College Football thread

[biggentleben]

It was nice today to put an end to the absolute of the halftime score conundrum.  Before today, Kill teams were 22-0 when leading at half and 0-22 when trailing at halftime.  It was good to end that absolute for sure.

[twinsnorth49]

Yeah, what a crazy stat, definitely nice to end it.

[biggentleben]

Great ending last night in the Notre Dame/Florida State game!  Winston might not last until the end of the season, but he showed up in the fourth quarter last night.  I've never been a fan of the Seminoles program going back to Papa Bowden, but on the field, they've had solid success.

 

Now, we'll have to see who the next one who gets in trouble for trying to get their piece of the multi-billion dollar business the NCAA uses their athletes to fund.

[TheLeviathan]

That was a good game and an appropriate flag at the end.

[biggentleben]

That was a good game and an appropriate flag at the end.

 

There was reportedly a survey of a number of coaches in the SEC, ACC, and Big Ten asking how frequently that call is made on Saturday night/Sunday after the game, and the consensus was that it was called about 2-5% of the time.  Heck, if the receiver looks back to the QB for the ball, he could have even got away with it there.  Absolutely the right call, though.

[ashbury]

Here is something for BYU, preparing for their game this week, that should get them banned from the NCAA if they should happen to view it:

 

 

I'm in Boise, just touring fooling around, and got shooed away by an assistant/intern when I snapped a few photos through a gap in a gate.  I just regret not wearing my U of Nevada sweatshirt.  Imagine the super-secret information I am divulging in this post.  Enjoy.

[biggentleben]

Well, that wasn't the way it was supposed to go.  Way too many errors and not taking advantage of opportunities given for the Gophers today.  They'll fall out of the polls and to win the West in November suddenly just got a lot more difficult.

 

They outgained the Iliini by 150 yards, but they couldn't sustain drives, going 4/16 on 3rd down, and then the 3 turnovers were just a killer.  Can't play like this in November or they'll come out of the month 0-4.

[FattCrapps]

Leidner's an absolute bum.

[USAFChief]

Well, that's one way to squelch the "Kill to Michigan" speculation.

[biggentleben]

Leidner's an absolute bum.

 

Putting this on Leidner is like putting a Twins loss on Brian Dozier after he makes 2 errors.  Yes, he screwed up, but falling behind 14-0 in the first quarter because your whole team came out flat isn't his fault.  Getting pressured most of the day isn't his fault, especially when the line has really kept him clean all year.  It was just a poor game on the road for the Gophers, and they picked a bad time to do it.

[FattCrapps]

He had receivers open all day.  That was hard to watch.

[biggentleben]

He had receivers open all day.  That was hard to watch.

 

Hard to hit a receiver while you dodge would-be tacklers.  I suppose if you want to see the QB to blame, he'll be to blame in this loss, but he's certainly not the only one, or even the primary reason for the loss.

[FattCrapps]

Well I disagree stongly.  The Illini were commiting their entire D to stopping the run.  Anytime Leidner was on the move and tried to make a throw, it wouldn't be close.  

 

Obviously the Cobb fumble late in the game was crucial, but with a competent QB they wouldn't have been in that situation.   I know you love the Gophers and would never see a negative thing about them, but their offense is going nowhere with Leidner.

[biggentleben]

Well I disagree stongly.  The Illini were commiting their entire D to stopping the run.  Anytime Leidner was on the move and tried to make a throw, it wouldn't be close.  

 

Obviously the Cobb fumble late in the game was crucial, but with a competent QB they wouldn't have been in that situation.   I know you love the Gophers and would never see a negative thing about them, but their offense is going nowhere with Leidner.

 

LOL! That is the farthest thing from the truth.  I've been part of the messed up system that was Gophers football in the Wacker and the Mason eras, was constantly critical of Brewster outside of his recruiting, and I'm oft talking about the team's needs and weaknesses.  That all said, you're talking about a sophomore quarterback who isn't going to be the reason they win the Big Ten, but he won't ever be the reason they don't either.  There is no feasible reason the Gophers should have given up what they gave up today on the scoreboard with the defensive showing they'd put up in previous weeks.  The offensive line didn't open holes or protect Leidner the way they did in previous weeks.  I wasn't impressed with Leidner, but he was far from the primary and certainly not the sole reason of the Gophers' struggles today.

[twinsnorth49]

LOL! That is the farthest thing from the truth. I've been part of the messed up system that was Gophers football in the Wacker and the Mason eras, was constantly critical of Brewster outside of his recruiting, and I'm oft talking about the team's needs and weaknesses. That all said, you're talking about a sophomore quarterback who isn't going to be the reason they win the Big Ten, but he won't ever be the reason they don't either. There is no feasible reason the Gophers should have given up what they gave up today on the scoreboard with the defensive showing they'd put up in previous weeks. The offensive line didn't open holes or protect Leidner the way they did in previous weeks. I wasn't impressed with Leidner, but he was far from the primary and certainly not the sole reason of the Gophers' struggles today.

Strongly agree, Leidner did not play particularly well but he was far from the reason the Gophers lost that game.

[USAFChief]

QB play is pretty important in modern football, IMO.

 

And Leidner played pretty badly.

 

I think it's fair to say his play was among the biggest issues yesterday.

[FattCrapps]

Strongly agree, Leidner did not play particularly well but he was far from the reason the Gophers lost that game.

Did not play particularly well?  My goodness.

[twinsnorth49]

Did not play particularly well? My goodness.

Yep, he wasn't alone and doesn't play defense or on the offensive line. Look, the Gopher offense was ridiculously out of sync in the first half and Leidner contributed his share of that, nothing more.

[biggentleben]

Did not play particularly well?  My goodness.

 

We get it, Leidner is the reason for cancer and eats babies for snacks.  We should stone him to death.

 

He didn't play well, but the vitriol spewed at him yesterday is ridiculous to me.  I'm a former Gopher lineman, and I was embarrassed watching that game yesterday for the o-line.  They missed numerous pickups, and I'm assuming their communication was absolutely terrible the whole day as they constantly passed guys with no one to pick up, and that guy got a free run at Leidner after that.

 

To lose to a team like Illinois, much more than Leidner had to go wrong, and it certainly did.

[biggentleben]

QB play is pretty important in modern football, IMO.

 

And Leidner played pretty badly.

 

I think it's fair to say his play was among the biggest issues yesterday.

 

In a power running scheme, QB play is mostly about not giving the ball over to the opposition.

[Mike Sixel]

They lost to Illinois. Says all we really need to know about how far they've not come yet. Looks just like last year, and the year before, and the year before.....

[biggentleben]

They lost to Illinois. Says all we really need to know about how far they've not come yet. Looks just like last year, and the year before, and the year before.....

 

I couldn't agree less.  The wins against Northwestern and Purdue were losses the last few seasons.  They came out flat and never recovered Saturday.  That happens to even the best of teams, but the Gophers don't have the overwhelming talent that a number of those teams do that allows them a flat game that can still result in a win.  That's being slowly built, and there have been plenty of glimpses of it.  The last few years, the team beat up on the non-conference schedule and hoped for a win or two in the Big Ten to get bowl eligible.  There's a long way for this team to go still, but they've made exceptional strides, and to say that one loss blinds all that is being either intentionally obtuse or extremely fickle.  They have a tough November ahead, but I'd still predict 2-2 in the month, which puts them at a 5-3 Big Ten record, something teams of the last few seasons could not have even considered.

[twinsnorth49]

I couldn't agree less.  The wins against Northwestern and Purdue were losses the last few seasons.  They came out flat and never recovered Saturday.  That happens to even the best of teams, but the Gophers don't have the overwhelming talent that a number of those teams do that allows them a flat game that can still result in a win.  That's being slowly built, and there have been plenty of glimpses of it.  The last few years, the team beat up on the non-conference schedule and hoped for a win or two in the Big Ten to get bowl eligible.  There's a long way for this team to go still, but they've made exceptional strides, and to say that one loss blinds all that is being either intentionally obtuse or extremely fickle.  They have a tough November ahead, but I'd still predict 2-2 in the month, which puts them at a 5-3 Big Ten record, something teams of the last few seasons could not have even considered.

Well said, if anyone is of the opinion that this is the same old Gophers, they just haven't been paying attention to anything but box scores.

[Mike Sixel]

Well, I don't think much has changed if your record is the same......has it?

[FattCrapps]

Hey man, Illinois is a really good football team.  Lay off.

[biggentleben]

Well, I don't think much has changed if your record is the same......has it?

 

The Gophers won 3 games in 2011, 6 games in 2012, 8 games in 2013, and a .500 record in November would give them 8 wins with a bowl game ahead.  The Big Ten records would be 2 wins in 2011, 2 wins in 2012, 4 games in 2013, and 5 wins in 2014.  Yes, similar, but you can't be so obtuse as to say an equal record means an equal team, can you really?

[twinsnorth49]

The Gophers won 3 games in 2011, 6 games in 2012, 8 games in 2013, and a .500 record in November would give them 8 wins with a bowl game ahead. The Big Ten records would be 2 wins in 2011, 2 wins in 2012, 4 games in 2013, and 5 wins in 2014. Yes, similar, but you can't be so obtuse as to say an equal record means an equal team, can you really?

If that's as deep as you want to look or as simple as you want to make things, then yes.

 

If that's the depth of someone's analysis or understanding of the program, it's not worth the time.

[twinsnorth49]

Hey man, Illinois is a really good football team. Lay off.

How about Northern Illinois? They beat Iowa last year, amazingly the Iowa program survived, actually won some games and played in the Fiesta Bowl against LSU. Shocking, I'm sure.

 

You act as if a lesser opponent has never upset a higher ranked team. Seriously? The Gophers are the first team to ever lose to an opponent they shouldn't have?

 

Upsets happen, especially in college, except when they happen against the Gophers apparently, far easier to just dump on them.

[FattCrapps]

They looked awful against Purdue as well.  (Purdue!)

 

They won't defeat a team worth a damn as long as Leidner is back there "throwing" the ball.

[biggentleben]

They looked awful against Purdue as well.  (Purdue!)

 

They won't defeat a team worth a damn as long as Leidner is back there "throwing" the ball.

 

Your position is duly (and repeatedly) noted.