Listen to the Gopher Gridiron Podcast...

[MGGopher]

https://audioboom.com/channel/gopher-gridiron-radio

I listened to the Gopher Gridiron pod as usual today and found it both cathartic and insightful. All 3 hosts are big fans who get just as frustrated as us with poor play/losses, but they mostly stay level-headed and talk objectively about what worked and didn't with gameplan, personnel, and execution. Former UM OL Derek Burns usually joins on Sundays and does an amazing job breaking down schemes/approach on both sides. Big takeaways from this week won't surprise you, but it's worth a listen:

• Passing game is totally broken. Something has to change whether it's Tanner sitting, route tree being overhauled, game plan being simplified (i.e., take away half the field and give Tanner only two reads), etc.
• Iowa trusted their young QB to take many aggressive shots down the field and it paid off. They wouldn't have won without those and were willing to take that calculated risk, unlike MN.
• Every "aggressive" play call MN used worked (or was wide open). Why didn't they use more given Iowa's tendency to get SUPER downhill on D?
• Minnesota's D missed too many opportunities to change the game by dropping 2 INT's, giving up the crazy non-tackle TD, and allowing Iowa to convert two 3rd and longs in the run game.
• Minnesota dominated in the trenches on both sides in a way we haven't seen against Iowa in a LONG time.
• The "toss zone" scheme was totally new and allowed MN to get yards without running into the teeth of the Iowa front 7. Sadly, MN went back to straight inside zone in several critical short-yardage situations and got stuffed.
• The run game has been varied and creative all year. Makes you wonder where that's been in the passing game.
• ST's continues to mostly hurt the team. The approach mirrors the personality of the coach and offense in that it's mostly risk averse and usually won't LOSE the game for you...but it will rarely win it.
• It should be clear to the staff now that they have to change their approach on O to beat Wisc. Unless Mertz turns it over 4 times, they won't win with the Iowa gameplan. They HAVE to be more aggressive in the passing game (and probably on STs) while also taking advantage of any opportunities presented on D to get off the field and take the ball away. As the hosts like to say, it's hard to "out-Iowa Iowa" or "out-Wisconsin Wisconsin."

 

[BuiltFordTough]

One area of concern that I see with the passing game is how every team, not just Iowa has taken away the slant routes that made the 2019 version so lethal. Or is it we have no receivers willing to go over the middle to catch the ball? If we had that back our passing performance would look a whole lot different.