'BO' YAAAA! Gophs dispatch Badgers at the Barn!

Hey? Wha' Happened Bo?  Whining and grimacing won't work every night.  The spring is back in my step tonight.  Just wanted to share my elation from the 16 point takedown of the Badgers.  And here's a fun pic of Bo doing his best impersonation of Fred Willard's "Mike LaFontaine" character from the underrated 'A Mighty Wind'... (hence the opening line of this post).  I imagine this must have been what he did for a halftime speech, seeing as the Badgers made virtually no adjustments in the 2nd half.

It was nice to see Bo Ryan get outcoached by Tubby down the stretch (again).  The zone defense the Gophs dropped into forced the Badgers to chuck 3's all 2nd half, and they weren't falling.  The Gophers beat the Badgers at their own game, surprisingly beating them in a slow down match, with long possessions frequently ending in quality buckets.  I would have expected the Gophs to go uptempo as we have in wins against Wisconsin in the past, but Tubby went with his bigs and a reduced bench rotation.  Maybe this vexed the Badgers because they scouted them to go uptempo.  Maybe not.  Either way, I'm pleased with the results.

The fans were loud, if not a little tasteless (with the 'F*ck Bo Ryan' chant). But hey, what do you expect when he's making incredulous scowls and shouting at refs for calls on the opposite end of the court, with a student section desperate to do anything to help give the Gophs an advantage.  Steve Lavin did his usual Badger ass-kissing all game, which he transparently tries to balance with his love of Williams Arena.  And Larry Westbrook capped it off with a ridiculous and unnecessary dunk attempt with the shot clock winding down and the game all but over.

No time to rest now though, IU coming in on Saturday.  Time for some revenge on them for stealing that game from us in Bloomington.  Verdell Jones needs that smirk wiped off his face. Gotta keep any momentum generated from this game rolling at least until Purdue rolls into town.

In the meantime, celebrate with a classic Goldy spinning of his head (and a Grain Belt Premium or Surly Furious)

GO GOPHERS!

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!

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.