Gopher The Roses

Minnesota Versus Bowling Green, The Day After

The worse thing about losing to Bowling Green, any team from the MAC, is the public relations nightmare. We really needed to have a win out of the gate for many reasons but more than any other was to keep the bandwagon rolling down the road.

Not so lucky.

And that is not meant to take anything away from Bowling Green or the MAC. It is the perception Big Ten schools have that we should never lose to them. Frankly, other than when it is my team I like it when MAC schools taken on the neighborhood bully and win.

Below are links to newspaper articles and this one to the Sports Huddle With Sid and Dave and their interview with Coach Tim Brewster this morning.

• From Gophersports.com: Stats, Post Game Notes, Post Game Quotes
• A rally with no reward for Gophers
• Coach's confidence is rewarded
• Sid Hartman: Pass defense remains a major issue for U football
• Tough loss in opener doesn't deter Brewster
• A rough start, a rougher finish
• More stubbed toes than first steps in Brewster's debut
• Bowling Green hangs on to beat Minnesota in overtime thriller

(Articles from the Minneapolis Star Tribune and St. Paul Pioneer Press may require a free subscription and may be archived by the source after 2 weeks)

Technorati Tags: Minnesota Golden Gopher Football, Bowling Green Falcons

Minnesota Golden Gophers and Bowling Green Falcons Preview And Review

Preview
Finally, game day. About damn time.

All week I have been asked what I expect and to be honest, I have no clue. First time starting quarterback in Adam Weber. No disrespect intended towards Coach Brewster but this is the first game he has had to manage. Take into account a young defense I say we win by a little.

There may be lots of bugs to work out in this game.

I hope we run more than we pass. Coach Dunbar has been saying the spread offense is just that. Stretch the field and create running and throwing lanes. Give our defense some time to get their feet under them.

From what I gather Bowling Green runs an offense similar to ours. The bad news is we have never been able to stop a spread offense. The good news is we practice against one every day. Hopefully that means we are going to be better than years past.

Prediction
I am going with a score of 45-42. Bowling Green to score late to make it a 3 point game.

Bowling Green Falcon Blogs
FalconBlog

Review
Final Score: Bowling Green 31, Minnesota 31 (OT)

UH OH

OK, so that was not exactly the start we were looking for. Did the coaches have them ready for the game or were the emotions so high it took a while to come down?

Frankly, that first half was awful at best. Adam Weber looked a little or a lot off. It did not help that a few of the shotgun snaps were not on target.

The defense was on the field quite a bit in the first half and they looked suspect in most areas of the game.

Whatever was said or done in the locker room at halftime needs to be bottled and used before every game. The Gophers came out in the second half and looked fantastic.

All in all, I guess that is about what I expected. When you look at total yards and points one can see the potential of the offense.

Previous years we had a ball control offense and that kept our defense off the field for much of the game. Now it looks like we just need to outscore the other team. Yeah I know that sounds like common sense but what I mean is this season may be more like a track meet.

Bowling Green going for two was a great move on their part. Win-win for them and a gamble worth taking.

One thing to note, it did look like the conditioning of our team is much improved over last years. Time in the weight room last spring and those itense drills during fall practice certainly paid off.

Statistics
Rushing – Amir Pinnix 168 yards and 2 TD’s
Rushing - Adam Weber 72 yards
Receiving – Ernie Wheelwright 50 yards 1 TD
Receiving – Eric Decker 49 yards
Passing – Adam Weber 15 of 31 2 TD’s 1 INT Sacked 1

Offense Starters
WR 1 Wheelwright, E.
WR 6 Herndon, Tray
WR 7 Decker, Eric
QB 8 Weber, Adam
TE 80 Simmons, Jack
LT 64 Shidell, Steve
LG 74 Ruckdashel,Ryan
C 77 Brinkhaus, Tony
RG 53 Burris, D.J.
RT 79 DeGeest, Matt
RB 29 Pinnix, Amir

Defense Starters
DE 30 Campbell, Lee
DT 51 Small, Eric
RT 70 Meisel, Todd
RE 91 VanDeSteeg, W.
MLB 58 Sherels, Mike
SLB 56 Davis, Steve
CB 15 Harris, Jamal
SS 23 Barber, Dom
FS 26 Cooley, Duran
WLB 46 Shevlin, John
CB 11 Steib, Desi

How close was that 2 point conversion pass? If either of our defensive backs had one finger ½ inch longer they would have tipped the pass away.

As a hat tip to Bowling Green here is the replay with their audio:

Technorati Tags: Minnesota Golden Gopher Football, Bowling Green Falcons

2007 Gopher Football Prediction

When I was sitting at the bar last December watching the Gophers put a whooping on Texas Tech (obviously this was the first half of the game) I was telling anyone who would hear me that we could go 8-4 in 2007.

And then with the smirk of Coach Glen Mason as he was walking off the field at halftime it started to all unravel.

The Gophers tanked in the second half.

Coach Mason was fired within hours of the defeat.

A new unproven coaching staff was hired and promised to bring us back to the Rose Bowl.

4 players were kicked off the team amid allegations of sexual misconduct. (I do not fault the coaches for this)

The implementation of a new offensive and new aggressive attitude on defense begins.

And we have a very young team.

On the eve of the first game of Coach Tim Brewster I no longer believe we can go 8-4. I am guessing 5-7, maybe 6-6.

While that prediction may appear to be negative I have not been this excited over a football season in many years. I believe Coach Brewster when he says the team will play hard and will not quit.

No doubt there will be growing pains. No doubt we will lose games we should win. I bet we win one we should lose. Maybe we do better in a Big Ten Conference many think will have a down year.

All I do know is I believe the future of the program is in good and capable hands. We are seeing more people at events, more people talking about the team, and most importantly a new enthusiasm and optimism.

Gopher Nation has been revived, enjoy the ride. Oh, and fasten your seat belt and keep your arms and in legs inside at all times...

Technorati Tags: Minnesota Golden Gopher Football

Tim Brewster Radio Show

Link to the 8-30-07 Tim Brewster Radio Show.

Technorati Tags: Minnesota Golden Gopher Football, Head Coach Tim Brewster

Gopher Football News

Articles from August 29 – 31, 2007:

Sad news regarding junior John Carlson, Carlson decides career is over. He had a promising football career but has had really bad luck when it comes to injuries. Here is a sample:

Carlson tore the lateral collateral ligament and the lateral meniscus in his left knee during a special-teams drill early in camp. He tore his ACL in the same knee during spring practice.

Carlson received a ligament from a cadaver in that surgery so that his rehabilitation time would be shorter and allow him to start fall camp on time.

Rejuvenated Giannini feels he has a kick coming, I hope so. Watching from the same end zone at Michigan Stadium that Jason Giannini kicked the winning field goal to in 2005 was a moment I will never forget. Unfortunately, there are other moments of missed field goals and PAT’s that I would like to forget:

So far, the 5-7, 185-pound Giannini has impressed the new coaching staff. He is listed as the No. 1 kicker on the depth chart for the Gophers' season opener against Bowling Green on Saturday at the Metrodome.

"I worked my butt off this offseason," Giannini said. "I feel confident. I am kicking the best I ever have."

I hope so.

A great story about a guy with character, Amir Pinnix is not all ball:

Amir Pinnix added a new tattoo to his left biceps this summer, a permanent reminder of the daily life he strives to lead. The body art features a man holding the world on his shoulders with this inscription: "Character not the circumstance makes the man."

Pinnix loves that saying. It's powerful, he says.

"No matter what you go through in life, it's not the circumstance, it's how you handle yourself as a man," he said. "That's how you're defined."

Gopher Inside Look With Ned Tavale, nice profile for Ned Tavale the often not heard of (in the way you never want to hear an OL’s name) sophomore Guard.

(Articles from the Minneapolis Star Tribune and St. Paul Pioneer Press may require a free subscription and may be archived by the source after 2 weeks)

Technorati Tags: Minnesota Golden Gopher Football

Coach Brewster, Beware The Superlatives

I wonder how long until people (let me call them critics) get tired of his enthusiasm and optimism. Minnesota folks are known for their passive-aggressive style. We love to tear people down right after being really nice to them. I know that goes for most parts of the country but we seem to do it really well. Brewster's rhetoric is a little heavy, but passion is real:

"Coach Brew" belted out his depth chart like a town crier. For those scoring at home, he used the word "tremendous" 13 times, "great" 21 times, "exciting" six times, "special" eight times, "passion" six times, "very" 16 times, "good" 12 times and outstanding "11 times.

and:

In the absence of a head coaching record at any level, we've been able to judge him only on his "tremendous passion" and "veryvery" gregarious style.

Those who like Brewster call him a salesman similar to Mack Brown, his boss at North Carolina and Texas. Those who don't like him call him a salesman similar to former Gophers coach Jim Wacker.

Yes, two in one day, Brewster's minions prepare for a revival. At least Tom Powers is not hiding his sarcasm. What a jerk:

Welcome to Phase II of Brother Brew's Travelin' Salvation Show. Now it's time to pack up the babies and grab the old ladies ...

"There's no limit to what we can do, where we can go," insisted Tim Brewster, head coach of the Gophers football team.

Yes, it's time for the actual tent revival to begin under the Metrodome big top. It's time for the laying on of hands in an attempt to heal an ailing program. Can Brother Brewster cast out the demons that have plagued past teams? Can he get the Gophers to rise - I say rise, brothers and sisters - above their considerable limitations?

(Insert "hallelujah" or "amen" whenever the urge strikes.)

(Articles from the Minneapolis Star Tribune and St. Paul Pioneer Press may require a free subscription and may be archived by the source after 2 weeks)

Technorati Tags: Minnesota Golden Gopher Football, Head Coach Tim Brewster

Adam Weber Named Starting Quarterback

Coach Brewster has named redshirt freshman Adam Weber as the starting quarterback for this Saturday’s game against Bowling Green. I doubt this is much of a surprise to people who live outside of Hutchinson, MN where junior quarterback Tony Mortensen is from. (They love Tony)

Both players seemed to struggle getting the hang of the “spread coast offense” this spring and into fall practice. Weber appears to be more mobile and quicker at making decisions. Mortensen may have a better and more accurate arm. Weber seemed to be pulling away the last days.

Weber was a top quarterback prospect while playing at Mounds View High School.

Ready to lead again on Weber’s leadership skills:

Weber's current teammates say he is excitable but doesn't come unglued emotionally after mistakes. He is confident but not arrogant and commands respect in the huddle, regardless of his age.

"He's playing with a swagger," senior center Tony Brinkhaus said. "He's gotten a lot more comfortable with the offense, and I think it's obvious to everybody."

U puts trust in another Weber has the story on Adam’s father, Bobby Weber, who was also a member of the Gopher football team in the 1970’s:

Bobby Weber's name appears in several places in the Gophers' football record book, most notably for having returned a kick 100 yards for a touchdown against Ohio State in 1977.

Weber, who was also a defensive back and now is a Twin Cities family practice physician, is the father of Adam Weber, a former Mounds View quarterback who has been named the Gophers' starting QB as a freshman. Bobby used to take Adam to Gophers games when Adam was young.

(Articles from the Minneapolis Star Tribune and St. Paul Pioneer Press may require a free subscription and may be archived by the source after 2 weeks)

Technorati Tags: Minnesota Golden Gopher Football, Adam Weber

Minnesota Rouser Versus ABC’s

We start them young here in Minnesota:

Technorati Tags: YouTube

Gopher Football News

Articles from August 27, 2007:

Five to mull asks five questions regarding the defense. Anyone who says they have an answer is lying. And only five? There is more than that.

Speaking of, Defensive Coordinator Everett Whithers is featured in this article Hot seat, meet cool customer. He has a young group to work with and I am a little concerned that when the defense looked good during fall practice it was more because the offense was not hitting on all cylinders. I hope I am wrong. Regardless, I want to see how the players respond to a coach with NFL experience:

Withers left the NFL to become the Gophers defensive coordinator because he saw potential, not the past.

Besides, Withers said he is too consumed with the present to get sidetracked by anything else. He has installed an entirely new defense, one that is based on multiple schemes and an aggressive, attacking mentality. He wants to strike first, not engage in rope-a-dope defense.

Chip Scoggins from the Star Tribune has been writing an occasional blog post as well as his daily beat of Gopher football. I like his blog posts better.

From It’s game week:

To me, this is the best time of the college football season. Even better than bowl week.

Everyone is undefeated and has high hopes. Even the bad teams think they have a chance to be good. That’s what makes this week special for this college football fan.

I call it a tie between the excitement of the first week (games are not usually that good) and Bowl Week.

Technorati Tags: Minnesota Golden Gopher Football, Everett Withers

Gopher Football News

Articles from August 26, 2007:

Gophers' extreme schemer on Assistant Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator Mike Dunbar and the “spread coast offense”. And that many years ago he was actually a defensive coordinator:

Coach Tim Brewster knew he wanted to run the spread offense when he became a first-time head coach, and Dunbar's name kept coming up in conversations with other coaches, including Texas' Mack Brown, Florida's Urban Meyer and West Virginia's Rich Rodriguez.

"The biggest thing about Mike Dunbar to me is that he's just a sage old veteran," Brewster said. "His calmness at calling plays and preparing an offense is really going to allow me a sense of calmness in what I'm trying to do."

A ROSY FUTURE? has many questions to ask and finishes with:

Bottom line

Brewster has his team believing in itself. But what happens when the Gophers suffer that first blowout defeat or heartbreaking loss? Brewster can do only so much, and he talks about the need for his 16 seniors to provide leadership. The schedule looks favorable, but Bowling Green, Miami (Ohio) and Florida Atlantic will face a Big Ten team that appears vulnerable and is filled with questions. How will the new QB look? Are there enough wide receivers to run the spread? Is the defense better? Will life after Mason be better? Or worse?

(Articles from the Minneapolis Star Tribune and St. Paul Pioneer Press may require a free subscription and may be archived by the source after 2 weeks)

Technorati Tags: Minnesota Golden Gopher Football, Spread Coast Offense, Mike Dunbar