- The Big Ten has the best record total against out-of-conference opponents, as well as the best record against other power five programs.

- All 14 schools are in action as the first full week of Big Ten play gets started.

- Amazingly, Michigan has won 33 of their last 35 Big Ten conference openers after Saturday's victory over Penn State.

- Wisconsin won its seventh straight game away from Camp Randall. The Badgers have won 11 of their last 12 Big Ten road games. Iowa has also had success on the road -- the Hawkeyes have won their last seven.

- Kirk Ferentz picked up his 77th career Big Ten regular season win on Saturday, passing former Illinois head coach Robert Zuppke for seventh in conference history.

- Indiana quarterback Richard Lagow passed for a Hoosier record 496 yards against Wake Forest. Wide receiver Ricky Jones had a career high 208 yards.

- The Gophers are a perfect 14/14 in the redzone this year, with 13 of the redzone trips resulting in touchdowns.

- Purdue's win over Nevada on Saturday was the program's 600th win all-time.

- Michigan has scored at least 40 points in the first four games of a season for the first time since 1947.

- Steven Richardson is tied for third in the Big Ten and tied for 15th nationally with 1.7 tackles for loss per game.

- Minnesota is tied for 19th nationally with a +1 average turnover margin. Jay Sawvel made turnovers a point of emphasis when he took over.

- Seven Big Ten teams are in the top 25 nationally for scoring defense.

- Two of the four Big Ten games on Saturday were sellouts.

- Minnesota's offense by the numbers (rank is out of the 14 Big Ten teams): #7 total offense, #4 scoring offense, #5 rushing offense, #11 passing offense

- Minnesota's defense by the numbers (rank is out of the 14 Big Ten teams): #5 total defense, #9 scoring defense, #4 rushing defense, #13 passing defense

- Penn State running back Saquon Barkley is considered among the best in the Big Ten but is only averaging 4.8 yards per carry through four games.

- Mitch Leidner's 145.4 QB rating ranks seventh in the Big Ten among quarterbacks with at least 40 attempts.

- Drew Wolitarsky is third in the Big Ten with 5.7 receptions per game and fourth in receiving yards per game, with 84.

- Steven Richardson is tied for third in the Big Ten in tackles for loss, with five.

- Taiyon Devers leads the Big Ten in forced fumbles, with three.

- No Big Ten running back has had more running backs in a game this season than Kobe McCrary's 176 against Indiana State.

Fired....despite having the #3 ranked recruiting class so far this year. #5 ranked class last year. And #8 class in 2015. I expect these recent classes to give LSU a very good team in the upcoming years.

LSU has suffered some very tough losses. Lost by 2 at Wisconsin. Their win this week at Auburn was overturned on replay. Miles has an extremely high winning percentage overall and in conference play. But he's suffered 2 last last-second losses to Alabama over the last few years, as well as falling flat against them one time when they were supposed to contend for the championship. LSU expects to win national championships, so this is not acceptable.

We all love Claeys. But his contract (and having a new AD) makes it seem like this is a tryout year. I think Miles would be a good choice if we decide to make a change.

Tahyde said:

No Doubt...coaching does matter though. Kelly has lost that team. The way he dressed down the D coordinator last week on the sideline in front of the players...pretty weak. Do you think that the players are going to respect the D coordinator if the head coach doesn't in such a frontal and public way? not a chance. He is cooked

Click to expand...

Domer D coord fired today, former Gopher coach Greg Hudson assumes the DC for the Irish.

Boye Mafe does a bit of everything in dominating defensive performance Friday. One of the most impressive games by a single defender I have seen in a while.

https://minnesota.rivals.com/news/mafe-is-incredible-in-hopkins-victory-over-edina

Hopefully saner heads will prevail this time.

http://www.startribune.com/preserva...-save-steel-grain-elevators-near-u/394747751/

“They represent an era of experimentation, trying to get away from wood elevators that were more combustible,” Amel said. “So this was the first attempt at doing nonflammable, noncombustible elevator design.”

He said they could be reused for a variety of purposes, including data storage, a heat and energy plant, or student housing. (me: data storage?)

From my interview this evening with Landrews. Check it out as he detailed his trip to Minnesota this weekend and his decision to commit.

https://minnesota.rivals.com/news/landrews-i-m-ready-to-play-for-the-gophers

The new maroon maroon stripe around the outside of the field looked great this week! It was the first game at TCF Bank Stadium they did this, I noticed right away, and thought it was a nice touch!

Link: Minnesota in a class of its own for Kendrick Green

Just got off the phone with Co-Lin Safety Recruit Jaquarius Landrews and I can confirm that he has indeed decided to flip his commitment from Mississippi State to Minnesota. Story will be up shortly.

Reports from Iowa City today are that leading wide receiver Matt Vandeberg broke his foot at practice today and will miss several weeks of action. He leads the Hawkeyes in receptions (19) yards (284), and receiving touchdowns (3).

So I was able to check out the Penn State Michigan replay from Saturday as it was on YouTube. Honestly, the game was over short after the opening kick off as Penn State was completely dominated, especially in the trenches.

Observations:
-Penn State has really nice skill players at QB, RB, TE and WR, but because the offensive line resembled the turnstiles at TCF Bank Stadium. Trace McSorely was running for his life all game long, and was sacked too many times to count.
-Saquan Barkely, the running back for Penn State, is one of the most dynamic players in the country, but there really wasn't too many holes for him to run through. Barkely finished with 68 yards rushing on 15 carries and had seven catches for 77 yards.
-Michigan's offense did just about anything they pleased against a borderline depleted Penn State defense. Penn State is so incredibly low on linebackers because of injury and suspension. All three starting linebackers are out with injuries right now, with at least one of them done for the season. They lost another backup to injury last week and had one ejected for a bad targeting call on the refs part.
-They were forced to take a redshirt off a true freshman who is only 215 lbs and in an ideal world would certainly not have to see the field this season.
-Michigan's defense right now is absolutely terrifying. This staff has done a great job recruiting blue chip athletes and combining them with the talented returners left over from the Brady Hoke era.
-This team is mean, physical as hell and plays almost arrogant under Jim Harbaugh. They went for it on fourth down four different times, and a couple times in situations where most teams definitely punt.
-They play bump and run coverage on the outside and their defensive linemen can flat get off the ball and get after the quarterback. McSorely had barely any time to throw all day long and at one point you had to wonder why he was still in the game because his offensive line could not protect him one bit.
-Jabrill Peppers is one of the most dynamic players in the country. Nearly returned his second punt return of the season for a touchdown but ran into the turf monster at the seven yard line. He blitzes, helps in run support, can lock up receivers, and fights off blocks. So talented, you can bet that the redshirt sophomore will not be spending any more seasons in Ann Arbor after this one and will be headed to the NFL.
-The talented Penn State receiving core was held to just five catches for 18 yards on the afternoon.

Michigan Offensive Yardage:
-49 total rushing attempts for 349 yards and six, that's right SIX touchdowns.
-Wilton Speight also threw for 189 yards and one touchdown.
-Amara Darboh led the team with seven catches for 44 yards.

What this means for Minnesota:
-Establish the run early, and don't stop attacking. Minnesota will need a really nice offensive performance on Saturday if they are going to beat Penn State, but the Nittany Lions defense is somewhat depleted, so this can definitely be possible.
-If Minnesota wins up front and Brooks/Smith/McCrary can get to the inexperienced linebackers in the second level it could be a long, long day for the Penn State run defense.
-Have to keep winning in the trenches and playing well up front. If Minnesota rushes for over 200 yards you have to think their chances of winning will be decent.
-Penn State has talented playmakers who can make you miss in space, so big plays need to be limited. Saquan Barkely is a load at running back and can make defenders miss in a phone booth. Need to focus on containing him.
-Pressure the quarterback! McSorely is an accurate passer who loves to take chances down the field and let his receivers win one on one battles. The more pressure Minnesota puts on him, the quicker they can get off the field. The offensive line was atrocious against Michigan. Limegrover certainly has his work cut out for him.
-Have to get off the field on third downs. Penn State knows they can attack this Minnesota secondary through the air, so the defensive backs have to be ready to make a lot of plays in the air.
-Penn State will be trying to redeem themselves in their Big Ten home opener next week for a fan base that will be desperate to get a win. Fans are already calling for head coach James Franklin's head, and a home loss to Minnesota would be devastating for the former national football powerhouse school.

This board is never better than Saturday evenings and Sunday's reading all the recaps of the weekend game. Lots of great reading and insight. Wish every weekend could be game weekend.
Go Gophers

There were no cases of the "Dropsies" yesterday.

In fact, it was quite the opposite. There were some great catches made yesterday by our RB', WR's, and TE's.

As disappointed as I was watching the defensive pursuit angles, I was so happy to see the great route running and hands of the receiving corps !!!

Kudos! We need more of that during the conference season.

I don't think it has been released yet, but after looking at the slate of games that week, wouldn't it be a surprise if it wasn't at 2:30? Could it possibly be a night game?

STP is increasingly stuck on his personal hobby horse--#7's ball placement--STP repeats himself over and over again and drains all of the fun out of watching Leidner's obvious improvement: (64.5% passing, only 1 INT through 3 games, great running, good decision making, successful line audibles, etc.)

Instead, he complains and criticizes and wrings his hands and frets. To STP, everything boils down to how Leidner's ball placement isn't on par with what NFL coaches demand or what is ideal for the system of (insert Texas born NFL/power 5 QB coach here) that STP has rubbed elbows with at one point or another.

Mitch went 16-20 and you are obsessing about his ball placement? And yes, I acknowledge that his ball placement was off on 3-4 crossing routes today which cost us yards. But ya know, what? This isn't the NFL and 16-20 is a helluva lot better than what most CFB QBs do.

Mitch is ranked in the top 3 for Big 10 QBs on pro football focus. His QBR and adjusted QBR are high.

STP, how about I acknowledge you're right? Mitch doesn't place the ball on the money virtually all the time like DeShaun Watson or Andrew Luck.

But do you know how many FBS squads would KILL to have Mitch under center right now? A lot.

So how bout we agree that Mitch isn't perfect, nor will he win the Heisman troph 'cause holy $*&# why would I wanna hear you complain about ball placement EVERY. SINGLE. WEEK?!?

So please, vote in this poll and send a message to Scott Weiland of GI*

*I enjoy many of STP's posts. This is not meant to disparage STP. But at this point STP's complaining about ball placement sounds like nails on a chalkboard to me.

http://www.espn.com/college-footbal...plans-coach-again-following-firing-lsu-tigers

Les Miles would have 'difficult time' not being a coach

114-34 record..and they fire a coach.

1. Mitch, did you see that defensive back standing there on your throw to Smith? Nice throw if so.
2. Coach Johnson, what is it you are seeing on the Wolitarsky sweeps that make you chose him?
3. Shannon Brooks. How much will it cost for you to stay here 4 years?

Is he still Golden, or did he flip back to Mississippi State?

The pro who got me interested & kept me interested in golf (until it got cool for the masses)...

If the defense doesn't perk up, will Claeys help out? I remember Gutekunst had a lousy defensive coordinator. He would take over for a week, and they'd do better. Then he'd go back to letting the guy screw up. It got him fired.

Minnesota offered 2018 Cedar Falls, Iowa point guard AJ Green yesterday on an unofficial visit. He's the No. 130 player in the class and holds offers from North Dakota, Northern Iowa, and South Dakota State.

Les Miles is out at LSU and I think Ed Orgeron is going to be named interim coach at the least.. OC co O-coordinator Cam Cameron out as well. Interesting to see if Orgeron gets the job permanently.

I think Brian Kelly is on the hot seat with the loss to Duke, the way they played against Michigan State with all that talent, and losses on the horizon, IMHO. I see him getting canned, as well.. That will be interesting to see who they want.. I guarantee Notre Dame will want a big name but the question will be if a big name wants Notre Dame.. Urban Meyer said a long time ago that Notre Dame was his dream job but I dont think he will get it any better than he has it at Ohio State. I am sure Chris Peterson's name will come up though he is a West Coast guy.. Same with David Shaw at Stanford. Maybe one of the Stoops brothers or even Bo Pelini. Maybe offer Mark Dantonio. Buttface may want to come back to the midwest or Ferentz. Tom Herman though I dont think he would leave Texas. Lou Holtz at 80 years old(Just kidding). Maybe Marc Trestman?? Pat Fitzgerald is a good Irish Catholic name. Interesting chain of events if it happens, which I think it will happen. I dont think anyone would leave but i would guess Notre Dame will inquire about at least some of those names.

2016 is the year of the Gopher.

I LOVE where our team is coming into the big10 season. I can see what Bart Miller is doing with our O-line, and I love it! They've gotten better all year. Our running game is going to be bad-ass with our o-line push, Beebe, and our 3 stud RB's. Mitch is playing the best in his career, Wolitarski is this years KJ Maye, and Woz & T Johnson are emerging. Lingen will get healthy...this offense is going to be legit.

Our D is too well coached to not figure things out. Our DT's are as good as anyone, our LB's can all run and hit. Travis is a stud.

Our Special Teams are solid

Most importantly, we're pretty damn healthy overall. Would be nice to get Lingen back, Still would be welcomed back, as would Coughlin. We're going to get Calhoun back too. At this point last year, we had like 12 guys out. Things are looking great on the injury front! WIth the suspensions, we need our CB's healthy, I almost got sick when I thought Shenault was getting a targeting call in the 4th quarter, that would have held him out of the 1st half at PSU.

It's the year of the Gopher, can't wait for the Penn St win this week, and then to come home and piss pound Iowa.

For those watching the game on TV, the announcers talked about what I have been saying numerous times today.

Mitch is a leader. He is a grinder. I love his leadership.

That said, he is so damn good at the decisions on read options, but he just can't put the ball in the right place with his passes. That pass play wheel route to Smith was beautiful. It should have been a TD but it was thrown short. The couple 3rd down passes that were to the flats, of Mitch just leads the route runner, and hits them in stride, we get 8 yards not 3. He had a couple completions to the TE where a good pass is 20 extra yards if the TE can stay in stride.

I like Mitch. I am grateful he is a Gopher. He is not though, a top tier B10 QB. He is who most of us thought he is.