SDSU @ Minnesota - What we learned

Deja-NDSU. Ugh.

I'm talking about the 2006 win over the Bison, not the 2007 debacle. The fact that I have to clarify is embarassing enough. We've not done well against teams from the Dakotas in recent history. And last Saturday was no different.

This was one of those wins that was almost impossible to enjoy. All you could do was sit in the stands and wonder if the offense could be any more incompetant, or if the defense would finally falter.

At his press conference last week, Coach Brewster was asked if he still felt games against teams like SDSU had any benefit (transcript). Brew responded: "I feel the same way. I don't know how much it benefits the University of Minnesota to play South Dakota State. I'm not sure of that benefit." I agreed with him when he said that about NDSU two years ago, and I agree now. Why even play these games? They serve no purpose beyond potential embarassment, and they may even be counter-productive to recruiting in the region. If you're going to schedule on of these FBS teams for a game, it has to be somebody outside of the upper midwest. The South and North Dakota States of the world have rosters that appear to have stolen potential walk-ons from across Minnesota. Quality prep football players who could contribute on our roster, would the scholarships (fairly or not) need to go to more highly tauted out-of-state talent. But enough complaining about having to play the Jackrabbits to begin with.

First, let me be positive. Our senior laden defense was stellar all game, actually scoring as many points as they allowed (6). They generated turnovers, and hung tough to get us a win. Cosgrove and Lee had their unit prepared and ready to play. Hats off to them for showing up and gutting out a win on Senior Day. But the offense did these guys no favors. None.

As I stated earlier, this win was painful to sit through. This was almost exclusively the fault of the offense. Whaley disappointed me. The offensive line was dreadful (again), and Adam Weber was as ineffective and awful as I have ever seen him, with the added excitement of another pick-6. How a 3-year college quarterback who is your all-time leader in passing yardage can now routinely complete less than half of his attempted passes is beyond me. Weber managed to string together consecutive completions only once during the entire game (and the second completion was a two yard loss to boot). At this point, there is absolutely no reason for him to start any more. No need to waste Gray's freshman season any longer, right? Some how I doubt the offensive coaching staff will agree.

While reading some of the comments to a rather uninspired sarcastic Strib editorial penned by resident Gopher basher (when Reusse is too busy), Jim Souhan, I found one that got me thinking. The author noted that he didn't belive MarQueis Gray was blue-chip recruit, because a blue-chip recruit would be starting for this team, and speculated that Brewster is either a liar or an idiot for not starting him. Now I DO believe MarQueis is a blue-chipper, and I DON'T think Brewster is an idiot. But the point of this comment is well taken - we're simply not that good of a team where Gray shouldn't be playing all the time. Once the Illinois game was over, the transition to Gray starting with the first team should have been initiated. Gray needs reps if he's to be the QB of the future we expect him to be. Obviously, the situation is complicated by having an experienced upperclassman QB on the roster, but Brewster's leash for Weber has been long enough. I would have preferred for Gray to get his first start against SDSU at home, and admittedly, throwing him to the wolves in Kinnick Stadium seems much less appealing, but if the O-line is going to continuously collapse, then at least have MarQueis in there to try and make something out of nothing with his feet. What's the worst that can happen? 55-0?

So what did we learn on during this embarassing Saturday? Well, I learned that the tailgating scene in the lots around directly adjacent to the stadium is great. I learned that the SDSU football team appears to have ripped their jerseys and color scheme off from San Jose State. I learned that our offense can play worse against a lesser opponent. And finally, I learned that our defense has a lot of pride, and I can say confidently that they'll play tough against Iowa, no matter the awful circumstances the offense will almost inevitably put them in.

Time to try and end the regular season on a high note and get Floyd back. Go Gophers!

Bring on the Jackrabbits! - SDSU @ Gophers Preview

Despite the fact that South Dakota State is a Division I-AA football team, I can't deny that I'm excited about this game. Part of it is the fact that its the last home game of the year, but part of it is also because this game is an opportunity to show the fan base where this program really is headed. Has the Gopher's roster been infused with enough talent over the last two years to prevent another NDSU debacle, and blow the doors off a lesser opponent? Or are we continuing to stagnate as a middling program? A dominating win this Saturday will at least restore some of my confidence that the program is slowly getting to where we all want it. A close win, or (gulp) a loss - and my confidence is severely shaken.

The Jackrabbits, by all accounts are a very good football team. They sit in second place in the Missouri River Valley Conference, with a 7-2 record (6-1 conference). Their most notable win this year, is a 24-14 victory over the Northern Iowa Panthers. Yeah, the Northern Iowa that the Hawkeyes barely snuck past early in the season. Drawing any conclusions from this connection to a Big Ten foe is probably not good for gambling purposes. But as motivation for the Gophers to not sleep on this team it would seem to be a good motivator. From the sounds of things at Brewster's press conference and a Gopherhole.com interview of the SDSU beat writer, this is likely what players are being fed this week. And rightly so, the program seems fragile right now, and an ugly win or a bad loss to a I-AA opponent could damage the team's confidence long term. Not to mention kill the already lukewarm fan interest. Tubby Time starts tomorrow against Tennessee Tech, and many have already washed their hands of Gopher football, for the higher profile basketball team (don't worry we're all excited here at 'Give 'Em Hell Goldy' too, but let's get past SDSU and Iowa first...).

So what do the Gophers need to do to come out and dominate from start to finish? I'd like to believe the biggest component to winning this game big is running the ball over and over and over again. Let our massive line get a lather going, build some confidence, and maybe push people around for once. 45-50 times would be what I prefer. Maybe that means the Gophs only score 14 points in the first half, but if that means success and ball control in the latter half of the game, then so be it. The Jacks (I hate this nickname by the way, and refuse to use it from here on out) have a top notch DE in Danny Batten, who is a potential I-AA Defensive Player of the Year. He'll no doubt be the guy that the O-line will be watching all day, as he apparently lines up all over the place. The game plan of passing early and often has largely failed this team (the anomaly of the MSU game aside), and patience running the ball is a novel approach at this point. Bennett, Whaley, and Eskeridge deserve a real chance to show what they can do, and that relegating runs to 2nd and shorts. With Whaley's speed off tackle against, this could conceivably be his coming out party. Mixing in MarQueis heavily should also keep the SDSU defense guessing (2nd downs, lots of 2nd downs Jed!). When Gray is on the field, he will be the hands-down best athlete on the field. Let's use that to our advantage. Que sera sera with Weber. My only expectation for him is that he not turn the ball over in ways that make it look like he's on the take.

And on defense? From the sounds of it, the Jackrabbits will be starting a freshman drop-back QB with a big arm named Thomas O'Brien. And they have a lot of confidence in this kid, as he's won his first 3 starts. Sioux Falls Argus Leader beat writer, Terry Vandrovec, suggested that were he the Gopher's d-coordinator that he'd "blitz about 80% of the time" to put continuous pressure on the frosh QB. I'd prefer a slightly more conservative approach, that being see if we can get any pressure from the front 4 for a quarter or so, before leaving all our corners on islands. The Jackrabbit rushing attack is led by JR running back Kyle Minnett, who has nearly 1,000 yards and averages 4.9 a carry. No slouch there, I-AA competition or no. So the front seven will need to work hard to bring down Minnett at the point of contact. The Gopher defense has some pride, as they've been the backbone of this team, maintaining our respectability when the offense couldn't buy a first down. Time for them to man up after a sub-par performance against Illinois.

So how will this shake out? Early this week I felt very nervous about this game, and the potential downward spiral effect if could create on the program. But like last week, my confidence has grown as the week went on, and I smell big win. Yes, SDSU will bring fans, and there are a bunch of Minnesota kids on their roster, so there will be lots of family and friends there in support of the Jackrabbits. But our talent and speed should allow us to dominate, provided the game plan is sound. Hopefully the loss to Illinois was the learning experience it should be, and the team will come out fired up for Senior's Day.

Prediction: Minnesota 42, South Dakota State 17

Gopher Player of the Game: Kevin Whaley - 18 carries for 140 yards and 2 TDs

Jackrabbit Player of the Game: Kyle Minnett - 20 carries for 95 yards and 1 TD