Gophers defense is getting better

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Gold Rush

Gold Rush

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I know Iowa has a terrible offense and this certainly makes us look better, but I really liked the way Rossi's defense played last week vs. the Hawkeyes. Gopher fans were very concerned after the thrashing the Wolverines put on, but you can tell they went back to the drawing board the last couple weeks and really got back to the basics.

It was especially great to see the defensive line perform so well. They applied constant pressure and contributed to 4 sacks and 6 TFL's as well as 3 turnovers. Jah Joyner in particular was constantly being held because they just couldn't stop the guy. But it was a complete team effort that led to Iowa averaging less than a yard per carry. Again, I know it was just the most feeble looking offense I have seen on a major college football team in a very long time, but keep in mind they rushed for over 200 yards vs. Wisconsin the week before.

Iowa has dominated the Gophers in the past, but this was due primarily to a vastly superior defense. I don't see this anymore. I think the Gophers defense is superior, at least this year and hopefully they can keep this up. If the Gophers defense can play this way the rest of the year, they will be tough to beat with the exception of Ohio St.
 



Gophers7NatTitlesBadgers0 said:
I liked how our edges played against Iowa a lot. There were a couple instances where holding calls could have been made on either Iowa OT as Joyner and Striggow were beating them consistently!
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Absolutely loved seeing that! Let's hope the DL continues to improve.
It's hard to remember, but this unit was our weakness last season.
 



GophersInIowa said:
Baranowski has improved a lot. I'm really excited about the DL potential in the future.
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"The Baron" has been fun to watch. He gets in some nice hits and he always seems to be around the ball. He has gotten better and better as the season has gone on. It will be fun to see him and Lindenberg work together when he gets back!
 

They have.

Having said that I remember in the dog days of the 90s when the Twins were sooooo bad. Lotta teams "got healthy" or "got back on track" vs the Twins those days.

Your defense too will "get back on track" if you play Iowa ;)
 

Found this play from Iowa game. This should have been an attempted scoop and score.

 

Our defense looked very good against two offenses (Iowa and MSU) that are among the worst in all of college football. This week we play an offense (Illinois) that is at best middle of the pack but which does have some true playmakers at skill positions. A good test for how far this young defense come. High level DL play right now; keep it going. Don’t let Altmeyer run wild. Go Gophers.
 



MaxyJR1 said:
Found this play from Iowa game. This should have been an attempted scoop and score.

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Nah, I get how fun it could have been for a scoop and score but you guarantee points falling on it. If you try to scoop and score and just bobble the ball you leave the door open for Iowa to recover the ball.
 

Gophergrandpa said:
Our defense looked very good against two offenses (Iowa and MSU) that are among the worst in all of college football. This week we play an offense (Illinois) that is at best middle of the pack but which does have some true playmakers at skill positions. A good test for how far this young defense come. High level DL play right now; keep it going. Don’t let Altmeyer run wild. Go Gophers.
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I feel confident about our defense continuing to stifle upcoming opponents considering they've had the opportunity to face a couple of big time offenses in UNC and Michigan to this point. Yes, Iowa and Michigan State suck, but they're still power 5 opponents
 

mngg11 said:
I feel confident about our defense continuing to stifle upcoming opponents considering they've had the opportunity to face a couple of big time offenses in UNC and Michigan to this point. Yes, Iowa and Michigan State suck, but they're still power 5 opponents
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So, out of 133 FBS teams, based on average yards per game, Iowa’s anemic, ridiculous offense sits at 131st. Minnesota’s offense, which suffers from a poor/neglected passing game, isn’t that much better, currently sitting at 113th. Michigan State’s offense, which our defense pretty much stoned, sits at 110th. We jump up some to Illinois, which has a passing game, but still isn’t exactly prolific, sitting at 81st. I think it would be a very good sign if our young defense, which is evolving before our very eyes, could stifle Illinois’ offense. Illinois has playmakers, but a poor OL. If our defenders can mind their gaps and keep their eyes in the right places, the Illinois game could be a real step forward for the defense. Fingers crossed. Go Gophers!
 

it is a chicken-and-egg situation

Did the defense look better because it was going up against two below-average offenses - OR

Did the defense look better because the younger players are playing better and eliminating mistakes?

only way to tell is by seeing them go up against a better offense.
 



short ornery norwegian said:
it is a chicken-and-egg situation

Did the defense look better because it was going up against two below-average offenses - OR

Did the defense look better because the younger players are playing better and eliminating mistakes?

only way to tell is by seeing them go up against a better offense.
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Could be a little bit of both, right? I do think our younger players on the D-Line and LB positions have really grown into their positions during a bit of a baptism of fire (esp. at LB), and that the return of CL45 has suddenly solidified things. Illinois will be a real test of how far they have come. Go Gophers.
 

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