Here's the comments on Gophers. Fulll transcript at link.
“Speaking about a team that battled, it was really impressive to watch the Gophers Saturday against Nebraska. They went in at halftime down 10-0. Their starting quarterback goes out. I thought Athan [Kaliakmanis] came in and had a really great second half. Mo [Ibrahim] being Mo, and six years in this league, been a dominant running back. What really jumps out to me is just how physical they are up front on both sides of the ball — the front seven especially. Defensively, their DBs are really active and really physical and really good cover guys. Obviously, that O-line group, tight end group, running back group, is a veteran group and really, really talented. They’re doing some special things on third downs. I think they’re leading the country [in] third-down efficiency on offense, and topping the Big Ten and No. 2 defensively. You couple that, and it kind of really spins the clock a lot in their favor from a time of possession [standpoint]. You saw it in a lot of their wins. You even saw it Saturday, the way they just really shortened the game and limited possessions for Nebraska down the stretch.
“Coach Fleck and I have known each other for a long time. He does a phenomenal job. They’ve got a great staff. They’ve, obviously, played very physical football during his time not only in Minneapolis, but also in Kalamazoo. We’ll have our hands on the road. Looks like weather’s gonna be a little bit of a factor again. Little wind and a lot of cold. See how our young squad handles a trip into a great environment, a great stadium, and against a team that I thought played really gritty and really well last week.”
On Minnesota’s offense: “The Gophers do such a good job on first and second down efficiency and put themselves in third and very advantageous situations. They don’t run the triple option, but the schematics that they run present a lot of problems with run fits and gap scheme and controlling your gaps and things of that nature. The minute you get a little bit too greedy with getting too many people in the box, they’re gonna RPO and take advantage of it. Coach Ciarrocca has done a great job his entire time; I know him well, and got great respect for the job he does with their offense. You gotta be efficient on first and second down, and you gotta make plays on third down..."
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“Speaking about a team that battled, it was really impressive to watch the Gophers Saturday against Nebraska. They went in at halftime down 10-0. Their starting quarterback goes out. I thought Athan [Kaliakmanis] came in and had a really great second half. Mo [Ibrahim] being Mo, and six years in this league, been a dominant running back. What really jumps out to me is just how physical they are up front on both sides of the ball — the front seven especially. Defensively, their DBs are really active and really physical and really good cover guys. Obviously, that O-line group, tight end group, running back group, is a veteran group and really, really talented. They’re doing some special things on third downs. I think they’re leading the country [in] third-down efficiency on offense, and topping the Big Ten and No. 2 defensively. You couple that, and it kind of really spins the clock a lot in their favor from a time of possession [standpoint]. You saw it in a lot of their wins. You even saw it Saturday, the way they just really shortened the game and limited possessions for Nebraska down the stretch.
“Coach Fleck and I have known each other for a long time. He does a phenomenal job. They’ve got a great staff. They’ve, obviously, played very physical football during his time not only in Minneapolis, but also in Kalamazoo. We’ll have our hands on the road. Looks like weather’s gonna be a little bit of a factor again. Little wind and a lot of cold. See how our young squad handles a trip into a great environment, a great stadium, and against a team that I thought played really gritty and really well last week.”
On Minnesota’s offense: “The Gophers do such a good job on first and second down efficiency and put themselves in third and very advantageous situations. They don’t run the triple option, but the schematics that they run present a lot of problems with run fits and gap scheme and controlling your gaps and things of that nature. The minute you get a little bit too greedy with getting too many people in the box, they’re gonna RPO and take advantage of it. Coach Ciarrocca has done a great job his entire time; I know him well, and got great respect for the job he does with their offense. You gotta be efficient on first and second down, and you gotta make plays on third down..."
Minnesota game week press conference notes
Fitz talks weather, Brendan Sullivan, long vs. short term and more.
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