Minnesota @ MTSU - What we learned

This kid knows a win when he sees it - photo by JT

Well, that's one win in the books.  Halfway to our Sports Illustrated prediction!

And it felt good too.  There wasn't too much of a bad aftertaste with this victory.  The game wasn't as close as the score indicated, and there were a lot of positives. Before the game started, there was a little nagging worry in the back of my head about how the team would start the season on the road against a respectable opponent.

But the Gophers came out and punched the Blue Raiders right in the mouth on the opening drive.  In the opening play, Bennett took the ball to the right off tackle and Laird, Hoese, and Hughes all laid perfect blocks on their men to spring the play for 32 yards.  Third play from scrimmage?  Student body right, and Bennett goes for another 25 yards.  A fun start to be sure.  And an instant injection of credibility to all the coaching staff who kept stating how the run game would be committed to and improved.  But it wasn't the opening drive that convinced me that Horton and Brew were actually serious about this whole running the ball thing.  It was his play calling in the 2nd and 3rd quarters that had me buying that this team wasn't going to panic and drop Weber into the shotgun for the rest of the way.  He used the run to jab at MTSUs defense in the 3rd, and then had their hands on their hips for the final 15 minutes.  If there's one thing I don't mind learning from a coordinator who spent 6 years as a Badger, its how to close out football games.  And this was textbook domination of time-of-possession.

But not everything with the offense was sunshine and lollipops.  There's still plenty to work on, of course.  The passing game in the first half was rough, largely due to this year's first sighting of 'Bad Web'.  Whether it was season opener jitters or just getting into the swing of playing with live bullets, Adam Weber was off to a rough to start.  In his first throw of the game, he hung Stoudemire out to dry in the endzone on a quick slant between converging defenders.  Luckily he was bailed out by a legit defensive PI call.  From there he went 0 for 4, with accuracy being his primary issue.  Finally on his 6th pass attempt of the night he sailed a nice ball to the left over the defender and into Eric Lair's waiting hands for a 24 yard game.  Weber finally settled down in the second half and made some good throws, including a nice throw to MarQueis crossing the middle, and a beauty to McKnight on a 3rd and 12 that extended the drive (ultimately leading to the go-ahead score).  And to Weber's credit, he didn't make any major mistakes or turnovers despite MTSU's frequent blitzes.

But overall, there wasn't a whole lot to criticize the offense on.  All three RBs looked good.  Check that -Bennett was phenomenal.  He had terrific burst through the line, and great effort after contact. The frosh Kirkwood was solid, and picked his holes well.   Jon Hoese's play was inspired and it was awesome to see him score the first 3 TDs of the season, given the fact that earlier in the week his traveling with the team was in question due to his father's health.  Right tackle Ed Olson Jr's first career start should be considered a success (although he did get torched on one speed rush).  They even minimized their penalties and the few they did have weren't drive killers.

And the defense? Well if a grade had to be handed out it would probably have to be 'incomplete'.  They simply weren't even on the field long enough for us to conclude too much.  That's what happens when your offense holds the ball for 75% of the game.  From what we did see, it was clear that our young safeties are pretty inexperienced, as they struggled with coverage. The athleticism was there with Manuel and Lewis, but we could certainly stand to have Royston and Theret back soon.  The Blue Raiders ran only 40 plays, but their offense was effective at times in the no-huddle.  I was a little concerned with the lack of pressure our front 4 generated (zero sacks, and really not any hurries either).  The LBs seemed solid initially, but seemed to struggle a little bit with their play diagnosis as the game wore on.  However, in that limited sample size, the Gopher defense did manage a nice tip drill interception (Rallis) and a made a few key 3rd down stops - including a huge TFL by Jewhan Edwards to stifle the last possession by MTSU.  And those positive moments should not be discounted.

So what did we learn on Thursday night?  All kinds of things.  First and foremost I discovered that our coaching staff really does appear to be committed to the run (67 rushing attempts was convincing).  I found that all of MTSU's talk of selling out their home opener was just that, talk (sellout my ass).  I learned that Keanon Cooper has decent wheels - as he ran down RB Phillip Tanner from behind to save a TD.  I learned that Duane Bennett came to Murfreesboro TO PLAY ( and he would have had a nice receiving TD to tack on to his near 200 yds rushing, if on that shovel pass too he would have read his blocks a little quicker). I saw that Ellestad is still struggling from outside of 40 yards (but at least his problem isn't the distance).  And finally, I learned that MTSU's slightly built QB, Logan Kilgore just might have been adopted - judging by the body type of his father and maternal grandfather.

Winning on the road is winning.  Nothing negative about that at all. Still plenty of improvement out there to be made, but there was plenty to be pleased with as well.  Next week - the South Dakota Coyotes come in to The Bank.  So keep an eye on the Coyotes against Central Florida this weekend.  Next Saturday should be a perfect opportunity for the Gophs to tune up their game before USC rolls into town.