[POST GAME THREAD] Minnesota defeats New Mexico State 48-10

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What’d you think, Gopherhole?


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When I watched Johnson, Bateman, Bell and Douglas line up at WR, I just had to smile...
 

When's the last time we had 30 passing attempts in a game that we won?
 

So, New Mexico State is really bad. Like really, really bad.

As a result I think it will be hard to draw to any meaningful conclusions from this game, but here goes anyway:

- Annexstad looks the part. His presence in the pocket and timing on his throws were very impressive.
- Rashod Bateman is going to be a player. It will be exciting to see what this receiving corps looks like as they continue to develop.
- The offensive line was not getting much push early, but throwing bodies around in the second half. It will be interesting to see how that unit performs run blocking against better teams.

Overall, we scored 35 points in a half, the defense only allowed 10 points total and or freshman QB looked good so it’s a great night to be a Gopher fan. Looking forward to next week already!


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Gophers can throw slant passes and throws the ball over the middle. This is something new and not used to seeing. Nice to have a QB that can throw on time. Tyler Johnson and Rodney Smith are grizzled veterans we will rely on a lot. Bateman will only be here 3 years, to talented to not play or money some day.

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Overall good first game.

One thing I noticed (but haven't bothered to verify) is it felt like we had quite a few penalties on our special teams.

Happy to be 1-0.
 

Freshman and Seniors looked great. Annexstad and Bateman are the real deal. Defense was disappointing, especially without a decent pass rush. Offensive line was inconsistent. Too many penalties. Coaching decisions were really good or really poor (why were starters in so late, especially after Annexstad & Smith had noticeable injuries)?

Overall, better than I expected considering recent opening games. Next week will be a true measuring stick heading into BigTen play. Still predicting 6-6 on the year.
 

Gophers can throw slant passes and throws the ball over the middle. This is something new and not used to seeing. Nice to have a QB that can throw on time. Tyler Johnson and Rodney Smith are grizzled veterans we will rely on a lot. Bateman will only be here 3 years, to talented to not play for money some day. Antoine Winfield jr and Blake Cashman Cashman are animals.
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Freshman and Seniors looked great. Annexstad and Bateman are the real deal. Defense was disappointing, especially without a decent pass rush. Offensive line was inconsistent. Too many penalties. Coaching decisions were really good or really poor (why were starters in so late, especially after Annexstad & Smith had noticeable injuries)?

Overall, better than I expected considering recent opening games. Next week will be a true measuring stick heading into BigTen play. Still predicting 6-6 on the year.

I thought the pass rush was pretty good most of the game. Had 4 sacks, lots of hurries. Thought the secondary struggled, gave way too much of a cushion.

I asked in another thread, what’s happened to Williamson, transfer from Florida? I don’t think I saw him play at all.
 



No offense to the Gophers tonight, but I'm certain Eden Prairie could have had a competititve game against New Mexico State. Their players looked tiny.
 


I've seen a lot of preseason Gopher games where we seemed to underachieve / be uncomfortably close to a bad team.

I'll take beating up on a cupcake when we're supposed to any day.

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Hope Ko Kieft is okay...helps the run game.

Paulson got a lot of run set up on outside sideline in some four wide sets...they ran that last year with Wozniak...hope to see Green in that four wide at some point.

Coughlin moves good in space...still don’t like him vs power run teams.

Renner got a lot of run at DT...great punt block...Silver got a lot of run...hoped OJ would stand out more, maybe not his role...he is out on a lot of packages...Moore was solid...

Cashman finds the ball.

Rodney is faster, stronger, more agile.

Durr looks fully recovered. He will push Terrell Smith.

Julian Huff in on some packages. He makes plays.

Kiondre is very solid. They go after Shenault in that third cb role.

Devers out there is pass rush package a lot.

Beebe is in short yardage package, lot of special teams.

I think I saw Ben Davis on some special teams. I think Howden was a gunner on punts.

Morse was in on special teams and in the WR rotation some.

Good start for Carpenter. Herbers had some good, one bad.

Couple of near misses on high point grabs, one by Bateman where he stepped out and one on the NMSU side around the 40 where Tyler went up very high were promising.
 


Random thoughts after a long day

Nice, dominating win tempered by fact that was a pretty bad team. Still, a W is a W. There were a lot of nice plays and a ton of new players showing out.

Annexstad looked really good the first half and then struggled a bit to get on the same page as the receivers in the second half. He definitely impressed for game 1.
TJ, Bateman, CAB, Douglas is an awesome receiving corps. The talent is instantly light years better vs 2017.
Smith looked good, hope it’s nothing serious. Ibrahim looked better/ran harder than I expected. This may be related to: Bryce looks like he will be really good. Quick, maybe a home run threat.
The offensive line gave ZA plenty of time.
I thought the defensive line was just ok. Their QB seemed to have plenty of time. I don’t recall them being able to run much on us.
Blake Cashman is a difference maker.
Winfield’s return was incredible
The secondary played pretty well but their receivers dropped a helluva lot of balls tonight.
Overall the defense IMO seemed a bit slower and less disruptive early on than the very good Wyoming defense I watched last week. Will have to improve as soon as next week. They just weren’t any good.
Many new faces out there: Spann Ford, Sori-Marin, Rush, Teague, Mafe, Oliver and probably more that I missed.

Next week a better test. Things are looking up vs 2017, no doubt.
 

The first 6 possessions of the game or so (3 offense/3 defense), I felt like the Gophers looked small and slower than I hoped (especially defensively). That said, I did think going in to the game that NMSU would have an advantage early in the game (relatively to the talent level of course) given that they had already experienced live game action. As the first half moved along, I felt the back 7 of the defense looked a bit better and that the offense really got moving with some creative play calling and actually was fun to watch. I was a big fan of Zach Annexstad's debut and was impressed with his poise and arm strength. My one criticism of his debut would be that I felt like he locked on to an initial read especially when that first read was outside the numbers and deep (early pass to Tyler Johnson in to double coverage one example). Overall, I was super impressed with Annexstad, Bateman, and Terrell Smith as True Freshmen. Offensively, it appears to me that we have a bigger variety of weapons than we've had in recent history: Smith, Johnson, Bateman, Seth Green (Wildcat was nice!), and Autman-Bell all flashed to me. Jury is out on Ibrahim to me due to the caliber of competition, but was nice to see him break that long run. My biggest concern offensively was that I was not impressed at all with the offensive line especially when it came to the run game. We are just not at the point where our Oline just steamroll's a NMSU type team which doesn't bode well for B1G play.

Defensively, I didn't like the number of open receivers running around for NMSU and a lot of those passes will be completions as we move along to tougher competition. Much like the Oline, I was disappointed that the Dline couldn't physically manhandle an NMSU type Oline. We didn't get much pass rush when just rushing 4 and even when Smith brought extra guys, NMSU was often able to still have enough time to get a pass away. I thought Cashman had a fantastic game, Terrell Smith was great especially tracking guys deep one on one, and that Kiondre Thomas was really up and down. Winfield's put return should be a SportsCenter top 10 play and it was great to have him back on the field. Coughlin had some nice rushes, but he struggled to finish and left open some big running lanes for the NMSU QB. Liked what I saw from Thomas Rush late in the game.

I was much happier with the second quarter play than I was the second half play. I expected NMSU to have tired legs by the second half and to be demoralized by the score, but the Gophers kind of played some sloppy football in the second half at times.

As most have said, NMSU is a bad team so it's hard to be that definitive with any positive takes. That said my initial impression is that the Gophers have taken a nice step forward at the skill positions on offense and in the secondary on defense, but that they are another year in the weight room (hopefully not more than that) from being able to match up with other B1G teams on the OL and DL. I might have mentioned more negatives than positives in my post, but I was actually encouraged by the game tonight.
 

Herbstreit's B1G sleeper waking up.

Lots of "IFs" left to play out, but the "best case scenario" upside of this year's squad is so much higher than last. It's extra fun knowing that this can be a warmup year for next since most of the squad is young.
 

Herbstreit's B1G sleeper waking up.

Lots of "IFs" left to play out, but the "best case scenario" upside of this year's squad is so much higher than last. It's extra fun knowing that this can be a warmup year for next since most of the squad is young.

Certainly appears that way even with a weak opening opponent. The receiving corps alone exhibits a higher ceiling than any of the others I've seen in the last five years.
 

Here are my post game thoughts. I'm optimistic, but cautiously so after that game

QB: I'd give Annexstad a B-. I'd give his 2nd quarter and A+ and the rest of the game was rather meh. If you're grading a curve, then yes he gets a much better grade. His botched snap was a big error, but he recovered in a very strong way to finish the half well. Throws with good zip at times and can really hit the short to mid passing game. His deep ball needs work and he really needs to set his feet when he throws (lots of fading away throwing off balance). It's going to get him into trouble against faster defenses. I'm very optimistic about his potential. Morgan looked nice in his limited time. Looked like a good teammate and was active participant on the sidelines throughout the game. He should push Annexstad.

RB: Rodney was the MVP to me. Made extra yards. Finished runs. Looks like he's got a little extra burst vs last year. Really excited to watch him this year. Ibrahim was who I expected to be the change of pace back and he looked very good. Also finished runs with power several times. Would like to see us get them both more involved in the passing game. Williams was hard to assess in limited action. On an aside, I'd expect Femi-Cole to transfer if this is how it's going to go. Amazing he doesn't have some potential as a goal line kind of guy with his size.

WR: This group is going to be a ton of fun this year and, if TJ stays which I think he should, next year. Lots of athleticism. Bateman will be a major contributor when its said and done and will force teams to keep things honest. Would like to see them use Seth Green more outside with his size and leverage. All in all, the thing that really impressed me from them all was the crispness of the routes and their highpointing of the ball. Much to be excited about. Next week will be a big step for them.

OL: thought they were hit or miss. Gave Annexstad a ton of time to throw and 0 sacks should always be commended, but were spotty in run blocking and got bailed out by RS several times. Part of that was the D selling out on stopping the RS inside zone and ZA not keeping (which may have been coaches choice as it was wiiiiiiiide open all game). Will need to solidify the run game before next week. The 2nd team guys looked good as well. Should have some good depth here.

DL: did ok off the edge. I thought Romero actually moved very well in the pocket last night and extended plays well. Think the technique may get our DEs too far up field which got us in trouble at times. These guys seem to be trying to play with pure speed technique on the edge with run clogging up the middle, but it leads to some big lanes diagonally as the DTs were not getting much consistent push. They'll need to improve

LB: We have a great crew back there. Thomas Barber looks like he will have a great chance to make it at the next level. Very smart player. Makes big plays. Cashman also impressed me again. Maybe making himself into a camp guy with his ongoing performance (or may sneak into the 7th with a big season). Rush is going to be a very good player as well. Great nose for the ball. Flows very well. Excited to watch him develop.

DB: showed flashes of looking solid and flashes of really struggling. AWinfield will play on Sundays. The rest of the secondary we will see how they progress. Terrell Smith should be a good player eventually and hopefully a future shut down guy, but he's not there yet. Shenault got picked on again. Was good to see Durr back but he's not quite at his level he was previously yet to me. Thomas was also so-so. Hard to say if this was all on the guys vs the coaches having a role, but man they were playing soft coverage most of the game. Had NMSU not dropped so many balls (had to be near 10) they would've looked much rougher out there. They all showed flashes, but the consistency is not there yet. Keep getting better every day.

K: Carpenter did middle of the road overall. His pushed FG happens and I'd rather it happens now than when the game is actually on the line. One shaky XP. Kickoffs were overall well executed.

P: Herbers made me miss Santoso for sure. He just doesn't have the leg strength to carry the ball as well. Little bit worried about this side of things.

KR/PR: KR game was fine. Saw our first couple fair catches and an interesting wrinkle to the rule from the NMSU side if you drop the kick. PR had one electric play with 2 boneheaded ones (the touch while blocking that AW should've stopped and his muffed attempt). Will have to clean that up.

Coaching: really enjoyed the mix of play calls on offense. Liked that they feel more confident pushing the ball downfield and our intermediate passing game has been implemented. Questionable leaving the starters in so long in the 2nd half, but I'm sure they wanted the game reps. PJ is very animated on the sidelines and players seem to love him. He also gets after the refs pretty consistently. Wonder how much they respect him as it really did no favors in getting us any calls.

Refs (just because): clearly were not in midseason form. That is all I'll say :D
 

Let's not forget that the Gophers rarely have an easy time against non-conference opponents they should beat. It's a welcome sign to have a 35-10 lead at the half and have your freshman QB lead four of the scoring drives. Annexstad got in a groove early and seemed to relax after his first completion. He hit receivers in the chest consistently, and in stride to let them make plays after the catch.

It sure felt like the 3rd quarter play calling got conservative to not show anything extra to Fresno State with a 35-10 lead and the game decided. And I'm perfectly fine with that.

The front 7 on defense got plenty of pressure considering NMSU's QB never had the ball for more than a few seconds unless he was scrambling. Our linebackers were fantastic. Cashman is a stud. The secondary is young and other than Winfield and Shenault, learning on the fly. They'll take their lumps, but they'll also make plays.

Nice to see Seth Green get rewarded for his hard work and commitment, despite not really having a great feel for what position he would play until fall camp. He's embracing his opportunity as a WR/TE, and they have something with him in the Wildcat.

Excited to see how this group can improve week to week, especially with a tougher Fresno State squad coming next Saturday.
 

As a fan, I'd like the Gophers to competitive and entertaining to the last second.

My biggest worry as a group is the Offensive Line. They are not quite up to snuff in the early part of the NMSU game, but they seem to compose themselves as the game progresses. They are young with only two RS Seniors and three Juniors. PJ Fleck aggressively recruited to get the numbers up to eighteen. Coach Callahan has a tall order to quickly develop these group. The 4-Game Rule couldn't have come at a better time.

They are the key to launching any offensive scheme effectively by giving Annexstad adequate time and protection.

#---NO--FULL NAME--------POS.--HT.--WT.---ELIG-------HOMETOWN / HS
01--73--Donnell Greene----OL----6 7--320---R-Sr.-------Marietta, Ga. / Kell, CC
02--62--Jared Weyler-------OL----6 4--300---R-Sr.-------Dayton, Ohio / Centerville
03--71--Ben Davis----------OL----6 4--280---R-So.------Elk Grove, Calif. /CC
04--64--Conner Olson------OL----6 5--300---R-So.------Monticello, Minn.
05--70--Sam Schlueter-----OL----6 6--305---R-So.------Victoria, Minn. / Mayer Lutheran
06--61--Bronson Dovich----OL----6 5--300---R-Jr.-------Chaska, Minn. / Chaska
07--58--Quinn Oseland-----OL----6 6--305---R-Jr.-------Springfield, Ill. / Sacred Heart Griffin
08--65--Axel Ruschmeyer--OL----6 4--285---R-Fr.-------Hutchinson, Minn. / Holy Family
09--77--Blaise Andries-----OL----6 5--315---R-Fr.-------Marshall, Minn. / Marshall
10--60--John M. Schmitz---OL----6 4--300---R-Fr.-------Ill. / Homewood-Flossmoor
11--75--Kyle Sassack-------OL----6 7--290---R-Fr.-------Pontiac, Mich. / Notre Dame Prep
12--79--Jason Dickson------OL----6 6--315---Jr.---------Corona, Calif. / Vallejo, CC
13--63--Austin Beier--------OL----6 4--285---Fr.---------Toledo, Ohio / St. John's
14--51--Curtis Dunlap Jr.---OL----6 5--370---Fr.---------Jacksonville, Fla. / IMG Academy
15--78--Daniel Faalele------OL----6 9--400---Fr.---------Melbourne, Australia / IMG Academy
16--74--Grant Norton-------OL----6 8--260---Fr.---------Camdenton, Mo.
17--76--Jack York-----------OL----6 6--300---Fr.---------Dallas, Texas / First Baptist Academy
18--66--Nathan Boe--------OL----6 4--285---Fr.---------Lakeville, Minn. / Lakeville North
 
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Gophers can throw slant passes and throws the ball over the middle. This is something new and not used to seeing. Nice to have a QB that can throw on time. Tyler Johnson and Rodney Smith are grizzled veterans we will rely on a lot. Bateman will only be here 3 years, to talented to not play or money some day.

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I'd bet you a couple beers he's not drafted early. Only 12 underclassmen WR drafted this year by my count. Could happen but I'd bet against it.


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As a fan, I'd like the Gophers to competitive and entertaining to the last second.

My biggest worry as a group is the Offensive Line. They are not quite up to snuff in the early part of the NMSU game, but they seem to compose themselves as the game progresses. They are young with only two RS Seniors and three Juniors. PJ Fleck aggressively recruited to get the numbers up to eighteen. Coach Callahan has a tall order to quickly develop these group. The 4-Game Rule couldn't have come at a better time.

They are the key to launching any offensive scheme effectively by giving Annexstad adequate time and protection.

#---NO--FULL NAME--------POS.--HT.--WT.---ELIG-------HOMETOWN / HS
01--73--Donnell Greene----OL----6 7--320---R-Sr.-------Marietta, Ga. / Kell, CC
02--62--Jared Weyler-------OL----6 4--300---R-Sr.-------Dayton, Ohio / Centerville
03--71--Ben Davis----------OL----6 4--280---R-So.------Elk Grove, Calif. /CC
04--64--Conner Olson------OL----6 5--300---R-So.------Monticello, Minn.
05--70--Sam Schlueter-----OL----6 6--305---R-So.------Victoria, Minn. / Mayer Lutheran
06--61--Bronson Dovich----OL----6 5--300---R-Jr.-------Chaska, Minn. / Chaska
07--58--Quinn Oseland-----OL----6 6--305---R-Jr.-------Springfield, Ill. / Sacred Heart Griffin
08--65--Axel Ruschmeyer--OL----6 4--285---R-Fr.-------Hutchinson, Minn. / Holy Family
09--77--Blaise Andries-----OL----6 5--315---R-Fr.-------Marshall, Minn. / Marshall
10--60--John M. Schmitz---OL----6 4--300---R-Fr.-------Ill. / Homewood-Flossmoor
11--75--Kyle Sassack-------OL----6 7--290---R-Fr.-------Pontiac, Mich. / Notre Dame Prep
12--79--Jason Dickson------OL----6 6--315---Jr.---------Corona, Calif. / Vallejo, CC
13--63--Austin Beier--------OL----6 4--285---Fr.---------Toledo, Ohio / St. John's
14--51--Curtis Dunlap Jr.---OL----6 5--370---Fr.---------Jacksonville, Fla. / IMG Academy
15--78--Daniel Faalele------OL----6 9--400---Fr.---------Melbourne, Australia / IMG Academy
16--74--Grant Norton-------OL----6 8--260---Fr.---------Camdenton, Mo.
17--76--Jack York-----------OL----6 6--300---Fr.---------Dallas, Texas / First Baptist Academy
18--66--Nathan Boe--------OL----6 4--285---Fr.---------Lakeville, Minn. / Lakeville North

Yeah I was really nervous during that 1st quarter where we didn't get a push against a depleted New Mexico State.... and they fell back like infinitely on pass protection, yeesh.

They got much better, and that's good, still nervous.

That and the secondary.
 

Overall good first game.

One thing I noticed (but haven't bothered to verify) is it felt like we had quite a few penalties on our special teams.

Happy to be 1-0.

Yeah, if there's one significant negative, it's the penalties. Close to 100 yards if I remember correctly.
 

When was the last time we have two 100-yard rushers in a single game?

Rodney Smith 24 - 153 yards - 6.4 avg.
Mohamed Ibrahim 9 - 101 yards - 11.2 avg.

I like the idea of a two-headed monster for the run game.
 

There's a very realistic chance that this offense can be better than 2014. Rodney probably won't hit David Cobb heights, but this passing attack could be a huge boost if things continue to trend in the right direction.
 

I thought the Oline passed blocked very well. Running game looked more like it was one guy losing his man rather than mass failures, I also wonder if some of that was due to NMSU selling out on the run and too many guys to block? If that is the case then that's reasonable. I think Zack looked good and a number of misses were due to them trying to get the deep ball better. Seemed like they tried 10 of those and boy they were close on some! CAB looked really good to me, really nice routes, good hands. Boy this receiver group could be good! Happy to see Clay Geary get a grab, great kid. Excited for the next game...that could tell us a lot about how good our squad is going to be.
 

He’s recovering from an injury. Should be available by BigTen play.

Thanks. We can use all the help we can get in the secondary. They will be the weak spot this year.
 




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