Revamped Defense Shuts Down Alabama

For the first time in school history, the Gophers have won three-straight bowl games. OK, they were all minor ones, but they were against some high profile teams: Arkansas, Oregon and Alabama. The much-maligned Gopher defense was the key during crunch time. The “D” shut down the Crimson Tide in the second half and stopped them on downs in their final drive that reached the Minnesota 15 yard line. The final result was a 20-16 nail biting win, which also stretched the team record non-conference winning streak to 16 games.

Like the Music City Bowl in 2002, the Minnesota defense came into the game limping and with a new defensive coordinator. And like that 2002 game, the defense put on their best performance of the season. The “˜Bama defense stiffened against the Minnesota running game late and Rhys Lloyd missed on a short field goal that could have taken the drama out of the last few minutes. It really was on the defense to hold on to this win. The key stat of the game: Alabama was 0-11 on third down plays. The Crimson Tide was 0-1 on fourth down attempts with the miss being the game saver for the Gophers.

This was a sweet end to a season that was marred by a 1-5 finish in Big Ten play. The first of the string of losses was to Michigan. It was the Gopher defense that took the heat in that game as Michigan drove 87 yards for the winning touchdown in the final minutes. This time the defense took advantage of an admittedly depleted Tide offense.

I can’t say enough about defenders like Anthony Montgomery and Darrell Reid. Both had more than their share of tackles. They also helped provide a good pass rush, something sorely lacking throughout the season. Alabama quarterback Spenser Pennington had a tough day, looking like the fill-in he was for most of the season. However, you have to account for defense pressure in this equation. Even a mediocre QB can have a great day if he has plenty of time to pass. Also, Keith Lipka should be mentioned for his TD on the fumble that was forced by none-other-than Anthony Montgomery.

I want to first give some more credit to players who are often overlooked, like the offensive line. What a day this unit had! Greg Eslinger had his usual All-American day. One of the TV announcers, who was a center in his playing days, couldn’t stop extolling Eslinger. The way the O-line moves, especially the center, on those sweeps is a thing of beauty. Those sweeps must have averaged 8-10 yards.

The usual suspects were produced by most of the Gopher offense. Marion Barber III had 187 yards rushing and Laurence Maroney and 105 yards. The Gophers’ 276 yards rushing was by far the most yards the Alabama defense, which was ranked No. 1 in the nation against the run, had given up all year. In fact, the Tide hadn’t allowed any back to run for over 100 yards this season and this includes a game against the highly regarded Auburn running attack. Alabama defense: meet Barber and Maroney.

Speaking for MBIII, I didn’t know whether I wanted to hug him or slug him in the first half. Marion caused two turnovers, a fumble and an interception in the end zone, in the first quarter. These turnovers cost the Gophers 14 points. However, Barber took his lumps like a champion and played on like nothing happened. The result was almost 200 all-purpose yards, including 100 yards rushing and a touchdown run in the first half. Barber ended up being the game MVP.

No doubt this was a sloppy game, especially in the early going. There were five turnovers in the first quarter. The Gophers were nabbed for 11 penalties. This sort of thing is fairly typical in bowl games where teams have a long layoff. Remember, the Gophers had their so-called bye at the end of the Big Ten season, adding to the wait.

But enough complaining, this was a good win against one of the most well known programs in college football. It was in front of 66,089 fans and in front of national TV audience on a day that most people had off. This was the largest crowd to watch the Gophers in a bowl game since the 1962 Rose Bowl. This win will be very good for the Gopher program.

Glen Mason has gotten some heat lately for the build up to a season that looked more like a typical Gopher bust. Well, he has accomplished a few things a lot of other Minnesota coaches couldn’t do like getting the Gophers to bowl games consistently and winning a few of them. Even the Mason critics have to say that it’s progress. I liken what Mason has accomplished here with the progress Texas Tech has made over the same period. Minnesota has had to face the reality of a grueling Big Ten schedule and Tech has had to play in the tough Southern Division of the Big XII. (As I write this, the Big Ten underdogs have just gone 2-1 in bowl games so far.) Both have only been able to peak at 5-3 a couple times in conference play in the last decade. Yet both programs have quietly become consistent bowl teams and are posed to move up to the next level. I’m not saying today’s victory compares to Tech’s win against Cal. Obviously that was far bigger. Over the long haul, I would say both programs are making similar progress.

This win makes the offseason immensely more pleasant than it would have been for Gopher fans if the Iowa heartbreaker was in fact the last game to look back to. This time the Gophers found a way to win. In the background after the game the Minnesota band could be heard playing The Battle Hymn of the Republic ““ hopefully we never become too politically correct to end that tradition ““ in celebration of the win. Yes, our Golden Gophers beat back the Rebel attack emanating from the SEC once again. Way to ring in the New Year for a third time in a row! (And maybe, just maybe, next season the Gophers can give us a post New Year’s Eve game to celebrate.)