Buck Bravo

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:

Indiana media and blogs have some interesting comments and insights:

- Indianapolis’ WTHR interviews Indiana head coach Bill Lynch.  The article can be read by clicking here.  An excerpt regarding the Hoosier secondary:

“His battered secondary, which will be without team captain Chris Phillips the rest of the season, played last week without its two starting safeties, Austin Thomas and Nick Polk. Both practiced Monday and could return this weekend, but things have gotten slightly more complicated in the secondary.”

- The Indy Star discusses plays that the Indiana offense has added in order to have two quarterbacks, Kellen Lewis and Ben Chappell, on the field at the same time.  Wouldn’t it be great to see the Gophers use both Adam Weber and David Pittman as potential passers for the same play?

- Columnist Terry Hutchens of the Indy Star added a blog entry discussing Hoosier and Gopher bowl hopes.

- The Hoosier Report comments on the Minnesota offense:

“The Gopher offense has been pass-happy: no Minnesota running back averages more than 70 yards per game. WR Eric Decker already has 504 yards and 4 touchdowns.”

- Hoosier blogger IUFOOTBALL comments:

“As for my predicition for this week, I’m going to go with IU and I think we are going to see a shootout. I’ve got IU at 44 and Minny ha ha at 39. Let’s get this train back on the track to playing, and winning, 13!”

As for other media comments and predictions:

- Adam Rittenberg of ESPN’s Big Ten Blog comments on the Gophers:

“Minnesota quarterback Adam Weber — The sophomore called the Indiana game the biggest of Minnesota’s season, and he could be right. The Gophers must prove to themselves that they can win in league play, and a home matchup with slumping Indiana provides a great opportunity. Indiana’s secondary remains banged up, so Weber and star wideout Eric Decker will have opportunities to stretch the field in what is shaping up to be a shootout.”

- The blog Golden Gopher Football discusses a recent ranking of Big Ten quarterbacks.

- The Daily Gopher has a few interesting comments and links regarding Gopher Football.

- Myron Medcalf of the Star Tribune writes an article on Indiana’s talented running back Marcus Thigpen:

“Thigpen, who took sixth place in the 100-meter dash at the Big Ten outdoor track championships with a time of 10.67 seconds, utilizes speed to propel his 5-9, 193-pound frame.”

- Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune writes an article on Kellen Lewis:

“Saturday, Lewis and his Hoosiers will be in the Dome. Indiana will be trying to break a two-game losing streak, the Gophers will be looking for their first conference victory. How the Gophers contain Lewis will decide who comes out of the game with warm, fuzzy memories.”

- Kent Youngblood also has some interesting information on Traye Simmons in his blog:

“Interestingly, Simmons is the Division I leader with 11 passes defended. That includes nine breakups and two interceptions. He had a couple nice breakups in Ohio State, too.”

- Marcus Fuller of the Pioneer Press discusses this year’s redshirts in his blog:

“The freshmen who are expected to redshirt are free safety Keanon Cooper, defensive end D.L. Wilhite, linebacker Ryan Grant and quarterback John Nance.”

- Marcus Fuller also discusses the Gophers’ need for young wide receivers to elevate their play in this article.

- Charley Walters has an update on former Gopher coach Murray Warmath:

“Murray Warmath, who coached the Gophers to two Rose Bowls, likes Minnesota’s progress but wants to see an upgrade in nonconference scheduling. Warmath, 95, still makes it to every Gophers home game.”

When Big Ten football fans think of Indiana quarterbacks, most likely the first name that comes to mind is Antwaan Randle El.  Second?  Probably Kellen Lewis.  What’s the biggest difference between the two?  Antwaan Randle El is 5′10 and Kellen Lewis is 6′1.

Suprisingly, Kellen Lewis was not a highly rated recruit out of high school.  After redshirting in 2005, he accumulated 2221 yards passing and 441 yards rushing as a redshirt freshman quarterback.  In 2007, he posted 3043 yards passing and 736 yards rushing.  That’s 2662 and 3779 all purpose yards in his first two seasons, respectively.  Antwaan Randle El finished his college career in 2001 as the first quarterback to ever have 2500 all purpose yards in four consecutive seasons.  Randle El is statistically the second most prolific dual-threat quarterback in college history, trailing only Michael Vick.  Apparently, Hoosier lightning could strike twice.  If assumed that Lewis’ first two seasons and four games of production will predict the next two years, here’s how Randle El and Lewis will compare:

Each of the following videos is Kellen Lewis.  Without looking at the jersey number, one might think that they were watching Antwaan Randle El:

Saturday, the Golden Gophers will be facing an Indiana squad with a strong offense and a mediocre defense.  Against Ohio State, the Gophers surrendered 279 rushing and 135 passing yards.  Terrelle Pryor ran for 97 yards and two touchdowns.  If the Gopher offense performs at the season average of 33 points, the onus will be upon the defense to win the game.  The key to victory is containing Kellen Lewis.

The state motto for Indiana is The Crossroads of America.  The Gophers are now at a crossroads for their season.  Victory on Saturday will put them one win away from bowl eligibility.  Let’s hope that they turn the right way.  My prediction?  Gophers 38 - Hoosiers 31.

Jack Simmons suddenly became known to Gopher fans when he put on a show at the 2006 Insight Bowl with 7 catches for 134 yards.  After the game, Simmons was predicted by many to follow in the footsteps of tight end Matt Spaeth, who in turn had followed in the footsteps of Ben Utecht.  Both Spaeth and Utecht have gone on to play in the NFL.  

Simmons came to the Gophers out of Carmel High School’s 2004 graduating class in Mudelein, Illinois.  His father, Terry Simmons, lettered for the Gophers while playing football from 1977-1979.  Jack was listed as a three star high school recruit by both Rivals and Scout.  Interestingly, he was listed at 6′6, 210 lbs coming out of high school and is now listed by GopherSports.com at 6′4, 246 lbs.  I believe that he gained 36 pounds since high school, but I doubt that he shrunk two inches.  One of the challenges college football coaches have is figuring out which high school recruits have inflated height, weight, weightlifting, and speed numbers.  Despite possibly being measured in his cleats during high school, Jack Simmons reportedly had offers from Michigan State, Indiana, and Northwestern.

In 2007, Simmons was hampered by a foot injury and consequently his production was limited to 20 receptions for 202 yards.  For 2008, he is reportedly at full strength and ready for a breakout senior season.  Simmons has the size, speed, and agility to become a very good tight end this year.  With Eric Decker and a group of talented young wide receivers looking to improve the receiving options for sophomore quarterback Adam Weber, Simmons should see plenty of passes thrown his way due to increased pressure on opposing pass defenses.  In preseason drills, he has been dominant and pulled in some athletic catches.  If Jack Simmons can stay healthy, he could be an early round pick in the 2009 NFL draft.  Although he may not have the vocal pipes of former Gopher Ben Utecht, he could develop into a similar player and have a successful professional career.