Saturday’s meltdown against the Wisconsin Badgers, 31-17, in the second half at Madison was discussed on today’s Sports Huddle with head coach Tracy Claeys. All four losses this year – Penn State, Iowa, Nebraska and Wisconsin – were decided in the second half/fourth quarter.
1) The first question, Sid asked how tough the loss was on Tracy Claeys:
“It’s tough on all of us,” Claeys said. He added, “Hard to win on the road . . . We battled hard . . . (Wisconsin) finished better than we.”
After the Badgers kicked their field goal to start the second half, the Gophers drove down the field; however, the interception in the end zone by Musso was a killer. Claeys said, again, "it’s hard to win on the road" and you can’t afford any turnovers . . . "interception “got the crowd excited.”
2) Sid asked about the Gophers four losses that occurred in the second half, especially in the fourth quarter:
Claeys replied, “Off-season we’ll look at that . . . once we get done, after the bowl game.”
3) Sid mentioned the success the Gophers had in rushing in the first half and then nothing in the second half:
Claeys was terse in his response: “They’re very good defensively . . . points are going to be hard to come by (on the road) . . . offensively they didn’t turn the ball over . . . They played all four quarters.”
Claeys said the turnovers by the Gophers were pivotal in the Gophers defeat. Claeys said, “We competed for four quarters” but the miscues were costly and a team can’t commit turnovers when you’re on the road playing a top 10 team that’s a divisional champ.
4) The topic of interceptions thrown by Mitch Leidner was raised by Sid:
Although Claeys cited the interceptions, he quickly added, “We had three or four balls dropped . . . kids competed hard . . . first loss that didn’t come down to last possession." And once again Claeys mentioned how hard it is “to go on the road,” especially when you “play a top ten team.”
5) Sid brought up the interception by Badger defensive back Musso in the end zone. Sid opined it was the turning point in the game:
Claeys was once again terse in his response to Sid’s comment, “Turned the ball over and got the crowd excited.”
6) Sid asked if he knew who the Gophers opponent will be in their bowl game:
“I really don’t . . . would be good to go someplace we haven’t been to (since Jerry Kill’s arrival).” He said they’ll know a lot more about their bowl game after the conference championships have been played.
7) Dave Mona’s asked a two-part question, which was also the final question. Dave wanted to know about bowl game preparations and on-road recruiting and future quarterbacks:
Claeys answered the last question first. “(Quarterbacks) we want to go to dual-threat quarterback.” He said they want a quarterback that can run and throw. He proceeded to talk positively about the team’s redshirt quarterbacks – Mark Williams, Seth Green and Demry Croft. As far as this year’s recruiting class, Claeys said, “We’ll sign a quarterback or two . . . the ability to throw the ball” and beat the defense with his feet.
The next two weeks are extremely important with on-road recruiting – they’ll then enter the prohibited period in meeting with recruits until after the bowl games have been completed. Claeys then talked about the importance of having 15 practice days in bowl game preparations. “Three practices for the young guys,” Claeys said.
Claeys said finals will influence the practice schedules for the Gophers upcoming bowl game.
Go Gophers!!
1) The first question, Sid asked how tough the loss was on Tracy Claeys:
“It’s tough on all of us,” Claeys said. He added, “Hard to win on the road . . . We battled hard . . . (Wisconsin) finished better than we.”
After the Badgers kicked their field goal to start the second half, the Gophers drove down the field; however, the interception in the end zone by Musso was a killer. Claeys said, again, "it’s hard to win on the road" and you can’t afford any turnovers . . . "interception “got the crowd excited.”
2) Sid asked about the Gophers four losses that occurred in the second half, especially in the fourth quarter:
Claeys replied, “Off-season we’ll look at that . . . once we get done, after the bowl game.”
3) Sid mentioned the success the Gophers had in rushing in the first half and then nothing in the second half:
Claeys was terse in his response: “They’re very good defensively . . . points are going to be hard to come by (on the road) . . . offensively they didn’t turn the ball over . . . They played all four quarters.”
Claeys said the turnovers by the Gophers were pivotal in the Gophers defeat. Claeys said, “We competed for four quarters” but the miscues were costly and a team can’t commit turnovers when you’re on the road playing a top 10 team that’s a divisional champ.
4) The topic of interceptions thrown by Mitch Leidner was raised by Sid:
Although Claeys cited the interceptions, he quickly added, “We had three or four balls dropped . . . kids competed hard . . . first loss that didn’t come down to last possession." And once again Claeys mentioned how hard it is “to go on the road,” especially when you “play a top ten team.”
5) Sid brought up the interception by Badger defensive back Musso in the end zone. Sid opined it was the turning point in the game:
Claeys was once again terse in his response to Sid’s comment, “Turned the ball over and got the crowd excited.”
6) Sid asked if he knew who the Gophers opponent will be in their bowl game:
“I really don’t . . . would be good to go someplace we haven’t been to (since Jerry Kill’s arrival).” He said they’ll know a lot more about their bowl game after the conference championships have been played.
7) Dave Mona’s asked a two-part question, which was also the final question. Dave wanted to know about bowl game preparations and on-road recruiting and future quarterbacks:
Claeys answered the last question first. “(Quarterbacks) we want to go to dual-threat quarterback.” He said they want a quarterback that can run and throw. He proceeded to talk positively about the team’s redshirt quarterbacks – Mark Williams, Seth Green and Demry Croft. As far as this year’s recruiting class, Claeys said, “We’ll sign a quarterback or two . . . the ability to throw the ball” and beat the defense with his feet.
The next two weeks are extremely important with on-road recruiting – they’ll then enter the prohibited period in meeting with recruits until after the bowl games have been completed. Claeys then talked about the importance of having 15 practice days in bowl game preparations. “Three practices for the young guys,” Claeys said.
Claeys said finals will influence the practice schedules for the Gophers upcoming bowl game.
Go Gophers!!