We're on to Penn State

Otis

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This week off has led to a lot of threads about the potential for a great season and speculation that our coach is going to "Holtz" us at the first opportunity.

Y'all just need to slow down and enjoy the little things which are big things to a University with our football teams performance the past 50+ years.

1. We are 8-0. For the first time since 1941?. That's amazing!
2. We are 5-0 in the B1G. For the first time since 1904? Ok, maybe not that long ago, but hey, I could be right.
3. We have a ten game winning streak! Double Freaking Digits! No wonder some of us are having delusions of grandeur! Could we be getting used to winning? I hope so.
4. Our coach seems to and says he likes it here. I'm going to have to take him at his word. After all, Holtz openly said he wanted to coach Notre Dame since pretty much birth.
5. We are ranked in the top 15 in the country! It's been quite a while for that too!

Those are all great things, but our schedule is the hardest in the country for the final four games! One game at a time, one possession at a time, one stop at a time and one first down at a time. Our team is not good enough to lose focus for even a half a quarter. They need to be 100% the rest of the way!

So, I've resorted to quoting Coach Belichek.

"We're on to Penn State."

Coach the boys up P.J.!

Go Gophers!
 

Penn State Championship Week has a very nice ring to it.
 

PennState Board

Penn State Championship Week has a very nice ring to it.

Fans on the PennState Board are extremely confident, since they have payed a tough schedule and the Gophs have played "no one". Hope this attitude permeates their team also. They brag about running a "gauntlet" of opponents (which included MSU, mind you). We can't compete against strength of schedule to date- our schedule is backloaded with tough opponents. But if they think struggling against South Dakota State is where we are at as a team in November, they are in for a fun surprise! Ski U MAh!
 

They have reasons to be confident.

Watched the 1-hour version of their MSU game and we have not faced their level of defense for sure. Big men on the line...very quick on the feet...very good hands. The second level crashes into the mix on the line very well too. Very good tackling. Admittedly the conditions were very bad...steady to driving rain the whole game...but MSU was really just outmatched.

Tanner will be pressured continuously...man-to-man coverage will be on the receivers so they need to get separation in space. Don't know if we'll have the horses on the inside or outside for running lanes on this one...confident in all 3 the backs, but it might be Mo's type of game, plus a lot of Greene. Expect to use three TE sets a lot for the game.

Speaking of Greene...maybe time for him to throw a pass...
 

I just have to remember to tell myself that the season isn't over if we lose. Yeah our chances at the football playoff are done but come on...

Penn St is very good and if they beat us it will suck but we still will be 8-1 with a big rivalry game on the horizon.
 


Was PSU supposed to be this good? I seem to remember thinking Iowa and Whisky would be harder before the season started.
 

Was PSU supposed to be this good? I seem to remember thinking Iowa and Whisky would be harder before the season started.

They get overshadowed by Ohio St a lot but Penn St has been damn good for a long time and resilient.

They've been more of a legit contender than Michigan has been for a while.
 

I just have to remember to tell myself that the season isn't over if we lose. Yeah our chances at the football playoff are done but come on...

Penn St is very good and if they beat us it will suck but we still will be 8-1 with a big rivalry game on the horizon.

Yup, can still easily win the west!
 

Was PSU supposed to be this good? I seem to remember thinking Iowa and Whisky would be harder before the season started.

General consensus on the board here was that Wisconsin or Iowa would be our toughest game this season before it started, but as the season has gone on it has become apparent that Penn State looked to be the biggest threat.
 



Fans on the PennState Board are extremely confident, since they have payed a tough schedule and the Gophs have played "no one". Hope this attitude permeates their team also. They brag about running a "gauntlet" of opponents (which included MSU, mind you). We can't compete against strength of schedule to date- our schedule is backloaded with tough opponents. But if they think struggling against South Dakota State is where we are at as a team in November, they are in for a fun surprise! Ski U MAh!

Unfortunately the players and coaches watch film so they will have caught on to the change but I do think a lot of fans and media still get hung up on those first 3 games and in particular the SDSU one. They see that FCS designation and nothing else matters beyond that.

There is no denying that they have played a tougher schedule then us to date, but we are also a much better team now then we were in those first few games of the year. We are playing average/bad teams but we are doing what good teams do to those teams and that is beating them into submission.

Going to take a great effort from all 3 sides of the ball to beat Penn State on Saturday but if we play a clean game I like our chances to come away with the victory. Can be said for all games but especially when going up against a great team, you have to avoid the dumb penalties and turnovers that can absolutely kill you.
 

It will be a numbers game especially on Defense where they rotate 22 players all of who are legitimate starters.

The Gophers have to play their best game like their life depend on it. The X factor is the crowd and special teams.

Also, the Defense could very well determine the outcome.
 

Can the Gophers protect Morgan long enough to get the three wide outs open in space? I would really like to see the kind of passing attack on Saturday that we vs Purdue.
 

It will be a numbers game especially on Defense where they rotate 22 players all of who are legitimate starters.

The Gophers have to play their best game like their life depend on it. The X factor is the crowd and special teams.

Also, the Defense could very well determine the outcome.

Penn State relies on big plays on offense, deep shots down the field and what not. Our defense has done a great job limiting those plays but this will be a massive test. Keep things in front of them, make Penn State work to score and then hope our offense can put up enough points on their D.

They will be the best D we have faced so far this year, on the flip side we will also be the best offense they have seen. Michigan rolled up 400+ yards against them on the road so while their defense is really really good it is not untouchable. If the O-Line can keep the pressure off of Morgan we will hopefully have a chance to show off what our WR are capable of.
 



This week off has led to a lot of threads about the potential for a great season and speculation that our coach is going to "Holtz" us at the first opportunity.

Y'all just need to slow down and enjoy the little things which are big things to a University with our football teams performance the past 50+ years.

1. We are 8-0. For the first time since 1941?. That's amazing!
2. We are 5-0 in the B1G. For the first time since 1904? Ok, maybe not that long ago, but hey, I could be right.
3. We have a ten game winning streak! Double Freaking Digits! No wonder some of us are having delusions of grandeur! Could we be getting used to winning? I hope so.
4. Our coach seems to and says he likes it here. I'm going to have to take him at his word. After all, Holtz openly said he wanted to coach Notre Dame since pretty much birth.
5. We are ranked in the top 15 in the country! It's been quite a while for that too!

Those are all great things, but our schedule is the hardest in the country for the final four games! One game at a time, one possession at a time, one stop at a time and one first down at a time. Our team is not good enough to lose focus for even a half a quarter. They need to be 100% the rest of the way!

So, I've resorted to quoting Coach Belichek.

"We're on to Penn State."

Coach the boys up P.J.!

Go Gophers!


So I agree that PSU has a tough defense but this is not normal for Gopher fans but..
PSU hasn’t played a well rounded offense like ours yet either.
I keep telling myself we are a good football team we have weapons and a above average defense with plenty of play makers
So much for getting work done this week(or month for that matter)
 

So I agree that PSU has a tough defense but this is not normal for Gopher fans but..
PSU hasn’t played a well rounded offense like ours yet either.
I keep telling myself we are a good football team we have weapons and a above average defense with plenty of play makers
So much for getting work done this week(or month for that matter)

I didn't think we had much of a chance against PSU until they played Michigan. Michigan outplayed them in the 2nd half and should have tied the game. I think this game is going to be very close.
 

We shall see the maturation of the Gophers Offensive Line. This is their ultimate test. As a unit, it was a joy to see them improve incrementally each game. When was the last time that the Gophers have an Offensive Line that averages 350 pounds?
 

I'm sure the Gopher coaches have been watching so much film this week on Penn State that they have dreams about them every night. Looking forward to the game Saturday. Clearly will tell us where the program is at.
 

We shall see the maturation of the Gophers Offensive Line. This is their ultimate test. As a unit, it was a joy to see them improve incrementally each game. When was the last time that the Gophers have an Offensive Line that averages 350 pounds?

Yup, I think the game falls heavily on the o-line to get a push all game. I'm guessing PSU will score between 20 and 30. The question is whether our offense will be able to match against the toughest defense we've seen.
 


I am afraid after easy games over demoralized BIG teams that it will take some time for MN to realize that they are in a real dog fight.
How they respond to that will determine the outcome if PSU does not already have too many points to overcome.
 

I am afraid after easy games over demoralized BIG teams that it will take some time for MN to realize that they are in a real dog fight.
How they respond to that will determine the outcome if PSU does not already have too many points to overcome.

If Fleck is any coach at all what you have said will not be the case. More likely is that the Gophers will be so fired up that they will make some mistakes by being too excited.

Jumping off sides
False Starts
Personal Fouls for extending play
Overthrown passes

These are the things I will worry about. Not that the Gophers aren't ready and expecting their biggest challenge to date.
 


I wouldn't say "no one", just no one in the top 60.
 
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I am afraid after easy games over demoralized BIG teams that it will take some time for MN to realize that they are in a real dog fight.
How they respond to that will determine the outcome if PSU does not already have too many points to overcome.

There are many issues we could have with Penn State because they are a very good team but I don't think we have to worry about our guys not being ready or taking them lightly.

Fleck will have them ready to go, just a matter of execution and not making a bunch of mistakes. Will take our best effort of the season to get the W but it can happen if we avoid the costly turnovers and don't let them hit a bunch of big plays on offense.
 

PSU was very young on defense last year, but they returned pretty much everyone for 2019, so the D was expected to be good but they have been even better than expected. Offense is very young and was a question mark heading into the season, but they have really out performed just about everyone's expectation. They are still inconsistent which has frustrated the fan base, but they haven't turned the ball over much which has been key. All but 2 touchdowns all year have been scored by Freshman or Sophomores. I don't know if it can be looked up, but that has to lead the country.
 

I didn't think we had much of a chance against PSU until they played Michigan. Michigan outplayed them in the 2nd half and should have tied the game. I think this game is going to be very close.

Those 2 TD's scored by Michigan in the second half vs PSU are the most Celebrated 2 TD's I've ever seen. Do people not realize that Michigan only scored 14 points in their dominating second half of PSU?
 



Quick glance
MN least penalized vs PSU most penalized in B1G.
Best rushing attack PSU has faced and best rush defense the Gophers have faced.
Best offense PSU has faced and best defense the Gophers have faced.
Kicking game seems to be pretty even.

What else sticks out?
 





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