College Football News on the Gophers - Team of the Week - Shortell/Gray

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TEAM OF THE WEEK - Minnesota
Quietly, the Gophers now sit at 4-0 for the first time since 2008 after beating Syracuse at home 17-10. Not lost is the fact that the Golden Gophers did so without their number one quarterback MarQueis Gray who was sidelined with a high-ankle sprain.

Sophomore Max Shortell filled in admirably as a spot starter by throwing for 231 yards on 16 of 30 passing. Despite the final score, Minnesota was in fairly stable ground all game long, only allowing the Orange to reach the endzone in garbage time.

Jerry Kill now takes his undefeated crew to Iowa City to take on a struggling Hawkeye team next week. Not to get too far ahead, but with another couple of wins, the Gophers can begin making bowl- game reservations. Wouldn't that be nice for a starving fan base.
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Big Ten Rankings

8. Minnesota 4-0 for the first time since 2008. It'll need MarQueis Gray back to trend on to towards a possible bowl game.

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http://cfn.scout.com/2/1221139.html

 

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From Today's ESPN Big Ten Blog Chat:

M. Gray (Dinkytown, MN)
Mr.Shortell has done a good job taking care of the ball. The problem is for a "pure passer" he's been less than accurate. He's going to get a receiver killed over the middle. Does he correct this against the Hawkeyes or is he back to the bench when Mr.Gray gets healthy?
Adam Rittenberg
Good point, M. Gray. You'd like to see a guy like Shortell at least around the 63-65 percent completions mark. Central Michigan showed last week you can move the ball against Iowa, and Shortell will have some opportunities Saturday. It's a big game for him and the Gophers, who can go into the open week at 5-0 with a win.

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Craig (Braintree, MA)
Enjoyed you picking up on the three little pigs theme. I think Minnesota if they stay healthy will have a good chance to make a bowl game. Do you think they are deeper on offense or defense?
Adam Rittenberg
Defense, definitely. While some of the wide receivers (A.J. Barker) have impressed me, the Gophers are flush with offensive weapons. They have good depth on the defensive line and a lot of experience at linebacker. They're not overly deep in the secondary but have enough there right now. I think the Gophers have a great shot to end their bowl drought.

http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/chats

 

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Missed this one:

Jeramaiah (Mustache Country)

Would you rate Hope's defense top 3 in the league so far this season?
Adam Rittenberg (3:02 PM)

I'd like to see Purdue go up against a few more quality opponents, but right now, I'd say yes. Michigan State, Purdue and Minnesota are looking like the league's top three defenses. Penn State isn't far behind, and Michigan's defense stepped up nicely against Notre Dame. But I love what Purdue has up front with Short and Gaston in the middle.