Saturday night’s disappointing loss to the Nebraska Cornhuskers, 24-17, and the Gophers upcoming game – Senior Day – at TCF Bank Stadium with the Northwestern Wildcats was discussed on today’s Sports Huddle.
1) Sid said last night’s loss was a “heartbreaker” . . . tipped pass at the end of the game that led to an interception:
“We didn’t play our best in the second half . . . (Nebraska) defensive back made a good play . . . all three losses (Nebraska, Penn State and Iowa) were tough,” Claeys answered. He also talked about playing Nebraska in Lincoln, “On the road, great atmosphere” – 90,000 plus in the stadium.
2) Sid thought the Gophers offensive line looked better:
Claeys said the main problem last night was getting consistency in the running game. As an example, he cited one series in the second half when the Gophers ran nine yards on the first play and then ended up punting.
Switching to the defensive side of the ball, Claeys was not happy with team’s tackling, especially in the second half, by the Gophers secondary.
Another critical factor in the loss, according to Claeys, was that Nebraska did not turn over the ball.
3) Sid mentioned the difficulty that Rodney Smith and Shannon Brooks had in running the ball:
Claeys said the offensive line had a difficult time with the Cornhuskers defensive front – not getting a push upfront and not getting to their linebackers because of being tied up by their defensive front.
4) Sid cited the positive play of sophomore defensive back Blake Cashman of Eden Prairie:
“He does a nice job . . . plays in certain situations . . . loves the game,” Claeys replied.
Once again, Claeys turned his attention to what he said was the poor tackling by the secondary (yards after the catch).
5) Dave Mona cited the play of Drew Wolitarsky in the Gophers loss to Nebraska:
“Drew ran some nice routes . . . we spread the ball around,” Claeys said. He was pleased with the receiving corps on the last drive. He cited the catch by Tyler Johnson just before the interception to end the Gophers chance of potentially tying the game in regulation.
He, once again, credited the Nebraska defensive back on the interception.
6) Sid mentioned the lack of pressure on Tommy Armstrong:
“Yep. Their throwing game, short quick passes,” Claeys answered. The problem however, according to Claeys, Nebraska was able to turn a three or four yard gain into eight to twelve yards because of poor tackling, “(need to) clean up tackling in the secondary.”
7) Dave Mona cited the positive plays of Nebraska quarterback Tommy Armstrong:
Claeys replied, “Yeah, a senior that takes care of the ball . . . threat at running . . . (threw) short passes which they hadn’t done (in previous games).”
8) Sid asked about team injuries:
Claeys said, “Not for sure yet . . . nothing noticeable when we left” on the trip home. He said he would know more after he meets with the medical staff and trainers at two o’clock this afternoon.
9) Dave mentioned the Gophers losses were to good teams and specifically the upset by Iowa over Michigan:
“The West plays good football,” Claeys said.
He remains optimistic about the last two games (Northwestern and Wisconsin) and having a lot to play for (West Division championship). However, he also acknowledged, “We’ve got to hope for some help.” In order to win the West, Minnesota must win out and Nebraska would have to lose their last two games. Their last game is with Iowa on Black Friday.
As to their losses to three opponents, Claeys said the losses came down to three possessions.
Next Saturday is Senior Day at TCF Bank Stadium. He said it’s an opportunity for the seniors to go out with the most wins by a senior group in many years.
10) Sid said the offensive line, because of its youth, could be the team’s strength next year. Only Jonah Pirsig is a senior on the offensive front:
“Yeah, we really do,” Claeys answered. The younger players are “Playing a lot of reps . . . a lot of kids making plays . . . Goals, two games left.”
11) Sid wanted to know if there are any redshirt freshman lineman that can help the team:
Claeys sounded very positive in answering Sid’s query. Redshirted freshmen noted are Sam Schleuter and Conner Olson. The duo is getting “reps with the second group.”
Claeys also said they hope for another good recruiting class in the offensive line to complement last year’s group, and “Junior College (Vincent Calhoun, Garrison Wright, Donnell Green) helped us . . . best years ahead of the of the offensive line.”
Go Gophers!!
1) Sid said last night’s loss was a “heartbreaker” . . . tipped pass at the end of the game that led to an interception:
“We didn’t play our best in the second half . . . (Nebraska) defensive back made a good play . . . all three losses (Nebraska, Penn State and Iowa) were tough,” Claeys answered. He also talked about playing Nebraska in Lincoln, “On the road, great atmosphere” – 90,000 plus in the stadium.
2) Sid thought the Gophers offensive line looked better:
Claeys said the main problem last night was getting consistency in the running game. As an example, he cited one series in the second half when the Gophers ran nine yards on the first play and then ended up punting.
Switching to the defensive side of the ball, Claeys was not happy with team’s tackling, especially in the second half, by the Gophers secondary.
Another critical factor in the loss, according to Claeys, was that Nebraska did not turn over the ball.
3) Sid mentioned the difficulty that Rodney Smith and Shannon Brooks had in running the ball:
Claeys said the offensive line had a difficult time with the Cornhuskers defensive front – not getting a push upfront and not getting to their linebackers because of being tied up by their defensive front.
4) Sid cited the positive play of sophomore defensive back Blake Cashman of Eden Prairie:
“He does a nice job . . . plays in certain situations . . . loves the game,” Claeys replied.
Once again, Claeys turned his attention to what he said was the poor tackling by the secondary (yards after the catch).
5) Dave Mona cited the play of Drew Wolitarsky in the Gophers loss to Nebraska:
“Drew ran some nice routes . . . we spread the ball around,” Claeys said. He was pleased with the receiving corps on the last drive. He cited the catch by Tyler Johnson just before the interception to end the Gophers chance of potentially tying the game in regulation.
He, once again, credited the Nebraska defensive back on the interception.
6) Sid mentioned the lack of pressure on Tommy Armstrong:
“Yep. Their throwing game, short quick passes,” Claeys answered. The problem however, according to Claeys, Nebraska was able to turn a three or four yard gain into eight to twelve yards because of poor tackling, “(need to) clean up tackling in the secondary.”
7) Dave Mona cited the positive plays of Nebraska quarterback Tommy Armstrong:
Claeys replied, “Yeah, a senior that takes care of the ball . . . threat at running . . . (threw) short passes which they hadn’t done (in previous games).”
8) Sid asked about team injuries:
Claeys said, “Not for sure yet . . . nothing noticeable when we left” on the trip home. He said he would know more after he meets with the medical staff and trainers at two o’clock this afternoon.
9) Dave mentioned the Gophers losses were to good teams and specifically the upset by Iowa over Michigan:
“The West plays good football,” Claeys said.
He remains optimistic about the last two games (Northwestern and Wisconsin) and having a lot to play for (West Division championship). However, he also acknowledged, “We’ve got to hope for some help.” In order to win the West, Minnesota must win out and Nebraska would have to lose their last two games. Their last game is with Iowa on Black Friday.
As to their losses to three opponents, Claeys said the losses came down to three possessions.
Next Saturday is Senior Day at TCF Bank Stadium. He said it’s an opportunity for the seniors to go out with the most wins by a senior group in many years.
10) Sid said the offensive line, because of its youth, could be the team’s strength next year. Only Jonah Pirsig is a senior on the offensive front:
“Yeah, we really do,” Claeys answered. The younger players are “Playing a lot of reps . . . a lot of kids making plays . . . Goals, two games left.”
11) Sid wanted to know if there are any redshirt freshman lineman that can help the team:
Claeys sounded very positive in answering Sid’s query. Redshirted freshmen noted are Sam Schleuter and Conner Olson. The duo is getting “reps with the second group.”
Claeys also said they hope for another good recruiting class in the offensive line to complement last year’s group, and “Junior College (Vincent Calhoun, Garrison Wright, Donnell Green) helped us . . . best years ahead of the of the offensive line.”
Go Gophers!!
