Penn State Writer Jones: Golden Gophers a contender? This year, why not?

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After reading this article, and knowing how he dismissed the Gophers in so many ways, it shows that the team is gaining respect. Now, on to Iowa.
 


Story was much less about him believing MN is a contender and far more about how down the Big Ten has looked to date. Like most though he was certainly impressed with how the defense played against Syracuse. I am actually really excited to see if they can play like that on the road against a Big Ten team. If they can we could have some fun this year.
 

I've been waiting for someone to write this column. I've been thinking what the writer has for a few weeks now. Nobody in the B10 is that great, why not have a huge year?? But let's get prepared for Iowa City first.
...can someone help me with the "processed meats" comment? Whats that about?
 




We're 0-0 with a much better chance of winning some big ten games this year than last year.

Go Gophers!!*
 

station19 said:
We're 0-0 with a much better chance of winning some big ten games this year than last year.

Go Gophers!!*
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That is the key attitude, 19. We have better chances. Period.

As Coach Kill would say..."Keep the ball in front of you."

Then all together..."Kill, Maime, Tackle for Loss, Sack, Get up, Do it all over again on the next play."

Gophers Rule, Hawkeyes Drool.

Floyd wants to come back home to GopherLand.
 




Quick can anyone name the last time we were 4-0 after a relatively weak non-conf schedule in a coaches 2nd year.....

Not trying to be a downer but stories like this make me nervous and feel a bit premature. Now there are some obvious differences between Brew and Kill, namely that Kill has an established track record and well established systems but let's see how the team looks in BIG play before we start saying how much things have changed.
 

MNVCGUY brings up a good point. Brewster had the team sitting at 7-1 in his second year. I think the biggest thing to look at in hopes that this is indeed different than the 2008 mirage is Kill's history. So far, not only has this turn around looked familiar when compared to Kills earlier coaching jobs, but it also is actually ahead of the words Kill was using from the time he got hired through the middle portion of last year. He went into last year bringing up red flags all over the place and not hiding the fact he saw a very tough season ahead of him. This year, all signs pointed to improvement. Everything from running a full spring game ahead of when he thought the team could do it, to saying at the end of summer camp that the team was bigger and faster than the one that took the field last year.

Not sure where the season will go from here. On one hand, any improvement beyond a .500 record would be remarkable. On the other hand, the down-trodden B1G maybe has never been more wide open for a old doormat to pull itself up to something memorable. In the end, I think the results will be somewhere in the middle. 7-5 maybe. Anything better than that would be well beyond expectations.
 

Schnauzer said:
MNVCGUY brings up a good point. Brewster had the team sitting at 7-1 in his second year. I think the biggest thing to look at in hopes that this is indeed different than the 2008 mirage is Kill's history. So far, not only has this turn around looked familiar when compared to Kills earlier coaching jobs, but it also is actually ahead of the words Kill was using from the time he got hired through the middle portion of last year. He went into last year bringing up red flags all over the place and not hiding the fact he saw a very tough season ahead of him. This year, all signs pointed to improvement. Everything from running a full spring game ahead of when he thought the team could do it, to saying at the end of summer camp that the team was bigger and faster than the one that took the field last year.

Not sure where the season will go from here. On one hand, any improvement beyond a .500 record would be remarkable. On the other hand, the down-trodden B1G maybe has never been more wide open for a old doormat to pull itself up to something memorable. In the end, I think the results will be somewhere in the middle. 7-5 maybe. Anything better than that would be well beyond expectations.
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MNVCGUY may bring up a good point, but let's face it, Brewster's teams (the one that started 7-1) were mirages. They had zero defense. They couldn't tackle. They weren't fast.

Comparing the two is like apples and oranges.

Kill's 2nd year has shown me two things: 1)speed difference (when players know what they are doing, they can use their athletic skills and not "think" about things, and 2)Details details details. Kill seems to accept nothing but perfection (even watch silly things like TD celebrations...he will let the boys celebrate for a few seconds, then if they don't get their a$$es back to the bench there will be issues).

I will hold off a bit of judgment, but comparing Brew to Kill isn't fair.
 



denguegopher said:
I've been waiting for someone to write this column. I've been thinking what the writer has for a few weeks now. Nobody in the B10 is that great, why not have a huge year?? But let's get prepared for Iowa City first.
...can someone help me with the "processed meats" comment? Whats that about?
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Is he talking about Hormel's SPAM?
 

KUFANINMINNY said:
I will hold off a bit of judgment, but comparing Brew to Kill isn't fair.
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I said in my post that there are some obvious difference between Kill and Brew. All I was pointing out is that it is too soon to declare things turned around based on 4-0 against average to below average competition.

I agree that there are positive signs that have not been there in recent years but at the same time we need to see some sustained success in the conference before anyone declares the program to be back. Fans read that stuff, expectations grow too quick to unrealistic levels and then the negative reaction when the team doesn't live up to the hype sets things back again. I would rather see columns like the ones in this thread make an appearance after we have won some conference games.
 


KUFANINMINNY said:
I will hold off a bit of judgment, but comparing Brew to Kill isn't fair.
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You got that one right! One was an intern hoping to become a head coach one day and the other is an experienced successful head coach!
 

I agree the conference games will set the tone, but I call BS on the opponent strength.

UNLV has lost by 3, 3, 8 (to Washington St.), and beat Air Force. They are better than predicted.
UNH has averaged 47 points a game against their three other opponents. They will be 8-4 or 9-3 at the end of the year.
WMU averaged 30 points and 300 yards passing against their three other opponents. They lost to a terrible Illini team, but they were in a road opener. They are still one of the favorites to win the MAC.
SU has averaged 34 points a game, nearly 400 yards passing and 533 yards TO against NU, USC, and a cream puff.

Average at worst. Far better than you give credit.

I hope I'm right. Our defense has played against quality athletes and come out better...if they put the clamps on Vandenberg, it might be a long day for Iowa, and we'll start getting even more attention. Our depth at DL and in the backfield will serve us well by season's end. I hope I'm right.
 

Western Michigan and Syracuse are both average teams. Put them in the Big Ten right now, even with the way the Big Ten has looked so far and they finish middle of the pack at best. That being said both have good passing offenses that our defense did very well against.

UNLV would be a bottom feeder in the Big Ten right now.

New Hampshire is flat out bad compared to a Big Ten team. I don't care how many points they scrore on the likes of Old Dominion, Holy Cross, and Central Conneticut State, that was not a good team and to the U's credit they crushed them.

To me that adds up to average (Western Michigan, Syracuse) to Below average (UNLV, New Hampshire)

All 4 were games the Gophers should win and to their credit they did just that. The defense has played great, the offense has been erratic. Iowa's defense will be the best our offense has played so far, the Iowa offfense probably won't be but it will be the most physical.
 

highwayman said:
I agree the conference games will set the tone, but I call BS on the opponent strength.

UNLV has lost by 3, 3, 8 (to Washington St.), and beat Air Force. They are better than predicted.
UNH has averaged 47 points a game against their three other opponents. They will be 8-4 or 9-3 at the end of the year.
WMU averaged 30 points and 300 yards passing against their three other opponents. They lost to a terrible Illini team, but they were in a road opener. They are still one of the favorites to win the MAC.
SU has averaged 34 points a game, nearly 400 yards passing and 533 yards TO against NU, USC, and a cream puff.

Average at worst. Far better than you give credit.

I hope I'm right. Our defense has played against quality athletes and come out better...if they put the clamps on Vandenberg, it might be a long day for Iowa, and we'll start getting even more attention. Our depth at DL and in the backfield will serve us well by season's end. I hope I'm right.
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Interesting post and perspective. I am sure there is still a reasonably large group who still assumes that if Minnesota beat then they can't be a very good team. I feel sorry for them because they are not able to appreciate and enjoy what is taking place here.
 

I've been wondering about the comparison between this year's Gophers versus the 2008 squad's first four games, so I did a bit of the legwork myself. I'd love to see somebody with more statistical knowledge (I'm looking at you, MV, if you're scouting GH for blog ideas) tackle the issue more in depth, as I relied on what I could glean from ESPN box scores. Anyhow, these are the stats of this year's team and the 2008 team through non-con play.

Opponent Offense:
2008:
Passing: 79-151; 51.0% comp. percentage; 980 yds; 4 TD; 8 INT; 6.49 yds/attempt
Rushing: 121 att; 429 yds; 3.63 avg; 3 TD
Total: 5.22 yds/play; 17.5 PPG

2012:
Passing: 80-146; 54.8% comp. percentage; 718 yds; 3 TD; 7 INT; 4.92 yds/attempt
Rushing: 140 att; 514 yds; 3.67 avg; 5 TD
Total: 4.31 yds/play; 16.75 PPG;

Gopher Offense:
2008:
Passing (all Weber): 79-110; 71.8% comp. percentage; 7 TD; 1 INT; 8.79 yds/attempt
Rushing: 155 att; 648 yds; 4.18 avg; 12 TD
Total: 6.09 yds/play; 36.25 PPG

2012:
Passing: 57-97; 58.8% comp. percentage; 9 TD; 2 INT; 9.16 yds/attempt
Rushing: 182 att; 735 yds; 4.04 avg; 6 TD
Total: 5.82 yds/play; 29.75 PPG

Turnovers:
2008:
Giveaways: 2
Takeaways: 13
Diff: +11

2012:
Giveaways: 5
Takeaways: 10
Diff: +5

Opponent Record not including Gopher Game:
2008 (NIU, @Bowling Green, Montana St, FAU): 7-5 (Final record: 26-20)
2012 (@UNLV, UNH, WMU, Syracuse): 6-6

You guys can make your own conclusions based on those numbers, but to me, the 2012 team looks a bit better on paper. The 2008 team was opportunistic and forced a bunch of turnovers, but that team's yds/play numbers are far off the pace of this year's team (6.49 yds/attempt and 5.22 yds/play versus 4.92 yds/attempt and 4.31 yds/play). I think the yds/play numbers translate to a better defense than the few extra turnovers.

The '08 squad probably gets the nod offensively (more efficient passing and about an extra TD per game) although this year's team does have a more clear identity--visible both on the field and in the stat book.

Overall, I've been more impressed with this year's team on the field than I was in '08, and I think the stat sheet generally agrees with me; I'd take this year's stingier defense (almost a full yard less allowed per play) as we enter B1G play over the opportunistic but relatively beatable '08 defense.

Was this conclusion worth spending about an hour digging into box scores? Not really, but hopefully some people find it somewhat insightful anyhow.
 

This Saturday is just a step. Maybe a step forward, maybe not. But I remain convinced we are in that rare, special time when the chronically downcast rise. When hopes rise, are dampened, then rise to new heights. When those who have been loyal through the worst years feel the reward that only comes from pure loyalty. When expectations rise, not continuously, but over the test of time our faith in our coach, our team, grows. When setbacks are obviously learning oppotunities, not disasters, and where consistent progress shows though the chaos of competition.

To be a loyal fan though such a process is to receive a great gift. Hang tight.

I have a feeling our gift is being wrapped.
 

7-1 and Brew got votes for governor and touted as the next TN coach.
 

SonOfTheVarsity said:
I've been wondering about the comparison between this year's Gophers versus the 2008 squad's first four games, so I did a bit of the legwork myself. I'd love to see somebody with more statistical knowledge (I'm looking at you, MV, if you're scouting GH for blog ideas) tackle the issue more in depth, as I relied on what I could glean from ESPN box scores. Anyhow, these are the stats of this year's team and the 2008 team through non-con play.

Opponent Offense:
2008:
Passing: 79-151; 51.0% comp. percentage; 980 yds; 4 TD; 8 INT; 6.49 yds/attempt
Rushing: 121 att; 429 yds; 3.63 avg; 3 TD
Total: 5.22 yds/play; 17.5 PPG

2012:
Passing: 80-146; 54.8% comp. percentage; 718 yds; 3 TD; 7 INT; 4.92 yds/attempt
Rushing: 140 att; 514 yds; 3.67 avg; 5 TD
Total: 4.31 yds/play; 16.75 PPG;

Gopher Offense:
2008:
Passing (all Weber): 79-110; 71.8% comp. percentage; 7 TD; 1 INT; 8.79 yds/attempt
Rushing: 155 att; 648 yds; 4.18 avg; 12 TD
Total: 6.09 yds/play; 36.25 PPG

2012:
Passing: 57-97; 58.8% comp. percentage; 9 TD; 2 INT; 9.16 yds/attempt
Rushing: 182 att; 735 yds; 4.04 avg; 6 TD
Total: 5.82 yds/play; 29.75 PPG

Turnovers:
2008:
Giveaways: 2
Takeaways: 13
Diff: +11

2012:
Giveaways: 5
Takeaways: 10
Diff: +5

Opponent Record not including Gopher Game:
2008 (NIU, @Bowling Green, Montana St, FAU): 7-5 (Final record: 26-20)
2012 (@UNLV, UNH, WMU, Syracuse): 6-6

You guys can make your own conclusions based on those numbers, but to me, the 2012 team looks a bit better on paper. The 2008 team was opportunistic and forced a bunch of turnovers, but that team's yds/play numbers are far off the pace of this year's team (6.49 yds/attempt and 5.22 yds/play versus 4.92 yds/attempt and 4.31 yds/play). I think the yds/play numbers translate to a better defense than the few extra turnovers.

The '08 squad probably gets the nod offensively (more efficient passing and about an extra TD per game) although this year's team does have a more clear identity--visible both on the field and in the stat book.

Overall, I've been more impressed with this year's team on the field than I was in '08, and I think the stat sheet generally agrees with me; I'd take this year's stingier defense (almost a full yard less allowed per play) as we enter B1G play over the opportunistic but relatively beatable '08 defense.

Was this conclusion worth spending about an hour digging into box scores? Not really, but hopefully some people find it somewhat insightful anyhow.
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Very interesting, thanks. I will say, the Montana State game was a squeaker vs. Destroying UNH and no BCS opponent in 2008.
 

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