BleedGopher
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per Sid:
Smith breaks out
Junior running back Rodney Smith broke out of a mini-slump with 24 carries for 134 yards in the Gophers’ 54-21 victory over Nebraska at TCF Bank Stadium on Saturday. The 134 yards were the most for Smith this season, and the 24 carries were his second-highest mark, behind his 30 carries in the Gophers’ 48-14 victory at Oregon State in September.
Smith said coach P.J. Fleck had the right message in getting the team to break a two-game losing streak.
“It was all about response,” Smith said. “We went to work last week at practice. We had a great week of practice and he made sure we were prepared. We learned from it and we knew we had to come out fast against Nebraska and finish the game. I think we did that.”
Smith leads the team in rushing with 799 yards on 195 carries but has only three touchdowns. His rushing average of 4.1 yards per carry is actually the lowest of his career. Last year he had 1,158 yards on 240 carries (4.8 ypc) and 16 TDs.
Still, Smith sees the offensive line showing improvement after a slow start because of a lot of injuries heading into the season.
“They’re getting better each and every week,” he said. “Those guys definitely opened up some huge holes for all of us to run through — me, Kobe [McCrary] and Demry [Croft]. It’s exciting when you see things like that. I’m proud of those guys. They’ve come a long way. In the springtime we only had four or five offensive linemen, so it is definitely exciting to see those guys out there and getting better.”
One of the best things the Gophers did Saturday was run the option with Croft, who rushed for 183 yards — the most ever by a Gophers quarterback — which helped them to a season-high 409 yards on the ground.
“It was a thing of beauty,” Smith said. “That’s the great thing about having a quarterback that can run. They have to respect him and the running back. When the quarterback runs, it makes your life a lot easier as a running back.”
The running attack will need to be even better Saturday against Northwestern, which is second in the Big Ten in run defense, allowing only 109.6 yards per game and 3.2 yards per carry.
http://www.startribune.com/vikings-kai-forbath-is-booting-for-distance-accuracy/458119463/
Go Gophers!!
Smith breaks out
Junior running back Rodney Smith broke out of a mini-slump with 24 carries for 134 yards in the Gophers’ 54-21 victory over Nebraska at TCF Bank Stadium on Saturday. The 134 yards were the most for Smith this season, and the 24 carries were his second-highest mark, behind his 30 carries in the Gophers’ 48-14 victory at Oregon State in September.
Smith said coach P.J. Fleck had the right message in getting the team to break a two-game losing streak.
“It was all about response,” Smith said. “We went to work last week at practice. We had a great week of practice and he made sure we were prepared. We learned from it and we knew we had to come out fast against Nebraska and finish the game. I think we did that.”
Smith leads the team in rushing with 799 yards on 195 carries but has only three touchdowns. His rushing average of 4.1 yards per carry is actually the lowest of his career. Last year he had 1,158 yards on 240 carries (4.8 ypc) and 16 TDs.
Still, Smith sees the offensive line showing improvement after a slow start because of a lot of injuries heading into the season.
“They’re getting better each and every week,” he said. “Those guys definitely opened up some huge holes for all of us to run through — me, Kobe [McCrary] and Demry [Croft]. It’s exciting when you see things like that. I’m proud of those guys. They’ve come a long way. In the springtime we only had four or five offensive linemen, so it is definitely exciting to see those guys out there and getting better.”
One of the best things the Gophers did Saturday was run the option with Croft, who rushed for 183 yards — the most ever by a Gophers quarterback — which helped them to a season-high 409 yards on the ground.
“It was a thing of beauty,” Smith said. “That’s the great thing about having a quarterback that can run. They have to respect him and the running back. When the quarterback runs, it makes your life a lot easier as a running back.”
The running attack will need to be even better Saturday against Northwestern, which is second in the Big Ten in run defense, allowing only 109.6 yards per game and 3.2 yards per carry.
http://www.startribune.com/vikings-kai-forbath-is-booting-for-distance-accuracy/458119463/
Go Gophers!!