NCAA – Page 146 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

OSU ‘Transformation’ Wows Glen Mason

Posted on January 11, 2015January 11, 2015 by David Shama

Former Gophers head coach Glen Mason predicts Ohio State will win the first ever College Football Playoff National Championship tomorrow night in Arlington, Texas. Oregon is about a six point favorite but Mason spoke with conviction and enthusiasm regarding the Buckeyes during a telephone interview with Sports Headliners.

Mason played football at Ohio State and later was an assistant coach for the Buckeyes. Now he’s a lead analyst for the Big Ten Network. There is no disputing Mason has Ohio State and Big Ten roots but he was convincing the other day when he raved about the Buckeyes’ last two games and the talent coach Urban Meyer has assembled in Columbus.

The Buckeyes were an unexpected entrant in the four-team college playoffs. Despite their 11-1 record going into the Big Ten Championship game on December 6, the Buckeyes didn’t come up a lot in conversations targeting the four teams likely to be invited to participate in the playoffs. In the last regular season game on November 29 against Michigan, starting quarterback J.T. Barrett broke his ankle. Barrett had replaced the injured Braxton Miller as the starter in August. For the Big Ten title game the Buckeyes had to start their third team quarterback from last summer, Cardale Jones.

No problem.

Ohio State destroyed Wisconsin 59-0 to win the Big Ten championship. That stunning performance and score earned an invitation to join Alabama, Florida State and Oregon in the playoffs. Alabama was the most popular choice to emerge as the national champion but the Buckeyes refused a ride on the Crimson Tide bandwagon. In the semifinal playoff game between the two legendary programs, the Buckeyes rallied from a 21-6 deficit to win 42-35.

A lot of college football observers are impressed with the Buckeyes. “They’re on a roll right now,” Mason said. “I’ve never seen a team that’s gone through a transformation in two games like Ohio State. They were a good team this year, now they’re a really good team. They became a really good team against Wisconsin and parlayed it right into the game against Alabama.”

Oregon, of course, hasn’t exactly stumbled in its last couple of games. In the Pac-12 championship game the Ducks avenged their only loss of the season with a convincing 51-13 win over Arizona. Then in the semifinal playoff game against undefeated Florida State the Ducks easily defeated the Seminoles, 59-20. “Both these teams are peaking at the right time,” Mason said.

When Mason coached the Gophers he spoke about “swagger.” After the Gophers earned a big win, he might talk about the program’s confidence. The secretaries in the football office even carried themselves differently, he claimed.

Mason sees that “swagger” with the Buckeyes. He brought that up with Meyer before the Alabama game and the Buckeyes coach agreed his team was different than earlier in the season. “They’ve gotten their swagger back, their confidence,” Mason said. “I don’t think they had it during the year up until they played Wisconsin. …”

Mason described it as “truly amazing” Ohio State can be playing in tomorrow night’s national championship game after not only losing their two top quarterbacks but also seeing seven players from last year’s team become starters in the NFL.

Among the losses from the 2013 team were four starting offensive linemen. Replacing those four and having such an inexperienced line was worrisome last summer regarding national championship hopes but those prospects really seemed doomed when Miller—a leading candidate to win the Hesiman Trophy—injured his shoulder and was ruled out for the season.

“If they win Monday they’ll have a national championship. It’s a testament to the amount of talent that Ohio State (has) and it’s a testament to the coaching job being done by Urban Meyer and the coaching staff,” Mason said.

Jones, a 6-5, 250-pound redshirt sophomore, threw for 243 yards and one long touchdown against Alabama. He also ran for 89 yards. Mason praised Jones’ abilities to “punish” tacklers when he runs and also the inexperienced quarterback’s arm strength. “They call him 12-gauge because he wears No. 12 and he’s got an arm like a shotgun,” Mason said.

Miller, a senior, has twice been the Big Ten MVP. Barrett, a redshirt freshman, was so impressive for most of the 2014 season he finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting. Jones has turned heads in his two starts against Wisconsin and Alabama.

Mason couldn’t remember one college team ever having three quarterbacks so talented. All three have remaining college eligibility and they could be back with the Buckeyes next season—although transferring to another school perhaps is also in the mix for Miller or Jones. “If they all stayed at Ohio State, you’d have three guys that would be (in) the Heisman Trophy discussion at the same position going into the season,” Mason said.

Tomorrow night Ohio State will have to contend with Oregon’s skilled passing and running quarterback Marcus Mariota. The redshirt junior from Hawaii has thrown 40 touchdown passes in 14 games this season and rushed for 15 more. He has thrown only three interceptions. He was a unanimous first-team All-American and won the 2014 Heisman Trophy.

Winning college football’s most prestigious individual award can be a precursor to something bigger—a national championship. Quarterbacks Cam Newton from Auburn and Jameis Winston of Florida State won Heismans in 2010 and 2013, and then led their teams to national titles.

The Ducks are known for their speed and Big Ten teams have long been considered a plodding bunch but don’t get too caught up in stereotypes. When Mason coached the Gophers they defeated Alabama and Arkansas, two programs from the speed-based Southeastern Conference. After those games opposing coaches told Mason they had underestimated the Gophers’ speed.

Mason didn’t even think the Gophers were a fast team but Ohio State is. He watched the Buckeyes against Alabama and thought, “Ohio State is the fastest team out here.”

Oregon is second in the country in scoring at 47.2 points per game while the Buckeyes are fifth at 45 points. OSU ranks at No. 26 in scoring defense allowing 22.1 points. The Ducks are No. 27, allowing 22.3 points.

Comparable stats for two 13-1 teams who have apparently saved their best football for the biggest stage. No wonder Mason predicts it will be a “heck of a contest.”

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Don’t Bid Adieu to Gophers Football Yet

Posted on January 7, 2015January 7, 2015 by David Shama

North Dakota State plays Illinois State for the FCS national title on Saturday and Ohio State faces Oregon for the College Football Playoff National Championship next Monday but otherwise the 2014-2015 college season, including for the Gophers, is history. Here are one man’s random observations about the Big Ten and Minnesota.

Big Ten Power Poll ranking teams? Let’s go six-deep: Ohio State, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska and Penn State. Power polls of teams are common but here’s a ranking in order of the conference’s best half-dozen coaches:

1. Urban Meyer, Ohio State. In three years in Columbus he is a preposterous 37-3, including 24-0 for Big Ten regular season games. Many college football authorities will argue he’s the best coach in the land. Need more be said?

2. Mark Dantonio, Michigan State. The Spartans’ stunning fourth quarter rally to defeat point-a-minute Baylor in the Cotton Bowl on New Year’s Day is just a snapshot of Dantonio’s success at MSU, a program that historically has underachieved. The Spartans are 75-31 under Dantonio and MSU has become more than a basketball school.

3. Jim Harbaugh, Michigan. He announced years ago at then-lowly Stanford that his program will bow to no one. The Cardinal became a national power and is still feeling his impact. Imagine now what he can do at Michigan, college football’s winningest program.

4. Jerry Kill, Minnesota. In four years at Minnesota Kill has become a poster boy for program turnarounds. The Gophers have won nine Big Ten games during the last two years, the best run like that since 1999-2000.

5. James Franklin, Penn State. Check the Rivals.com recruiting lists since last January when Franklin took over in Happy Valley to get one measure of his impact at this scandal torn program. Now look at his impressive 24-15 record at Vanderbilt—where nobody wins—to understand why Franklin is placing the roar back in the Nittany Lions.

6. Kyle Flood, Rutgers. Bet you never would have guessed the Scarlet Knights head coach gets the No. 6 spot. He is the lowest paid head coach in the Big Ten but far from the worst. In three seasons in Piscataway he is 23-16 including a win in the recent Quick Lane Bowl. He does more with less including hiring quality staff like former Maryland head coach Ralph Friedgen as offensive coordinator. Other assistants include Mitch Browning who coached for the Gophers and Norries Wilson who played for Minnesota.

Among those who didn’t make the super six list are Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz, Nebraska’s Mike Riley and Wisconsin’s Paul Chryst. The Iowa program has grown stale under Ferentz and that’s not a good thing when you earn about $4 million per year. Riley is a solid coach who proved his worth over and over at Oregon State—Oregon’s poor sister. Don’t expect him to be Tom Osborne, though. And another new head coach in the Big Ten, Chryst, will operate in the large shadow of Badgers athletic director Barry Alvarez. Badgers fans will expect a lot more than Chryst delivered as head coach at Pittsburgh where he was 19-19 in three years.

The Big Ten can thump its chest (for a change) about its bowl results. League teams are 5-5 in bowl games this season and the Buckeyes can give the Big Ten a winning postseason record if they win the national title. The Big Ten was 10-21 the previous four years in bowls. No team from the conference has won the national championship since Ohio State in 2002.

Rich Exner, writing on Monday for Cleveland.com, pointed out the Big Ten has more bowl wins in 2014-15 against ranked opponents than any other conference. The Pac-12 has the best bowl record at 6-2 while the SEC is 7-5.

It’s unique that Ohio State has three quarterbacks as talented as sophomore Cardale Jones (now the starter), freshman J.T. Barrett (No. 1 most of the season) and senior Braxton Miller (injured all year but a preseason Heisman Trophy candidate). Can’t think of another college team that ever had the collective skill set of the Jones, Barrett and Miller trio.

After the January 1 Citrus Bowl loss to Missouri, the Gophers are now winless in their last seven bowls, including 0-3 under Kill. Ball State and Minnesota have the longest bowl losing streak in the country at 0-7.

That’s something Kill and his staff will fix. The Gophers have been 8-5 the last two seasons and Kill expects to have his best team in 2015. Recruiting and coaching are paying off with more talent and production. The defense has been rebuilt and the special teams are usually solid if not exceptional. The way Missouri caught Minnesota unprepared at the Citrus Bowl on a fake punt and onside kick was unusual for the Gophers and not the norm.

The offense is still a project in Kill’s brick-by-brick rebuilding of the rubble he inherited in 2010. Against top 20 teams like Missouri, having an offense that produces 17 points isn’t going to generate a “w” very often. The staff still has to solve personnel challenges at quarterback, receiver and perhaps in the line.

Even if Mitch Leidner has arrived at being the program’s first consistent quarterback in awhile, a reliable backup who can pass is needed. Quality and depth at wide receiver has been an ongoing issue and that needs to be solved in 2015. Line play has been inconsistent during the Kill regime but improved last fall. That maturation should continue this spring and beyond.

Leidner’s 21 of 31 passing for 258 yards in the bowl game was impressive. The Gophers are 2-25 under Kill when trailing at halftime but a better passing game led by Leidner, a junior in 2015, will help change that stat. (Kill’s record when leading at halftime is 20-1).

Leidner, Gophers teammates and fans will obviously miss tight end Maxx Williams who is leaving for the NFL Draft with two seasons of eligibility remaining. The All-American simply was the best big play tight end in school history. His spectacular 54-yard touchdown against Missouri, after catching a Leidner pass, will be archived in the school’s football highlights vault for decades.

During spring practices eyes will be on the running back spot to see who can replace school-record setter David Cobb. Promising freshmen Jeff Jones and Rodney Smith will get plenty of stares but don’t be surprised if senior Rodrick Williams uses his experience, power and straight ahead speed to win the job. What about sophomore speed-man Berkley Edwards? Edwards must show he can avoid injuries and have an all-around game.

Defensively the Gophers’ best unit could again be the secondary. Senior cornerbacks Eric Murray and Briean Boddy-Calhoun will be All-Big Ten candidates, and there’s plenty of other help on defense too in the secondary, and among the linebackers and linemen. It will be interesting to watch several defensive players in the spring including linebacker junior college transfer Cody Poock who looked like a starter before tearing an ACL and also fireplug sophomore defensive tackle Steven Richardson who impressed so much as a freshman.

Special teams players include junior Jalen Myrick who finished second in the Big Ten on kickoff returns by averaging 28.2 yards. Senior punter Peter Mortell was second in conference punting average at 45.1 yards and junior placekicker Ryan Santos excelled in kickoffs, field goals and extra points. The three returnees help form the nucleus of outstanding special teams.

Offensive, defensive and special teams players all benefit learning from a staff that has remarkable longevity with Kill. Seven assistants have been with him 14 years or more. Leading the list are strength coach Eric Klein, 21 years, and defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys, 20.

The biggest offseason Gophers’ story seems likely to be the announcement of a new football complex expected to cost $25 million or more. Ground breaking and construction on the much talked about and coveted new facility is anticipated this year.

Season ticket holders and other Gophers fans will have a home nonconference game in 2015 to get excited about. The September 3 opening game at TCF Bank Stadium is against TCU, a team that looks like a cinch to be ranked somewhere between No. 1 and No. 5 nationally in the preseason polls. Every seat will be sold and hopefully occupied for that game because a Gophers upset could set the pace for a special season.

The season closes with two of the later fall home games in program history—November 21 with Illinois and November 28 against Wisconsin. Bundle up!

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Peterson Owes Vikings Fans in 2015

Posted on December 22, 2014December 22, 2014 by David Shama

Vikings and Gophers notes:

Sources believe Vikings decision makers want Adrian Peterson to play for their team next season. Assuming that’s accurate, where will Peterson want to play?

Peterson should decide he is not interested in playing for another NFL team, and offer a “make-good” to the Vikings franchise, his teammates and fans. His lost season in 2014 was of his making. He made a terrible mistake in mistreating one of his sons and he has paid for his actions in the legal system, court of public opinion and via suspension by the NFL.

The Vikings, unable to duplicate Peterson’s running production in 2014, would upgrade their offense next year with the All-Pro’s return. Peterson’s large salary, though, is something the Vikings will want to address because of his advanced age for a running back, 30 years old. He reportedly is to be paid $13 million in 2015, although the money is not guaranteed.

In the pass-happy NFL, where the role of the running back has been devalued, no team in the league is likely to pay the aging Peterson anywhere near $13 million. Those facts will be in the Vikings favor (or any other team) at the bargaining table.

After a career where Peterson has earned mega riches in salary and endorsements, he is at a place where money should be a secondary concern. Peterson should take the high road and show his character by accepting a significantly reduced salary for 2015. Such a decision is another way of expressing remorse, and also gratitude to the franchise, players and fans that have supported him over the years.

The Vikings, 6-9, end their season on Sunday at home against the Bears, 5-10. A win by the Bears would leave both teams tied for last in the NFC North final standings.

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer was upset after yesterday’s 37-35 loss to the Dolphins in Miami. Greg Coleman asked Zimmer on KFAN’s postgame show what he told the players in the locker room about next Sunday. “I’ll keep that between us,” Zimmer said on the radio.

The Vikings, for the second consecutive game, couldn’t stop an opponent’s comeback. The game winning points came when the Dolphins got two points by blocking a Vikings punt and creating a safety.

“We played so poor on defense today it was embarrassing,” Zimmer said on KFAN. “Allowed them five-for-five in the red zone, nine out of 12 or something on third downs (nine of 13). Offensively, I thought we did some good things, and then to get the punt blocked at the end for the safety is ridiculous.”

Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater impressed again yesterday, completing 19 of 26 passes including two touchdowns. His season completion percentage is 64.2 %. That is nearly an NFL record for a rookie but with one game remaining in the season odds are long that Bridgewater could break Ben Roethlisberger’s 66.4% mark set in 2004.

Vikings offensive tackle Mike Harris and wide receiver Charles Johnson have become friends, with the two sharing a room in hotels before Vikings games. Johnson dyes his hair blonde, and Harris described his roommate as a “fashion kind of a guy.”

“He’s a clean-cut guy—dresses nice,” Harris told Sports Headliners. “He’s a true pro.”

In Si.com’s December 18 college mock draft for 2015, the Vikings choose Washington outside linebacker Shaq Thompson with the No. 11 pick. Maybe the Vikings, with problems at offensive tackle, are better off selecting Texas A&M’s Cedric Ogbuehi—predicted to be drafted at No. 12 by the Rams.

Gophers football players Mitch Leidner, Tommy Olson and Maxx Williams will do the “Let’s Play Hockey” shout-out tomorrow night to start the Wild-Flyers game at Xcel Energy Center. Williams, by the way, wasn’t included in the Si.com mock draft (first round only). The redshirt sophomore tight end is eligible for the 2015 draft and may consider leaving the Gophers this winter.

Former Gophers tight end and accomplished singer Ben Utecht performed at a benefit concert earlier this month for the American Brain Foundation. The concert was held in the Gophers football locker room at TCF Bank Stadium and was by invitation only.

Utecht, 33, has experienced memory loss after a football career that included the NFL. He sang the national anthem on Friday night for the Eastview-Lakeville North boys’ basketball game at Eastview.

Gophers wide receiver Drew Wolitarsky hasn’t played since the Illinois game on October 25 because of a high ankle sprain but coach Jerry Kill said if Minnesota had a game yesterday the California sophomore would have been able to play. That means unless something unforeseen happens, Wolitarsky will play in Minnesota’s January 1 Citrus Bowl game against Missouri.

The Gophers are taking two charter airplanes and close to 300 people to the bowl game. They leave at 11 a.m. on Thursday (Christmas Day) and return after the game on January 1.

The Big Ten Network asked fans of the 14 Big Ten football schools to vote for their four “Mount Rushmore” favorites at each program. Minnesota fans got it right with Bobby Bell, Paul Giel, Bronko Nagurski and Bruce Smith selected as the four greatest Gophers ever.

Is it a challenge for coaches to win regular season Big Ten football games? Well, it is at most schools other than a couple of them like Ohio State who have the best resources including nearby high school talent. OSU coach Urban Meyer is 24-0 in three seasons of Big Ten games while the Gophers Jerry Kill is 13-19 in four seasons with a career best 5-3 in league play this fall. Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz, who reportedly earns $3.825 million, is 68-60 in 16 seasons while Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald is 30-42 in nine seasons. Wisconsin legend Barry Alvarez, who will leave his athletic director’s chair to coach the Badgers at the Outback Bowl, is 65-60-3 in 18 Big Ten seasons.

Ohio State’s quarterback depth and talent is indicative of how much skill the Buckeyes have. Senior quarterback Braxton Miller was a popular candidate to be Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year and the Heisman Trophy winner before he was injured in August and lost for the season. Redshirt freshman J.T. Barrett replaced Miller and was recently named third-team Associated Press All-American quarterback. Barrett was injured late in the season and couldn’t play in the Big Ten Championship Game so redshirt sophomore Cardale Jones, the third string quarterback earlier this year, stepped in to lead a 59-0 win over the Badgers.

What will the Buckeyes do with all that talent at quarterback next season? A Big Ten insider told Sports Headliners Miller will be the starter.

The Seattle University basketball team the Gophers defeated last Friday night at Williams Arena has attracted a couple of miniscule crowds at home—554 for a December 1 game against Pacific Lutheran and 267 for the Northwest University game on December 15.

In the Seattle game Gophers senior center Mo Walker continued his efficient offense, scoring 15 points in 15 minutes on the floor. He made all six of his field goal attempts and three of four free throws. In 11 games Walker is averaging 11.5 points in only 19.7 minutes per game.

The Gophers, 9-2, play Furman at home tonight and have scored over 80 points in five consecutive games. As of December 21, the Gophers lead the nation in assists per game, 20.1. They are second in steals, 12.1, and third in turnover margin, 7.0.

Mike Lukashewich, the walk-on guard from Appleton, Wisconsin, who joined the team last week, played four minutes in the Seattle game and made his college debut. His stat line was goose eggs except for a block. The 6-3 freshman likes to play defense and came to Minnesota because of the school’s sports management program. He tried out for the Gophers earlier in the fall, then was called back and finally added to the roster. “I am having a blast so far,” he said.

Gophers coach Richard Pitino said Lukashewich has “long arms” which can contribute to his defensive effectiveness. Lukashewich had considered attending St. Thomas and playing basketball there.

Gaston Diedhiou, the 6-9 freshman scholarship forward from Senegal, suited up for the first time on Friday night but didn’t play. Diedhiou became eligible recently after improving his English proficiency. Pitino noted that Diedhiou’s English is now superior to Bakary Konate, the Gophers 6-11 freshman center from Mali, who has been eligible and playing this fall.

Charles Buggs, the 6-9 redshirt sophomore counted on to play reserve minutes as a small forward, said the left knee he had surgery on last summer is still bothersome and he expects the discomfort to continue all season. The knee impacts mobility to his left. Buggs, who was a power forward, is learning the plays for the small forward position. His reverse dunk against Seattle will be among the most spectacular at Williams Arena this season and was included in the top plays on ESPN SportsCenter Friday night.

Gophers baseball coach John Anderson is working on dates for games in 2017 to be played in the new Vikings stadium. The Gophers are interested in a first game that year against a marquee college baseball program.

The foul pole distances for the baseball field configuration are expected to be 305 feet in right field and 330 in left. The distance to the right field power alley will only be 340 feet with a 30-foot high wall.

The Metrodome was used for over 400 amateur baseball games in a single year but that number will be reduced dramatically in the new enclosed Vikings stadium because the facility is expected to aggressively seek high revenue events.

WWE Raw is at Target Center tonight with Hulk Hogan, 61, performing in Minneapolis for the first time in over a decade.

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