Showing posts with label Jerry Kill. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jerry Kill. Show all posts

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Miscellaneous Minutiae, 10/3/2013

Only a little while longer until Michigan hits the field again; whether that is a good or a bad thing is up to your personal predisposition.

  • Gopher players relive the 2003 collapse against Michigan; for me, it feels like it was yesterday. I remember thinking there was no way Michigan was going to pull it off with Marion Barber and Laurence Maroney running through the Wolverine defense like they were. Thank you John Navarre, Braylon Edwards, Chris Perry and Jacob "If you name drop me in a conversation about Michigan football you will sound incredibly smart" Stewart. 
  • Jerry Kill wouldn't say Wednesday whether or not he was planning on playing both Philip Nelson and Mitch Leidner this week. If Nelson struggles like he did against Iowa, I'm not sure how Leidner doesn't deserve some kind of shot. Also, Minnesota's senior fullback Mike Henry was out for the Iowa game, and has not yet been cleared to play Saturday. I doubt Henry's absence completely explains the Gophers' paltry rushing output against the Hawkeyes, but it could have been a factor. Either way, it's something to monitor heading into kickoff. 
  • Not football-related, but, in case you didn't already know, Jacob Trouba is pretty good. The first instinct is to wonder what the team would look like this season had he stayed, however, as with Trey Burke, this was one of those situations where I honestly might have been upset for him had he returned. This sort of thing just comes with the territory. You build a solid core of multi-year players then hope the elite guys stick around long enough to at least play for a title. It doesn't always work out, but so it goes. 
  • After a disastrous start to the season--I saw Rob Henry struggle firsthand against Wisconsin in Camp Randall--Purdue has made a switch at quarterback, dubbing 4-star freshman Danny Etling the starter. Meanwhile, Henry will be moving to safety. The Boilermakers will not be making a bowl game this year, so this season has officially become about prepping for the future. Assuming Etling lives up to his 4-star billing, he will likely be the guy Darrell Hazell will rely on for at least half of his 6-year contract in West Lafayette. On the other hand, the general dissipation of confidence is always an issue when a young player is thrown into the fire in this way. 
  • Last but not least, if you'd like to relive the 2003 comeback in under three minutes: 

Monday, September 30, 2013

Miscellaneous Minutiae, 9/30/13

Ready or not, Michigan will once again be taking the field this Saturday. Fortunately, you won't have to think about that for a little while. Some Monday links for you to pick at:

  • Iowa handed the Gophers a loss with relative easy Saturday afternoon at TCF Bank Stadium. The Daily Gopher has a recap, worth reading given Minnesota heads to the Big House this week. I agree with the penultimate paragraph; this was one Minnesota, for the sake of progress as a program, needed to win. 
  • The ESPN Big Ten Blog looks at Week 5, and also compares the end of the first half Philly Brown touchdown to Miller's late game touchdown heave against Wisconsin in 2011. 
  • Jerry Kill defends his decision to not yank QB Philip Nelson in favor of Mitch Leidner (Star Tribune). 
  • Minnesota was an awful 4-for-13 on third down against Iowa, one of several stats in which the Hawkeyes thoroughly dominated the Gophers (TwinCities.com). 
  • Ex-Wolverines in the NFL post at Maize n Brew. Jordan Kovacs watches Breaking Bad, in case you were wondering. 
  • Eleven Warriors talks about Saturday's win over the Badgers; as big as the win was for the Buckeyes, they lost starting safety Christian Bryant to a season-ending ankle injury.