Saturday Night's Alright (for fighting)-Spartans @ Gophers Preview

Its been awhile since we've played Michigan State, with our last meeting coming in 2006 at Spartan Stadium. The Round Table Road Crew had the good fortune to be at that game, as it was a very enjoyable road win (31-18, Gophers). That Gopher team we watched that cold November day was very different than the one we watch now. Grinnin' Glen Mason was the Head Coach, our offense was a fine-tuned machine lead by the competent Bryan Cupito, and defensive meltdowns were our speciality (vs. Texas Tech in the Insight.com Bowl, anyone?). And under Mason, we've had the recent edge against the Spartans, winning 5 of the last 7 meetings.

Things have changed since then. Our new head coach doesn't squint at the scoreboard constantly to see how Ohio State is faring. The defense is more athletic, and tends to keep us in games now. But our offense is currently, well, terrible for lack of a better word. So can Brewster's Gophs continue our recent success over MSU?

Despite coming off back-to-back beatdowns from ranked Big Ten opponents, I think the answer is a resounding 'yes'. We're coming back home after a brutal 2-week road trip. We've got the prime time Big Ten Network game on Halloween, and the fans should be fired up. State is coming of an emotionally draining last-minute loss to the hated Hawkeyes. And we've got a week to scheme and figure out how to deal with life in the A.D. of the Gopher football timeline (After Decker).

Defensively, I think we can keep the Spartans from rolling up more than 3 TDs on us - provided our offense can get them the rest they need in the second half. Michigan State likes to run the ball, and freshmen Larry Caper and Edwin Baker appear to be decent and improving backs. However, our front 7 seems to handle backs like these two fairly well when not forced to play 40+ minutes of a game. More than the run game though, I'm concerned with the big play potential of senior receiver Blair White. White is now one of the premier wideouts in the Big Ten, and with Decker done for the season, and Arrelious Benn all but disappearing this season, he sits statistically at the top of the heap with Purdue's Keith Smith and IU's Tandon Doss. The two bad blown coverages that led to DeVeir Posey's two long TDs last week against OSU make me nervous. I'll be satisfied if we can limit White to only one big catch all evening. Really though, for the defense to keep things in check, it really comes down to the offense producing more than one first down all game.

Can the offense produce some sustained drives and score some points this week? That's the big question. Adam Weber has looked absolutely dreadful most of this season, and freshman phenom MarQueis Gray is now looking more and more viable as a starting QB with each passing week. Coach Brew announced at his press conference this week that Weber would be the starter, but that they would again use MarQueis again in a similar capacity as they did last week. Well played by Brewster, as this could mean anything, beyond the fact that Weber will at least trot out for the first snap. The key here is that MSU will have to prepare for both QBs who play very differently. Now I do think that Weber will still take the majority of the snaps in this game, but I'm expecting to see Gray running the offense for a series or two during meaningful parts of the game, particularly if 'Bad Web' continues to sling the ball.

Without Decker, if would seem that Weber will be hamstrung when looking for that bailout throw as the pocket is collapsing. It remains to be seen who will step up and start making plays in the receiving corps. Last week during the final offensive drive, MarQueis seemed to find a comfort zone with Troy Stoudemire, so perhaps we'll see that connection continue to develop.

Ideally, O-coordinator Jed Fisch will again attempt to establish the run early and often, and get Kevin Whaley his touches, and build the offensive line's confidence as the game progesses (like we did vs. Purdue). The Spartan front 4 is not as talented as PSU or OSU's, so we shouldn't be quite as mismatched there. Junior linebacker Greg Jones is another story though. Sparty Tom mentioned that he believes that Jones is a legit All-American, and I can't argue. I'm looking forward to see Jones play, as I've only caught glimpses of him this year (vs. Wisconsin and Iowa). He'll absolutely need to be accounted for by the offense every play. And here's an interesting tidbit, Jones was recruited by Glen Mason and was set to become a Gopher (via Mason's Cincinnati pipeline), before the Insight.com Bowl debacle that cost Mason his job. Current Spartan coach Mark Dantonio swooped in during our transition period and nabbed him from us.

So, all that said, I think this game will shake out as a close win for the Gophers. The Gophers absolutely need to win to salvage the season and potentially get to a bowl game, and being at home gives them just enough of an advantage.

Prediction: Minnesota 24, Michigan State 23

Spartan Player of the Game: Greg Jones - 13 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 1 FF

Gopher Player of the Game: MarQueis Gray - 140 yards passing, 1 TD; 95 yards rushing, 1 TD

Michigan State at Minnesota Game Preview (the Spartan angle)

Once again, in trying to gain some perspective on our upcoming opponent, I've asked a friend from the wrong side of the tracks to give us their perspective. This week its my friend and MSU alum, 'Sparty Tom' who lends his writing talents to our blog, giving us his take on how he thinks the game will shake out. Here's his take:

It’s been an all too common occurrence this year to be writing for an upcoming game after a very close loss from the previous week. I’m a big believer in the three strike rule…meaning three heartbreaking last-second losses in one season, and I don’t think your kids can get off the mat. Yes, Michigan State rescued their season earlier this year with consecutive victories over Michigan, Illinois, and Northwestern. However, after a stunning last second loss to Iowa, a last minute loss to Notre Dame, and loss to Central Michigan on a last second field goal, this season has essentially turned into a salvage operation for the Sparties. It’s warm weather bowl, or bust.
Now to the game at hand. Minnesota looked impressive earlier in the season by winning the games they were supposed to win, taking Cal down to the wire, and making Wisconsin a very close game. However, with two blowout losses to Penn State and Ohio State (granted they were both on the road), they appear to be on the ropes. The situation got worse as reports have surfaced that Gopher star receiver Eric Decker will miss the remainder of the season with a foot injury. From a Spartan standpoint the greatest concern is that it’s a night game, the fans will be jacked, and there could be a big hangover from the Iowa heartbreak. For Michigan State on offense, Kirk Cousins has entrenched himself as the full time starting quarterback with the highest passer efficiency rating in the Big Ten conference. Freshman running backs Larry Caper and Edwin Baker continue to improve each week, and are due for a breakout performance. On defense, Spartan linebacker Greg Jones is a legitimate All-American; in my opinion, the surest tackler in the Big Ten. If the defense can duplicate the effort from the previous game, Minnesota could be in for a long night. If not, the Gophers can definitely win this one.
Combine the fact that this is a big game for both teams (in terms of eventual bowl eligibility) and it’s a Halloween night game in which the home fans will be nuts, this one is tough to call. The Spartans may have the edge in talent, and at the beginning of the year this game was circled as a win, but I believe the environment and the effects from last week’s stunner will be too much to overcome. Michigan State is wounded, and Minnesota is playing them at just the right time…

Prediction: Minnesota – 24 MSU – 17

Thanks for that take Sparty Tom, good stuff. I have heard about the excellence of LB Greg Jones, but have yet to watch him much this season. I'll be keeping a close eye on him all game, along with Blair White.

Gophers @ Buckeyes - What we learned

To paraphrase the always quotable Denny Green, “The Buckeyes are who we thought they were.” That’s how I felt after watching this game. They beat us like a drum like they do every year. And much like the Penn State game, we hung tough with a superior opponent for a 30 minutes. We were one bad play where pass coverage broke down from being all even going into the half. All in all, not a bad place to be when playing Ohio State on the road. Then it all fell apart, and the second half devolved into series turnovers and miscues. The defense which had looked relatively solid in the first two quarters, started to come apart.

There were signs of this in the first half, of course - some bad penalties, the blown coverage on Posey, etc. Even still, with Theret’s pick in the endzone effectively ending the half, I felt good. It seemed like with a few adjustments in the defense, and if the receivers could actually haul the ball in, we had a chance.

So what do we do? We go and get hoodwinked by a pop-up kick, and Stoudemire is caught unawares. Ball goes to OSU and Pryor gallops into the endzone 3 plays later on the short field. For a team that can’t seem to find any way to score points, that became the tipping point.

Fisch reverted the offense back to its fallback formation when we’re down, the shotgun. The run was pretty much abandoned from this point on, with the exception of the designed QB draw. And not much worked from that formation either, (with at least one exception, the nice TE screen we ran to Tow-Arnett). Really though the stat line to remember from the offense is this: 3^rd Down converstions 1 for 10. That makes us a sizzling 4 for 21 in the last 2 games. The only thing not completely frustrating to watch on the offense was the play of MarQueis Gray (although he did take a sack in the 3^rd quarter that was absolutely terrible). I’ve watched his play in the final offensive drive several times now, and I have to say I was impressed with his accuracy and poise when throwing. Yes, it was against the OSU second-teamers. But he handled a blitz off the edge perfectly, and the timing and velocity of his throws was excellent, especially on the slant pass to Stoudemire for our only TD.

Given the situations the defense was put in during the second half (turnovers leading to very short field scoring opportunities), I thought the defense was at least competent despite the scoreboard. Lee Campbell in particular came to play, and was flying to the ball and hitting hard all day.

So what did we learn from Homecoming at the Horseshoe? Well, we caught a glimpse of the future with Gray under center for a full series, and despite the circumstances, it was nice. And we learned the offense’s commitment to the run is apparently just lip service, and we’ll just duck back into the shotgun at the first sign of difficulty rushing. We learned that Adam Weber doesn’t seem to have any interest in not throwing interceptions. And finalIy we learned that Bob Griese is an even bigger idiot than I thought.

An emotionally depleted Michigan State coming in on All Hallows Eve this Saturday night. Time to get right, and get back over 0.500 – this is a game that can and should be won, especially at home. Preview coming later this week, and possibly a MSU alum (Sparty Tom) take on the game as well. Stay tuned.

Decker done for the year.

The season just keeps getting better. We all knew Deck would be questionable for the game this week after spraining his foot along the sidelines against Ohio State. I didn't expect this though.

Sad to hear, and not just from the selfish perspective of a fan, but also because Eric Decker has essentially lost all chance at any major personal accolades (All-American, status, winning the Biletnikoff, etc.). Recognition he deserves to be in the running for. His time away from the field will likely cost him in terms of NFL stock too. I'd have guessed that he would have been a 3rd to 4th round pick in the 2010 NFL draft. This latest injury in his career may have more teams concerned about his durability.

I sincerely hope we haven't seen Decker's last game in the Maroon and Gold. He's been a stellar player for us and an exemplary team captain on and off the field. He's given me some of my favorite Gopher football moments or recent memory. His catch against Illinois last year was unbelievable. And his catch against Cal this season, where he took a hit to the face was even more amazing. And who can forget him punching Badger cornerback Jack Ikeguonu in the crotch? Not me. If he gets healthy by Bowl season, (and we manage to get to a bowl somehow), I'd love one last chance to see him hauling in footballs and turning to catch a fade in the corner of the endzone.

Let's hope that the receiving corps can have someone step up and fill the void. Brandon Green and/or Troy Stoudemire - it's your turn to shine. Adam Weber, time to find a new #1 target. Decker can't bail you out anymore.

Please feel free to share your favorite Eric Decker moment by posting a comment.

Where's Bob Griese? He's out getting a hamburger.

If you had the misfortune of watching the OSU-Minnesota game this Saturday, you may have caught this little gem of broadcast professionalism in a lull in the game where the color commentators Bob Griese and Chris Spielman were briefly talking about the NASCAR standings. When Spielmen asked "Where's Juan Pablo Montoya" in the points standings, Griese chuckled and suggested "He's out eating a taco."

Groan. That's the best thing he could come up with to say? And its especially moronic since Juan Pablo Montoya is Colombian, and tacos are believed to have originated in Mexico. A classic 'I guess they all look alike to you Bob' moment. Luckily for ESPN, Spielman had the decency to NOT rebutle with this, as I would have.

This was capped off with an awkward, and poorly timed on-air apology from Griese to Montoya, as the broadcast closed out. I guess we should be thankful Griese didn't know Montoya was Colombian, or he might have suggested he was 'out candying up his nose'. Phew. ESPN really dodged a bullet there.

U-G-L-Y

WOW. I didn't think our offense could look any worse the week after a putrid shut-out that included a goal stuff of Whaley. Yet what transpired today was even more horrific, the one garbage time TD notwithstanding.

Adam Weber has completely and utterly regressed to a one WR QB, who wasn't helped by horrid drops (Eric Lair when the ball hits you IN THE FACE CATCH IT!), yet more consistent pressure, and his own horrible decisions. It is amazing tOSU wasn't up 21 points at more at half. That points to how well our D played once again. It is beyond sickening just how bad the offense under Weber has been. Check out these stats, up to date as of the end of today's game. Keep in mind there are 120 teams in D1 football. And 11 teams in the Big Ten.

Yards/game -- 293.7 -- 110th in the nation (11th in the conference)
Points/game -- 23.1 -- 83rd in the nation (10th in the conference)
Sacked/game -- 2.3 -- 76th in the nations (9th in the conference)
Rush Att/game -- 29.9 -- 105th in the nation (11th in the conference)
Rush Yds/att -- 3.5 -- 85th in the nation (9th in the conference)

It is truly pathetic the offense has been this bad. We need to establish some identity on offense, and much like Gopher Bandana Guy, I welcome a switch to MarQueis. He is not the savior, but he brings a spark to the O, and will get valuable experience for the future. Plus, he can't be ANY worse than Weber at under-utilizing the talent (or at least highly recruited players) that populate our skill positions.

And please Jedd Fisch, for the love of all that is holy, RUN THE GODD*MN BALL consistently! Stay with it! Failing that, go to quick hitting passes, just get positive yards every play, setting up makeable 3rd downs!

By the way, if you want to check out a great site for stats (where I got the data above) check out this site

Well, I'm off to quaff some Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA Ale to dull the pain of watching our offense.

The Future is now. Bring on MarQueis.

So it took me a bit longer to give up on Weber than most. I can admit that. I've been fairly loyal to him over the last several weeks, still holding out hope that he'd eventually return to his 2008 form. Adam Weber had played admirably for the Gophers for 3 and a half years, but its time for him to hand the reigns over.

I realize I'm a couple weeks late on this sentiment, relative to the rest of the Gopher football blogosphere and message boards, but we need to start playing for our future and not this season. We're 4-4 now, with a moderate chance for a minor bowl. But if we want to play for more in 2010 and 2011, let's let MarQueis run the offense from here on out, and be thankful we have an experienced backup on the roster who can come in should the need arise. Gray may struggle, and it may be downright ugly at times, but let's consider it an investment.

Brewster wants the running game to be his stamp on the program now, but Gray's tenure as the starting QB will be the real stamp, as he is Brewster's top recruit to date, and the future of Golden Gopher football.

Obviously Gray's performance against OSU was mostly during mop up time, but during that time, he was still clearly the best player on the field, and looked sharp, especially on the short throws. While preparing for Michigan State next week, I'd love for us to mess with their gameplanning by having us split snaps in practice between Weber and Gray, and not declare a starter. Let them sweat a bit about how to defend both.

More discussion to come with the weekly 'What we learned' post.

Homecoming at the Horseshoe - Gophers @ Buckeyes Preview

For me, there’s probably been no team I’ve dreaded seeing the Gophers play year in and year out than Ohio State. We always seem to get completely dominated by them. Actually, it doesn’t just seem that way. IT IS that way. Our all time record against them is 41 and 7! Yikes, just 7 wins over the Buckeyes since we started playing them? And it’s the most dominant any Big Ten team has been over another conference opponent all-time. Yeah – it’s that grim.

So do we have any hope of pulling off the upset on Saturday? Well there’s always a hope, but it may just be a sliver of hope. Had Purdue not upset OSU last weekend, I might feel better about our chances. Purdue had to go and poke the bear though, and in all the Buckeyes' incredulous confusion, the Boilers took the game, inspite of their continued turnover problems. Now I fear we’re going to take the full wrath of an OSU team that needs to get back to winning football games. Tressel has had a week to rally the troops, and has only lost back-to-back games once in his tenure. Add in the fact that last week the Gophers looked flatter than the uncrowned field at TCF Bank Stadium, and I shudder to think how ugly this game could get.

But then, maybe that’s the wrong attitude. Maybe things can’t get any worse than last week? Offensively that certainly seems true.

Sophomore QB Terrelle Pryor is playing the worst football in his career right now, and is subsequently drawing some attention from LeBron James and Shaq. Why they feel the need to inject themselves into his life is beyond me, but we can hope that a pep talk from these two superstars keeps Pryor away from the playbook a bit more this week. As a unit, the OSU offense has struggled the last couple weeks, and the Gophers will need to play stellar defense maintain OSU’s struggles with the ball.

Pryor is the focal point for the defense, as his legs killed the Gophs last year. The last thing we can allow is for Pryor to start feeling better about himself by breaking off some long runs and extending drives. Both Wisconsin and Purdue had some success in containing Pryor by keeping pressure on him all game. Pryor looked less than impressive when immediately forced to scramble or roll out of the backfield, and this led to some ugly turnovers on his part. When it comes to Pryor taking off and running he only seems comfortable with it when it’s a designed run play or after a 5-count and the lanes in the pocket have opened up and the defense is spread out. As per containing Kafka and Clark, I’d expect to see a LB spy on Pryor most of the game. But unlike Kafka and Clark, Pryor is a much more dangerous runner. A deceptively fast long-strider who can fall over that 1st down marker from 2 and a half yards away. That’s troubling, as our d-line hasn’t been all that successful in generating a lot of pressure on passing downs, and Pryor is just as likely to take off as he is to throw. None of our LBs have the speed to stay with Pryor (Lawrence might be close, but he may often draw the matchup with excellent TE Ballard). It might be interesting on some 3rd and longs to pull Triplett out for the speedier Keanon Cooper and see if he can track Pryor down.

Like any OSU team though, there is more than one player to worry about on offense. Starting TB Boom Herron looks to be out again this week with an ankle injury, but his backup, Brandon Saine is more than competent and will have to be accounted for. OSU has some talent at the receiver position as well (although Pryor’s arm has not taken full advantage of it this year), with Devir Posey and Dane Sanzenbacher being the primary threats and accounting for half of the Buckeye’s receiving yardage this year.

But even if the defense plays stellar and shuts down Pryor and Co. for another week, we likely can’t win the game unless the offense actually shows up to play. I’m hoping the coaching staff reminded the offense to have a little pride this week, and impugn on their abilities to motivate them. Laying another egg on the scoreboard will not get it done. As always it starts with the offensive line. Allowing the Buckeye front four to manhandle them will have the same results as the game last week. No small task for this group, but there it is. For our trio of RBs to have any impact on the game we can’t perform like last week. Unfortunately our O-line probably just flat out don’t have personnel good enough to deal with the likes of Thaddeus Gibson et al. Not good. Weber will likely have to dodge defenders all game, and we know how that’s worked out. And here’s a question – what ever happened to running the quick slant to Decker. Seems like we did that a lot in years past, and it’s a nice way to get a QB in rhythm, especially when facing a lot of pocket pressure. Might be a good way to get Decker and Weber back in sync again, but then, I’m not sure we even have this in our playbook anymore.

And like last week, I’ll re-iterate – if we get down big (3+ scores), it would be nice to see MarQueis make an appearance. Let the kid take his lumps for a series or two (as the QB), even if he isn’t ready to read defenses. Weber isn’t exactly lighting the world on fire in that department either, so either play the kid some more or just redshirt him already. Game time experience seems like a valuable thing to me.

Oh, and I’m finally done predicting Stoudemire kickoff returns. I think that I may be holding him back with my constant expectations of a score.

The poor performance of last week by the Gophs offense, and the situation OSU is facing (coming off a bad loss, and playing for Homecoming) make it tough for me to call for the upset this week. Sadly, I fear the Gophs drew the worst week so far to face the Bucks.

Predictions: Ohio State 28, Minnesota 10
Buckeye Player of the Game: Brandon Saine - 115 yards rushing, 2 TDs

Gopher Player of the Game: Eric Decker – 9 catches, 135 yards receiving.

And a special mention to OSU Tight End 'Jake Stoneburner', who has the best name in the Big Ten in my opinion.

Goldy Gopher Upsets Baby Jesus, Glenn Beck, Middle America, the Pope, and Mary Poppins

This is hilarious.

Watch it. Goldy Gopher (a mascot) at a public event (a college football game -- our Beloved Maroon and Gold at PSU) does what mascots do. He has fun with the spectacle that is the game. Apparently, his act of mimicking the action on the field (as he does at all public events and games) upset some incredibly bored people with nothing better to do than be upset an oversize Gopher did his job...

To listen to some of the reaction in the blogosphere, Goldy burst into the Vatican as Pope Benedict baptized Baby Jesus (in his triumphant return to the world), kicked over the Holy Water font, urinated all over the Bible, whilst mimicking sexual self-gratification... To those morons, I, and all sane, rational folks say, get a grip, and as Frankie Says, Relax...

By the way, if your opinion is anything other than 'this is funny', you're wrong. It's funny. That's it. Deal with it.

Goldy, never, EVER back down. This was hilarious.

Gophers at Nittany Lions - What we learned

Sigh. This was one of those games you’d like to forget immediately after you watched it. Penn State dominated us all game, particularly their defense. Sometimes you need to have to have a poor short term memory to get over these kinds of losses.

Unfortunately my short-term memory is fine, so we’ll go through this cathartic exercise of breaking down the game a bit and gathering a few lessons learned along the way if we can. Let me stay positive to start things off. The Gopher defense played hard and did as well as could be expected given that they were on the field for 42 minutes. Yeah, that’s not a typo – our defense was on the field for 42 of the 60 minutes played. They started out well enough, holding PSU to a pair of field goals, despite Weber giving up field position via another foolish interception. The long TD drive they gave up at the end of the half (Moye’s excellent catch) was clearly a result of a worn down D, that needed a blow. The second half was much the same. Given the time of possession situation, I’d say we were lucky to get out of there 20 to nothing.

The offense was so absolutely horrid that they couldn’t provide any kind of breather at all for their teammates on the other side of the ball. So I give the defense credit, they played a decent game, despite struggling mightily to stop 3rd down conversions (Penn State was 11 of 17 – ouch).

Talking about the offense is hardly worth my time, as I’m sure all of you saw the carnage that our offensive line allowed to happen. Nothing we ran worked. Our running backs were constantly savaged at the line of scrimmage, and Weber was again wilting under any semblance of pressure. And unlike last week, where Decker’s numbers were down because we simply didn’t need to force the ball to him, in this game we found out that even Decker couldn’t get open fast enough to have Weber throw the ball, before he had to dodge tacklers. Remember how Weber had some pocket-presence when he was a frosh? He’d take some nasty hits that had us gasping, but he’d get the completion. Those days seem so long ago now.

Did Fisch have a plan for the offense if trying to run the ball effectively didn’t work? It sure didn’t look like it. Were we so arrogant to assume we could run the ball on the Lions? I don’t know, but I suppose no gameplan, no matter how brilliant, can succeed when players don’t execute.

So what did we learn from our trip to Beaver Stadium? Well, Penn State’s defense seems mighty good (or our offense is conversely mighty bad), despite the opponents they’ve played. We learned that our defense plays with a lot of heart and pride, but that only goes so far, and they’ve got to catch a breather once in a while (not just at halftime). We learned the coaching staff still isn’t comfortable putting Gray in late in the 4th quarter with the game out of hand (redshirt anyone). And finally I learned that even Troy Stoudemire can be contained from time to time. I’d like to add that I was pretty impressed with the size of the Gopher contingent at the game. It looked like they filled up a pretty decent sized section. Good job road-trippers. We need to see more of that.

And irritated OSU looms ahead, and I’m sure they are expected to get things right at home against the Gophs. I’m curious to know when the last time OSU lost 2 straight games. Seems like it might have been a while (I’ll look that up later this week) That doesn’t seem to bode well for our squad, but stranger things have happened. Go Gophers!

I hate losing bets.

No, Hell hasn't frozen over.

Gopher Bandana Guy is not a Badger fan now (or ever).

Learn well friends - when you make a bet with a Badger fan, be careful on the stakes you set. I felt like the Gophs had as good a chance to beat Wisconsin as they've had in the last 3-4 years a few weeks back, and I put my fashion-sense where my mouth was. The idea of getting a Badger fan in the always elegant Maroon & Gold was simply too tempting. These pictures are the result of my foolish pride.

And yes, its every bit as jarring and discomforting to wear that color red in public as you might imagine. I had to wear this clown outfit for approximately 2 shame-filled hours last Friday. I don't welch on bets, and I consider myself to be a good sport, so I took it all in stride while being showered with compliments about "how good I looked in red" for the evening. Luckily I was a debtor to decent fellow and friend (Roger Murdock from "Looks like I Picked the Wrong Week to Quit Blogging"). He was decent about the whole situation, and didn't parade me around the bar or anything (thanks for that Rog).

On the plus side, I did get a prime opportunity to exercise my Bret Bielema impression, and his mastery of the apparent alphabetical wonder to him that is the letter 'W' (just an upside down 'M' folks).

One other positive, a week later Murdock went to Vegas and bet on some football games. He liked the +15 points the Badgers were getting vs. OSU - and lost. I asked him to put some $$$ down on the Gophers to cover the -3 against Purdue for me. He agreed, and liked that bet enough to place one for himself as well. Nothing like a Gopher victory to hedge a Badger fan's gambling losses!

All things considered, I'll still make this bet with Murdock next year. The prospect of seeing him with a Ski-U-Mah t-shirt on is just too tempting.

Gophers go to a Happy Valley – PSU Preview

Whoa. Our schedule just got a little heavier. Going to #14 Penn State and then to #7 Ohio State tends to have that effect. We didn’t get much time to celebrate our Homecoming win. The team’s got serious business to take care of now if they want to make something out of this season. First on the list? Get Coach Brew his signature win, make that mascot that looks like he’s wearing a home-made Halloween costume cry, and win that Bell.

That’s no small feat going up against a team like Penn State in Beaver Stadium. They’re loaded with talent on both sides of the ball. They’ve dominated all their lesser opponents and racked up large margins of victory in doing so. Joe Pa put together a BCS-ignorant schedule, getting to face Akron, Syracuse, Temple, and most recently Eastern Illinois. They did however struggle mightly with an Iowa team that came onto their field and dominated them. So irritatingly, it’s the Squawk-eyes gameplan that we need to emulate to get the upset. I watched a good chunk of this game in a Chicago bar, and I won’t claim to understand exactly what that gameplan is in terms of X’s and O’s. But two things stuck out with me thru the haze of all the gin and bourbon being consumed. Iowa’s offense is pretty average but opportunistic, and their defense is extremely PHYSICAL. They took QB Darryl Clark off his game, holding him to 19 yards rushing and a miserable 12-32 throwing the ball.

Everything on offense for Penn State goes thru Clark, however I feel the primary focal point for Cosgrove as he’s preparing the defense should be Royster. PSU’s starting halfback Evan Royster is an excellent runner, and is probably salivating at the prospect of playing the Gophers if he watched any of the tape on the Wisconsin game. I’ll continue to assert that our run defense performance was not a scheme issue vs. Wisconsin, but rather the defense’s struggle with taking down a 250 lb halfback. The secondary focal point should be pressuring Darryl Clark, forcing him to unload the ball earlier that he wants. He melted down under pressure from Iowa and made some bad mistakes. The Gophs will have to force several errors to have a chance to win this game. The Nittany Lions do have a trio of solid wide receivers (Moye, Powell, and Zug), but they’re not world beaters, and a rattled Clark would keep them from hearing their names over the PA much.
Getting pressure on Clark is going to have to fall on the shoulders of our front four d-line rotation, as we’ll likely be spying a LB on Clark most of the time to keep him from bolting from the pocket. We need backfield penetration early and often from the big boys. DE Cedric McKinnley fresh off his 2-game suspension this week, so that should help matters.

Admittedly, none of this is particularly thoughtful (shut down Royster, slow Clark), but it’s what needs to be done to keep the PSU offense from dropping 40 points on us. I realize Penn State is going to get some yards, and their going to make some big plays. We just need to minimize them, and force mistakes. Penn State has fumbled the ball an ugly 10 times. We lead the Big Ten in fumbles recovered (8). That combo, with potentially wet weather Saturday afternoon makes it sound like balls could be rolling on the turf all over the place.

Offensively, I’d like to believe that we’ll continue our progression with the running game, and keep pounding the ball inside and out, especially if the weather and field is sloppy as Just Jake suggested. I just can’t shake the feeling that if we get a couple TDs down, we’ll fall back into Weber-shotgun Mode. And who knows if ‘Good Web’ or ‘Bad Web’ shows up? Pass blocking being what it’s been, I’ll guess ‘Bad Web’. Hopefully we can move the ball on the ground early, and not be forced to pray that when Weber locks in on Decker in traffic every 3rd and long that he doesn’t get him killed. Overall though, I do like Mr. Just Jake’s idea of changing pace with RBs (handing to Bennett up the gut and Whaley outside and on counters & traps). He’s right – mixing it up on offense is key. I am worried that if indeed PSU’s LB corps are finally truly healthy this week, we won’t find much room to move the ball.

I won’t even speculate as to what Decker’s contribution this week will be, as I have really no idea what to expect from the passing game at all, given last week’s performance. I’ve read that PSU’s d-backfield is their weakest link from a few sources, but their front 7 seems plenty good to get pressure on Weber for them. And if we do end up down in the game by a large margin, we had better see MarQueis Gray get some real snaps, not just gimmick plays. Otherwise, why not redshirt the kid at this point?

We all know that the Gophs will need to play a near perfect game and get some breaks to pull out the win here. And a ‘back-atcha’ kick return score from Troy Stoudemire might be just what we need to hang with the Nittany Lions on the scoreboard. So (surprise, surprise), I’ll call for it again. Troy will run one back this week, and keep us in the game (for at least a little while longer). And don’t worry, I know if he does return one, I in no position gloat about the prediction at this point. I just really like watching him return the ball.

Predictions: Penn State 31, Minnesota 23

Nittany Lion Player of the Game: Daryll Clark 18-26, 275 yards, 3 TDs passing

Gopher Player of the Game: Garrett Brown, 8 tackles, 3 TFL with a sack and a FF

Jedd Fisch Is The Key

Heading into a cold, rainy, sloppy mess of a game at Penn State, it is imperative that offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch do everything in his power to establish the run, and control the ball. Between Adam Weber's inconsistent play, the home-field advantage that PSU enjoys, and the inclement weather, the Gophers simply can not afford to fall behind early, or by more than a touchdown or ten points. The much-maligned Gopher offensive line has begun to play better as of late, leading the way to 2 strong rushing performances at Northwestern and home against Purdue. After averaging roughly 180 yards rushing in those 2 games, we must see kid genius Fisch stick to a steady diet of runs, be it sweeps to the edge utilizing Whaley's speed, or possible straight dives utilizing Bennett's drive and power as the largest of the 3 backs. Of course, that same line managed all of 4 first downs rushing and 57 yards total on the ground home against a stout Wisconsin front. Much like the arrogant Madison squad, the PSU defense boasts a stout defensive line, and a supposedly weak secondary. Unlike the Wisconsin game, the weather (and Adam Weber's JaMarcus Russell-like accuracy) most likely will not allow us to take advantage of the PSU secondary.

Fisch must mix it up as well, and see if some called MarQueis Gray scrambles or reverses to one of our tight ends would work. In particular, I remember sophomore Eric Lair showing some speed and athleticism when called upon to do so vs. Wisconsin. Fisch has to keep pounding the ball from a variety of formations, and can't fall in love with having Weber throw out of the gun, even if we get in an early hole. This is exactly the type of game where we need to see every single athlete we have being utilized and seeing what shakes out. We are a heavy dog, and have to play loose to get after this team.

That being said, the PSU offense boasts a bevy of weapons the likes of which the Gophers haven't seen since the Cal game. The Lions are 23rd in the nation in total offense, with a nice balance between the run and the pass. Of course, piling up 31 points on Akron and Temple, and 52 on Eastern Illinois boosts those numbers. Hopefully our D can slow the Nittany Lion attack a bit more than Illinois did in surrendering 35 points.

If, and it is a huge IF, our D/ST can keep the Nittany Lions under 28 points, and IF our offense can consistently move the chains and put some points up on the board, we can look for Brew's first signature win. To do that, we need to see Bandana Man's Man-Crush Troy Stoudamire continue his unbelievable return year by breaking one (or two!) to put up some quick td's.

Jedd Fisch, please, please stay with the rushing attack and keep the PSU offense off the field.

Boilers at Gophers Post Game - What we learned

The first ever Homecoming at the Bank ended in a nice win for the Gophs. And unlike the Wisconsin game, we actually capitalized on our opponent’s miscues in full, and that seemed to be what made the difference. Our defense made plays, and the offense cashed in on them. Good stuff. That’s what good football teams do. So does that mean we’re a good football team? Not yet – but we’re getting there.

If you only look at the box score, you’d notice immediately on offense that running the ball was clearly the priority for the Gophers (44 out of 55 plays), and that passing was secondary. If you actually watched the game though, you saw that Adam Weber was passing the ball so badly that it made it almost necessity. Now I’m not a Weber apologist, and I don't bag on him as much as some this year, but some of his throws against Purdue were truly brutal. I’m now starting to realize with him that you never know whether ‘Good Web’ or ‘Bad Web’ is going to show up on any given offensive series. He has put together some brilliant drives this season where he goes 6-6 or 7-7 passing – aka ‘Good Web’. Conversely, he has shown us some of the worst 3 and outs we’ve ever seen. Against Purdue ‘Bad Web’ showed up too early and often for us to go back to him later and let him sling the ball. Hence the 9 passes thrown.

Luckily for us Kevin Whaley, D’uane Bennett, and DeLeon Eskeridge all appeared to have gotten their sleep on Friday night and ran smart and hard. In fact, they ran well enough for us to not have to risk exposing ‘Bad Web’ anymore. What a luxury. Whaley in particular looked like he had something to prove, and showed great burst through the line, and speed to the edge. And give the O-line credit, they run-blocked very well against a decent Purdue front 7 (although the little pass blocking they had to do was still pretty dreadful). 3rd center D.J. Burris seemed to fill in nicely for Trey Davis when he went down too (I say both get a 1 game pass on some rough QB-C exchanges).

Along with the run game, the defense was solid. Yes, they gave up a ton of yardage to Joey Elliot, but he did throw the ball 47 times, and only completed 25 balls. If you can keep a college QB to a 53% completion percentage, that’s a-ok with me. Never mind the fact that Purdue ran 77 plays to our 54. Ralph Bolden was bottled up nicely by the front 7, and held to a 3.2 ypc average. Lee Campbell led the way and did what a senior captain at LB should. Make plays. And Keenan Cooper filled in nicely at LB for the injured Triplett (came out with another shoulder stinger). BPT (the self-named 'Big Play Traye' Simmons) also made an appearance this week in the box score, with a great scoop and score on Campbell's FG block, and a nice pick late in the game to keep Purdue off the scoreboard the rest of the way. I’m also really starting to see the rotation of the front 4 develop into a pretty decent unit. We have 6 or 7 guys rotating through there that can make things happen. The best play of the game for me – bar none - was DE Anthony Jacobs sack of Elliott by shoving a hapless Ralph Bolden into him. That’s the exactly kind of physicality I want to see in our Big 10 team!

And Stoudemire? Once again, my guy failed to bust that kick return TD, but he continues to hand the offense great field position. Who knows – if Jay Thomas hadn’t fielded that first kick, he might well have gone the distance. Thomas, I know you’re a senior, but let Troy have the ball!

So what did we learn this week? A bunch of things. First, we learned that Purdue can’t seem to tie their own shoes without falling down and splitting their face open. And when they do that our defense will gladly take the ball away. Second, we saw first hand the value of running the ball (if the Northwestern game didn’t convince you already), and that we NEED to when ‘Bad Web’ shows up early in the game. Third, we CAN win a ball game without having Eric Decker make 10 catches and 2 TDs. And finally, we learned that some Gopher football fans aren’t quite ready to transition to outdoor football yet, as evidenced by the sell-out status of the game, in spite of the open patches of seats. Screw you, no-shows. You should be ashamed of yourselves.

It’s off to Happy Valley this coming weekend. No better time than now for Coach Brew to get his signature win… Go Gophers!

What's wrong with me?

As I do most Fall weekends, This Saturday and Sunday I found myself standing in front of the TV, pacing the living room while watching my Gophers and D-Lions play. I even crouch a bit right before each big play, in a traditional linebacker stance. I don't do this for any other sport or teams. What is wrong with me?

I can calmly sit and watch the Tigers play 9 innings. The Bucks? No problems for 4 quarters. But come football season I start to wear a treadpath in the rug as I pace back and forth between plays.

Lame.

Trey Davis We Hardly Knew Ye...

What a win for our beloved Maroon and Gold today! It was great to see the defense and special forces (Brew's nickname for special teams) lead the way to an impressive come from behind win on Homecoming. It is a testament to our team's character that we claw back from deficits at any point in our games. Today's 10-0 deficit looked virtually insurmountable the way our sieve-like offensive line was allowing Purdue defenders to smack around both our backs and our freshmen QB, Adam Something or other. (What's that you say? He's a Junior, and starting for the 3rd year in a row? Really?)

Until another one of our experienced athletic linebackers stepped up and made a play. Sure Purdue QB Joey Elliott flipped it right to Lee Campbell, but that's football. Campbell's sure-handed catch and aggressive return was just the spark we needed. From that point on, we out-scored Purdue 35-10.

Big Play Lee struck again in the 3rd when managed to squirt through the Purdue line and apparently block an attempted field goal with his helmet, at which point he began celebrating by raising his hands and cheering. Which was particularly interesting since the ball had ricocheted toward the Purdue endzone. Luckily Traye Simmons veered in and scooped up the ball for our first field goal block-return since '89 vs. the Hoosiers.

It was a bit disturbing to see Adam Weber complete almost 30% of his passes to Boildermakers, as well as miss badly on some other passes. What in the name of Brian Cupito is going on with Weber?!?! His willingness to pull down the ball and make yards running as well as his enthusiasm to put his head down to take on tacklers is admirable. His Terell Pryor-esque inaccuracy is equally disturbing. If this team is going to continue to grow, he needs to make better decisions and do a better job of getting the ball out to his playmakers more quickly. Obviously, the offensive line needs to play better to allow this to happen; hopefully Trey Davis' injury is not too serious. It is hopeful the offensive line began to assert itself during the 2nd quarter and continually surged the D-line around and did a nice job sealing the outside on some beautiful runs to the edge.

Well, here's hoping we can use this springboard for the next few games!

GO GOPHERS!

The Boilers come to The Bank - Purdue Preview

Remember the good old days? When a visit from Purdue used to mean a double overtime shoot out, with the over-under set at, oh, around 90? When the likes of Mike Alstott and Chris Darkins rushed for like 1,000 yards combined. Yup - seems like only yesterday that these teams had absolutely no interest in stopping each other, and defense was purely an after thought.

All those years of shared offense and putrid defense came to a grinding halt last season when the Gophs went to West Lafayette on their Homecoming last year and stunned the Boilermaker and Gopher fans alike with a stalwart defensive effort, winning 17-6. We were 7-1 following that win, and ranked #20 in the nation. The Gopher Roundtable Road Crew (an explanation of that for another day) was there and we were all basking in the good times.

Purdue comes up our way this year, and can return the favor of spoiling our 2009 Homecoming, and this game could return the series to its recent high yardage, high scoring ways. The Boilers are 1-4 this season, and have played a tough schedule, losing close to the likes of Oregon, Notre Dame, and most recently, common foe Northwestern. In the process though, they've racked up some pretty impressive offensive numbers. First year head coach Danny Hope had preached a more balanced attack this year, and it seems to have rejuvenated a team that struggled to score last season. Purdue has their own triplets, Senior QB Joey Elliot leads the Big Ten in passing, sophomore RB Ralph Bolden is second in the league in rushing, and WR Keith Smith is second only to Eric Decker in catches. Senior backup RB Jaycen Taylor is no slouch himself, and will also warrant defensive attention.

Defensively, I'm less concerned. Purdue ranks dead last in the B-10 in nearly every defensive category, and played their best defensive game against Northwestern last week, and still yielded 27 points (although their offense did them no favors, turning the ball over 6 times).

The track record of Purdue's defense this year, makes me feel very confident that Minnesota will win this game. Partly because THEY HAVE TO WIN. This is a must-win for Purdue too, but I like the edge unfamiliar settings will give us against the Boilers. The Gophers absolutely cannot afford to lose another game at home this year, and they know it. Coach Brew will pull out all the stops to get this win. With road trips to PSU and OSU looming, a win now is paramount to keeping any kind of bowl game in the picture.

So what do we need to do to ensure a win? On offense, the O-line is key again - as it will be all year. Senior center Jeff Tow-Arnett is out for the season (replaced by backup Trey Davis), and its sounding like Matt Stommes may be surpassed by Dom Alford on the depth chart at left tackle. We can only hope that Alford and Davis are up to the task. Perhaps a little shakeup on the line is exactly what is needed here. Look for the Gophs to try and establish the run again early and often with Bennett, Eskeridge, and Whaley rotating thru and the ball going more to the back who shows the best vision and patience in getting to and thru holes.

Weber to Decker is a forgone conclusion, and Purdue will no doubt watch the tape vs. the Wisconsin game and look to drape a safety over the top on Deck. The Badger blogosphere seems to have strangely claimed that they had success in shutting down Decker, since they "had a scheme to make Decker disappear" and limited his catches in the second half (the failure of this 'analysis' is that they fail to mention that Minnesota had the ball a paltry 8:05 in the second half, and ran only 16 plays). If any one shut down Decker, it was John Clay, not anyone in the Wisconsin's secondary. Ah well, its a compliment when 14o yards and a TD is considered successful. Purdue will similarly scheme to take Decker away and fail. Possibly equal parts Decker's incredible ability and Weber's constant forcing the ball to him in spite of coverage. What really needs to happen this game though, is for another WR to have a break out game and draw a little attention away from Mr. Decker. Brandon Green, are you listening? You're gonna see favorable coverage, so stay in Weber's earhole about getting open. I'm betting Jed Fisch will be watching a lot of film with Weber this week, and Adam will come to play this week, ready to check down to Green and Tow-Arnett more than in weeks past, to the entire offense's benefit.

And what about MarQueis Gray? I know I fully expected to see the kid bounding thru the Badger secondary, but it wasn't to be. Maybe this week? I'm not counting on it any more. If he's not ready to read defenses under center yet, then he isn't. But could still get him on the field in a greater capacity to keep opposing defenses guessing and game planning for one more body.

Defensively, the front seven face another good pair of RBs, but luckily neither tips the scales at 245 lbs like big John Clay did. Perhaps foolishly, I believe the Gopher defense actually did a decent job at GETTING to Clay last week, it was bringing him down that was the problem. There were maroon jerseys getting after him at the line of scrimmage, but then they got dragged for 5-6 yards a crack. I don't think Bolden or Taylor can do this, and we should see improvement against the run this week. Bolden in particular has been involved in the passing game, and with good success (10 catches for 165 yards). This is the biggest concern to me - and the front seven will need to watch for him sliding out of the backfield. Joey Elliot has legs too, and has ripped off a 58-yard dash this season. The secondary will have to contend Elliot throwing to WRs Keith Smith and the Aaron Valentin. The secondary may struggle with these two as they are both big (6'+) and experienced. Valentin is also a dangerous kick return man, but has a bit of a hands issue, fumbling three times this year already on returns. You'd better believe that the excellent kick coverage squad of the Gophs will be looking to chop that ball out of there every chance they get.

And speaking of special teams, what would a Gopher Bandanna Guy game preview be without a Troy Stoudemire TD return prediction? Yet again, Stoudemire ripped off big gains again against Wisconsin, but no paydirt. He's apparently tired of coming close to breaking one too. Purdue is the worst kick cover squad in the league, so I'll continue to press that he WILL score on a return this game (provided Jay Thomas can keep from racking up penalties this week).

Predictions: Minnesota 35, Purdue 23

Boilermaker Player of the Game: Keith Smith - 9 catches, 135 yards, 2 TDs

Gopher Player of the Game: Troy Stoudemire - 190 return yards, 1 TD; 60 receiving yards, 1 TD

Mark May is a Moron

For many, many reasons, namely his choice of employment. The four-letter network's continual story-lining and human interest angles is only outweighed by it's insistence that each and every talking head have 'personality' and 'strong opinions'. Lou Holtz's meandering, spitting, sufferin-sucatash euphemisms are well-documented.

Mr. Mark May has just entered Spittin' Lou's world. Whilst discussing the Big Ten, he declared the Badgers underrated, based on their defeat of 3 solid teams (including our beloved Maroon and Gold). He followed this mildly defensible statement up with: "After Wisconsin beats Ohio State, they will not be underrated."

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Sadly, tOSU is the class of our conference, and will walk all over becky.

That is All

Senior center Jeff Tow-Arnett done for the season

Rivals.com reports that Jeff Tow-Arnett, who sustained a late game leg injury against Wisconsin last week is out for the remainder of the season with a broken leg.

This comes as a blow to an already shaky offensive line. Losing an experienced senior at the center position hurts anyway you cut it.

In an interview printed in the Cal vs. Minnesota game program, Jeff was asked: “How does it feel to be the starting center?” His sadly ironic answer: “Obviously, it feels good, but in one play you can have an injury and be done. It’s a good feeling, I can’t lie.”

Sophomore Trey Davis (6’2” 281 lbs) is next on the depth chart at center. Let's hope the Davis-to-Weber center exchange is as solid as it has been with JTA.

Badgers at Gophers Post Game - What we learned

The dreary weather across the upper Midwest didn’t help things, but after the loss to Wisconsin on Saturday, things just seemed a little gloomier than they should have. The Axe will stay in Madison for at least another year, and that is depressing no matter what the weather.

Maybe it was the fact that we had a lead at the half, and later opportunities to take the game back. Either way, we didn’t capitalize when we needed to, and Wisconsin made some second half adjustments that killed us (namely continuously handing the ball to John Clay). The reality of it was, this game played out like so many other of our recent losses to Wisconsin. We play tough early, only to have it slip away. Disappointing to say the least, and it felt like the program took a step backwards.

Offensively we looked like Fisch had things figured out for a spell, exploiting Wisconsin’s weakness on defense (the middle), with some nice screens and inside runs. Decker was clearly the superior to anyone in that Wisconsin d-backfield, and was able to get open. I was a bit perturbed seeing Hayo Carpenter tracked down from behind by a d-lineman while out in space (#93 Louis Nzegwu?). The second half was a different story, as we really didn’t have the ball much, and Wisconsin established their classic ball control runing game that they are known for. And late in the game when Wisconsin amped up its pass rush, our O-line withered, giving Weber little to no time to set up in the pocket. I’m still unsure if part of the problem wasn’t also that there were no underneath pass routes for Weber to dump off to, or if he simply was so locked on to Decker that he missed these opportunities. A second watch of the game will clear this up for me (if I'm willing to put myself through that).

On defense things seemed to be holding together in the 1st half. Tolzien wasn’t picking apart our secondary as feared. However, by the second half, John Clay had gotten lathered up and we couldn’t slow him. Even when we got to him at the line of scrimmage, he seemed to fall forward for a 4-5 yard gains. The injury to Triplett late in the game didn’t help matters either, and although he came back into the game later, he seemed a step slow. Cosgrove got aggressive with the blitz packages in 3rd and long situations, but Wisconsin seemed to know these were coming and handled them well.

So what did we learn from this week? Aside from the fact that Wisconsin still sucks (and always will), we found out that we struggle with large, powerful halfbacks. We found out that our O-line seems to really struggle against all-out, ears-pinned back, pass rushing (particularly the right side – looking at you Jeff Wills). And we learned that things just continue to never go our way against Wisconsin (i.e. the partially blocked punt in 4th quarter that ended up pinning us inside the 5). Last we learned that the coaching staff clearly isn't ready to unleash Marqueis Gray, even though the rest of Gopher Nation is... I can only assume they have their reasons at this point.

Homecoming and Purdue this coming Saturday, so let’s hope we can bounce back from this loss, and get one back in the ‘W’ column, before heading to PSU and OSU.

Need. To. Vent.

So I threw another one of these pics up. Don't ask.

It helps with my angst.

Minnesota vs. Wisconsin #119 - A prelude to Solid Gold Saturday

That's right folks. As of Saturday afternoon, we'll have played those goddamn Badgers one hundred and nineteen times. And the first Big Ten Conference game in TCF Bank Stadium history is nearly here.

We still lead the all-time series 59-51-8, but in this age of 'what have you done for me lately' few seem to care that we're still 8 games their superior. That's fair. We haven't won many of these contests lately anyways (2 of the last 14). We've come close many times, and had our hearts broken a few. Is our last decade and a half of futility vs. the Red Menace a form of penance for ruining the Badgers national title chances in 1993? Maybe. But even if that were somehow true, it doesn't change the fact that I hate losing to Wisconsin more than anything. My blood absolutely boils over when I think of the some of the brutal games between these teams I've attended both at the Dome and Camp Randall. Now don't get me wrong, I hates me some Iowa too. But there's something about growing up in Wisconsin, going to the U, and then fully committing your fanship to the school you pay tuition to, only to see other kids in the same boat wear a 'Wisconsin' sweatshirt to games that just twists the knife in my back.

Now according to the ESPN College Football Encyclopedia - The Complete History of the Game, I'm apparently not the first to have felt bad blood when Wisconsin comes to town. This stuff is deep seeded. When discussing our rival on page 523, it states that "President Theodore Roosevelt canceled the 1906 game because there were too many injuries and deaths on the field" Deaths? Really? Why didn't we think of that during those years we were clearly out classed on the field and double-digit underdogs? If only we'd just gone on a killing spree we could have avoided so much pain. Ah, hindsight is 20-20.

I kid of course, but if that story is indeed true (seems like if it were, it would be more widely known) things have cooled off in the rivalry a bit. I place the blame squarely on us for that. But this weekend we have a chance to douse gasoline over the smoldering embers. We've got the Badgers coming into our new, unfamiliar, loud, and (with any luck) irritatingly yellow/gold stadium. Time to start a new chapter in this rivalry, and take the first game at our new place.

To do this, it begins with our play in the trenches, as cliche as it may be to say. You can't beat Wisconsin without at least matching them physically across the line of scrimmage. The running game must be effective enough to keep Wisconsin guessing as to when we're winging the ball out to Decker. My primary concern on defense is with Badger DEs O'Brien Schofield (yeah, I know - who names their kid O'Brien) and J.J. Watt. Our tackles (Wills and Stommes) have got to keep these two from getting in Weber's grill too frequently. Beyond that, I like how we match up with Wisconsin's defense.

Defensively, Gopher DTs Garret Brown and Eric Small will need to continue to be disruptors in the middle, especially with the suspension of DE Cedric McKinley. Wisconsin's John Clay and Zack Brown are both excellent Big Ten running backs, and our trio of senior LBs will have to roam free to keep the yardage on the ground from piling up. The good news is, neither of them are nearly as fast as Jahvid Best (few are).

Scott Tolzien has been the big surprise of the year for the Badgers, getting UW more production out of the QB position early in the season than any would have thought. I have absolutely no idea how he'll handle a hostile crowd on the road, so I won't speculate one way or the other. I do know he throws a pretty accurate deep ball, and a decent 4-man pass rush will hopefully prevent him from getting his feet set and finding his WRs. He has to be made uncomfortable early and often. I expect Simoni Lawrence to use his speed to match up with TE Garrett Graham, and make things difficult for him. Graham is the best TE in the conference, and this is obviously a big challenge. Based on some behind the bench conversations overheard at the NU game last week though, Brewster seems to have supreme confidence in #21.

Offensively, we all know the Badgers will be trying to lock down Eric Decker. Easier said than done. The Badgers shut down MSU's Blair White last week, but they're dealing not only with the premiere WR in the conference, but also a QB that has developed 3 years of comfort with him. This is an edge perhaps only shared by Juice Williams and Arrelious Benn at Illinois. Weber will force the ball in to Decker as he always does, in spite of the coverage, and Decker should come up with his usual 8-10 catches for 80 to 120 yards and a score. I'd like to see Weber check down to Green a little more instead of telegraphing most of his throws to Decker, and to keep finding Tow-Arnett at least 4-6 times a game. The real wildcard here though is MarQueis Gray. Will he be fully unleashed and get to throw the ball? Have we been keeping a good chunk of the playbook shut for this very game? I'm hoping so. If he can protect the football, we should see some big plays from Gray.

I've continued to assert that Troy Stoudamire will bust a TD return each week. He's been good, but the TD has eluded him. So I won't break tradition here - Troy gets one this week.

Predictions: Minnesota 31, Wisconsin 27

Badger Player of the Game: John Clay - 122 yard rushing, 2 TDs

Gopher Player of the Game: MarQueis Gray = 60 yards rushing, 1 TD, 95 yards passing, 1 TD

Get your gold on this Saturday, Gopher Nation. Rah Rah Rah for Ski-U-Mah! Rah for the U of M!

Another Random Dead Badger Pic of the Day

We can't go another day without one of these, can we?

Nah, I didn't think so. Enjoy.

Gophers vs. Badgers- Border Battle Game Preview (the Badger angle)

In an effort to give you a game preview from the wrong side of the Border, I've tasked fellow blogger (from his excellent 'Looks Like I Picked the Wrong Week to Quit Blogging' blog) and Badger alum Roger Murdock to write up his take on the game. Deep breath Gopher Nation. Know thine enemy, right?

"Hey, in case you have not heard, there are a couple of big games going on up in Minneapolis this weekend. And I am not talking about that exciting Royals/Twins series closing out the Twins run at the Metrodome. The game I am most interested in is the Badgers/Gophers game in which the Badgers attempt to maintain possession of the Paul Bunyan Axe for what I believe will be the 36th straight year (or something like that divided by 6).

Anyhow, this game kicks off the most critical stretch of games for the Badgers this season and a win would go a long way in keeping up the momentum gathered in the first four games. After this game the Badgers go to Columbus and then face Iowa at home. I don’t expect the Badgers to go undefeated through these three games, but if they come out of it 2-1, I would be thrilled. 1-2 would not be good, but not the end of the world. 0-3 would be vomit inducing.

Wisconsin will look to continue to ride their balanced offensive attack. Tolzein has obviously been a heck of a QB so far this year. He has a great presence in the pocket and is aware of his surroundings. I think I read somewhere that Wisconsin has only given up 2 sacks so far this season. That has helped Tolzein’s confidence in the pocket. Minnesota would be wise to attempt to bring guys up the middle in an attempt to flush Tolzein out of the pocket. He has not had to throw on the run much this year and it would be interesting to see how good that aspect of his game is. He can run if needed, but can he throw on the run? The key to the passing game is how the Gophers attempt to defend Graham and Kendricks. If they try to double up on these guys, the Badgers have the receivers to get open against man coverage and do some damage after the catch. Tolzein hit a ton of passes in the flat early against MSU. When they brought guys up to defend against that, he hit Toon and Anderson deep. Tolzein is the first QB since Stocco who can throw a solid deep ball.

The O-line is still coming together for the Badgers. John Moffit got his first start of the season at guard last week and the rust showed. He picked it up in the second half but was relatively brutal in the first half. 3rd string center Peter Konz has been solid in the middle. Ogelsby appears to be having problems with speed rushers off the end. However, as mentioned above, the line has only given up 2 sacks this season (thanks to Tolzein’s pocket presence) and the pass blocking has been solid. The run blocking is not what it has been in the past for Wisconsin teams. However, sending the same guys out there on back to back weeks for the first time will help. The run blocking is coming together and the RBs need to do a better job of hitting the hole when it is there.

Speaking of running backs, I am still waiting for John Clay to have that truly big breakout game. I’m talking a 200-yard, 2 TD game. Last week against State he ran well but it seems he left some yards out on the field. However, the key was that he didn’t leave the football out on the field. I think the fumbles in the Wofford game were an aberration and this isn’t a guy with a fumbling problem. John needs to do a better job of finding the holes the line creates. I am excited to see him get in the open field and use his 250 pound frame to just blow up a DB. Zach Brown will get his touches as well. He did destroy the Gophers two years ago in the dome, but honestly, he is just a guy in terms of Big Ten running backs. A solid back up for sure, but not the workhorse.

The Badgers’ D has improved as throughout the season. The line is getting better now that guys are coming back from injury and a set rotation is in place. They are making plays in the backfield and getting to the QB off the ends. The problem is that they have no big run stuffer in the middle. Against the run game, they are vulnerable up the middle but do a good job of running to the boundaries. MSUs big runs were all up the middle. The linebackers have been playing great. Schofield has been lights out all 4 games and the Freshmen Taylor and Borland really played well last week. There are a lot of young guys on this D that are getting playing time and will only get better.

The D-backs are still a work in progress but are getting better. They did a good job of containing the Spartan passing attack for 57 minutes last week. The ability to get pressure up front helps out this secondary immensely. There has been a lot of talk about the play of Chris Maragos. He has made some clutch plays and has had a handful of picks so far this season. However, he is no Jim Leonhard. Maragos is a solid player with good hands, but he doesn’t have the greatest speed and gets out of position sometimes.

The special teams have been solid this year. They don’t appear to be the best blockers in the world, but Gilreath came close to busting one last week. The kick coverage has been good so far this year. After a couple early misses, Welch seems to be back on track after bombing that 57-yarder against Fresno State.

After all that rambling about what Wisconsin has, lets actually get to the game. It will be Wisconsin’s first road game of the season and it comes at an unknown venue. How will Tolzein and the rest of the young team react in the first game on the road? Normally this wouldn’t be an issue in Minnesota since the crown is usually 40% Badger fans, but that will not be the case this season. Wisconsin has also done a piss-poor job of closing out opponents at home so far. Will the slip ups they have had cost them on the road?

From all reports, it sounds like Minnesota got their running game going last week. This will be big because if Wisconsin has to respect the run, it will be harder for them to generate a pass rush to help out the secondary. Also watch out the academic wizard MarQuis Gray running some out of the backfield. He has only gotten a handful of touches in the first few games but I am wondering if they were not holding him back a bit to unleash him against the hated Badgers.

It will also be interesting to see how Nutpunch Decker fairs in this game. He suffered an ankle injury in last year’s game. Last week, the Badgers shut down Blair White but MSU was able to work the ball to the other receivers. If the Badgers take away Decker (a humongous if) will Weber be able to find anybody else. Decker leads the team with 35 receptions and the next closest guys have 10. Hopefully Aaron Henry can step up his game and limit Decker.

All in all, this should be a good game. I don’t see it as a blow-out either way. Will Wisconsin block any rugby style punts? Who knows, but it is always fun when these two teams play and your team wins. Wisconsin has won the past 5 meetings, so it has been pretty fun lately. I see that streak continuing this year. Wisconsin’s balanced offense will steal the show and the badgers will put up a 31-24 victory, but not before enduring some tense moments at the end of the game. I give this bad boy a 10 high lifes out of 10 high lifes on the Miller High Life Watchability Scale. Granted, that is for me. If you live outside of Wisconsin or Minnesota, this one would probably rank a 4."

There. That wasn't so bad was it? Okay, so we all hate the predicted score, but that's to be expected. Thanks Murdock, we appreciate you sharing your side of things.