Zulgad: Gophers finish undefeated in non-conference but plenty of questions remain

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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per Judd:

The victory gave the Gophers a 3-0 nonconference record in P.J. Fleck’s first season as coach. Fleck is the first Minnesota coach to start his Gophers career 3-0 since Murray Warmath opened with four consecutive wins in 1954.

That sounds good but doesn’t mean much.

What Fleck and Co., don’t know is if this early-season success carries any real meaning as the Gophers gets set to start Big Ten play a week from next Saturday against Maryland. An unimpressive 17-7 victory over Buffalo in the opener was followed by a 48-14 rout of an atrocious Oregon State club last Saturday in Corvallis.

The Gophers’ offensive line clearly has made strides since looking below average in the opener against Buffalo, thus helping the run game, but it will be interesting to see what happens when the competition improves and the passing game becomes more important.

“What I want to be able to do is get more people involved,” Fleck said. “Right now, we’re doing what it takes to win. Do I think that’s going to be enough? I think we’ve got to be able to become more balanced but that means other people have to be able to make plays and we need other people to step up and step in. But, again, we have to be extremely creative, too. … But at the end of the day, we’ve got to be able to play better. … We’re going to do everything to make sure that we play to the strengths of our football team.”

Will that be enough to win in the Big Ten?

That remains a question mark when it comes to these Gophers.

http://www.1500espn.com/gophers-2/2...eated-non-conference-plenty-questions-remain/

Go Gophers!!
 

BleedGopher said:
per Judd:

The victory gave the Gophers a 3-0 nonconference record in P.J. Fleck’s first season as coach. Fleck is the first Minnesota coach to start his Gophers career 3-0 since Murray Warmath opened with four consecutive wins in 1954.

That sounds good but doesn’t mean much.

What Fleck and Co., don’t know is if this early-season success carries any real meaning as the Gophers gets set to start Big Ten play a week from next Saturday against Maryland. An unimpressive 17-7 victory over Buffalo in the opener was followed by a 48-14 rout of an atrocious Oregon State club last Saturday in Corvallis.

The Gophers’ offensive line clearly has made strides since looking below average in the opener against Buffalo, thus helping the run game, but it will be interesting to see what happens when the competition improves and the passing game becomes more important.

“What I want to be able to do is get more people involved,” Fleck said. “Right now, we’re doing what it takes to win. Do I think that’s going to be enough? I think we’ve got to be able to become more balanced but that means other people have to be able to make plays and we need other people to step up and step in. But, again, we have to be extremely creative, too. … But at the end of the day, we’ve got to be able to play better. … We’re going to do everything to make sure that we play to the strengths of our football team.”

Will that be enough to win in the Big Ten?

That remains a question mark when it comes to these Gophers.

http://www.1500espn.com/gophers-2/2...eated-non-conference-plenty-questions-remain/

Go Gophers!!
Click to expand...


Um, OK, so I guess we need to play the remaining games this season.

Is that your point, Judd?
 

Does Judd know they are 3-0, not 0-3? What a putz.
 


Brilliant Putz!

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
 


I was really hoping Judd could just spill the beans on what our record will be.

Evidently it will be somewhere between 12-0 and 3-9.
 

I don't read/listen to this guy outside of what I see posted here. It seems like everything I have seen from him goes to nearly comic levels in attempts to be negative. Is that always the case or am I seeing a loaded sampling?
 

A quick rundown of things here:

1. The team has a brand new coaching staff. In other words, huge adjustment for coaches and players, regardless of what systems they run.

2. They've gone 3-0 in the non-conference and have outscored opponents by a combined 99-24, including 82-17 the last two weeks.

3. They have yet to give up a single point in the second half this season. Not a field-goal, not a garbage time touchdown. NOTHING. Can't remember the last Gopher football team to do that for three games in a row regardless of the opposition.

4. And so far, they're averaging 387.3 yards per game while giving up just 239 yards per contest.

Yet now we're supposed to question the team and coaching staff because, um, the Big 10?

I get it, there are always questions to be raised with Gopher football. That's what 50-plus years of disappointment brings.

But wouldn't it be enough to simply say the non-conference was a big success? Because it was. Can't really argue it.

And to be quite honest, they're much farther along than I thought they'd be at this juncture.

In other words, its been pretty impressive stuff to this point. Now I'm hoping for more during the Big 10 season.
 

Nice post MRJ


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 



BleedGopher said:
per Judd:

The victory gave the Gophers a 3-0 nonconference record in P.J. Fleck’s first season as coach. Fleck is the first Minnesota coach to start his Gophers career 3-0 since Murray Warmath opened with four consecutive wins in 1954.

That sounds good but doesn’t mean much.

What Fleck and Co., don’t know is if this early-season success carries any real meaning as the Gophers gets set to start Big Ten play a week from next Saturday against Maryland. An unimpressive 17-7 victory over Buffalo in the opener was followed by a 48-14 rout of an atrocious Oregon State club last Saturday in Corvallis.

The Gophers’ offensive line clearly has made strides since looking below average in the opener against Buffalo, thus helping the run game, but it will be interesting to see what happens when the competition improves and the passing game becomes more important.

“What I want to be able to do is get more people involved,” Fleck said. “Right now, we’re doing what it takes to win. Do I think that’s going to be enough? I think we’ve got to be able to become more balanced but that means other people have to be able to make plays and we need other people to step up and step in. But, again, we have to be extremely creative, too. … But at the end of the day, we’ve got to be able to play better. … We’re going to do everything to make sure that we play to the strengths of our football team.”

Will that be enough to win in the Big Ten?

That remains a question mark when it comes to these Gophers.

http://www.1500espn.com/gophers-2/2...eated-non-conference-plenty-questions-remain/

Go Gophers!!
Click to expand...


D. I. C. K.
 

How about this: Gophers go 3-0 in non-conference action, but questions remain as B1G schedule looms.

I think that's a fair assessment. There are questions going into B1G play:
1. injury status of key players
2. continued development of offensive line
3. depth in defensive backfield (combined with injuries)
4. continued development of QB position (combined with suspension).

And I think #4 is the key. Right now, the Gophers are 3-0 based on the running game and defense. at some point in the conference schedule, I think it's a safe bet that the Gophers will find themselves trailing in a game. Can Rhoda win a game by passing - that is with the pass as the primary offensive weapon? Can the Gophers come from behind and win a game?

this is NOT a doom-and-gloom post. It may be that all of the questions are answered positively. Rhoda may go out there in a conference game and throw for 250+ yards and multiple TD's.
Other receivers may emerge as viable options.

But - we have to see it happen to know that it can happen.

You can be optimistic about what the team has shown so far, but still have questions.

And - in all fairness, "I trust Fleck" may be enough for some fans - but other fans need more tangible evidence.
 

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