Gophers Football – Page 241 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

U Wants ‘First Punch’ Against Iowa

Posted on November 7, 2014November 7, 2014 by David Shama

Anyone who saw last year’s dominating win by Iowa over the Gophers at TCF Bank Stadium knows the Hawkeyes were more physical than Minnesota. The score, 23-7, showed domination and so did the statistics including 246 rushing yards for the Hawkeyes and just 30 for the Gophers.

“They out physicaled us,” said Gophers guard Zac Epping. “We know that and we know that’s what we gotta do this year. We gotta come out swinging, be the people that throw the first punch and get the ‘W’ that way.”

The Gophers have started slow in their last two games but perhaps the program’s intense rivalry with Iowa will cure that. Epping said the Gophers were “flat” against Illinois, a Big Ten bottom feeder that upset Minnesota in Champaign on October 25.

Iowa won the “Floyd of Rosedale” border rival trophy the last two years. “Yeah, it’s definitely one of the biggest games,” Epping said. “That’s one of the games where you look at the beginning of the year saying, ‘When do we play Iowa?’ ”

Epping grew up in Wisconsin but remembered a 2002 incident with the Hawkeyes that still rubs Gophers fans the wrong way. After Iowa’s win in the Metrodome, Hawkeye fans tore down a goal post and tried to carry pieces out of the building.

The memory stokes Epping’s emotions. “Yeah, it’s just something you think about and you just can’t let’em do it.”

Last year Wisconsin players tried to symbolically chop a goal post at TCF Bank Stadium with “Paul Bunyan’s Axe.” Gophers players this fall are wearing sweatshirts proclaiming “No one chops our goal posts down but us.”

The Gophers won the “Little Brown Jug” earlier this year with a victory over Michigan. Tomorrow presents an opportunity to win “Floyd”—the bronze pig—and later this month comes a chance to own the axe for the first time since 2003. Those are the Gophers’ most prized rivalry trophies and Minnesota hasn’t captured all three in one season since 1967.

When wide receiver KJ Maye was asked about winning back “Floyd,” he mentioned all three trophies. “It would mean a lot because we actually have a legit chance to win all the trophy games this year and that’s something we take pride in.”

Depending on your viewpoint the next four Saturdays are much anticipated—or dreaded—by Gophers fans. For many months anyone with knowledge about the team’s schedule has known the last four teams on the schedule present the most challenging stretch of games.

Except for TCU, no previous opponent on the schedule is comparable to the teams upcoming: Iowa, Ohio State, Nebraska and Wisconsin. They are four of the Big Ten’s better teams and certainly superior to the six opponents the Gophers have defeated in building a 6-2 overall record—3-1 in Big Ten games.

A program insider said the Gophers’ “margin for error is razor thin” for the remaining games. Iowa, Ohio State, Nebraska and Wisconsin have superior overall talent, and the last three teams are nationally ranked. The discrepancy between Minnesota and those programs is most glaring in comparisons of the offenses.

Minnesota defeated three mediocre teams during the nonconference schedule and in the fourth nonleague game was dominated in a 30-7 loss to now top 10 ranked TCU. The Gophers were held to under 100 yards rushing, gained just 268 yards in total offense and were three of 16 on third down conversions.

At times the Gophers offense has been productive in Big Ten games but it has sputtered, too. That’s an appropriate word to use in referring to the unexpected 28-24 loss to lowly Illinois when the Gophers completed just 12 of 30 passes and couldn’t make enough big plays in the fourth quarter to win.

Inconsistency by the offensive line, wide receivers and quarterback Mitch Leidner have put more pressure on the Gophers defense and special teams to make big plays. The Gophers rank 10th among Big Ten teams in total offense averaging 356.5 yards per game. Minnesota is last in passing at 140.5 yards a game.

Offensive coordinator Matt Limegrover refers to the offense as a “work in progress” but said it is better than a year ago. “I don’t think we’re far enough along that we can completely, week in and week out, say…we’re going to be able to (go) against the better teams in the conference and dominate a game and score 40 points.”

Iowa this Saturday and Ohio State a week later will be the last home games of the season. That’s an edge for the Gophers who will particularly be inspired to play against Iowa, 6-2 overall and 3-1 in the Big Ten. Minnesota also has an advantage having a bye on the schedule last Saturday. Extra preparation time for Jerry Kill and his staff is a plus, and so, too, is the additional rest for players recovering from injuries and weary legs.

Iowa is the most likely win remaining for the Gophers. The two programs mirror each other, led by conservative coaches who try to minimize mistakes and emphasize defense. The Gophers and Iowa have comparable defenses, and Minnesota’s unit might even be better. The Gophers may rate a minimal edge in special teams but the difference between the offenses looks dramatic.

Iowa’s offensive line deserves the nod over Minnesota’s. The Hawkeyes are led by tackle Brandon Scherff who is a coveted NFL draft choice. That line opened up a lot of running room last week in Iowa’s impressive 48-7 win over Northwestern, with Hawkeyes runners gaining 221 yards as part of a well balanced offense. Iowa’s passing ranks fifth in the Big Ten averaging 244.9 yards per game. “I think by far they’re the best line we’ve played all year,” said Gophers defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys.

Maybe the Gophers offense will have a breakout day against Iowa like the Hawkeyes experienced last Saturday versus Northwestern. That would sure help take some pressure off the “razor thin” mantra.

Worth Noting

Iowa received a verbal commitment on Sunday from a Texas high school player the Gophers had interest in, according to a story Monday by Steve Batterson for Qctimes.com. Wide receiver Jerminic Smith, from Garland High School in Garland Texas, has been rated No. 145 in the Texas 150, a ranking of the state’s top high school seniors.

The Gophers-Hawkeyes rivalry is on the minds of many Minnesotans, from University of Minnesota students to Gophers radio analyst Darrell Thompson. The student section at TCF Bank Stadium was chanting its well-known “We Hate Iowa” back in September. Thompson, the Gophers’ all-time leading rusher, eats bacon everyday this week preparing for the battle for the pig.

Speculation has been the Iowa-Minnesota game will sell out by now but apparently the Gophers’ surprise loss at Illinois, along with $75 tickets and a chilly weather forecast means not all of the 52,525 seats at TCF Bank Stadium are gone yet. Although Iowa has no professional sports to compete against, the Hawkeyes have only one home sellout this season in 70,585 seat capacity Kinnick Stadium.

Gophers senior offensive guard Zac Epping knows how to play through injury and pain. He has started 42 consecutive games. He also started every game as a sophomore, junior and senior at Tremper High School in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Steve Simon, who won this week’s election for Secretary of State, is the son of former Minneapolis sports agent Ron Simon whose clients included Kent Hrbek and Paul Molitor. Ron wrote a book more than 20 years ago that detailed his negotiating strategies and stories about his clients.

The biggest MIAC football game of the season is tomorrow when Bethel, 7-1 overall and in 6-0 league play, meets Saint John’s, 7-1 and 5-1, in Collegeville. A Bethel win will mean a second consecutive outright MIAC title. If the Johnnies win, the two teams will go into the last Saturday of the season on November 15 tied for the lead. Bethel has won 15 consecutive MIAC games.

Saint John’s ranks second in the MIAC with 248.5 yards per game rushing, while Bethel is fourth at 193.4. The Royals’ run defense is first in the league (107.6 yards per game allowed) and Saint John’s is third (138.8). The Johnnies have the best scoring defense (13.6 points allowed per game) and Bethel is third (17.1).

The Gophers basketball team won its exhibition opener last night at Williams Arena, 95-68 over UMD. The Gophers shot 58.5 percent from the field and their active defense limited the Bulldogs to 37.5 percent. Junior college transfer guard Carlos Morris impressed with a team high 23 points as did senior center Elliott Eliason who grabbed 16 rebounds in only 22 minutes. UMD had lost on Saturday night to Notre Dame by 17 points.

With the Timberwolves intent on limiting the minutes of starting center Nikola Pekovic to avoid injuries, second-year backup Gorgui Dieng becomes even more important to team success. Wolves assistant coach David Adelman coached Dieng as a rookie in summer league in 2013 and has seen him improve, even since the beginning of training camp this year.

“You can just see that the NBA game is slowing down for him, which is the most important thing,” Adelman told Sports Headliners. “You start seeing things where he’s actually making decisions instead of reacting.”

Dieng was impressive toward the end of last season when he averaged 12 points and 11.3 rebounds in the final 18 games. His attributes include shot blocking and he had five blocks in his first career start last season. Adelman raves about Dieng’s timing when blocking shots.

“It’s incredible. I would say there are probably 10 guys in the league that have that, especially where he is chasing a guard or a perimeter player. His first jump is so quick.”

Adelman said Dieng is “close” to being an upper echelon NBA defender already. With long arms, timing and athleticism, the 6-11 Dieng will some day be expected to become “captain” of the team’s defense with an understanding of his assignments and those of all four teammates, according to Adelman.

The Timberwolves made a trade during the 2013 draft to acquire Dieng in the first round. Has he exceeded expectations? “I don’t think so,” Adelman said. “That’s why we drafted him. We saw something special in him. I think his progression is right where we thought it would be.”

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Kill Thankful for UM Regent Dave Larson

Posted on November 5, 2014November 5, 2014 by David Shama

University of Minnesota Regent Dave Larson, who died unexpectedly late last month, used to telephone me about Gophers football. I never heard him utter one word of doubt or negativity about coach Jerry Kill.

“He had my back,” Kill said after a public memorial service at TCF Bank Stadium last Saturday.

Larson telephoned me last spring and started going through the Gophers 2014 football schedule. He projected Minnesota winning one game after another. With his predictions, the Gophers would now be undefeated and in the conversation for the four-team college football playoff in January.

Larson met Kill shortly after the coach came here from Northern Illinois. Larson loved football and played the sport in high school in Glenwood, Minnesota. He was too small to play for the Gophers but he became a generous supporter of the football program and the University where he earned a B.A. in political science in 1966.

What Kill told Larson after he inherited the Gophers program in late 2010 was that academics among his players were a mess. The collective GPA performance was so poor the Gophers were in danger of losing scholarships, per an NCAA policy that monitors grades. “We had seven kids who were in bad shape,” Kill said.

Larson told Kill he wanted to help and asked what was needed to improve the schoolwork of the football players. Larson, who had been one of Cargill’s top executives until retiring in 2010, was devoted to philanthropy and he gave $500,000 to the football program to pay for tutors, laptops and also enhancements to the weight room.

The collective academic performance of the football program has jumped from a GPA of about 2.1 to 3.0 and better in recent semesters. Kill doesn’t hold back his gratitude for what Larson did.

“He set the standard,” Kill said. “He never wanted credit. He’s the reason period (for improvement). He saved some lives.”

Now the Gophers Athletic Department has an ambitious project to fundraise $190 million to improve facilities including a new indoor football building. I know Larson was supportive of the entire project including better football resources that can make the Gophers more comparable to other programs in the Big Ten. I suspect he planned on being a major project donor.

In 2008 Larson endowed a scholarship to assist middle-class families with the rising costs of education. The result has been 350 Larson Scholars have attended the University, pursuing their educational goals and having peace of mind about college expenses.

Shona Nagel, one of the scholarship recipients, spoke at Larson’s memorial service. She told the audience of a Larson mantra to the students, “Do well and do good.”

Then she recalled how Larson punctuated his closing remarks to the students by thrusting a finger in the air and exclaiming, “Go Gophers!”

University of Minnesota president Eric Kaler also spoke at the service and is in “awe” of Larson’s commitment to philanthropy. “His passion to this University was unmatched,” Kaler said.

Larson’s influence is felt at Cargill too where his business expertise, leadership and mentoring helped make the Minnesota company a powerhouse in the feed business. His leadership and caring will live on through the many people he touched in his life including University of Minnesota graduates who had doors opened for them at Cargill.

Former Gophers running back Amir Pinnix is one of the many former football players at Cargill. “He was a mentor, a friend, a coach,” Pinnix said. “Dave actually got me started in my Cargill career. He had very strong leadership values and believed in helping others out.”

Kill said it was a “tremendous honor” to eulogize his friend, Dave Larson. “I will miss him. We have to step to the plate because we’re representing a guy who gave us our start.”

Larson’s widow Janis and sons Lance and Reid spoke at the service. They gave a heartfelt thank you to all in attendance for their support. I am sure those who heard their words were grateful for knowing Dave and what he did as a business and University of Minnesota leader, philanthropist, and friend and mentor to so many.

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Here’s a Gopher Tale You May Not Believe

Posted on October 23, 2014October 23, 2014 by David Shama

Steve Nestor admits if he tried to sabotage the University of Illinois Homecoming Parade this week he likely would be thrown in jail. But back in 1967 when he and a buddy crashed the parade, law enforcement gave the Minnesotans the green light.

Nestor was a student athletic trainer for the Gophers football team. His buddy, Steve Vegoe, was a gate guard at the team’s practice field. Neither student was part of the team’s official travel party so Nestor suggested the two of them drive down to Champaign, Illinois for the Saturday, October 14 game.

The boys left Minneapolis early on the morning of October 13 and were excited to see what the Gophers could do against the Illini in the team’s first Big Ten Conference game of the season. Hopes were high for the Gophers who had a 2-1 record in nonconference games with the only loss a 7-0 defeat at Nebraska against a Cornhuskers team that was a national power.

Nestor and Vegoe arrived in Champaign early on that Friday afternoon. It didn’t take long for Nestor to hit on an idea that added a lot of excitement to the weekend. He and Vegoe headed over to the student union and it was there that Nestor picked up a copy of the school newspaper. He saw the Homecoming Parade route published in the newspaper. “The light bulb went on,” said Nestor who now owns a radio station in Glenwood, Minnesota.

Nestor knew more than a little about marching bands and parades. He also liked a little mischief, so he imagined positioning his 1965 bright red Oldsmobile F-85 in the Illini Homecoming Parade. “I knew from marching in the high school band that the band always took longer to turn the (street) corners and there usually ended up being an opening between whoever was in front of the band and them,” he said.

Nestor and Vegoe went to a drugstore to buy the materials needed to make two signs that proclaimed: “Golden Gophers Rose Bowl Bound.” They taped the signs on the car’s front doors and were ready to join the parade.

“I got in an alley that was right after this corner so when the third unit of the parade went by me I pulled out onto the main drag,” Nestor said. “We were right behind that third unit, with the band coming behind us.”

So there the boys were—driving and waving in the Illini’s Homecoming Parade—going down the street in this car with Minnesota license plates and signage bragging about the Gophers’ intent to play in the 1968 Rose Bowl. “I don’t think we had gone even half a block and a guy pulled up on a motorcycle,” Nestor said. “It was a university policeman.”

The officer gestured for Nestor to roll down his window. The cop told the party crashers that if they continued on the parade route the F-85 wouldn’t be welcomed along fraternity row where students would likely tip the car over. Then came a surprise offer from the policeman.

“You got enough balls to be in this parade, I am gonna ride with you the whole way,” the officer said.

“Each of us (Nestor and Vegoe) had all we could do to keep from laughing,” Nestor remembered. “I said, ‘Well, thanks a lot.’ ”

The “Minnesota unit” continued on the parade route and at one point the car was about to approach school dignitaries including the University of Illinois president. “They’re all waving wildly at the queen and this and that,” Nestor said. “Then all of a sudden it was silence. They all stared at us. Right out of a movie—they’re looking at Gophers Rose Bowl bound!”

Nestor and Vegoe, like the other units in the parade, finished the route. Not only did they have a day to remember but so did the police officer. “Guys, that was beautiful,” he told Nestor and Vegoe.

And how did the Illinois-Minnesota game go the next day? Well, that had a happy ending, too, as the Gophers won 10-7 on their way to a final record of 8-2.

The Rose Bowl plan? Well, close but no roses for the Gophers who finished in a three-way tie for the Big Ten championship with Indiana and Purdue. The Hoosiers received the Rose Bowl nod because the Gophers and Boilermakers had more recently been to Pasadena for the big game.

This Saturday the Gophers will again be in Champaign to play the Illini. Like the 1967 team, the 2014 Gophers have just one loss. And, yes, it will be Homecoming on Saturday in Champaign.

Could there be a repeat of the parade escapade?

Nah, Nestor and Vegoe—he is a magazine writer living in Pennsylvania—won’t be travelling to Champaign this year. Illinois Homecoming officials can rest easy.

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