Gophers 92nd in total offense

[Great Plains Gopher]

NCAA stats: I didn't think we were that bad.

[Space Gopher]

Yeeouch. That's pretty poor. It seemed like the O really dropped off from last year and especially so in the Big10 games. I didn't think losing Shidell, Wheelwright & Co would make a big difference. An average

Where did the D end up?

[Great Plains Gopher]

Around 68th for the D. Last year I think it was dead last - 119th.

[McGopherFan]

I wonder how much better the D's stats would have been with even a little bit more support from the offense. Being on the field for 40 minutes or longer has got to hurt.

I'm looking forward to better offensive line play, and a better running strategy in the bowl game and in 2009.

[Schnoodler]

I thought, from watching, that the D actually improved a lot during the year, but the stats got buried by TOP problems. I wouldn't be surprised to see our D among the top if the O returns to decency.

[gold04]

The two biggest concerns on offense was running backs and the O-line. Next year you will see a BIG improvement in both of those areas. With the help of our offense the D could be one of the top defenses in the Big Ten next year.

[Go Gophers Rah]

Defense
Overall: #119 in 2007, #73 in 2008
Scoring: #109 in 2007, #49 in 2008
Pass Defense: #115 in 2007, #89 in 2008
Run Defense: #114 in 2007, #70 in 2008

Offense
Overall: #48 in 2007, #92 in 2008
Scoring: #67 in 2007, #82 in 2008
Passing: #43 in 2007, #57 in 2008
Running: #48 in 2007, #103 in 2008

I think that our inability to run the ball negatively affected the passing game and left the defense on the field more than necessary. An improvement to the running game (is it possible to see any in 3 weeks) would make ALL the stats look much better - especially the W-L stat.

Go Gophers

[tjgopher]

Worst stat of the year for the offense:

Two TDs in four Big Ten home games. Ouch.

[s93skier]

Defense
Overall: #119 in 2007, #73 in 2008
Scoring: #109 in 2007, #49 in 2008
Pass Defense: #115 in 2007, #89 in 2008
Run Defense: #114 in 2007, #70 in 2008

Offense
Overall: #48 in 2007, #92 in 2008
Scoring: #67 in 2007, #82 in 2008
Passing: #43 in 2007, #57 in 2008
Running: #48 in 2007, #103 in 2008

I think that our inability to run the ball negatively affected the passing game and left the defense on the field more than necessary. An improvement to the running game (is it possible to see any in 3 weeks) would make ALL the stats look much better - especially the W-L stat.

Go Gophers

With a new O line / run coach it will be harder to game plan a defense for whoever we play. I also think that with a young o line the time off to rest will help them a lot. The big tem schedule is hard on younger players. So it could be possible to see some improvement.