*Health- I felt like there were 3 positions where health/injuries could make a big difference in how good we are. QB, DT (specifically Richardson), and OT. I was worried about Campion having to shift back to tackle, and how that would weaken our line. It ends up that we are down 2 of our top 3 OT's (assuming Campion is top back up), and that is very concerning if Campion is out long. Lauer was clearly limited and had little side to side mobility.
*3 plays/calls were huge- These have been identified but the early blind-sided sack/fumble that led to an easy, early TD; the fumble of Rodrick at the 1-2 yard line; and then the terrible no call on the fumble by Boykin which would have given us the ball in TCU territory were all big blows in the first half leaving the Gophers to try and play catch up the rest of the way. Easily a 14 point swing, and likely a 17 point swing in a game we lost by 6. If any of those 3 had been altered, momentum could have changed things in a close game. (I recognize TCU probably had some coulda/woulda/shoulda moments as well, but the 3 above should not have happened).
*In hindsight- It's a little painful to think this way, but had the Gophers realized a little earlier that Lauer could not effectively play, and made the Pirsig adjustment . . . the early confidence building turnover for TCU would not have occurred.
*Young contributors- Many bright spots by the freshmen and true freshmen. Huff had some great plays and most importantly had a good feel for the game (demonstrated by his read of the screen). Rodney Smith is going to be a good one. Hardin had a big cover play/hit on a punt. Still got a lot of run and will make some plays if given a chance.
*Ace- I have a feeling this guy is going to make some big plays this year. I know he practiced well, but I think the coaches were waiting to see how he fared under the lights for the first time, and he seemed to have a knack for big plays.
*Defense- I think there is some serious potential of shutting down some teams based upon what I saw last night. Yes, we gave up some solid runs up the middle, but realize that our formations and calls were picking their poison, and we rarely had even 7 in the box. Richardson and going to cause havoc with a lot of teams interior, and will collapse the line. Our db's faced the toughest challenge of the year, and played pretty well.
*Injuries part 2- Other than the unfortunate injuries to start the game with, I didn't notice any other injuries during the game and crossing fingers. Forgot to mention on OT injuries/depth that A. Mayes was also in a white jersey. Anybody see other injury concerns?
*Leidner- He already has been tarred and feathered by many and wasn't playing well enough to win the game by himself. However, if you had been told before the game that Mitch would throw for around 225 yards, no interceptions, no fumbles that were his fault, and pass at over a 60% clip against TCU's defense . . . I'm guessing most would have been thrilled. That is enough to manage and win most games. He didn't throw for over 60%, but with at least 2 easy drops, a couple more that went through hands, if only 2 of those catches were made, the percentages change fast. IMO, he had about 4-5 bad throws, and needs to lower that number to 1-2 that don't lead to interceptions. But, need to remember that all qb's throw bad throws in a game and Boykin had 3 or so himself. Can you imagine the pitch forks that would be out if Mitch had overthrown a wide open guy for a missed TD?
The two areas that were concerning with Mitch for me was his ball seemed to be more wobbly than even last year on any of his long throws. Not sure what the deal is there. Also, I thought his running was way less aggressive, which may have been in part due to the coaching on extra ball security, but last year, he would have had 15-20 more yards on the lanes he had last night. Overall, he could have played better, but the focus on the loss should be spread around a lot more than it is.
*3 plays/calls were huge- These have been identified but the early blind-sided sack/fumble that led to an easy, early TD; the fumble of Rodrick at the 1-2 yard line; and then the terrible no call on the fumble by Boykin which would have given us the ball in TCU territory were all big blows in the first half leaving the Gophers to try and play catch up the rest of the way. Easily a 14 point swing, and likely a 17 point swing in a game we lost by 6. If any of those 3 had been altered, momentum could have changed things in a close game. (I recognize TCU probably had some coulda/woulda/shoulda moments as well, but the 3 above should not have happened).
*In hindsight- It's a little painful to think this way, but had the Gophers realized a little earlier that Lauer could not effectively play, and made the Pirsig adjustment . . . the early confidence building turnover for TCU would not have occurred.
*Young contributors- Many bright spots by the freshmen and true freshmen. Huff had some great plays and most importantly had a good feel for the game (demonstrated by his read of the screen). Rodney Smith is going to be a good one. Hardin had a big cover play/hit on a punt. Still got a lot of run and will make some plays if given a chance.
*Ace- I have a feeling this guy is going to make some big plays this year. I know he practiced well, but I think the coaches were waiting to see how he fared under the lights for the first time, and he seemed to have a knack for big plays.
*Defense- I think there is some serious potential of shutting down some teams based upon what I saw last night. Yes, we gave up some solid runs up the middle, but realize that our formations and calls were picking their poison, and we rarely had even 7 in the box. Richardson and going to cause havoc with a lot of teams interior, and will collapse the line. Our db's faced the toughest challenge of the year, and played pretty well.
*Injuries part 2- Other than the unfortunate injuries to start the game with, I didn't notice any other injuries during the game and crossing fingers. Forgot to mention on OT injuries/depth that A. Mayes was also in a white jersey. Anybody see other injury concerns?
*Leidner- He already has been tarred and feathered by many and wasn't playing well enough to win the game by himself. However, if you had been told before the game that Mitch would throw for around 225 yards, no interceptions, no fumbles that were his fault, and pass at over a 60% clip against TCU's defense . . . I'm guessing most would have been thrilled. That is enough to manage and win most games. He didn't throw for over 60%, but with at least 2 easy drops, a couple more that went through hands, if only 2 of those catches were made, the percentages change fast. IMO, he had about 4-5 bad throws, and needs to lower that number to 1-2 that don't lead to interceptions. But, need to remember that all qb's throw bad throws in a game and Boykin had 3 or so himself. Can you imagine the pitch forks that would be out if Mitch had overthrown a wide open guy for a missed TD?
The two areas that were concerning with Mitch for me was his ball seemed to be more wobbly than even last year on any of his long throws. Not sure what the deal is there. Also, I thought his running was way less aggressive, which may have been in part due to the coaching on extra ball security, but last year, he would have had 15-20 more yards on the lanes he had last night. Overall, he could have played better, but the focus on the loss should be spread around a lot more than it is.
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