Despite losing their first game of the season last week against Ohio State, the Gophers were able to bounce back on Saturday with the first Big Ten win of the Tim Brewster era.  The hangover effect from the Ohio State loss was the likely culprit for Minnesota’s flat play on offense.  Watching the plethora of Gopher mistakes was the equivalent of a three hour root canal without Novocaine.  Luckily, Indiana’s offense had even more bloopers and blunders than Minnesota.  Come January, all that will matter from this week will be a Gopher win.

There is good news from Saturday.  Very good news.  Indiana came into the game averaging 31 points per game.  The Gopher defense held a talented, dynamic, potent offense to seven points.  Indiana was only able to muster 49 yards rushing and 244 yards passing.  The only Hoosier touchdown and 77 of the passing yards came from one lapse in coverage by the Gopher secondary.  In the first five games of the season, the Gophers had given up an average of 21 points per game.  The defense is definitely looking up.

Defensive coordinator Ted Roof has the Minnesota defense playing with a level of confidence that I’ve never seen before.  I wrote a previous entry about Roof that you can view by clicking here.  Ted Roof was a star linebacker for the 1985 and 1986 Georgia Tech defense nicknamed the Black Watch.  The intensity, ferocity, and aggressive relentlessness that the Gopher defense exhibited seems similar to the legendary Black Watch.  The Black Watch defense was famous for intimidating opponents with vicious hits and the swagger of gladiators.  If the Minnesota defense continues to play like they did on Saturday, perhaps they will earn a nickname of their own.

The Gopher offense made mistakes that were primarily due to either inexperience or Indiana’s strong defensive line.  Coming off of a loss to Ohio State in Columbus probably contributed to inexperienced players’ fundamental lapses.  Troy Stoudermire’s fumbled punt return was likely due to thinking about the run before the catch.  Deleon Eskridge’s fumble was due to carrying the ball on the wrong side.  Eskridge’s mistake was also noticed by The Daily Gopher as noted in their game reaction.  Besides Eric Decker, the young Minnesota wide receivers were generally unable to get open and make plays.  As they learn the offense and the art of route-running they should improve.  The Indiana defensive line and pass rush was impressive, with Jammie Kirlew blasting past the line on nearly every pass play.  Adam Weber had little time to pass from the pocket and was often forced to scramble or hurry his throws.  Having seen the Gophers’ offensive line face a few other teams, I credit Indiana for having a strong pass rush.

Minnesota must learn from their mistakes on offense and continue to play formidable defense as they prepare to face Illinois.  For now, a win is a win.  For tomorrow, it is imperative that Saturday’s victory teaches two lessons for the young Gopher team: 1) Remember fundamentals to avoid turnovers, and 2) Attitude and swagger can transform defensive players into intimidating warriors. 

Oh, one other thing…next time the Gophers have too many hard shots of Buckeye they need to sleep it off before the next game.

Here’s a video recap of the game: