Golden Gophers – Page 330 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Golden Gophers Exorcise ‘Big Red’ Demons

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

How nice that it’s Nebraska now coming up short on the scoreboard.

ESPN predicted last week the Cornhuskers had a 72 percent chance of defeating the Golden Gophers in Lincoln. It sounded like more frustration was ahead for long suffering Gophers fans, but that’s not what happened yesterday when Minnesota stormed from behind to play physical football and win 28-24.

Yes, the Gophers defeated the Cornhuskers in Minneapolis last year but one win in 53 years doesn’t heal the wounds from all the humiliations and close losses to “Big Red.” Oh, how we have suffered and for awhile yesterday it looked like it would be more of the same instead of a second consecutive win in the series that dates back to 1900.

Nebraska, trailing by four points, was driving down the field late in the fourth quarter when quarterback Tommy Armstrong completed a pass to De’Mornay Pierson-El inside the Minnesota five-yard line. At first the play looked like it would set up the winning touchdown but instead Gophers defensive back Briean Boddy-Calhoun ripped the ball out of Pierson-El’s hands and took possession.

With 1:19 remaining in the fourth quarter the Gophers ran out the clock and secured their first consecutive wins against Nebraska since 1952 and 1954. The win made Minnesota 8-3 overall and 5-2 in the Big Ten, and what the conference record means is the Gophers can go to Madison next Saturday controlling their own fate to win the West Division championship. A Gophers’ victory over the Badgers, 9-2 and 6-1, will send coach Jerry Kill’s team to the Big Ten championship game in Indianapolis next month to play the East Division champion.

In the first half yesterday it appeared unlikely the Gophers would need to bother thinking about travel plans to Indy. The Huskers, with some good luck and even better play, led 21-7 at halftime. With the scored tied 7-7 in the second quarter, Nebraska’s Armstrong was within inches of illegally running beyond the line of scrimmage as he launched an 18-yard pass to Pierson-El who placed the ball over the goal line by a corn silk. Pierson-El also fumbled the football in the end zone on the same play but because the ball first broke the plane of the goal line, the Huskers had a touchdown.

Later in the second quarter Nebraska blocked a Minnesota field goal attempt. Give the Cornhuskers credit for making the play but how often do you see the ball scooped up and run back for a score? That’s what Nebraska’s Nate Gerry did on an 85-yard run that at one point had him in a posse of teammates thick enough the Gophers couldn’t bring him to the ground.

Those two scores looked like the kind of stuff that has had Gophers fans gulping Maalox for years. But momentum changed a bit on Nebraska’s closing drive of the first half. Pierson-El (there’s that guy again) fumbled the ball at Minnesota’s 11-yard line after a pass reception. Gophers defensive back Damarius Travis recovered the fumble.

The recovery stopped a field goal or touchdown that could have put Nebraska ahead 24-7 or 28-7 at halftime. Instead the Gophers came out in the third quarter and scored on their opening drive. They added a second third quarter score while holding the Cornhuskers to a field goal during the period which ended with Nebraska leading 24-21.

The improbable fourth quarter comeback was led by Mitch Leidner who answered his critics yesterday. Leidner completed eight of 17 passes for 135 yards. None of the throws was more important than a 38 yard completion to KJ Maye. That put the ball on the Nebraska 25-yard line. Five plays later Leidner ran two yards to put the Gophers ahead to stay, 28-24. He led Minnesota’s rushers with 111 yards.

The win pumped life into the spirits of Gophers fans who experienced the pain from decades of demoralizing losses to the Cornhuskers. After the 1960 national champion Gophers team defeated Nebraska in Lincoln the Cornhuskers won 16 consecutive games before last year’s victory by Minnesota.

For so many years the end result was always disappointing for Minnesota fans—and often disgusting. Students of Gophers football history can recall close losses in the 1960s when Minnesota lost three games by a total of only 15 points. A key play here, better luck there, or a friendly call from the “zebras” could have been the difference for the Gophers.

While those games were close, they were also frustrating defeats. And then there were the humiliations—the bulldozing of the Gophers from 1969-2012. During that period Nebraska outscored Minnesota 568 to 86!

No game hurt more than the infamous 84-13 pounding at the Metrodome in 1983. Yeah, the 71 point margin is painful but the tale that has circulated for years makes the hurt for Gophers fans even deeper. In the second half the Huskers were way ahead but their starters were still on the field. Nebraska’s coaches were thinking about sending in the reserves but a Cornhusker player reported the Gophers were “talking trash.”

If this were peewee football the mercy rule would have applied, but the Cornhuskers coaches decided if the Gophers were going to be lippy they still hadn’t learned their lesson. The Huskers’ starters were sent back on the field. Let the beat down continue.

After two consecutive wins, it’s probably greedy to dream about a day when the Gophers could give the Huskers a 71 point lesson. But, hey, yesterday a lot of Minnesota fans became bigger believers in this program than at any time since the 1960s.

Too bad the teams don’t play for a rivalry trophy. There’s enough history and emotion to inspire a trophy going to the winner of the series that was played as a nonconference regional rivalry until 2011 when Nebraska joined the Big Ten.

A sledgehammer might be an appropriate trophy. And just in case you’re counting—the Gophers lead the series 31-22-2.

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No Home Sellouts for Gophers in 2014

Posted on November 21, 2014November 23, 2014 by David Shama

In six seasons at TCF Bank Stadium the Gophers are averaging about the same per game attendance they had in the last half dozen years at the Metrodome.

The stadium opened in 2009 as the new on-campus home for Gophers football. During six years playing in the $288.5 million outdoor facility, the Gophers are averaging 48,389 fans per game. From 2003-2008 the average at the dome was 48,950.

The lure of a new stadium and sitting outdoors boosted attendance in 2009 with all seven games selling out in the 50,805 seat facility. During the five years since, the per game averages starting with 2010 are 49,513, 47,714, 46,637, 47,797 and 47,865.

This year stadium capacity was increased to 52,525 to accommodate the Vikings who are using the facility for home games in 2014 and 2015. The Gophers didn’t sell out a single game this fall, although the announced crowd of 51,241 for Purdue came close. Minnesota has sold out only four games since 2009.

Annual attendance is impacted by several factors including the box office appeal of the Gophers and their opponents. Also factoring in are the number of tickets sold in the off-season including public and student season tickets. Other variables are ticket prices, weather and times of day for kickoffs, with mid-afternoon and evening games more popular than 11 a.m. starts.

When cold and snow arrive on game week it’s an easy decision for fence-sitting fans to stay home and watch the Gophers on high definition television. Last Saturday’s game against No. 8 ranked Ohio State might have attracted 55,000 to 60,000 at the dome but an announced crowd of 45,778 was the lowest for a Gophers’ Big Ten home game this year.

Nice weather in September and October is when TCF Bank Stadium is most attractive to fans who can not only sit outside but also enjoy the tailgating experience in nearby areas. The Gophers drew their largest consecutive crowds this year on October 11 and 18 when 49,051 watched the Northwestern game and 51,241 saw Purdue.

The Gophers played on campus and outdoors at Memorial Stadium from 1924 through 1981. The first six seasons at the dome saw a big jump in attendance with the Gophers averaging 54,898 fans. In the six prior years at Memorial Stadium the average was 40,872.

The Metrodome capacity for Gophers football was 64,172 from 1991-2008. Capacity at Memorial Stadium was 56,652 from 1970-1981.

Worth Noting

Fans concerned about cold temperatures and outdoor seating during the Prep Bowl today and tomorrow at TCF Bank Stadium have an indoor option. For $50 there is admission to the stadium’s indoor club. More at mygophersports.com/online/prep-bowl.

The Prep Bowl has four games today and three tomorrow in various classes. Among the matchups is tonight’s 7 p.m. Class 6A state title game between defending champion Eden Prairie and Totino-Grace. All games are televised on KSTC.

Among those cheering for the Gophers at Saturday’s game in Lincoln against the Cornhuskers will be University of Minnesota president Eric Kaler who is a major supporter of athletics.

The Gophers, despite their loss last Saturday to Ohio State, are still in contention to win the Big Ten’s West Division with two games remaining on their schedule. Senior defensive tackle Cameron Botticelli said the Gophers’ loss to OSU, 9-1 overall and 6-0 in the Big Ten, isn’t quickly forgotten as Minnesota prepared this week for Nebraska.

“There’s going to be a special fervor in practice this week in getting ready because of falling short on Saturday, and because of where this program can go still in the season,” he said.

The Gophers, 7-3 overall and 4-2 in the Big Ten, play a Nebraska team and West Division rival that is 8-2 and 4-2. It will be Nebraska’s last home game and the Cornhuskers will recognize their seniors as they did two years ago when they beat up on the Gophers in Lincoln by a score of 38-14.

Botticelli said the fans can be loud at Nebraska’s Memorial Stadium and he remembers the noise of two years ago. He described the energy as “electric.”

“You can feel the vibrations in your body,” he said. “That makes communication a little difficult for offenses and defenses alike. But nonetheless I feed off that energy. …”

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer on whether he learned anything about Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers earlier this season when Green Bay won 42-10: “No, I’ve played him a few times in the past. …He’s pretty steady doing what he does. He’s pretty good.”

Rodgers is the face of the Packers’ franchise and that’s a role rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater wants to play for the Vikings. Zimmer, whose team plays the Packers at TCF Bank Stadium on Sunday, was asked if that’s something Bridgewater can potentially achieve in his first season.

“Well, I’d be glad to let him do it instead of me,” Zimmer said. “…It’s hard for a young guy when you come in the middle of the year and you start playing but I believe he will be the face of the franchise. He can actually do all of these press conferences from now on. I’d be ecstatic to let him do them instead of me.”

St. Thomas coach Glenn Caruso has the Tommies in the Division III playoffs for the fifth time in six years. But the 8-2 Tommies will need to stage an upset in Waverly, Iowa, tomorrow to defeat 10-0 Wartburg—a team that is 2-0 against the MIAC this season with wins over both Augsburg and Bethel.

Saint John’s (9-1), the other MIAC team in the football playoffs, hosts St. Scholastica (10-0) in Collegeville tomorrow and the Johnnies are likely to win. Victories by the two MIAC schools will match them against one another on November 29. Earlier this season the Johnnies defeated St. Thomas 24-14 in front of a UST-record crowd of 12,483. This fall Saint John’s won the school’s 32nd MIAC football championship and first since 2009.

Former Gophers basketball player Austin Hollins plays for a pro team in France but is sidelined with a fractured toe, according to Mo Walker. Hollins and Walker, a Gophers senior this season, text each other.

Ex-Gopher and Minneapolis native Al Nolen is operating basketball camps and giving private lessons in the metro area, according to a Tuesday story in the Minnesota Daily. His company is the Al Nolen Elite Basketball Skills Training.

The Division III St. Thomas men’s basketball team will pursue a record 10th consecutive MIAC title this season. The Tommies are already 2-0 in nonconference games and have a 74-52 exhibition win over Division II nationally-ranked Minnesota State. Coach John Tauer’s Tommies open league play against Gustavus on December 3.

The WCHA has four men’s teams ranked in the top 20 poll of USCHO.com including No. 1 Michigan Tech. The Gophers, No. 1 before the season started, have slipped to No. 4 and are the only Big Ten team in this week’s rankings.

Tom Lynn was among the first employees of the Wild’s operations staff when the Minnesota NHL franchise started. Passionate fans of the franchise will be interested in his book, How to Bake an NHL Franchise from Scratch, the First Era of the Minnesota Wild. The book is available in paperback, Nook and Kindle formats.

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Vikings Offense: Frozen in Snowy Chicago

Posted on November 17, 2014November 17, 2014 by David Shama

The Vikings and Gophers lost games over the weekend. Here’s what was learned:

Sunday’s loss to the Bears in snowy and cold Chicago on Sunday is a momentum changer for the Vikings, now 4-6, but doesn’t mean this team can’t hope to finish near .500 at season’s end. However, it is time to write the obit about the fantasy of optimistic fans that the Purple can make the playoffs after the Vikings two-game winning streak ended against a struggling Bears team.

Playing the Packers, 7-3, next Sunday at TCF Bank Stadium will be a backbreaking challenge—and likely loss for the Vikings. In “round one” in Green Bay on October 2, the Packers embarrassed the Vikings 42-10. After next Sunday, the Vikings continue a three-game homestand against the Panthers (3-7-1) and Jets (2-8).

Those two games are certainly possible wins. The Vikings could play competitively too in their last three games of the season—at the Lions (7-3) and Dolphins (6-4), and then home against the Bears (4-6).

But the offense can’t be missing-in-action like yesterday. The Vikings had only 10 first downs and 243 total yards. Their only touchdown in the 21-13 loss was set up by a 48-yard Andrew Sendejo run on a fake punt in the first half.

Trailing by eight points in the game’s closing minute, rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater couldn’t make enough big plays to tie the game. Bridgewater, who led the Vikings to three come-from-behind wins earlier this season, threw a pass in the end zone that was intercepted to end the attempted comeback.

“Teddy Bridgewater is just simply trying to make a play that’s not there,” TV game analyst Rich Gannon said on CBS. “Throwing the ball away would have been the answer. …A young player just making a rookie mistake.”

Bridgewater, though, played okay yesterday and needed more help from teammates. His receivers often weren’t open and the offensive line was hardly at its best protecting him.

Miinnesota’s top receivers, Greg Jennings, Cordarrelle Patterson and Kyle Rudolph, combined for a total of four receptions. The trio had 28 yards, with 24 coming from Patterson on two catches.

The Bears had two sacks, including one by former Vikings defense end Jared Allen who at times whizzed by offensive left tackle Matt Kalil. It wasn’t a good day for Kalil who has been struggling all season and came into the game giving up more sacks than any left tackle in the NFL.

Kalil and his line mates need to improve their blocking if the drive for .500 is to become reality. The Vikings gained only 96 yards rushing and the offense’s time of possession was a meager 21:22.

Obviously the Vikings miss All-Pro running back Adrian Peterson, and a hearing with the NFL this afternoon may lead to new developments regarding when he will play again. But for now Peterson’s status remains in limbo and while his teammates want him back on the team it’s anyone’s guess whether ownership and franchise executives hold the same position.

The Bears’ time of possession was 38:38 and that number reflected Chicago’s offensive domination of 468 total yards. If not for their own penalties and other mistakes, the Bears could have won by a bigger score.

Just like Kalil has been a recurring personnel problem, so too is 5-10 cornerback Josh Robinson. Bears 6-4 wide receiver Brandon Marshall had two touchdown receptions over Robinson and wide receiver Alshon Jeffery, 6-3, had another score against him. But in fairness to Robinson, the Vikings might have provided more help for him with other pass defenders.

Bears quarterback Jay Cutler was 31 of 43 for 330 yards and used his tall receivers to exploit the Vikings. Cutler threw often without pressure, consistently hurting the Vikings with short, timing passes on the perimeter and some long throws. The Vikings had zero sacks.

And what about the Gophers?

After 10 games, including six in the Big Ten, the Golden Gophers have earned “membership” among the top five teams in the 14-team league. Following a 51-14 domination of Iowa and competitive 31-24 loss last Saturday to No. 8 ranked Ohio State, the Gophers players and coaches deserve heartfelt props.

Ohio State, Michigan State, Wisconsin—and perhaps Nebraska—are better teams but the Gophers rate at least a solid No. 5 in the Big Ten. This is a good program—built on defense and special teams—and the best Gophers’ product since the 2003 team that was 10-3 overall, 5-3 in league games.

Ohio State is the gold standard in the Big Ten and the Buckeyes brought superior personnel to TCF Bank Stadium, but the Gophers kept the game close and might have won if not for their errors. “We don’t make those mistakes, it’s a different ball game,” Gophers head coach Jerry Kill said on the KFAN-FM postgame show.

Kill suggested on the radio that “three-quarters” of the Buckeyes key players will play in the NFL. The OSU win streak in regular season Big Ten games is now 22 and the team has a national best 13 consecutive road victories.

Kill is 8-4 in his last 12 Big Ten games. He’s picking up converts and believers in his program all the time—and he should. Admittedly, the Gophers still have “warts” including a passing game that can’t go on indefinitely performing as it did last Saturday (7 of 19 completions, 85 yards) but there’s no reason to believe that by next season Kill won’t fix that problem, too.

The Gophers, 7-3 overall and 4-2 in the Big Ten, are contending for the West Division championship. Minnesota will play its last two games on the road—against division rivals Nebraska, 4-2, and Wisconsin, 5-1. If the Gophers could surprise their doubters and win both those games they will become West Division champions and advance to the Big Ten Championship Game on December 6 in Indianapolis. “I’ll tell you what, who knows what’s going to happen?” said Kill on the radio. “Everybody’s gotta play each other.”

Iowa, 4-2, is also in the division race and the Hawkeyes’ remaining home games are with Wisconsin and Nebraska. Wisconsin must play at Iowa before having the Gophers come to Madison, and so four teams are in contention to determine the division champion during the next two Saturdays. If Iowa and Minnesota were to win their remaining games, the two teams would be division co-champs but the Gophers will advance to Indy because they have a tiebreaker win over the Hawkeyes.

Announced attendance at the game last Saturday was 45,778. Capacity at TCF Bank Stadium is 52,525 and there were thousands of empty seats on a day when it was snowing and the temp at kickoff was 15 degrees. With a top 10 opponent and the Gophers coming off the big win over Iowa on November 8, this game could have attracted 55,000 to 60,000 fans in the old Metrodome.

There’s just no shaking road work season in the metro area. Highway 100 was closed north and south between I-394 and Highway 62 on Saturday. Traffic piled up on I-35W and Highway 169, partially because of the closure and also the snow.

Bah Humbug!

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