[POST GAME THREAD] - Minnesota defeats Buffalo 17-7

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I remember when every team we played looked at their schedule, saw Minnesota, and chalked up a "W"--even after the wall was going up brick-by-brick. Before this game, I watched some Buffalo film and caught some coach interviews. Make no mistake: Buffalo has a real coach, their recruiting has stepped up, and last year's record was deceptive. They're on the upward trajectory and I expected a close game--and a Minnesota win. But give Buffalo their due.

That said, the Gophers looked pretty much like I expected. This scheme looks like it will favor Brooks over Smith skillset-wise. Nice to see a more balanced offense. O-line question and qb questions linger. Pray for the secondary.

I don't really judge too much until we get into week 3 to 4. Experience tells me that teams that are going to gel and come together will do so by about the 3rd or 4th game, or the wheels will come completely off the bus.
 

Only gave up 7 points! Defense could be special
O-Line struggled in the run game, but it was all between the tackles. Pretty good pass protection, I don't recall any sacks
Extremely Vanilla which is what I expected against this team.
1-0, so no reason to alter my 9-3 prediction.
 

PMWinSTP said:
BTW - Pharm. School has what looks to be by far the best pre-game alum event, so you got that to look forward to in a few years.
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Ha, we actually went to that today as well. In McNamara. They had quite the spread of food!
 

TruDomGopher said:
I remember when every team we played looked at their schedule, saw Minnesota, and chalked up a "W"--even after the wall was going up brick-by-brick. Before this game, I watched some Buffalo film and caught some coach interviews. Make no mistake: Buffalo has a real coach, their recruiting has stepped up, and last year's record was deceptive. They're on the upward trajectory and I expected a close game--and a Minnesota win. But give Buffalo their due.

That said, the Gophers looked pretty much like I expected. This scheme looks like it will favor Brooks over Smith skillset-wise. Nice to see a more balanced offense. O-line question and qb questions linger. Pray for the secondary.

I don't really judge too much until we get into week 3 to 4. Experience tells me that teams that are going to gel and come together will do so by about the 3rd or 4th game, or the wheels will come completely off the bus.
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Just over one year ago, they lost to Albany. Yes, Albany. At home. Albany.
Fri, Sep 2 vs Albany L 22 - 16 Final
 



The good:

Shannon Brook's intensity. He won this round.
Tyler Johnson's hands and TD catch. 141 yards.
Antoine Winfield Jr individual performance
The defense in the second half
The passing game is showing signs of a pulse. It's faint, but it's there.
Santoso was money tonight

The bad:

Lack of outside running. The coaches said, "why bother, it's Buffalo".
First half bend but don't break defense. Patented early TD by opposing team. Are we sure Claeys and Sawvel left?
Yes, because Cashman was largely MIA. No bueno. Give me the cash.
Not going for it on 4th and shannon Brooks at the Buff 42.

The ugly:

The second missed field goal. The 50 yarder was forgivable. I'm worried about his head going forward.
The Woz hands. Throw it to the other guy, Lingen. Have they watched tape?
The INT. No.

I may be in the minority but for the first game I thought they did ok. The offense will get much better but we will go as far as the QB can take us. The line may not be elite but they will really struggle if we can't get teams to respect the pass.

We still had over 400 yards. The defense has that same bend but don't break philosophy and we have some playmakers.
 

Well...at least everybody was reminded Tyler Johnson can do this

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Sj6lTF_4hWI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 

Pass protection was good, and I am hoping that the reason the running game was so vanilla due to keeping better plays for future games.
I liked the showing by the young receivers and it's going be good to have Lingen back.
I thought Shenault played a great second half and on Buffalo's scoring driving I think you have to tip your cap a bit to their Qb and their Johnson.
 

tikited said:
Best to forget this game and think forward to Oregon State. Nothing positive can come from discussing game #1.
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Agreed. We won and that's about the end of the good comments. Oregon State has its own warts, so let's concentrate on those.
 



gopherdudepart2 said:
Expected the offense to struggle tis f8rst game. Wish there was more motion and play action. Coach Fleck and University of Minesota athletics need to realize this is the University of Minnesota not the University of PJ or promote Fleck. Not everything has to be about Fleck or his ad museum sayings and stupid row the the boat. Believe it not Coach Minnesota does have college football fans that do not need re_ education camp on your philosophy or culture crap. The name on the jerseys are Minneotat, not the fighting PM Flecks. You don't have to ram down our 5heoats every saying or try and create traditii9ns out of thin error. Goody rowing went over like a wet fart. None of that stuff matters if they win and most will not care about any of that, but w3 don't need a stupid speech that you cannot hear every game or blaring every play. This game revolved to much Round Fleck talking his ideas about gam3 day down our throats. The culture will create itself, we don't need to have stupid unfamiliar cheers and obscure row the boat music. This is not Pj fricken Fleck University. The U will be here long after he is gone.
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"Gentlemen, rest your sphincters."..Hedly Lamar..Blazing Saddles
 

Things I liked:
Johnson has some sticky hands
Defense seemed good, although not sure what kind of test this really was.
Seeing Fleck running the team out of the tunnel and actually keeping the pace and how he was in it with players when they came back to the sidelines after a big play

Things I didn't like:
Kicking game was worrying, but I'm not to the point of panic yet.
2 QBs... I just don't like it as a plan going forward.
Overall offensive play was suspect and is concerning
 

Like:

Discipline, lack of penalties. Especially pre-snap penalties.
No one got hurt. It was Buffalo.
Defense. They have a chance to be really good.

Dislike:
RUTM/Limegrover running game.
Kicking game
Shayne Wells
 

Hollinsanity said:
My thoughts:

1) The defense is good enough to keep us in pretty much every game, and will become elite if Huff and Shenault step up. Four-man pass rush slightly underwhelming, but overall the DL and LB groups are the backbone of this team.

2) The offensive line is a disaster and will need to improve drastically if we want to win more than 3-4 games in the Big Ten.

3) Neither QB "won" the job in my opinion. I would roll with both in the first half next week and tentatively plan on shifting towards 100% Rhoda in the second half unless Croft steps up.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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This pretty much sums it up. But because I like hearing myself talk (and type), a bit more...

This looked like a carbon copy of so many OOC games under Kill. On offense, try to run the ball into 7 and 8 man boxes, especially in short yardage situations. Don't allow the QB to check out of anything. On defense, a straight 4-man rush with few to no exotic stunts. About as vanilla as you can be. Passing game looked much more crisp than I expected -- and far better than it typically looked OOC under Kill. It was FBS average, which is far more than we've seen over the past 10 years.

End of the day, the only thing I'm highly concerned about is OL play. Surprisingly, they were much worse than I expected. Multiple assignments were missed in both the running and passing game. Almost no movement in the running game -- guys were getting stood up at the LOS. You shouldn't average less than 4 ypc against Buffalo...

Pass rush was also a tad concerning -- especially coming off a season with around 40 sacks. Rush ends had almost zero impact in the passing game -- they were stonewalled at every turn. Only way we ever got pressure was by blitzing either Celestin or Barber. I expect many more exotic schemes later in the year, but I was hoping we could get to Buffalo only sending 4.

Oh, and those missed FG's. Yikes. I didn't see the 2nd miss, but the snap on first one was very high and threw off his rhythm. I heard that might have happened on the second one as well...
 



The atmosphere at the stadium sucks. Something died last year after the season ticket price increases. Attendance is consistently down, and a lot of people that show up are dead. We lost a lot of the diehard fans. Will they ever return?
 

John Galt said:
The atmosphere at the stadium sucks. Something died last year after the season ticket price increases. Attendance is consistently down, and a lot of people that show up are dead. We lost a lot of the diehard fans. Will they ever return?
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After win 10. Not until then.
 

John Galt said:
The atmosphere at the stadium sucks. Something died last year after the season ticket price increases. Attendance is consistently down, and a lot of people that show up are dead. We lost a lot of the diehard fans. Will they ever return?
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I really think it will only come back if we consistently win and occasionally challenge for a Big 10 West.

I like PJ because I think he's a good coach.

But the idea that hiring a high energy guy coach to replace a boring overweight coach would somehow help the atmosphere is absurd. I am not saying you made that argument (I doubt you would). But it was floated around here quite a bit.

We need to beat Wisconsin.
We need to be in the discussion to win the Big Ten West.
We need to be in the top 25 in October.

Until then, I think TCF will continue to stink.
 

John Galt said:
The atmosphere at the stadium sucks. Something died last year after the season ticket price increases. Attendance is consistently down, and a lot of people that show up are dead. We lost a lot of the diehard fans. Will they ever return?
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Lower prices. Simple as that.

Sent from my Commodore 64 using Tapatalk
 

John Galt said:
The atmosphere at the stadium sucks. Something died last year after the season ticket price increases. Attendance is consistently down, and a lot of people that show up are dead. We lost a lot of the diehard fans. Will they ever return?
Click to expand...

I don't know if I would go that far. That was as packed as I have ever seen the student section and they were rowdy. It is flat out embarassing that it looks like 50% of the seats lower level between the 30's behind the gopher bench looked empty. Don't know if that is unsold or unattended. Apparently it is easier to bitch about the team changing sidelines than it is to show up for a home opener.
 

2013%2F06%2F18%2F7c%2FBeaker.39ba8.gif
 

Not to be a debbie downer or anything but the only reason the student section is packed for this first game is because all the freshman get a free ticket. I wouldn't expect student attendance to be anywhere near full for MTSU.
 

MGGopher said:
This pretty much sums it up. But because I like hearing myself talk (and type), a bit more...

This looked like a carbon copy of so many OOC games under Kill. On offense, try to run the ball into 7 and 8 man boxes, especially in short yardage situations. Don't allow the QB to check out of anything. On defense, a straight 4-man rush with few to no exotic stunts. About as vanilla as you can be. Passing game looked much more crisp than I expected -- and far better than it typically looked OOC under Kill. It was FBS average, which is far more than we've seen over the past 10 years.

End of the day, the only thing I'm highly concerned about is OL play. Surprisingly, they were much worse than I expected. Multiple assignments were missed in both the running and passing game. Almost no movement in the running game -- guys were getting stood up at the LOS. You shouldn't average less than 4 ypc against Buffalo...

Pass rush was also a tad concerning -- especially coming off a season with around 40 sacks. Rush ends had almost zero impact in the passing game -- they were stonewalled at every turn. Only way we ever got pressure was by blitzing either Celestin or Barber. I expect many more exotic schemes later in the year, but I was hoping we could get to Buffalo only sending 4.

Oh, and those missed FG's. Yikes. I didn't see the 2nd miss, but the snap on first one was very high and threw off his rhythm. I heard that might have happened on the second one as well...
Click to expand...

When you have horrible QBs and a bad OL, the game plan is going to be vanilla. It almost should have been more vanilla last night.

I'm not defending PJ. It's the same thing I said about Limey and Johnson.
 

johndoe said:
Not to be a debbie downer or anything but the only reason the student section is packed for this first game is because all the freshman get a free ticket. I wouldn't expect student attendance to be anywhere near full for MTSU.
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I think everyone who goes to games knows this pattern.
 

LakerFan said:
I don't know if I would go that far. That was as packed as I have ever seen the student section and they were rowdy. It is flat out embarassing that it looks like 50% of the seats lower level between the 30's behind the gopher bench looked empty. Don't know if that is unsold or unattended. Apparently it is easier to bitch about the team changing sidelines than it is to show up for a home opener.
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The U has not treated this group of people well.

It shouldn't be surprising.
 

I thought the QB's did well minus the INT by Rhoda. The only thing that really stood out to me was the O line. I thought the O line looked small compared to Buffalo's D line. The O line also looked weak to me. It didn't seem like they came off the ball well. That's where I think we need the most improvement. For the 2nd half I would say the Buffalo D line was better than our O line. Or maybe I should say the Buffalo front 7 was better than our O line.

I'm also thinking that Buffalo is quite a bit improved from last year. I didn't hear Fleck get asked that question but he'd be a great person to ask to compare last years Buffalo team to this years. Receivers also dropped 2 or 3 balls that should have been caught. Hoping there is a bit of truth about the vanilla game plan as well. Ski U Mah and Row the Boat!
 


Some quick notes:
• I thought Buffalo looked well coached. That probably kept it closer.
• Worried about O-line. No push in the running game.
• Thought Rhoda looked very good- until he didn’t. He throws well and looked in command and then boom- interception or badly missing a receiver. Side note- what the heck was Claeys thinking in not giving him a scholarship? Not because he is good but because their QB depth is terrible.
• Second side note: Would Chris Streveler start for this team? I think he might. Somehow the Claeys regime seriously mishandled QB succession.
• Croft- Not impressed. Is he not a part of the strength program? He looks way too frail for someone entering three years in the program. I also expected a more dynamic runner. His runs last night were timely but consisted entirely of a sprint to the sideline. Big Ten defences stop him before first downs.
• Receivers. Johnson looked very, very good. Aggressively getting the ball. Douglas looked good as well. The rest? Still, meh. Were there others?
• TEs. Good to see Lingen back on the field. Didn’t do much. Wozniak? Only time I noticed him, he dropped a ball or took a penalty. I did hear that he is the tallest skill player in D-1 (again).
• Carpenter. Snaps were high on both and timing was shot. Third kick was solid. Hoping they are still in pre-season mode. A first team Big Ten kicker battles through the second bad snap.
• Santoso. Was fine. Did kickoffs too.
• Defence. Looked good. Not sure I saw Poock make a tackle. Celestin was all over the place. Winfield has real presence on the field. Jacob Huff looked good as well.
• Fleck. Pretty hyper but he is who he is. This is probably not fair but Claeys was just too disengaged during the games for me. I was at CSU last year and he stood off by himself wearing a huge oversize warm-up jacket. It looked like he was wearing a muumuu (I don’t think I have ever spelled that word before).
• Again, probably not fair but image is important. If you are Tracey’s size, you need to dress well and have a lot of energy. He looked and acted like a tried supervisor at the DMV or the manager of a fast food restaurant. His firing was unfair but just as well for the program going forward.
 


John Galt said:
The atmosphere at the stadium sucks. Something died last year after the season ticket price increases. Attendance is consistently down, and a lot of people that show up are dead. We lost a lot of the diehard fans. Will they ever return?
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The donation program was a disaster that is only now starting to play out.

I used to buy 5 tickets, then went to 2 that I split with someone, then we went to none this year. And as you allude, it's unlikely I will be back simply because frankly, I don't miss it one bit. I don't mean that to be negative, just a reality that I think a lot of former ticket holders probably feel. I went to bed last night thankful I didn't feel obligated to spend 4 hours to attend the game. I tell myself that I will buy single game tickets once or twice a year, but honestly, I could easily see the season slipping by and me just 'never getting around to it'.

I used to be a pretty die-hard fan, but as the years and mediocrity have built up, I now realize that I was continuing to buy tickets out of habit, and to see friends, not because of any huge excitement over the program. The price increase was basically just the excuse I needed to stop going. Lo and behold, without tickets, I find there are a whole bunch of other equally fun (more fun?) ways that I spend that time.

And more problematic, I think this attitude is only growing more common with younger people. It just ain't worth it. Add in all the other entertainment options in the Twin Cities, increasingly poor image of football (concussions, etc.), etc., etc., and I think bending the curve back upwards is going to be very, very tough.

No secret, they are going to have to win a lot to change the trajectory. Sure, they will sell out the big games now and then as it is now, but it will be with people that have a passing interest or are fans of the opposing team, not program loyalists that can easily be converted to season ticket holders.
 


Pompous Elitist said:
The good:

Shannon Brook's intensity. He won this round.
Tyler Johnson's hands and TD catch. 141 yards.
Antoine Winfield Jr individual performance
The defense in the second half
The passing game is showing signs of a pulse. It's faint, but it's there.
Santoso was money tonight

The bad:

Lack of outside running. The coaches said, "why bother, it's Buffalo".
First half bend but don't break defense. Patented early TD by opposing team. Are we sure Claeys and Sawvel left?
Yes, because Cashman was largely MIA. No bueno. Give me the cash.
Not going for it on 4th and shannon Brooks at the Buff 42.

The ugly:

The second missed field goal. The 50 yarder was forgivable. I'm worried about his head going forward.
The Woz hands. Throw it to the other guy, Lingen. Have they watched tape?
The INT. No.

I may be in the minority but for the first game I thought they did ok. The offense will get much better but we will go as far as the QB can take us. The line may not be elite but they will really struggle if we can't get teams to respect the pass.

We still had over 400 yards. The defense has that same bend but don't break philosophy and we have some playmakers.
Click to expand...

I think you are right on.
 

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