When The Final Score is Posted

[husker70]

In the Carrier Dome, it will read







Syracuse O Vistors 42

This will get ugly very quickly for the Orange. They are not anywhere close in talent, depth, or strength and conditioning, and special teams will be key. Returns for TD by Stoudemiere, and couple big punts by Oreske will keep the Orange playing on a long field. Simoni Lawrence will have two sacks, Nate Triplett will return aninterception for a TD. The Gophers will use their size both to run the ball effectively, and pound it for TD's by Hoese and Bennett. Weber to Decker for 2 TD's. The totals Weber 16-20 no picks and 2 TD's Bennett 25 rushes for 156, Hoese 4 carries for 20 yards and two receptions. Eskridge will get 15 carries for 86 yards, and Whaley rumbles for 56 yards on 8 carries.

The defensive line will not only stuff the run, but also harrass Paulas. A Lawrence sack will knock him out of the game for a while and he will be ineffective. The Gophers will rally around the shutout. Several three and outs will seal the deal, and the offense will simply run out the clock.

 

[Gopher07]

Wow. If this happens, I'll be so overly ecstatic for the season. As it stands, I'm very cautiously optimistic and think (worried) we'll come out flat.

 

[gophertree]

Agreed

Flat? No way...I hope. We clearly have the edge at nearly every position and every intangible leans our way as well besides being on the road I guess. The bottom line is that SYR is extremely young and they have 2 brand new schemes and brand new coaches - think about MN in 2007 when we had the rough stretch of BGSU, MIAOH, and FAU.

I think the defense plays extremely well and limits the Orange to less than 20 points, a +3 in the TO area would be outstanding and allow us to seal the deal on this one by Q3. We should be able to run all over them - and you have to like our chances with Weber and Decker through the air....

Not as optimistic as Husker, but I'll say 38-13.

 

[Schnauzer]

I think a good Gopher season hinges a lot on starting out 2-0. Cal will be a white knuckle nail biter and a good chance at defeat #1. So, I really, really, really, hope you guys are right. I would love to have this one sealed early. Air Force will be very tough. I'd hate to go into the Cal game being less-than undefeated.

 

[Foster]

Wow. If this happens, I'll be so overly ecstatic for the season. As it stands, I'm very cautiously optimistic and think (worried) we'll come out flat.

This is exactly how I feel right now. I just have a bad feeling about how we are going to play. Hope to God I'm wrong though

 

[Iceland12]

Wow. If this happens, I'll be so overly ecstatic for the season. As it stands, I'm very cautiously optimistic and think (worried) we'll come out flat.

A nationally televised game and Greg Paulus and all the hype he's brought with him will take away any chance of the Gophers coming out flat. The crowd might help Syracuse get out to a good start, but that won't last. Only the Gopher O-Line crumbling would change the talent imbalance.

Gophers by 17, luckily I only have to give 6 and-a-half!

 

[icepirate13]

I think a good Gopher season hinges a lot on starting out 2-0. Cal will be a white knuckle nail biter and a good chance at defeat #1. So, I really, really, really, hope you guys are right. I would love to have this one sealed early. Air Force will be very tough. I'd hate to go into the Cal game being less-than undefeated.

Agreed!

 

[Rotundo]

Those who think we will come out flat or play down to Syracuse's level - are you saying you think Brewster is not capable of getting his team prepared or that he will squander our large talent/experience advantage through poor coaching? I don't understand how someone could not expect a rout unless they think we are outgunned on the sideline.

I expect something like 40-10.

 

[caliGopher]

52 Rushes?

In the Carrier Dome, it will read


Syracuse O Vistors 42

This will get ugly very quickly for the Orange. They are not anywhere close in talent, depth, or strength and conditioning, and special teams will be key. Returns for TD by Stoudemiere, and couple big punts by Oreske will keep the Orange playing on a long field. Simoni Lawrence will have two sacks, Nate Triplett will return aninterception for a TD. The Gophers will use their size both to run the ball effectively, and pound it for TD's by Hoese and Bennett. Weber to Decker for 2 TD's. The totals Weber 16-20 no picks and 2 TD's Bennett 25 rushes for 156, Hoese 4 carries for 20 yards and two receptions. Eskridge will get 15 carries for 86 yards, and Whaley rumbles for 56 yards on 8 carries.

The defensive line will not only stuff the run, but also harrass Paulas. A Lawrence sack will knock him out of the game for a while and he will be ineffective. The Gophers will rally around the shutout. Several three and outs will seal the deal, and the offense will simply run out the clock.

That would truly be a return to our previous offense. While I was lambasted for having the audacity to say I would miss our old offense (we can only win by running the spread, I was assured) I don't think the offense will be returning quite to that level of rushing commitment. I still expect Weber to put it up in the 25 - 30 range and the play mix to be closer to 50 pass/50 run
.
Would love to see the old running game return, so I hope you're right.

 

[thailleagle]

I think shades of our old running game will be there........

I think Stoudamire will have a monsterous game all around.......

If we don't score more then 30 points I'll be worried.......

 

[ncgo4]

Gophers 42 Syracuse 10

I have had a realistic opinion on Mn since Brewster arrived, never failing to see the shortcomings and lack of depth. This year I really believe we are better, bigger, faster and deeper at every position, except one D end end and one D back. This means, IMHO, that 20 of 22 positions have improved over last year.

In addition we have a real upgrade in offensive philosophy/game plan.

This is going to be our best yr. in a long time and against a much more difficult schedule.

 

[Bayfieldgopher]

I look for the guys to struggle early on and then get organized at half. We have many experienced players and that will be a strength as this game wears on. New offense, inexperienced OL, new DC/OC, etc. will manifest itself.

After a shaky first half, we head home with a less than impressive 26-20 victory.

 

[STPGopher]

This is exactly how I feel right now. I just have a bad feeling about how we are going to play. Hope to God I'm wrong though

If we win while being flat(which I don't think our Gophers will be) I will be beyond happy. Winning flat is what very good teams do.

 

[frozengopher]

Syracuse 7 Visitors 34

Brew has this team focused. Plain and simple. Remember Bowling Green in 2007? And how it sucked the life out of the rest of the season? That's a pretty good motivator. Big win.

 

[GoAUpher]

Syracuse 7 Visitors 34

Brew has this team focused. Plain and simple. Remember Bowling Green in 2007? And how it sucked the life out of the rest of the season? That's a pretty good motivator. Big win.

In an odd way this matchup reminds me of @BG last season, when no one knew exactly what to expect and some were concerned about a loss but instead the Gophs went out and smoked them.

 

[wait!what?]

The 5 game losing streak of 08 has to be put down like your raggedy cat.

 

[gold04]

Should not be close!

This game should not be close period! If Brewster loses this game, he should be fired on the spot.
This Gopher team is a lot more talented then people are giving them credit for. If the Gophers don't do well this year then blame needs to fall on Brewster's shoulders. I know some people are thinking right now that I'm a Brewster hater.

The fact of reality is when we won one game in 2007 and the Masonites were saying fire Brewster, I said it's way too early in jumping to that conclusion. I said we need to at least give Brewster three years. I have stood by Brewster in tough times but now this team is talented enough to win in double digits. A loss would mean this team is way under performing. If Brewster can't coach this team to victory over Syracuse then who will we beat this year?

72-7 Gophers, if we lose, it's time to find a new coach!

 

[highwayman]

Those who think we will come out flat or play down to Syracuse's level - are you saying you think Brewster is not capable of getting his team prepared or that he will squander our large talent/experience advantage through poor coaching? I don't understand how someone could not expect a rout unless they think we are outgunned on the sideline.

I expect something like 40-10.

I couldn't agree more. One of the reasons I chose to go to this game was to see this team in person. I think this is truly "Brew's Crew," -- they will NOT come out flat, Paulus will not play very well, and we will smoke these guys...BADLY.

I'd say 44-10 is no stretch. The sold-out Carrier Dome will be half-empty by the end of the 3rd quarter, and we will be lighting up some bar in the Armory that night.

We are the deepest Gopher team in years--I'm talking since the 60's. Have no fear fans--the corner will be turned...

 

[GoAUpher]

This game should not be close period! If Brewster loses this game, he should be fired on the spot.
This Gopher team is a lot more talented then people are giving them credit for. If the Gophers don't do well this year then blame needs to fall on Brewster's shoulders. I know some people are thinking right now that I'm a Brewster hater.

The fact of reality is when we won one game in 2007 and the Masonites were saying fire Brewster, I said it's way too early in jumping to that conclusion. I said we need to at least give Brewster three years. I have stood by Brewster in tough times but now this team is talented enough to win in double digits. A loss would mean this team is way under performing. If Brewster can't coach this team to victory over Syracuse then who will we beat this year?

72-7 Gophers, if we lose, it's time to find a new coach!

How many lines did you do before posting this?

 

[STPGopher]

This is exactly how I feel right now. I just have a bad feeling about how we are going to play. Hope to God I'm wrong though

If we win while being flat(which I don't think our Gophers will be) I will be beyond happy. Winning flat is what very good teams do.

 

[tikited]

27-20 Gophers. I want more, but this is what I feel will happen and that's o.k.

 

[gold04]

Maybe I expect too much, but this game should not be close. Last year I was happy beating any team we played. Heck, I was even happy when we beat Montana State by only 12 points. This year is different. I think we should expect more then just barely beating Syracuse. Maybe we are not as good as I think we are, but this is a game we need to blow out our opponent.

 

[GoldysArmy]

This game should not be close period! If Brewster loses this game, he should be fired on the spot.
This Gopher team is a lot more talented then people are giving them credit for. If the Gophers don't do well this year then blame needs to fall on Brewster's shoulders. I know some people are thinking right now that I'm a Brewster hater.

The fact of reality is when we won one game in 2007 and the Masonites were saying fire Brewster, I said it's way too early in jumping to that conclusion. I said we need to at least give Brewster three years. I have stood by Brewster in tough times but now this team is talented enough to win in double digits. A loss would mean this team is way under performing. If Brewster can't coach this team to victory over Syracuse then who will we beat this year?

72-7 Gophers, if we lose, it's time to find a new coach!

So you give Brewster 3 years to prove himself and then you say that if the Gophers lose to Syracuse Brewster should be fired on the spot? Zero credibilty 04, ZERO!

 

[gold04]

I knew some people would be mad at me for saying Brewster should be fired on the spot and those words are too strong, but if we can't beat Syracuse we are in for a long season. As MN fans we always seem to settle on hoping we can just beat any opponent. It does not make any difference how good or bad the opponent is. I saw this philosphy of MN fans with Mase as coach and I see it with Brewster. This team might be the best team since the Warmath days and we are just hoping to win. Listen I've defended Brewster for the last two years but this year we can't settle for being a 500 winning percentage team. Brewster and Mase are both responsible for giving us a talented team and now it's up to the coaches in getting the best out of this team.