Observations on the victory over the Gophers, 41-24!

1-John Navarre is again making good decisions. We were 6 of 15 on 3rd down conversions, and he was 15 of 26 for 225 yards and 2 TDs. Bellamy had 5 catches for 50 yards and 1 TD, Joppru had 3 catches for 58 yards, and Edwards came up with 4 catches in the 2nd half for 75 yards and 1 TD. We had 22 first downs, and were ahead in time of possession by almost nine minutes. We punted only three times, and had 478 yards in total offense compared to the Gopher's 336.

2-9 red zone opportunities for 27 points (pathetic); Minnesota had five red zone opportunities for 24 points. We could easily have won this game by 40 or 50 points rather than 17, and this game is just another example of our conservative play style keeping inferior teams in the game. We never should have been tied in the 3rd quarter at 17. We took 7 penalties for 67 yards and that is way above our season average.

3-Our defense held the Gophers to 127 net rushing yards in 36 carries. Abdul-Khaliz was 17 of 36 for 181 yards. He was 7 of 16 in 3rd down conversions. We have forced 6 punts, and took advantage of one punt snap over the punter's head and a block by Pierre Woods for 2 TDs. Jackson had 19 carries for 89 yards. Antoine Burns has 7 catches for 69 yards. The Gophers had 23 first downs. Jon Shaw played a great first half with a pick in the end zone stopping a Gopher red zone opportunity plus a pass break up. Joe Sarantos came in to replace Kaufman (Carr said he may be done for the season), and had a pick. Diggs, Sarantos and Shaw led our defense with 7 tackles each. LeSueur also added an interception. We had six tackles for loss, and only one sack. Stevens had 6 tackles including two for loss and was in on the one sack with Orr. Massey had three tipped passes including the pick by Sarantos. We had 3 picks, and lost one fumble for a net of plus two in turnovers.

4-B.J. Askew had over 100 yards for his second week in a row plus 2 TDs, and finished with 126 yards on 11 carries (he got 59 on one play for a TD). Perry had 60 yards on 19 carries for one TD, and one fumble; he left with a rib injury in the second half. David Underwood had 43 yards in 13 carries, and Tim Bracken had 8 yards in 2 carries. We had 48 rushes for 253 yards for our best effort of the year.

5-Eli Ward was all over the place for the Gophers keeping them in the game. He had 18 tackles plus the fumble recovery, and a 28 yard pass catch on the fake punt.

6-Edwards must again be in Carr's doghouse probably for dropped passes. I'm not sure if he started, Gonzalez may have got the start. He did respond after his first drop for 4 catches including one TD.

7-Finley did a nice job punting, but was only two of four field goal attempts. We thought he was going to give us some consistency, but obviously he isn't much better than Brabbs or Nienberg. Our kick returns are pretty decent with LeSueur; our punt returns are mediocre with Markus Curry. Our punt rush is improving, but overall our special teams are not nearly as strong as we expect to compete for a Big Ten and National Championship.

8-I feel very confident we'll beat Wisconsin at home especially after they were beat today by Illinois. We'll go into Columbus on November 23rd with a 9-2 record while they'll be 12-0 after beating Illinois next week. They'll be ranked 2nd and slated to go against Miami-Florida in the Fiesta Bowl if they beat us for the national championship. We'll have them just where we want them, cocky and confident. As we could see today against Purdue, and last week against Penn State and the week before against Wisconsin, they are beatable. We will still have to play a great game to beat them: no major mistakes, win the turnover battle, capitalize on turnovers and red zone opportunities, limit penalties, etc. Neither team will be able to run the football very well against the other; it should boil down to a battle between Krentzel and Navarre: 3rd down conversions, red zone points, the kicking game, time of possession, etc.

9-I don't know why, but we play Minnesota again next year in Minnesota. Are we trying to give them incentive to take the jug back?

10-Injury report seems to indicate that Shazor has turf toe to limit his playing time, Cato June was in for two plays and is expected back next week although Shaw deserves the start. Sarantos will probably start in place of Kaufman who looks done for the season, and he is backed by John Spytek. McClintock is backing up Diggs and Casseus is backing up Hobson; however, we are really thin at linebacker, and may have to consider taking someone off redshirt (Oluigbo, Harris or Thompson) unless things stabilize. Markus Curry is backing up LeSueur and Jackson with Brandon Williams there. June and Shazor will probably back up Shaw and Drake with Julius Curry still out. We are also razor thin at safety with Jacob Stewart probably our next backup. Stevens and Orr seem to be the starters at DE with Rumishek, Kashama and Woods ready for playing time. Tackles are Lazarus and Bowman with Heuer back with Watson. On offense, Pape starts at left tackle with Morgan starting at right tackle. Stenavich is back and suited up, but didn't play; he practiced all week. Baas, Petruziello and Pearson start backed up by Lentz, Cristopfel and Henige. Solomon is backing up Morgan with Stenavich and Denay backing up Pape. Underwood and Bracken are backing up Perry along with Askew. We didn't see much of Sanderson at Minnesota, but Dudley was in at times. Avant is seeing more action at wide receiver with Gonzalez, but the starters are Edwards and Bellamy with Butler and Bell seeing action. Joppru is backup up by Massaquoi with Dubuc and Fisher ahead of Mingery, Spytek and Brackins at tight end.

Observations on the first half with the Gophers, 17-3!

1-John Navarre is again making good decisions. We are 4 of 8 on 3rd down conversions, and he is 9 of 16 for 132 yards and 1 TD to Bellamy. Bellamy has 5 catches for 50 yards and 1 TD, Joppru has 3 catches for 58 yards. We have 12 first downs, and are ahead in time of possession by almost three minutes. We have only punted twice including on the last play of the half. We have 226 net yards compared to the Gophers 97.

2-4 red zone opportunities for 17 points; Minnesota has two red zone opportunities (a gift fumble by Perry) for 3 points. We could (and should) easily be ahead 28-3. This game is just another example of our conservative play style keeping inferior teams in the game.

3-Our defense has held the Gophers to 6 net yards in 15 carries. Abdul-Khaliz is 8 of 18 for 63 yards. We have forced 3 punts, and took advantage of one punt snap over the punter's head to capitalize for a TD in a gift red zone. Jackson has 10 carries for 34 yards. Antoine Burns has 4 catches for 29 yards. The Gophers have 7 first downs. Jon Shaw is playing a great first half with a pick in the end zone stopping a Gopher red zone opportunity plus a pass break up; we are finally getting somewhat better safety play with he and Drake back there (vs. June and Curry).

4-Perry has 50 yards on 16 carries for one TD, and one fumble. We have 21 rushes for 94 yards including another reverse by Bellamy, and some nice draws by Askew. Askew has 3 rushes for 25 yards.

5-Eli Ward is all over the place for the Gophers keeping them in the game. He has 10 tackles plus the fumble recovery, and a 28 yard pass catch on the fake punt.

6-Edwards must again be in Carr's doghouse. I'm not sure if he started, but Gonzalez may have got the start. About the only thing Edwards has done was draw a pass interference penalty towards the end of the half.

7-The Gophers get the ball first in the second half; we need to continue our great defensive play and stop them or get a turnover, then punch in another TD. I won't feel safe until we are at least 3 scores ahead.