Matt gave me the task to attempt the Gophers' rewind story this week, so I willingly accepted the task. I will admit I am not as adept at the bells and whistles as Matt is, but I will give it a shot. Hopefully, I can hold down the fort.
Two major themes jumped out at me as I re-watched the game and, unfortunately, I don't see either one of them improving enough to get the team back to what it was in Week 1 when they were basically a Hail Mary pass away from beating a top five team in the nation.
Outside of the quarterback, more on Mitch Leidner later, football starts and ends at the line of scrimmage. The Cornhuskers dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.
Offensively the line actually did a great job protecting the passer. Leidner was pressured early, but as the game wore on, the patchwork offensive line kept Leidner relatively clean. The run game, however, was a different story. The Gophers' identity was supposed to be the running game. We all know about the revolving door on the offensive line, and outside of the Purdue game consistency in the running game has been an issue for this team. They rushed for just 65 yards on Saturday. That is not how Minnesota is going to win football games. The Gophers averaged just 2.5 yards per carry.
To be fair, Nebraska was going to make the passing game beat them. Especially in the first half, the Huskers stacked eight men in the box daring Leidner to beat them. However, even in the second half, when the defense knew Minnesota had to pass the offensive line was not getting much push up front.
That brings me to the other side of the line of scrimmage – the defensive line. Outside of Theiren Cockran's sack, the Gophers did not generate a pass rush – especially when they brought just four. Nebraska quarterback Tommy Armstrong looked comfortable in the pocket and was able to pick and chose where he wanted to go with the ball. He was 18 for 26 and if not for solid play by the secondary, the 48 points the Huskers put up would have been much worse.
The front four and the linebackers seemed to be confused by the Nebraska running game all day. On some Nebraska's long runs the front seven got caught in unfortunate line slants that opened up huge running lanes for the running backs, or the linebackers would misread the play and run themselves out of the hole.
The Gophers front seven didn't tackle very well either. Especially in the first half, the defense could have gotten off the field on third down on two occasions if it would not have been for missed tackles.
Despite the lopsided loss, there were some things for the Gophers to build on as they enter the bi-week.
Leidner had a solid game throwing the ball. He looked comfortable in the pocket, moved well both by stepping up in the pocket and on the roll out. I felt the offensive line did a nice job protecting him but when they didn't, Leidner stood tall against the rush. His passing performance often came against an eight-man box, but for the first time all year, the Gophers were able to make a defense pay for committing so much to the run. To be fair, his first interception was either a bad overthrow or it was a case of Leidner throwing into double coverage. Either way it was his worst moment of the game.
Most of Leidner's success came underneath, but he did hit some nice deep throws. KJ Maye continues to be a reliable possession receiver. Drew Wolitarsky and Nate Wozniak also were reliable. It was nice to see wide receiver Eric Carter get involved in the passing game early. The sophomore showed his athleticism both by how solid he was in the open field on short throws, but also by being the one deep threat the offense seemed to have.
Despite being beat up, one group I felt played well – although statistics might not show it – was the secondary. They did give up some plays, but with the lack of a pass rush they were forced to cover much longer than they should have. Even when they gave up some plays, they were often right in position. Briean Boddy-Calhoun gave up a touchdown catch, but he could not have been in better position. Eric Murray gave up a deep ball in the second half, but the Huskers' receiver had to make a great play to bring it in. Jalen Myrick, like his teammates, was in great position on a deep completion in the first half.
Although they had to make more tackles in the running game than anyone would have hoped, the defensive backs tackled well most of the game. Murray was solid against both the run and pass and I liked Antonio Johnson's game as far as his tackling in the open field.
While much of the blame for the Gophers' underwhelming start has fallen on the quarterback position – often correctly – the loss to Nebraska highlighted to me the biggest problem facing the Gophers the rest of the way – the line of scrimmage. Until they start playing better on both sides of the ball, the Maroon and Gold are going to continue to be inconsistent and in my opinion – struggle to get that sixth win to become bowl eligible.
Two major themes jumped out at me as I re-watched the game and, unfortunately, I don't see either one of them improving enough to get the team back to what it was in Week 1 when they were basically a Hail Mary pass away from beating a top five team in the nation.
Outside of the quarterback, more on Mitch Leidner later, football starts and ends at the line of scrimmage. The Cornhuskers dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.
Offensively the line actually did a great job protecting the passer. Leidner was pressured early, but as the game wore on, the patchwork offensive line kept Leidner relatively clean. The run game, however, was a different story. The Gophers' identity was supposed to be the running game. We all know about the revolving door on the offensive line, and outside of the Purdue game consistency in the running game has been an issue for this team. They rushed for just 65 yards on Saturday. That is not how Minnesota is going to win football games. The Gophers averaged just 2.5 yards per carry.
To be fair, Nebraska was going to make the passing game beat them. Especially in the first half, the Huskers stacked eight men in the box daring Leidner to beat them. However, even in the second half, when the defense knew Minnesota had to pass the offensive line was not getting much push up front.
That brings me to the other side of the line of scrimmage – the defensive line. Outside of Theiren Cockran's sack, the Gophers did not generate a pass rush – especially when they brought just four. Nebraska quarterback Tommy Armstrong looked comfortable in the pocket and was able to pick and chose where he wanted to go with the ball. He was 18 for 26 and if not for solid play by the secondary, the 48 points the Huskers put up would have been much worse.
The front four and the linebackers seemed to be confused by the Nebraska running game all day. On some Nebraska's long runs the front seven got caught in unfortunate line slants that opened up huge running lanes for the running backs, or the linebackers would misread the play and run themselves out of the hole.
The Gophers front seven didn't tackle very well either. Especially in the first half, the defense could have gotten off the field on third down on two occasions if it would not have been for missed tackles.
Despite the lopsided loss, there were some things for the Gophers to build on as they enter the bi-week.
Leidner had a solid game throwing the ball. He looked comfortable in the pocket, moved well both by stepping up in the pocket and on the roll out. I felt the offensive line did a nice job protecting him but when they didn't, Leidner stood tall against the rush. His passing performance often came against an eight-man box, but for the first time all year, the Gophers were able to make a defense pay for committing so much to the run. To be fair, his first interception was either a bad overthrow or it was a case of Leidner throwing into double coverage. Either way it was his worst moment of the game.
Most of Leidner's success came underneath, but he did hit some nice deep throws. KJ Maye continues to be a reliable possession receiver. Drew Wolitarsky and Nate Wozniak also were reliable. It was nice to see wide receiver Eric Carter get involved in the passing game early. The sophomore showed his athleticism both by how solid he was in the open field on short throws, but also by being the one deep threat the offense seemed to have.
Despite being beat up, one group I felt played well – although statistics might not show it – was the secondary. They did give up some plays, but with the lack of a pass rush they were forced to cover much longer than they should have. Even when they gave up some plays, they were often right in position. Briean Boddy-Calhoun gave up a touchdown catch, but he could not have been in better position. Eric Murray gave up a deep ball in the second half, but the Huskers' receiver had to make a great play to bring it in. Jalen Myrick, like his teammates, was in great position on a deep completion in the first half.
Although they had to make more tackles in the running game than anyone would have hoped, the defensive backs tackled well most of the game. Murray was solid against both the run and pass and I liked Antonio Johnson's game as far as his tackling in the open field.
While much of the blame for the Gophers' underwhelming start has fallen on the quarterback position – often correctly – the loss to Nebraska highlighted to me the biggest problem facing the Gophers the rest of the way – the line of scrimmage. Until they start playing better on both sides of the ball, the Maroon and Gold are going to continue to be inconsistent and in my opinion – struggle to get that sixth win to become bowl eligible.
