you can’t help but wonder if he is capable of more. Montgomery already has a career high in tackles at 43, and his play will be key against Alabama’s offensive line. The best player on Minnesota’s DL this year was senior Darrell Reid. Unlike Losli, Reid’s position switch has been a huge success. Darrell is better suited for playing end, and that move allowed him to produce a team leading 6.5 sacks and 74 tackles.
Summary:
Even if Clark, Montgomery, Losli and Reid all had career seasons, they would still have their hands full with what Alabama brings with their offensive line. But seeing that Minnesota’s defensive front didn’t improve very much from last year, this is a matchup that Alabama will own. Minnesota has struggled to apply consistent pressure on opposition quarterbacks, and they have also been susceptible to allowing gaping holes right in the heart of the line. That’s not a very good combination against a line like Alabama’s.
Advantage: Alabama
Minnesota Secondary vs. Alabama Receivers:
Due to several factors, Alabama’s receiving corps haven’t produced a lot of numbers. Since Brodie Croyle’s injury 8 games ago, Alabama has thrown just 4 TD passes. A big factor has been inconsistent quarterback play, but the other factor is the youthfulness of the receivers. Alabama had to replace 5 of their top 6 receivers from last year, so naturally there will be a lot of youth. The top receiver for the Tide this year is sophomore Tyrone Prothro (21/265/1). The other two receiving threads for Alabama are freshman Matt Caddell (14/310/1) and freshman D.J. Hall (12/135/1). As you may have noticed, no Tide WR has more than 1 TD catch. In fact, two seldom-used tight ends are tied for the lead in touchdown catches with 2.
On the Gopher side of the ball, there are a few questions floating about. Ukee Dozier is not one of them. The senior cornerback has put together a very solid season, despite not getting any help from a pass rush. Ukee leads the Gophers with 3 interceptions and was honored as a 1st team All-Big Ten player. The other cornerback spot has witnessed a bit of a battle. Towards the end of the season, redshirt freshman Jamal Harris took over the starting job from sophomore Trumaine Banks. Harris will make some mistakes (as any young player does), but the coaches like his confidence and aggressiveness. At free safety, Minnesota will need to replace John Pawielski. J.P. broke his leg in the final game against Iowa (almost 7 weeks ago now), but is not yet recovered. Of the injuries that we know of, this is the only one that will keep a Minnesota starter out of the game. Pawielski was a key member of the Gopher defense, and replacing him won’t be easy. Right now, that replacement is penciled in to be Jonathan Richmond. Though he is a senior, Richmond has not seen the field on defense very much at all as a Gopher. If he does not perform, his backup for the game is junior Quentin White.
Summary:
This will probably be the most interesting matchup when Alabama has the ball. On paper, Alabama does not show any threat that they will be able to pass the ball. On the year, they only have 1456 yards receiving with 10 TD’s. (By comparison, Minnesota is a great running team, yet still managed 2103 yards and 17 TD’s). Minnesota on the other hand, has a great cornerback in Dozier, and an experienced strong safety in Justin Fraley. Where I get a little worried is with Harris and Richmond; two players who have only a couple games of starting experience between them. If Pawielski was playing in this game, I’d give the advantage to the Gophers, but without him there are just too many questions, especially with the shaky zone coverage Minnesota likes to play.
Advantage: Even
Overall Summary:
For as much as the first preview was a discussion of strength vs. strength, this is just the opposite with one weakness vs. another weakness. Alabama was poised to be a good running team, but then the injuries hit. Minnesota was poised to be a good rush defense team, but then inexplicably the middle of the defensive line started giving up large holes and big chucks of yardage. The Tide has a very young group of receivers and a bad QB situation, which has made passing the ball for them difficult. Minnesota has had problems all season defending the pass, and has the unique talent of giving opposition quarterbacks career best games. This matchup is just too close to call. I think the key will be the availability/health of Kenneth Darby. If he plays and does well, it gives Alabama the edge rushing the football and will force Minnesota to thin out their secondary in an attempt to stop him. If Darby’s injury is an issue, I think Minnesota will have just enough on defense to keep Alabama’s offense from moving all over the field.
Overall Advantage: Even
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