[POST GAME THREAD] - Maryland defeats Minnesota 31-24

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A few thoughts:

1. Maryland completely dominated us and we were fortunate that this game came down to the end. I wouldn't have been surprised if we lost by 20 given how badly we were outplayed.
2. The lack of competent, B1G level DE's was on full display. We couldn't set the edge at all and they gashed us on the perimeter at will. Carter Coughlin is an OLB and has no business lining up all game long against 300 lb O-Tackles. Once he engages an o-lineman, he can't get off the block because he's playing out of position. The transfer of Gaelin Elmore was possibly the difference in a game like this.
3. The lack of CB depth was also on full display. With Hardin and Buford gone, it was going to be critical this year to have a healthy Coney Durr. He still hasn't been able to play any defensive snaps. Shenault and Thomas would be best served as being the 3rd and 4th corners or even 4th and 5th corners on defense this year.
4. Based on the lack of CBs that can cover 1:1, our safeties have to protect them much more than in the past. This ends up hampering their ability to support the run.
5. Barber showed his lack of experience today. I really liked him for the 1st 3 games, but he was out of position for most of this game.
6. Rhoda is an improvement over Leidner from a passing standpoint. He is composed in the pocket and threw some really nice balls, even a few that were incomplete where WR's had a chance to make the catch. What we sorely miss is Mitch's ability to run the ball on the read-option.
7. An already thin WR core can't catch a break. Still has been worthless this year, and now our top two freshman WRs are out. Bell would have had an impact and Douglas is now apparently out for the year. We desperately need some playmakers at WR.
8. It was nice to see Lingen with the TD catch. Where has he been? He needs 5-6 receptions every game.
9. Any game where we get outrushed by 200 yards will be a loss. It's really surprising that it ended up being as close as it was.
10. We still have very limited depth. Weyler, Douglass, Bell, McGhee, and Winfield were all out. Devers has been a non-factor this year at a position where we desperately need playmakers. We have limited margin for error and these losses are killing us.

The silver lining is that hopefully this is the worst we can play...
 

Spoofin said:
I agree with this. Thinking PJ wasn't outcoached today is silly. Thinking today shows any reduction in his chance of being successful at MN is equally as silly.

I expect us to come out firing on all cylinders against PU and all will be right in the World again.


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What I've seen from Purdue so far tells me that we could be up a creek without a paddle in this next game.
I sure hope that Fleck learned not to slack off with B1G game planning from now on.
 

Vandy said:
It was there..... all day... 4-8 yards or more....
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All-day for who? Last year Mitch would have gained off it all game long. I'm not sure Rhoda has that skill set.
 

John Galt said:
All-day for who? Last year Mitch would have gained off it all game long. I'm not sure Rhoda has that skill set.
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Based on PJ's answer, I think it's more they are not allowing Rhoda to run. He's not going to tell the world that. The question is why run the play over and over if that's how you are going to execute it?
 

John Galt said:
A few thoughts:

1. Maryland completely dominated us and we were fortunate that this game came down to the end. I wouldn't have been surprised if we lost by 20 given how badly we were outplayed.
2. The lack of competent, B1G level DE's was on full display. We couldn't set the edge at all and they gashed us on the perimeter at will. Carter Coughlin is an OLB and has no business lining up all game long against 300 lb O-Tackles. Once he engages an o-lineman, he can't get off the block because he's playing out of position. The transfer of Gaelin Elmore was possibly the difference in a game like this.
3. The lack of CB depth was also on full display. With Hardin and Buford gone, it was going to be critical this year to have a healthy Coney Durr. He still hasn't been able to play any defensive snaps. Shenault and Thomas would be best served as being the 3rd and 4th corners or even 4th and 5th corners on defense this year.
4. Based on the lack of CBs that can cover 1:1, our safeties have to protect them much more than in the past. This ends up hampering their ability to support the run.
5. Barber showed his lack of experience today. I really liked him for the 1st 3 games, but he was out of position for most of this game.
6. Rhoda is an improvement over Leidner from a passing standpoint. He is composed in the pocket and threw some really nice balls, even a few that were incomplete where WR's had a chance to make the catch. What we sorely miss is Mitch's ability to run the ball on the read-option.
7. An already thin WR core can't catch a break. Still has been worthless this year, and now our top two freshman WRs are out. Bell would have had an impact and Douglas is now apparently out for the year. We desperately need some playmakers at WR.
8. It was nice to see Lingen with the TD catch. Where has he been? He needs 5-6 receptions every game.
9. Any game where we get outrushed by 200 yards will be a loss. It's really surprising that it ended up being as close as it was.
10. We still have very limited depth. Weyler, Douglass, Bell, McGhee, and Winfield were all out. Devers has been a non-factor this year at a position where we desperately need playmakers. We have limited margin for error and these losses are killing us.

The silver lining is that hopefully this is the worst we can play...
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Agree with most of what was said - solid post.

One thing I think you missed was the struggles of the OL up front.


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Breakin' The Plane said:
It's been nearly a decade since this team lost a home game that they were double digit favorites in. I guess that's a positive.
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I was wondering basically the same thing. When is the last time we lost a home game in which we were nearly 2-TD favorites?

Give Maryland credit for not beating themselves with turnovers and mistakes, their third string QB didn't implode, and Winfield going down brought the talent level of the two teams closer, but that is still an opponent we should have beaten with the talent on the field. MD may be improved someday but they didn't suddenly become world beaters in 1 year.

The game atmosphere sucked, I think both fan base and players took a W for granted, and our coaches' stubbornness in the offensive game plan was bewildering.
 

WanderingGopher said:
I was wondering basically the same thing. When is the last time we lost a home game in which we were nearly 2-TD favorites?

Give Maryland credit for not beating themselves with turnovers and mistakes, their third string QB didn't implode, and Winfield going down brought the talent level of the two teams closer, but that is still an opponent we should have beaten with the talent on the field. MD may be improved someday but they didn't suddenly become world beaters in 1 year.

The game atmosphere sucked, I think both fan base and players took a W for granted, and our coaches' stubbornness in the offensive game plan was bewildering.
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In 2011, they were -20 against NMSU and lost by 7. A couple years ago, they were -12 against Purdue, but they were able to squeak out a 39-38 win.
 

hello-world said:
I guess my greater point is this:
What point is there in having our corners play 7 yards off their receiver when their feet aren't even moving once the receivers get to them? You're just giving up plays.
What benefit do we gain from playing this guy so far back? He just gets ripped.
http://video.btn.com/dj-turner-diving-catch-on-4th-and-10-vs-minnesota
Literally all three trips are open on this play, that QB could have throw the ball anywhere on that side of the field and it would have been a first down.
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This play hurt. It seemed like the ball was in the air long enough for a defender to make a play on, but in watching the replay it was a really nice pass and catch.
 

I wasn’t surprised that our Defensive ends hot absolutely handled by their talented tackles because they are small and young. I was surprised that there was no pass rush from our interior d line though.
I wonder if sliding a bigger guy like Steltier over to end on first and second down could help maintain the edge?
 



recorded the game after working all day and was finally able to watch. Even able to watch without knowing the score. Here are my thoughts
We played the game not to lose instead of trying to win. That is a coaching mistake. Talent of both teams were about the same. Our offensive and defensive game plans were not good and we didn't make the proper adjustments as the game went on. We were stubborn and thought we could get a W by just lining up and doing the same thing over and over again like we did against the previous three opponents. That works when you are the superior team and doesn't always when the teams are more equal. Yesterday it didn't.

As for the Rhoda not running thing. That MUST change or they need to run some different plays. PJ suspending those players is his right and in the long run is a good thing. Having Croft back there yesterday, would have given us the W I believe as he would have gashed the Terp D with big runs. But he wasn't doing the things he needed to so he is not with the team. As PJ has said, he doesn't care who, but if they don't do the right things then they will not play. Which makes telling Rhoda not to run all the more puzzling. Here's why. PJ is all about no player is bigger than the program. Well telling Rhoda not to run is basically saying he is bigger than the program and too valuable to lose.

It was a bad loss, there is no other way to say it, especially with 2 weeks to prepare.
Now we need to learn from it and move on to playing Purdue. First road BIG game and a chance to even up the BIG record for the year. Hope they are better prepared and put better effort into the game, game plan and in game adjustments.
 

RolGnav said:
I'm sorry but I guess Claeys spoiled me when he and his staff called a gem of a game last year when everyone and their dog were suspended and no one wanted our players to even go to the bowl game against a high powered top offense. Claeys and Kill always had a way to pull out a victory in close games, but this staff just doesn't impress me. Sooner or later, if Fleck doesn't win, his culture will go from inspiring to irritating.
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Ah yes - the glory days of Kill/Claeys. Where have they gone.


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60's Guy said:
Based on PJ's answer, I think it's more they are not allowing Rhoda to run. He's not going to tell the world that. The question is why run the play over and over if that's how you are going to execute it?
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Then stop running read option plays. Maryland had 0 respect for it. Nobody is going to respect it for the rest of the season. You might as well just run straight forward every play. They were running straight to Brooks and Smith all game long.
 

The most unsettling thing was probabbly the number of mistakes on all sides of the ball, missed tackles, and stuff that has nothing to do with the opposing talent.
 



A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
The most unsettling thing was probabbly the number of mistakes on all sides of the ball, missed tackles, and stuff that has nothing to do with the opposing talent.
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Yup. All three phases were bad. And they had two weeks to prepare. I mean, they knew that Braunschweiger or whatever his name was, was going to the the starter and it seems like they didn't even take that into account.
 

hello-world said:
Then stop running read option plays. Maryland had 0 respect for it. Nobody is going to respect it for the rest of the season. You might as well just run straight forward every play. They were running straight to Brooks and Smith all game long.
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Our inability to stop run was bigger factor, but was very frustrating to run the same play over and over with poor results. 6 years of RUTM has taken it's toll
 

Face The Facts said:
Maryland is a good team with a poor week last week.

They out-talented us across the board.
You could see how much more speed they had across the board, this is why we needed a better recruiter than the people who brought in the players we have right now.
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You had NINE WINS last year. Heather, is that you? Too much time on your hands?
 

I think someone has a crush on Heather.
 

fippled said:
PJ has been telling us since he came here they are young, inexperienced, and not alot of depth. That showed today.

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You get what you emphasize. Coaching 101. What if he emphasized the positives?
 

60's Guy said:
You get what you emphasize. Coaching 101. What if he emphasized the positives?
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Wow it's that simple? So if he says the Gophers have super elite running backs (which he has) they will win every game? Can't believe every coach in the country hasn't tried this yet.
 

NotSkankasourus said:
You had NINE WINS last year. Heather, is that you? Too much time on your hands?
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Well, let's bring back Mitch, and Pirsig, and everyone else... then bring back all the first year coaches we played against, and bring back two teams who lost to FCS opponents during the year and let's just try to re-do the same thing as last year.

Maybe just buy yourself a DVD of last years season and just watch that over and over while you share a sofa with Tracy and talk about the good ol' days.
 

Face The Facts said:
Well, let's bring back Mitch, and Pirsig, and everyone else... then bring back all the first year coaches we played against, and bring back two teams who lost to FCS opponents during the year and let's just try to re-do the same thing as last year.

Maybe just buy yourself a DVD of last years season and just watch that over and over while you share a sofa with Tracy and talk about the good ol' days.
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I'll be glad when soccer season starts.
 


salzie said:
Our inability to stop run was bigger factor, but was very frustrating to run the same play over and over with poor results. 6 years of RUTM has taken it's toll
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Yep!!! Inexcusable! 3rd/4th string QB....what did they think was going to be the game plan? Throw it all over the yard?
 

OddStack said:
Yep!!! Inexcusable! 3rd/4th string QB....what did they think was going to be the game plan? Throw it all over the yard?
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Do you think there was a chance the defensive game plan might have been to stop the run but the defense on the field simply couldn't because they were dominated by the Maryland OLine? Nah - you're probably right the coaches never even thought of that.
 

scools12 said:
Do you think there was a chance the defensive game plan might have been to stop the run but the defense on the field simply couldn't because they were dominated by the Maryland OLine? Nah - you're probably right the coaches never even thought of that.
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Dominated b/c they played with 7 in the box. Playing 2 high safeties with corners at 8 yards is not a run preventing front. They might've planned to stop the run, but you don't sit in that scheme as much as they did and stop the run (it's 7 in the box). Yes, you can run fit with the safeties running the alleys, yet without a thumper at safety (see suspensions and Winfield injury) you don't continue to stay in it.

Thus, yes....inexcusable!
 

scools12 said:
Do you think there was a chance the defensive game plan might have been to stop the run but the defense on the field simply couldn't because they were dominated by the Maryland OLine? Nah - you're probably right the coaches never even thought of that.
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Fleck said they made the decision to go completely vanilla on defense after Winfield got injured in the 1st quarter, so...
 

PMWinSTP said:
Fleck said they made the decision to go completely vanilla on defense after Winfield got injured in the 1st quarter, so...
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Lost one of their top players on defense so had they had to change the defense. So it is excusable.
 

We ended up taking nothing away, certainly not forcing Max to beat us with his arm. An arguable choice and one I disgree with even with the losses on personnel. Maybe they were just that limited due to inexperience. Just one game. Let's see what happens this week vs Purdue's #2.
 

scools12 said:
Lost one of their top players on defense so had they chose to change the defense. So it is excusable.
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FIFY. Was responding to your "but the defense on the field simply couldn't because they were dominated by the Maryland OLine".
 

scools12 said:
Lost one of their top players on defense so had they had to change the defense. So it is excusable.
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We should be thanking our lucky stars the injury to Winfield wasn't a season ender. If so, we'd have an excusable Mason-like defense w/o a Mason like offense.

Translation...we'd be 3-9, but it'd be excusable b/c we lost one of our best defenders.

They prepare for injuries during a week of practice. The #2's know what they are doing...they just can't do it to the level of 1's. To stay vanilla b/c you lost someone is ridiculous!!!
 

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