As we continue the Big T1e1n Season, we’re giving tBBC readers the chance to gain insight into the teams and fans that the Buckeyes will be matching up with on Saturday.
We called “Red Rover”, and The Daily Gopher sent Jeffrick right over; check out the big brain on our boy Jay from yesterday’s post on their site. Eric also dropped some knowledge as a part of their podcast- you can click over to it or listen to it at the bottom of this post. The segment starts at about the 15:40 mark.
Onward…
Who is one guy on the offense offensive and defense we haven’t heard of but should know?
If you haven’t heard of Da’Jon McKnight, you will by the end of the game. If he’s not the best receiver in the Big Ten right now, he’s close. No really. He may not have the numbers to prove it (other than his conference leading 9 receiving TD’s), but McKnight is a 6’3 beast. Now that Brewster is gone, and Horton is the interim coach and not calling plays, the Gophers are throwing the ball a lot more, so McKnight’s numbers should go way up. Last week he treated Penn State’s secondary like every opposing offense treats us with 8 catches for 103 yards and 3 TD’s.
What unit/group is the best/most consistent this season? Which do you think is the worst?
The receivers are not just the Gophers best group, but are one of the two or three best in the Big Ten. Already mentioned McKnight, MarQueis Gray has adjusted nicely at the other wideout spot, Bryant Allen is a consistent slot guy, and Eric Lair is in line for 1st or 2nd team All-Big Ten (29 catches for 407 yds and 2 TD’s).
Worst? Yikes. Pick a unit on the defense. I’d have to go with the defensive line, since the Gophers are dead last in the country in sacks with a pitiful 3, and last in the Big Ten (and 101 in the nation) in rush defense. Here’s a fun game to play: do you think you and three of your friends could get a better pass rush than the Gophers D line? I say yes, but decide for yourselves Saturday night.
Has the Tim Brewster era caused Minnesota fans to re-adjust their expectations? If you could go back to always losing some games each year but consistently making a bowl game, would you be happy with that?
No. For a long explanation read a post we did on the topic back in September:
For the cliff notes version: we shouldn’t expect to compete on a level with Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State and Nebraska, but there’s no reason we can’t be one of the best of the next 8 Big Ten schools. That means consistently going to bowl games, occasionally going to New Year’s Day bowls, and once every 5 or 10 years being in the running for a Big Ten Title.
That’s the expectation here (and a reasonable one), and for proof, don’t even look at Iowa or Wisconsin: just look at Northwestern and Michigan State. It’s just going to take the right coach who can adapt to the limitations here, install offensive and defensive systems that work, and recruit kids to fit the system.
At this point in the season, is there still a real interest in the team to see how certain players develop or to see what victories can still be gained?
It’s fading fast. I was at the Penn State game last week, and despite an announced crowd of 48,000 (the place only holds 50,000), there was maybe 35,000 there (and that’s being generous). And keep in mind, this is only the second year of the new stadium. The building should be pretty full this week if for no other reason than Ohio State travels so well (I saw them play Washington a few years ago up in Seattle and was amazed how much red there was at that game), and it’s a night game, so people will have plenty of time to tailgate.
How has the new stadium affected game day atmosphere at Minnesota. Do you think it will lead to bigger and better things for the program?
It was great last year, but this year the crowd’s have declined along with the team’s record. Don’t get me wrong, it’s light years better than the Metrodome, but we need a good program in order to fill it.
We’ve got several coaching questions- Looking back, what are your feelings regarding the firing of Glen Mason?
Still believe it was the right decision. Mason’s life dream was to be the head coach right there in Columbus, and when he was passed over for Tressel, his effort dropped. His recruiting got worse, as did the on-field performance of the team. One thing that didn’t change? He was still a smug, smarmy, arrogant SOB who refused to recruit the home state (Minnesota doesn’t have a quantity of D1 athletes, but there’s quality every year. James Laurinaitis, who I think you’re familiar with, Larry Fitzgerald, and John Carlson are just three Minnesota kids Mase didn’t recruit. Others that Brewster missed are Michael Floyd, and some guy named Seantrell) and acted like he was beyond criticism.
The flaw in his firing was who it was done by (AD Joel Maturi) and when it was done (New Year’s Eve). Maturi clearly had noone in mind to replace Mason, and admits he had never even heard of Brewster. Yet somehow chose a career position coach who had never been a coordinator, let alone a head coach, at any level over guys like Charlie Strong (former DC at Florida, now HC at Louisville) and Lane Kiffin (who said, with a straight face, that Minnesota was a “dream job” since he went to high school here). MaliBuckeye Note- Well, it wouldn’t be the first “dream job” Kiffykins has sought in the last 13 months or so…
What do you believe is the first step (after hiring a new coach) towards improvement for the Gophers? What are your any expectations/wants for your next football coach?
Getting a president and AD who give a crap about a winning football team. President Bruiniks is retiring in June, and while he was instrumental in getting the new stadium built, he just didn’t care much about a winning football program. Same with Maturi, who is more concerned about a “well-rounded athletic department” (he likes to brag that we have 22 programs, and how good we are in all the ones that no one cares about and don’t mean anything to anybody). The University of Minnesota is not doing well financially, and as well all know, your football program pays the bills. If they’re not doing well, the athletic department’s not doing well. Hopefully the new president will care about football, and find us a new AD who does too. And one who knows how to hire a head coach.
Last week, we posted our list of “potential replacements“. Anyone on that list stand out to you? What are your current feelings on a certain “Cap’n Mike Leach”?
No A list candidate (Gary Patterson at TCU, Chris Petersen of Boise etc) is taking this job.
Leach and Al Golden are my top two choices of even semi-realistic candidates, but neither will be the head coach. Leach because the administration won’t offer him the job, and Golden because he’ll either be the next coach at Penn State or take a better job than the Gophers.
But yeah, I LOVE Leach. He would get us turned around in a hurry, and scare the bejeesus out of every DC in the Big Ten. Plus, think of all the pirate jokes and costumes we’d have. Alas, it’ll never happen.
According to Wikipedia, Goldy’s “appearance morphed over the years, and around the late 70s and early 80s, became more aggressive looking, but was revamped in 1986 when the athletics department was trying to change its image.” Do students embrace Goldy as their mascot, or is it more of a grudging acknowledgment?
As far as I know, fans- and especially the student section- LOVE Goldy! He’s one of the few things to look forward to at Gopher football games lately.
Basketball season is just around the corner- it’s almost Tubby Time! How excited are fans looking about some shooty hoops in Minnesota?
Yeah no pressure on Tubby, but not only is he coaching the only good team at Minnesota that anyone cares about, he’s coaching the only good team in the entire STATE of Minnesota that anyone cares about! Gopher football and hockey are awful, Favre has a busted ankle (unless he throws a TD and then it magically heals. Interception? Oooohh that ankle really hurts!), the Wild are terrible, and the Timberwolves? Good lord, there are D-league teams better than them. So Tubby is the only good team Minnesotans will get to watch between now and spring training, which is when the Twins will begin another division winning season only to be swept by the Yankees in the ALDS.
Minnesota sports- catch the fever!
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The Daily Gopher Podcast with tBBC’s Eric:
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