Gophers at Nebraska post-game thread

[RickDornsby]

One thing that will be hard to come to grips with is the struggle that our run game will likely see in this game plus the last 2. We have faced mostly lowly rush defenses. Mitch is gonna have to do a little bit for us to win these last 2 (and needed to today).

 

[GopherBulldog]

The bigger issue was we should NOT have been in a hurry. We had 20 yards to go, 2 timeouts and well over a minute (maybe two) to go. Why were we rushing the play and why didn't our 5th year QB understand the situation? That's the conundrum of this team.

That is what I just don't understand. Mitch should be aware of this. Not his first rodeo.

 

[GophersInIowa]

That is what I just don't understand. Mitch should be aware of this. Not his first rodeo.

Yep. Biggest disappointment this season has been his decision making. Unacceptable.

 

[gopherdudepart2]

There is no reason that pass on first down should have happened. JJ should have called for a run. We had 1:30 to score. Poor play calling.

I agree with this, I would not have called a pass play on that first down call for the simple reason I wanted to run more clock off the board at 01:30 to go, settle everyone down, and leave Nebraska no time left on the clock even with the switch at QB, I wanted to see them eat up the clock because of the Penn State situation this year. A run play would have calmed the offense down a little bit. Mitch for the most part played well, because he started off hot and was throwing well I would have liked to have seen the offense continue to mix it up with those passes like the first drive. The fact that Mitch stares down his wide receivers in situations like the end of the game is why these interceptions keep happening, he panics and try's to force throws. I just wish he would have hit that long ball that was thrown to Still, early in the game, would have been nice to hit on one of those long balls for a TD. Defense started tackling poorly in the second half, and Myrick really had some bad tackling angles in the second half. Thought the Gophers had a chance to win this game, they played hard and just came up short. Two many third down conversions by Nebraska, you get them in 3rd and long you should be able to convert that to a stop. I thought the game turned on the 3rd down and 11 play where Cashmen blitzed and got a piece of Armstrongs arm but he still got the throw away and they completed it.
Armstrong JR won the football game for Nebraska, he was the difference maker in the game. It was a good effort by the Gophers, just sucks that we always seem to come up on the short end of all of these Big opportunity games. Back to the drawing board I guess. Nebraska's defense stiffened but the line started missing some blocks, and the play calling got a little stagnant in the second half. Second and 1 and the Play calling got stubborn and decided we need to stuff it on them. They were winning the line of scrimmage in the second half at least against the run. Overall this was the first game the offensive line actually gave Leidner adequate time in he pocket to make throws. It's really too bad they lost, because a win here would have been a big boost for the overall program. This was the best QB play we received all year at least todays game was.

 

[ruppertflywheel]

Agree... With the weather turning cold next weekend we will struggle to hit 40,000 fans.

 

[gopherdudepart2]

Actually, I do think that Leidner was trying to rush things. Don't know if that was because of the coaches or because of him, but he basically just rushed himself into that throw. Maybe trying to be the hero. Oh well, game over. Season over. Everyone gets a participation ribbon. I hope for coaching changes after the season.

And no, we are not beating Wisconsin.

Trying to be the hero(need for affirmation) in tight situations, because of all of the bitching and hate has always been his problem. He busts his butt because he has limited throwing ability, I will give him credit he busts his ass and he try's really hard, competitive as hell, but the dude just doesn't have it in him to will a team with limited play makers to come through with a win. Offensive line play has been less then inspiring this year, but they finally were pass blocking and giving Mitch time in the pocket. To much panic and to much fear and baggage. He is a tough and competitive SOB that try's his damndest. Just doesn't have the dynamic athleticism, wish you could match the competitiveness and toughness with athleticism. He wasn't the reason the Gophers lost the game, but today he could not get them over the top. That is the frustrating part about the Gophers, this movies replays on repeat year after year.

 

[Breakin' The Plane]

Trying to be the hero(need for affirmation) in tight situations, because of all of the bitching and hate has always been his problem. He busts his butt because he has limited throwing ability, I will give him credit he busts his ass and he try's really hard, competitive as hell, but the dude just doesn't have it in him to will a team with limited play makers to a win. Offensive line play has been less then inspiring this year, but they finally were pass blocking and giving Mitch time in the pocket. To much panic and to much fear and baggage. He is a tough and competive SOB that try's his damndest.

Mitch is who he is. I hate the OL. Claeys fired the right coaches, but he hired the wrong ones to replace them

 

[Some Day...Is Coming!]

Totally agree. But is a post on this thread allowed if it doesn't include a "fire Clayes" mention?

What makes you Claeys defenders think he is the guy???? Ya, it's year 1 for him as a head coach, but it's not like it's his first year in the program. Kill left him more than enough talent to be able to beat Iowa at home or Nebraska or PSU. He lost all 3. He made 2 new significant hires on the offense and it sucks. The teams they have beat are in the bottom half of the 128 college football teams in this country. There is NO excitement around the program and we have beautiful brand new facilities well in progress.


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[Breakin' The Plane]

What makes you Claeys defenders think he is the guy???? Ya, it's year 1 for him as a head coach, but it's not like it's his first year in the program. Kill left him more than enough talent to be able to beat Iowa at home or Nebraska or PSU. He lost all 3. He made 2 new significant hires on the offense and it sucks. The teams they have beat are in the bottom half of the 128 college football teams in this country. There is NO excitement around the program and we have beautiful brand new facilities well in progress.


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Claeys is rippable for as lot of things. But the people who think Kill left him with a flawless program need to take a step back. The team was absolute garbage in the non con last year. They got laughed off the field against NW and UNL last year. Claeys has had a chance to win every single game since he took over. His failure to finish will be his downfall. He'll probably be the DC at Mizzou next year.

 

[GopherBulldog]

What makes you Claeys defenders think he is the guy???? Ya, it's year 1 for him as a head coach, but it's not like it's his first year in the program. Kill left him more than enough talent to be able to beat Iowa at home or Nebraska or PSU. He lost all 3. He made 2 new significant hires on the offense and it sucks. The teams they have beat are in the bottom half of the 128 college football teams in this country. There is NO excitement around the program and we have beautiful brand new facilities well in progress.


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I don't see myself defending Clayes, if that's what you are suggesting. I watch the games. And if they win or lose, I form an opinion regarding why. Tonight's game, I saw a Gophers team that was well prepared. And had a chance to tie or win it at the end. Nebraska had a star player at a key position that made all the plays. Really had a great game. We did not. Plain and simple. I don't fault the coach for that as he was left these players from a previous regime. Didn't recruit them. And has very little time to develop them. As far as the argument that we need a new coach because the fanbase isn't excited about Clayes... That's silly.

 

[Igor95]

My quick takes. Where were our linebackers? I think Winfield made all tackles tonight. O line needs to be better. Tommy A > Mitch L and that was the main difference tonight. It was nice to not have a targeting call and we didn't have too many penalties, false starts etc. First time seeing a game in Lincoln and what a blast. Great game day atmosphere and the fans are the classiest around.


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[Tackle4loss]

Don't blame claeys for the lack of good qb talent

 

[GopherBulldog]

Don't blame claeys for the lack of good qb talent

Spot on.

 

[John Galt]

My time in Lincoln was amazing, they truly do have great fans that are the nicest around.

We had 85 yards rushing and forced no turnovers. No chance to win when that happens.

 

[Tackle4loss]

I am convinced claeys knows he has something special the young qbs and is gonna let this yr just play out with Leidseplein and rhoda

 

[Some Day...Is Coming!]

Simply a hypothetical, I know it's easy to rip because it's hypothetical, but I think a healthy Jerry Kill, like he was in 2014, would have this team 9-1, 8-2, or 10-0 this year. The guy could inspire his players, I don't see that in Claeys.


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[Mick Turition]

Just back from the game. Tommy Armstrong is good for one horrible throw a game and it came early and Myrick dropped it. With his speed it would have been a pick-six. That would have been a 14 point swing. Coulda woulda shoulda ( if ifs and buts were candy and nuts oh what a Christmas we'd have?).

Oh, and tackling was atrocious.

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

What makes you Claeys defenders think he is the guy???? Ya, it's year 1 for him as a head coach, but it's not like it's his first year in the program. Kill left him more than enough talent to be able to beat Iowa at home or Nebraska or PSU. He lost all 3. He made 2 new significant hires on the offense and it sucks. The teams they have beat are in the bottom half of the 128 college football teams in this country. There is NO excitement around the program and we have beautiful brand new facilities well in progress.


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Don't you think part of the problem with the OL is a lack of talent? Could you image our OL without the JuCo guys that Claeys brought in? It would be in absolute shambles. I am not roasting Kill or defending Claeys, but it's hard to argue Miller is the guy or not. Additionally, it's hard to say whether Johnson is the guy or not. He is stuck with bad receivers, a poor OL and a poor QB (all recruited by Kill).

Our biggest issues were pretty big issues with Kill.

 

[Seany]

Sawvel once again living and dying by the blitz. Man, sometimes discretion is the better part of valor, and quite often a straight-up, conventional defense who makes their opponent dink and dunk their way down the field is preferable to a gambling, blitzing defense, especially against a highly mobile quarterback such as Armstrong, who hardly ever gets sacked no matter the defense and to whom a blitz is like a gift. Damn...

It was a really good game, but so incredibly frustrating. We are so 'right there', but just not quite there enough.

 

[citywok]

Tough loss. But we lost because Armstrong played a great game, and their defense completely shut down our run game in the 2nd half. I much prefer a loss like this over one where we shoot ourselves in the foot. But it is frustrating because we were so close in so many ways!

 

[denguegopher]

The bigger issue was we should NOT have been in a hurry. We had 20 yards to go, 2 timeouts and well over a minute (maybe two) to go. Why were we rushing the play and why didn't our 5th year QB understand the situation? That's the conundrum of this team.

thought the same thing.

 

[BamBam]

The bigger issue was we should NOT have been in a hurry. We had 20 yards to go, 2 timeouts and well over a minute (maybe two) to go. Why were we rushing the play and why didn't our 5th year QB understand the situation? That's the conundrum of this team.

This is exactly what I was screaming at the TV as we rushed to the line. SLOW DOWN, we have plenty of time with 1:40 left from the 17 yard line. Overall, the gophers played better than I thought they would. No complaints about the pass call, just slow down.

 

[Gophers7NatTitlesBadgers0]

Add this one to the list of frustrating games this season. For the third time we were right with a good team but just couldn't make the plays needed to get it done.

2016 season in a nutshell
Struggle to beat bad teams at home (Rutgers, Purdue, Oregon State, Colorado State)
Blow out bad teams on the road (Maryland, Illinois)
Lose in one score games to good teams (Penn State, Nebraska, Iowa)

Those trends don't bode well for the next two games but if they hold we can count on them being close at least. Very frustrating that we just can't seem to get it done.

I think the difference against the teams we lost to is they stepped up their intensity level when the stakes are high. The Gophers haven't been able to match their intensity.

 

[upnorthkid]

I think the difference against the teams we lost to is they stepped up their intensity level when the stakes are high. The Gophers haven't been able to match their intensity.

I will say this is an interesting assessment and I tend to agree. A question for people closer, but does our bench seem pretty sedated?

 

[50PoundHead]

Don't you think part of the problem with the OL is a lack of talent? Could you image our OL without the JuCo guys that Claeys brought in? It would be in absolute shambles. I am not roasting Kill or defending Claeys, but it's hard to argue Miller is the guy or not. Additionally, it's hard to say whether Johnson is the guy or not. He is stuck with bad receivers, a poor OL and a poor QB (all recruited by Kill).

Our biggest issues were pretty big issues with Kill.

Well put. Kill probably wins one of the Penn State or Iowa games, but we're not matching up athletically with the better teams in the conference and that starts with Kill. Argue lack of high-profile recruits or inability to get lesser-recruited guys to step up to the next level; it doesn't really matter. I didn't see all the game last night, but Nebraska has better athletes than we do. That doesn't always translate to wins, but it's a good place to start. Our O-line problems are pretty apparent.

As per stepping up the intensity level, for that to make a difference, you need another gear. By and large, we don't have that.

 

[50PoundHead]

Sawvel once again living and dying by the blitz. Man, sometimes discretion is the better part of valor, and quite often a straight-up, conventional defense who makes their opponent dink and dunk their way down the field is preferable to a gambling, blitzing defense, especially against a highly mobile quarterback such as Armstrong, who hardly ever gets sacked no matter the defense and to whom a blitz is like a gift. Damn...

It was a really good game, but so incredibly frustrating. We are so 'right there', but just not quite there enough.

Not only the blitz, but stunts up front. On Newby's late 25-yard scamper to get Nebraska out of an extreme field position disadvantage, it looked like the DTs were stunting and Newby was into the second level right off the bat. Is it against the law to have one of the DTs stay home.

 

[MNVCGUY]

Not only the blitz, but stunts up front. On Newby's late 25-yard scamper to get Nebraska out of an extreme field position disadvantage, it looked like the DTs were stunting and Newby was into the second level right off the bat. Is it against the law to have one of the DTs stay home.

When our D-Line stays home they get dominated. Bottom line is that all the blitzing and stunting is done to try and get some pressure on the QB because the only guy on the DL that has any real shot to beat a Big Ten offensive lineman one on one on any sort of regular basis is Richardson.

 

[Carlson 79]

Without having looked at any other posts or articles on the game, here's my take:

Nebraska wanted it more. A LOT more. They played far more hard-nosed, aggressive football in the 2nd half and simply seized this one. Once again our tackling and (at times) poor defensive alignment led to huge plays for the Huskers. We couldn't get off the field on 3rd down. They came home after being drubbed and were Hell-bent on saving face. Mission accomplished.

 

[upnorthkid]

When our D-Line stays home they get dominated. Bottom line is that all the blitzing and stunting is done to try and get some pressure on the QB because the only guy on the DL that has any real shot to beat a Big Ten offensive lineman one on one on any sort of regular basis is Richardson.

On that note, could they buy a freaking holding call on passing downs? Richardson got taclked about 3 times

 

[MGGopher]

This is just my humble opinion, but these two teams were evenly-matched last night. They were almost exact clones of each other except that Armstrong made 2 or 3 big plays. That's it. That's what happens when two good teams play. The big throw on 3rd down, the TD run, a couple other scrambles. If Fyfe plays, MN probably wins something like 24-13. With Armstrong in there, it still could've went either way, just like the PSU and Iowa games. So for the other 40+ guys running around, our guys were almost exactly equal to their guys.

People are disappointed with our record. Hell, I'm disappointed with our record. Get 1 or 2 out of the 3 close games we've lost, and you're talking about a potentially magical season. We are what we are right now: a competitive, hard-nosed program that is playing close in every game. It sucks to be damn near even with these programs and continually lose, but that's where we're at. Some would argue we should be further along in year 6 of the Kill/Claeys era, but if I'd asked you 5, 10, or 25 years ago if you'd be happy with having legitimate B1G players at nearly every position and playing even with Nebraska, PSU, Iowa, etc., I think most would've take it. But as a HUGE fan -- like most of you -- I truly hope we can take that leap forward one of these years.

GOOD
>Mitch was good...until he wasn't. I'd argue that was his best game of the season throwing the ball. He put the ball in some tight windows and was hitting people out of their breaks. Even the 50/50 balls downfield were good decisions. The pick...yeah, we know. Bad Mitch.
>That first offensive drive of the game was beautiful. Mixing it up, Mitch putting the ball on target, on time. Man it'd be nice to see 2 or 3 more of these drives every game.
>Pass protection. Best protection I remember in the past few years. Part of it was the play action, but give credit where it's due: this OL has made HUGE strides in protection this season, and particularly the past few weeks. Leidner was barely touched or pressured last night...maybe 3 times?
>Steven Richardson. My goodness, what a beast. If officials actually watched him on every pass play, he'd draw a flag every time. He's so good. What are we going to do without him when he's gone...I shudder to think.
>Special teams. Carpenter nailed his FG, Santoso was FINALLY himself last night (hope that continues), and kick coverage was again solid. Oh, and Hardin looks really confident fielding kicks, so that's a positive moving forward. 2 more years of him back there.
>Lack of penalties. For all the outcry over this team's lack of discipline the first few weeks, I haven't heard much praise the past few weeks for the VAST improvement in this department. I think only 2 penalties last night?
>Wolitarsky looked like a B1G WR last night. What a rare occurrence for us to see...
>Aside from the one run, we contained Armstrong in the pocket and made him beat us with his arm. That's a huge win considering our history with athletic QB's. I thought the D played really well last night. 3 or 4 plays beat us, unfortunately...

BAD
>Myrick dropping that INT. Could've been the difference in this game. It was right in his hands...and he dropped it.
>OL push in the running game was again non-existent. This bunch just does not have it in them...and you can't win a game with 85 yards rushing. Part of it may be the amount of time we have to devote to pass pro in practice and game planning...not sure. But man, they are getting manhandled upfront in conference play.
>Another kickoff out of bounds. Carpenter has only one black mark on his otherwise stellar record, and it's these kickoffs out of bounds.

UGLY
>The interception. What to say? It was the only thing most people will remember about this game. Very ugly play.
>Attempted "tackling" on Nebraska's two long TD's. Trying to dive and push guys out of bounds? Come on fellas...
>Defensive recognition on those two plays was awful from start to finish. I'm not sure what defense we were playing on 4th and 2, but it wasn't a press man I would've liked to see. And the screen later was very poorly defended. Our DL and LB's usually do a better job with recognizing those, but nobody saw it last night...