Golden Gophers – Page 156 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Coughlin Gets “Mr. Minnesota” Tag

Posted on November 21, 2019November 27, 2019 by David Shama

As the 9-1 Gophers prepare for their final regular season road game Saturday at Northwestern, it’s a reminder this fall’s drive for a Big Ten West Division championship has been led by many contributors, including seniors like defensive end Carter Coughlin, who are nearing the end of their careers.

Winston DeLattiboudere, a senior who is Minnesota’s other starting defensive end, singled out Coughlin for his leadership, referring to the former Eden Prairie all-stater as the “glue” helping to bond the team. Coughlin took a leadership role early in his career at Minnesota including taking teammates to the family cabin, a new experience for DeLattiboudere, who is from Baltimore.

DeLattiboudere calls Coughlin “Mr. Minnesota” because his teammate is knowledgeable about football, the Gophers and how things work in the state. “You can always go to Carter, and Carter will always help you out,” DeLattiboudere said.

Coughlin’s leadership is so fitting given his family legacy at the University of Minnesota. His father Robert Coughlin played football for the Gophers, as did his uncle Mike Moe and grandfather Tom Moe, who also was interim athletic director of the University of Minnesota’s Athletic Department from 1999-2002. Coughlin’s mom, Jennie (Moe) Coughlin, was a three-time all-conference tennis player for Minnesota.

That family history certainly played a role in Coughlin’s decision to turn down offers from other schools including powerhouse Ohio State to play at the U. As a high school junior Coughlin told Sports Headliners, “I am going to help build the (Gophers) program brick by brick,” Coughlin said. “I am completely invested in Minnesota and that’s my final decision.”

The “bricks” have been fitting nicely into place during Coughlin’s senior season with the program doing things that haven’t been accomplished for decades. Although injuries have been a problem this season, Coughlin was at his best in the November 9 upset win over No. 5 ranked Penn State. He had a career high eight tackles, with three tackles for loss and one sack.

Coming into the season Coughlin was a Phil Steele fourth team preseason All-American. After the season, there will liklely be Big Ten recognition, if not national honors. He has NFL potential and has been invited to the Senior Bowl in January as a possible next step to a pro career.

Worth Noting

With starting quarterback Tanner Morgan in concussion protocol, it raises the possibility Minnesota will have a new No. 1 Saturday against Northwestern. Head coach P.J. Fleck said the Gophers will prepare true freshmen backups Cole Kramer and Jacob Clark. He also said both could play Saturday.

Fleck will not be able to use Zack Annexstad, a starter part of last season who injured his foot in August and is still recovering. “He’s got about three to four weeks left, somewhere around there, and then he will be back,” Fleck said on his KFAN Radio show Tuesday.

It’s not known whether starting guard Curtis Dunlap, who didn’t play in last Saturday’s Iowa game, will return to the starting lineup for Northwestern.

When Badgers fans come to Minneapolis for the much anticipated Wisconsin-Minnesota football game November 30, some will head for the popular new Kollege Klub bar in Dinkytown. The KK Club opened earlier this year and is an expansion of the longtime KK venue in Madison.

No doubt ESPN College GameDay organizers have Minneapolis near or at the top of their potential destination list for November 30, with the Gophers and Badgers possibly playing for the Big Ten West Division title that day.

As of Tuesday afternoon, only several hundred tickets remained before the game sells out.

If Minnesota earns its way to the Big Ten title game in Indianapolis December 7, Gophers fans may travel in large numbers. A source at last Saturday’s Minnesota-Iowa game in Iowa City estimated 6,000 or more Gophers fans in attendance.

Most likely bowl invites in play for Minnesota with two games remaining on the regular season schedule are the Rose, Citrus and Orange.

The Gophers athletic department is aggressively promoting men’s single game hockey tickets, with online advertising referencing $10 tickets.

Twins president Dave St. Peter speaks to the CORES lunch group Thursday, January 9 at the Bloomington Event Center, 1114 American Blvd. More information is available by contacting Jim Dotseth, dotsethj@comcast.net. CORES is an acronym for coaches, officials, reporters, educators and sports fans.

The Twin Cities-based WCHA office is proud of the latest USCHO rankings with the Minnesota State men No. 1, and the Gophers No. 1 among women’s teams. The rankings by USA Today/USA Hockey magazine have the same teams in the No. 1 spots. This is the second consecutive week the Mavericks and Gophers have topped the rankings, per WCHA men’s commissioner Bill Robertson.

Minnesota State’s 28-man roster is a mature group, with 21 players who are 22 years of age or older.

The Minnesota Wild, at home tonight against the Colorado Avalanche, are unlikely to ever again see a schedule that will find them in St. Paul for just eight games prior to Thanksgiving.

Legendary Minnesota emcee Dick Jonckowski is in his second week of recovering from surgery on his left toe, but he will be able to work the Old Timers Hockey Association luncheon Monday at Mancini’s.

Jonckowski’s 76th birthday was October 22 and he received a telephone call from basketball Hall of Famer Rick Barry. The two have exchanged birthday wishes by phone every year since 1998.

Canyon Barry, Rick’s son, plays for the Minnesota Timberwolves development team in Des Moines, the Iowa Wolves.

Comments Welcome

U QB Status Looms over Saturday

Posted on November 17, 2019November 17, 2019 by David Shama

A Sunday Golden Gophers football notes column:

Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck was unsure this morning about the status of quarterback Tanner Morgan while speaking on WCCO Radio. Media reports had Morgan in concussion protocol after last night’s Iowa game. His availability for Saturday’s game at Northwestern appears unknown.

Fleck said he hadn’t seen his star quarterback yet this morning. Morgan was wobbly before he was removed from the game. “I hope he is okay. We just gotta make sure that we take all the proper protocol…as he continues to move forward,” Fleck said

Morgan was sacked six times in the 23-19 loss to Iowa. He took a pounding in a physical game and missed the last two snaps when the Gophers were trying to rally for a win and improve their record to 10-0.

When Morgan, who is among the Big Ten passing leaders, was unable to finish the game he was replaced by true freshman Cole Kramer from Eden Prairie. If Morgan can’t play Saturday against Northwestern it’s unclear whether he will be replaced by Kramer, or Texas native Jacob Clark, another true freshman.

Kramer and Clark have played minimal minutes this season. Kramer has played in three games, Clark in one. Freshmen can play in up to four games and still retain redshirt status.

“I think it’s a little too early to jump to conclusions,” Fleck said in regard to whether there will be any changes at quarterback for Northwestern.

Quarterback depth became precarious before the season started when Zack Annexstad, expected to compete for the starting job with Morgan, injured his foot and appeared lost for the season. Fleck said awhile ago Annexstad might return late this year, but he was indefinite on a timeline.

The coaches have protected Morgan by seldom asking him to run, and he avoided significant injury through almost 10 games. Iowa, though, had an intense pass rush led by future pro lineman A.J. Epenesa who often had his way with Minnesota offensive left tackle Sam Schleuter.

Minnesota is 6-1 and can win the Big Ten West Division outright with victories in its remaining games but the Gophers have questions to answer including field goal and extra point kicking. Redshirt freshman Brock Walker, playing in his second consecutive game against Iowa, missed an extra point and bounced a field goal inside the upright yesterday. Freshman Michael Lantz has been injured after making five of eight field goals earlier this season.

The Gophers missed a major promotional opportunity in losing a fifth consecutive game to Iowa and not reclaiming Floyd of Rosedale. Minnesota already has the Governor’s Bell from its November 9 win over Penn State and hopes to hold on to Paul Bunyan’s Axe when the Gophers close the season against Wisconsin. “Three Wins, Three Trophies” could have headlined an offseason marketing campaign.

The Gophers were penalized in the Iowa game when Fleck sprinted on the field to check on wide receiver Tyler Johnson, who appeared injured. Speaking on KFAN Radio after the game the coach defended himself, stressing the welfare of his players is always a top priority. He accepted responsibility for the penalty even though he would do it again. “I am sorry. I am 38 years old and I can run,” he said.

When the College Football Playoff Rankings come out Tuesday night the Gophers, ranked No. 8 last week, could land in the No. 14 to 18 range.

The Minnesota-Wisconsin game in Minneapolis November 30 was nearly sold out as of late last week.

Fleck’s 39th birthday will be the day prior to the game.

The Gophers have yet to do it this season, but if they switched their bench and sideline from the south side of their home field to the north they more likely will be situated in sunshine and feel warmer November 30. The change requires notifying the Big Ten office in advance.

Yesterday morning there was TV hype about the 9-0 Gophers. On ESPN GameDay David Pollack referred to Minnesota as the biggest story of the college football season. BTN’s morning show ranked Minnesota’s Antoine Winfield Jr. the best defensive back in the Big Ten.

Comments Welcome

Dungy: Kirk Cousins Facing “Referendum”

Posted on November 14, 2019November 17, 2019 by David Shama

The 7-3 Vikings have six games remaining and appear likely to earn their way into the playoffs. There will be a number of storylines in the weeks ahead but among individual players none is likely to be more compelling than the play of quarterback Kirk Cousins. Super Bowl winning coach Tony Dungy, now a pro football analyst for NBC TV, is tossing a challenge at the $84 million leader of the Vikings offense.

Speaking on KFAN Radio last week with program host Dan Barreiro, Dungy predicted the weeks ahead will define the reputation of Minnesota’s 31-year-old quarterback who was named NFC Offensive Player of the Month for his successful October that included 10 touchdown passes and a QB rating of 137.1.

“I like Kirk Cousins a lot, and I think he’s tremendous,” Dungy said. “I think he is a great leader but this is going to be the referendum (the weeks ahead). This is when he’s going to have to do it, against the Packers, against the Cowboys, in these big games. We know he’s capable of doing it. We saw it through the month of October but now can you do it in November and December against the really good teams? And that’s where the jury is still out on him.”

The Vikings earned a meaningful road win against a winning team last Sunday when they defeated the Cowboys, 28-24. Dungy predicted last Thursday the game would be a “measuring stick” for Cousins, playing against a solid team using a stop the run defense and inviting him to throw the ball about 35 times. Dungy, the former Gophers quarterback and Vikings assistant coach, was almost spot-on with Cousins throwing 32 times, and completing 23 passes including two that went for touchdowns.

Cousins came to Minneapolis in the 2018 offseason with a well-known reputation for not leading his former team, the Redskins, to victories over clubs with winning records. The chorus of critics grew louder last season when the Vikings, viewed during preseason as a Super Bowl contender, didn’t make it to the playoffs.

This season the Vikings have played five teams who now have winning records. They have defeated the Cowboys, Eagles, and Raiders while losing road games to the Chiefs and Packers. On the schedule ahead only the Seahawks and Packers (rematch game December 23 in Minneapolis) have winning records among remaining opponents.

Cousins has a 112 passer rating that is third best in the NFL. He has no turnovers in his last four games, the longest such stretch of his career. When he has faltered in the past, including against winning teams, he has looked indecisive. Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer acknowledged the change in his quarterback. “Yeah, he’s playing fast, and that’s probably the most important thing,” Zimmer said. “Making good decisions and playing fast.”

The right decisions are everything in the NFL where final margins of victory are often so close. Eleven of the 13 most recent league games were separated by one possession (eight points or fewer). In 36 games this season, a team has won or tied after trailing in the fourth quarter.

Golden Gophers Football Notes

It would be fitting if the weather was stormy for Saturday’s game in Iowa City when the Gophers and Hawkeyes play. Temperatures will be in the low 40s with precipitation unlikely, but that doesn’t change the colorful and at times contentious history of the Minnesota-Iowa rivalry.

In the spring of 2017 Iowa assistant coach Brian Ferentz said it appeared the Gophers were extending so many offers to high school prospects they couldn’t come close to honoring them. Ferentz’s comments came on a Des Moines Register podcast. It’s unusual for one school to call out another that way.

In 2002 Hawkeye fans stormed the field at the Metrodome after a Hawkeye win. Fans tore down a goal post and tried to take part of it through the Metrodome revolving doors but space was too limited to accomplish the mission.

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz coached in that game and is still leading the Hawkeyes. “I do have a good friend that still thinks that’s the greatest thing he ever saw in sports,” Ferentz said Tuesday. “He saw it on TV, and he also said, your fans aren’t very smart, they’re not going to get that thing through a revolving door. But he still talks about that.”

Tensions between players and fans from both Iowa and Minnesota prompted creation of Floyd of Rosedale. At the suggestion of Minnesota governor Floyd Olson, the bronze pig was created in the 1930s to put the focus on the rivalry trophy instead of the bad feelings between the two states.

Creative Charters emailed that their motorcoach group will be stopping Friday in Floyd, Iowa at Dugan’s Restaurant and Tavern on the way to Iowa City. The mayor of Floyd and city council members have been invited to lunch with the Minnesotans.

“With the Floyd of Rosedale trophy on the line, it only makes sense to stop in Floyd” said Steve Erban, Creative Charters, “We haven’t won in Iowa since 1999. The Travelin’ Gophers need to pull out every stop.”

With a win Saturday, Iowa can move within one victory of tying the Floyd of Rosedale series since it began in 1935. The Hawks have won six of the last seven games but Minnesota still leads the series 42-40, with two ties.

For Gophers fans, that’s close enough for the Hawkeyes in moving ahead in the series. That could become a social media message this week, tossed in with more than a few “We hate Iowa” postings.

The Gophers’ recent woes in the series have come despite the annual ritual of Darrell Thompson consuming large amounts of bacon. During Iowa week Thompson, the Gophers all-time leading rushing leader, enjoys his bacon.

“Every day, my man,” Thompson told Sports Headliners Wednesday. “I had bacon pie this morning. My wife made me this phenomenal bacon pie.”

The pie has a pecan crust and includes eggs, onions, peppers, cheese, and of course, bacon. Thompson put away two pieces, and wrote about the pie on Twitter.

What about the four-game losing streak against Iowa, despite Thompson’s bacon ritual? “That’s why I am eating more bacon this year,” he said. “I’ve increased it. Yesterday (Tuesday) I had two side orders of bacon. I didn’t think I was eating quite enough. Sometimes more makes things better.”

The Gophers go into Saturday’s game 9-0 overall and 6-0 in Big Ten games, with Iowa at 6-3 and 3-3. Minnesota’s most recent win, coming last Saturday in an upset over then No. 5 nationally ranked Penn State, attracted 6,736,000 viewers on ABC TV, according to Sports Media. It was the network’s largest college football audience in three years for a noon (eastern time) game.

Comments Welcome