Last call for a Big Ten win? Going once, going twice... - Penn State @ Minnesota

Another long week for Gopher Bandanna Guy, and I didn't get to write as much as I would have liked.  I watched the Purdue game through bloodshot eyes last Saturday, badly hungover from celebrating my first ever PTP (Pursue the Pennant) Title.  The details of the game barely registered with me outside of the fact that we lost and let Dan Dierking run all over us.  Unacceptable.  A team on its 3rd-string QB, and second tier RBs and WRs, shouldn't be able to score that many points on even our youthfully bad defense.  And yet it happened.  And even when things seemed to look like they might swing in our direction, they turn on us.  'Hacksaw' Gary Tinsley (love that nickname from FBT), epitomized our season by stepping into the passing lane early in the 3rd quarter and picking off an errant Rob Henry pass, returning it down inside the five.  But not before fumbling it out of the back of the endzone.  This play felt like our entire season in a nutshell.  One step forward, two steps back.  The mid-season firing of Brew?  I certainly didn't expect it so soon (I figured right before Iowa was the time), but let's hope this jumpstart's the search for the next coach and will be considered a strong step forward down the line.

And Weber, our all-time leading passer - continues to pile up garbage time numbers, and ascend up the Big Ten All-Time passing charts in what is becoming the most meaningless compilation of career numbers in recent memory.  All those yards and TD, for so few wins.  To be fair, this season's horrific slide is really Web's fault.  He's played fairly well, and minimized his turnovers.  His accuracy is still awful on the short throws, and that's what hurts us from time to time.  But the defense can't stop anybody, and so the offense is under all the pressure to win games. 

And wait, what's this?  A Patrick Reusse column I ACTUALLY AGREE WITH?  Wow.  For a long while I didn't think this would happen, and in this one, Fat Pat actually shows a sliver of positivity that the right guy IS out there to turn the Gophers into a winning program.

But enough about the Purdue loss, and our search for the next head coach.  We've got Penn State and that most milquetoast of trophies coming in - The Governor's Bell.

The Nittany Lions are probably our last, best chance to get a win in the Big Ten this season (and for the remainder of the season for that matter).  They are not good.  Unfortunately, neither are we.  Both squads are winless in the Big Ten, and both have senior that are no doubt disappointed in how things have gone (Adam Weber and Evan Royster). 

Penn State has had an extra week to prepare for this game, coming of a bye week, and have already faced two of the tougher Big Ten defenses (Iowa and Illinois), with little offense to show.  But now they face the polar opposite in defensive prowess.  Their QB, freshman Robert Bolden has struggled with accuracy tossing only 4 TDs to 7 picks, and Royster has not enjoyed the season many expected.  Conventional wisdon would say that the prescription for these woes are to play the Gophers. 

But now the Gophs are truly at rock bottom.  And have nothing to play for but pride and a little personal glory.  The boo-birds at TCF mean nothing now, and Brewster is gone. They know that Ohio State is looming next week, ready to beat them into submission, and they know Penn State is vulnerable.  Question is, can they muster a complete effort one more time this year, and get at least 1 Big Ten win?

I think they can and will.  Horton and Weber will manage to motivate these kids to play with the talent they have (pretty decent on offense), keep the game plan simple, and just play football.  This game also marks my last chance of the season to make a fun 'homer' pick and take the Gophs, because I see them being double-digit 'dogs the rest of the way (maybe not at Illinois, we'll see).  The PSU defense is still a bit dinged up, and that combined with a shakey starting QB on the road seems like a reasonable recipe for a decent Gopher performance.  The one nagging thought in the back of my head though is Royster.  He's yet to really go off this season, and this could be the game.  Royster is a quality and experienced Big Ten back, and could easily gash the Gopher defense for 200 yards and multiple scores if we don't commit to stopping him. 

That said, I think the defense will do just enough to keep him from taking the game completely over, and the offense will put up 30 points, mostly through the air.

Prediction:  Minnesota 31, Penn State 27

Gopher Player of the Game:  Adam Weber - 18-27 for 265 yards and 3 TDs

Nittany Lion Player of the Game: Evan Royster  22 carries for 135 yards and 2 TDs

Boiler up Big Ten bottom-feeders - Gophers @ Boilermakers Preview

When we last left Ross-Ade Stadium, we shut the Boilers down
-photo by JT

Little to no time for a full detail game preview this week.  Out in the field for work, and then evenings of Halo: Reach are dominating my kid-free late nights.  I won't go with out a few brief words though about our upcoming game against Purdue.

Based on press clippings and cliched interview answers from the Gopher players, this team isn't packing it it quite yet.  And I actually believe them.  But can they win this game?

The short answer is 'yes'.  Purdue has been decimated by injuries, losing QB Robert Marve, RB Ralph Bolden, and WRs Keith Smith and Justin Siller (remember when he was a briefly a QB?) for the year.  They are officially wiped out at the skill positions, and that means that the hapless Gopher defense might just have a chance to slow somebody down.  Limiting running QB Rob Henry and halfback Dan Dierking's yards on the ground is the no-brainer key. That happens and a Gopher win is eminent. 

Purdue's defense has some strong performers, but as a unit aren't overwhelmingly good.  They did play a very solid game against Northwestern, limiting them to just 17 points.  Senior DE Ryan Kerrigan is a beast and will be the biggest challenge for the line to stop.  If he can pressure Weber early and often, and generate turnovers, then the Gophers will be in trouble.  OC Jeff Horton knows this though, and will probably dial up lots of inside runs all game, really testing the heart of the Purdue defense, rather than exposing Weber to 5 step drops and the shotgun early.  The O-line has done a nice job limiting sacks this year, so let's hope their improved play continues.  Lots of running mixed in with play action and screens.  Look for the Boilers to have our effective TE screen snuffed out this week, as I'm sure that will be a play they watch on film closely from the Wisconsin game.

Prediction:  Gopher pull the minor upset, grabbing the late lead in the 4th quarter.

Minnesota 27, Purdue 21

Gopher Player of the Game:  MarQueis Gray, 125 yards receiving and 1 TD
Boilermaker Player of the Game:  Dan Dierking, 95 yards rushing and 2 TDs

Calling our shots - 2010 Gopher Football Predictions

Are there more than 2 wins on this 2010 schedule?  Can we finish 'bowl eligible'?  Rose Bowl or bust for Pasadena Brew? These are the burning questions of this upcoming Golden Gopher football season. We've had all summer to mull over the Gophs list of opponents (not that we needed it), and here's what our brain trust came up with:

The breakdown of each set of predictions has some interesting wins/losses - here's the brief rationale:

• Omar likes us breaking out to a nice 3-1 start, and carrying that momentum into our Big Ten opener vs. Northwestern, and finds us road wins at Purdue and Illinois.
• JJ and KZ don't like our season opener on the road at MTSU, and both like the upset at Wisconsin (which I just don't see happening this year).  They differ only on where we'll get a road win in Weeks 10 and 11.
• Gopher Bandanna Guy calls for the upset of USC, followed by a letdown loss to NIU, and a rebound victory vs. Northwestern.  Then a 6 game losing streak is ended with the team rallying around the seemingly dead man walking, Coach Brew - taking down Illinois in Champaign and then shocking an over-confident Iowa squad to save his job a la Wayne Fontes.
• 2Mutch is the self-proclaimed 'Debbie Downer' of the group, giving the Gophs a more tempered 4-8 record, and basically has us winning only games where there's a chance of being favored in the line.
• NG also likes us to ruin Wisconsin's season by knocking them off in Camp Randall, and taking down Iowa at home.  Brew gets himself a couple of trinkets under this scenario, and that would certainly bode well for coaching Minnesota into his 5th year.

So what's it all mean?  Probably nothing more than confirming that all of us are crazy dreamers and/or hopeful optimists when it comes to Golden Gopher Football.  Virtually every publication and website prediction I've come across has us between 1 and 4 wins, and in last place.  The experts are expecting grim results.

Bodog.com has us as 50/1 odds to win the conference (worst odds in the conference, behind Indiana at 40/1).  Any Hoosier fans out there want to wager (beer?) that we'll finish above them in the standings?  Ok, maybe that's a bad idea. Our schedule is tougher, but we've got something going for us more than anybody else in the Big Ten - no one expects ANYTHING from the Gophers, and guess what?  There is some burgeoning talent on this team that will surpise some teams that don't scout closesly.  Underestimate the Gophers at your peril! (hey, if loyal members of Gopher Nation can't stay positive, who can?)

Here's some predictions on Minnesota's individual players -
GBG likes:
Offensive Player of the Year: Da'Jon McKnight, WR (680 yrd, 9 TDs)
Defensive Player of the Year: Keanon Cooper, LB  (65 tackles, 2 INTs, 4 FF)
Leading Rusher: D'uane Bennett (720 yds)
Leading Receiver: Da'Jon McKnight (680 yds)
Leading Tackler: Mike Rallis, LB (85 tackles)
Sack Leader: Ra'Shede Hegeman (8 sacks)
INT Leader: Michael Carter (4 INTs)

2Mutch likes:
Offensive Player of the Year: Adam Weber (in a nice bounceback season)
Defensive Player of the Year: Kim Royston (back from injury and a force)

And finally, Just Jake likes Brandon Kirksey to have a monster junior year at DT, big enough that he bolts for the NFL draft a year early.  Wow.  Now that's a bold prediction.