Gophers Football

[Badsmerf]

From the sound of it, he really struggled. I hope Tanner Morgan is the real deal. Props to him for stepping up and playing well.

[Vanimal46]

From the sound of it, he really struggled. I hope Tanner Morgan is the real deal. Props to him for stepping up and playing well.

I mean, everyone should struggle with their first taste of division 1 football. Still doesn't mean he should take his ball and go home after 1 intrasquad game.

 

I'm sure there's more to this story. Maybe he was misled how much playing time he was going to receive. Maybe he was that bad.

 

Oh well, don't have to worry about ol' Vic again.

[Mike Sixel]

Fold

The

Program

[Badsmerf]

Anyone watch the game last night? I caught a bit of the first quarter. Really unimpressed with this squad. Winfield is a stud, the rest are meh. Good luck beating a big ten team.

[Vanimal46]

I watched for a little bit too. The walk on QB went to HS in my hometown so that gives me something to root for.

 

This team is extremely young. Can't imagine they win more than a game after the conference schedule begins

[biggentleben]

Rodney Smith is one I like a lot. Winfield is fun to watch, as is Barber. The receiver corps has some interesting pieces, but whether they'll be able to get the ball to them in the B1G conference remains to be seen. Good win last night, though.

[bluechipper]

The freshman receiving group is really promising, plus Tyler Johnson. Rashod Bateman is going to be a big time player.

[bluechipper]

 

Anyone watch the game last night? I caught a bit of the first quarter. Really unimpressed with this squad. Winfield is a stud, the rest are meh. Good luck beating a big ten team.

I think it's fairly important to remember that New Mexico State had already played a game the week before. Couple that with the huge number of freshmen, and I think it was a solid game for the Gophers.

 

Also the Gophers play Illinois, so they won't need much luck to win a B10 game.

[bluechipper]

I predict they'll get at least 3 Big Ten wins to get bowl eligible.

[Mr. Brooks]

New Mexico State might be the worst team in the country.

I doubt they'll win a game all year.

So, there really isn't anything that can be gleaned from this game, IMO.

 

I think they need to change the bowl selection process. Scheduling these pathetic creampuffs in an attempt to gain cheap Bowl eligibility is one of the biggest things that turns me away from college football.

[Badsmerf]

New Mexico State might be the worst team in the country.

I doubt they'll win a game all year.

So, there really isn't anything that can be gleaned from this game, IMO.

 

I think they need to change the bowl selection process. Scheduling these pathetic creampuffs in an attempt to gain cheap Bowl eligibility is one of the biggest things that turns me away from college football.

Exactly. Tyler Johnson was terrible in the amount of game I watched. New Mexico state might be beat by St John's. They are horrible.

 

It is too soon to be overly critical, but the gophers just didn't look fundamentally sound. The offensive gameplan looked amateur. I feel like this is how the team looked last year too. I'll definitely wait until I see more, and they've played a few games before sticking the fork in them.

[USAFChief]

Wow. I was pretty happy with game one.

 

Fleck will end up being a success. They won’t be great this year, but better. And you can see he’s already improving the talent and depth. There are NFL players to be on that team.

 

They threw the ball downfield, and looked competent at times, as well as unafraid of the very act. That’s already a leap forward.

[TheLeviathan]

Also, yes, New Mexico is awful, but a lot of good teams looked bad the first week.  The Gophers won with a bunch of true freshman and looked pretty good.  They won't make real noise, but it's definitely a positive.

 

But holy crap New Mexico, I've seen Pee Wee teams tackle better.  That Winfield return was a clinic in awful tackling.

[mngopherguy]

 

Also, yes, New Mexico is awful, but a lot of good teams looked bad the first week.  The Gophers won with a bunch of true freshman and looked pretty good.  They won't make real noise, but it's definitely a positive.

 

But holy crap New Mexico, I've seen Pee Wee teams tackle better.  That Winfield return was a clinic in awful tackling.

 

New Mexico State might be the worst team in the country.
I doubt they'll win a game all year.
So, there really isn't anything that can be gleaned from this game, IMO.

I think they need to change the bowl selection process. Scheduling these pathetic creampuffs in an attempt to gain cheap Bowl eligibility is one of the biggest things that turns me away from college football.

 

It is a preseason that counts towards your record.  It's also a huge $$$ deal for smaller schools.  And this is not just a bowl game issue, FCS (1AA) D2 and D3 all do it.  You just never hear people complain about St. Thomas opening up winning 76-7 over Trinity...

Edited September 4, 2018 by mngopherguy

[mngopherguy]

 

Anyone watch the game last night? I caught a bit of the first quarter. Really unimpressed with this squad. Winfield is a stud, the rest are meh. Good luck beating a big ten team.

 

 

Judging a team starting 4 freshmen on offense "a bit" in the 1st qtr of the first game of the year, is like deciding on a prospect after 20 at bats.  You should have watched longer.

[mngopherguy]

 

Exactly. Tyler Johnson was terrible in the amount of game I watched. New Mexico state might be beat by St John's. They are horrible.

It is too soon to be overly critical, but the gophers just didn't look fundamentally sound. The offensive gameplan looked amateur. I feel like this is how the team looked last year too. I'll definitely wait until I see more, and they've played a few games before sticking the fork in them.

 

Tyler Johnson is a stud who dropped a pass.  He finished with 5 catches for 100 yards and 2 td's and didn't play much in the 4th qtr,  

 

They played 28 freshmen, I thought they looked pretty sound in that regard.  Amateur gameplan?  This I don't get at all.  They used Green in different roles, spread the ball around to the WR's who are much better than we've had in a while.  This was the least vanilla opener I can remember.  

[mngopherguy]

 

Also, yes, New Mexico is awful, but a lot of good teams looked bad the first week.  The Gophers won with a bunch of true freshman and looked pretty good.  They won't make real noise, but it's definitely a positive.

 

But holy crap New Mexico, I've seen Pee Wee teams tackle better.  That Winfield return was a clinic in awful tackling.

 

Their tackling was awful and their wide outs don't have hands.  Winfield's stiff arm at the 20 was hilarious.  Reminded me of Brooks running over the same Purdue DB over and over a couple years ago.  

[mngopherguy]

 

I predict they'll get at least 3 Big Ten wins to get bowl eligible.

 

That seems to be what the national writers are thinking as well.  Problem is this week's game is a pickem against Fresno St. who is better than some Big Ten teams.  Lose and the novices who figure they are on par with New Mexico St will start crowing, especially after a Reusse hack job. 

 

It should be a good game, hoping for the best.  I want to see how Terrell Smith and other DB's handle better WR's.  Smith looked good for game one. I also want to see a bit more pressure without needing to blitz.  I also hope Annexstad plays a bit more consistent in game two.  I was very happy with game one though.  

 

 

[Vanimal46]

This is fun football to watch... Annexstad looking better than any QB we've seen in 20+ years.

[TheLeviathan]

Helluva game.

[Vanimal46]

Row the boat!

[USAFChief]

Ski-U-Mah!

 

Big fan of Fleck. Positive energy, and recruits that look like they can play.

 

Winfield Sportscenter top 10 number 1 two weeks in a row?

[TheLeviathan]

Winfield Sr.was one of my all time favorites, looks like the Apple didn't fall far from the tree.

 

I also grew up near Norseland, so hard not to like seeing Annexstad succeed. That Russel Wilson impression he pulled on the 13 yard first down was stupidly fun.

[Badsmerf]

Missed this one completely. How good is Fresno State? Is this a legit win, or are they a mediocre team the Gophers should be expected to beat?

 

After a dreadful day for the big ten yesterday, the schedule doesn't look as intimidating outside of Wisconsin and Ohio State.

[USAFChief]

Missed this one completely. How good is Fresno State? Is this a legit win, or are they a mediocre team the Gophers should be expected to beat?

After a dreadful day for the big ten yesterday, the schedule doesn't look as intimidating outside of Wisconsin and Ohio State.

Fresno State won 10 games last year, including a bowl game. They returned most of their team, and are considered to have an outside shot at a New Years Day bowl this year. This is a nice win against a good G5 team,

[ashbury]

Yeah, I had to look them up this morning - top 40ish, pre-season ranking. Not a pushover team, apparently.

 

I'd still prefer a more convincing win before getting too excited, but a win's a win at this stage.

[bluechipper]

Rodney Smith is out for the year. That is obviously terrible news, so they'll have to rely on the young guys. At least they have some intriguing options.

[Vanimal46]

Rodney Smith is out for the year. That is obviously terrible news, so they'll have to rely on the young guys. At least they have some intriguing options.

I just saw Shannon Brooks is out for the year too, dang it... Williams is who we got for now.

[mngopherguy]

 

I just saw Shannon Brooks is out for the year too, dang it... Williams is who we got for now.

 

It is possible Brooks could come back for the last few games this year and with the new redshirt rules, both Brooks and Smith are planning on being back next year.  

[mngopherguy]

 

Yeah, I had to look them up this morning - top 40ish, pre-season ranking. Not a pushover team, apparently.

 

I'd still prefer a more convincing win before getting too excited, but a win's a win at this stage.

 

That's fair, I'm excited for the future.  This team hopefully wins 6+ games and makes a bowl game.  That would be a good result.