Outback Bowl: Gophers vs Auburn

[Ask Not]

PJ has been sniffing around elsewhere for a new OC.
Matt Simon just made his decision a lot tougher.

I've been hearing Steve Loney's name around town.

[Cripes]

That was a fun ass game.

[jffl_commish]

Fun fact: the Gophers are undefeated lifetime against Auburn and Alabama.

[jffl_commish]

Down go the cheeseheads!

[Old_Kid]

.

[mlhouse]

Had a great time at the game. This was not a fluke. Minnesota was by far the better team and Auburn only hung in there because of a couple of fluke plays.

I think Minnesota showed up very well with lots of people in the seats and a very enthusiastic crowd. My throat is sore from cheering!

I think that the Minnesota coaches deserve a lot of credit. Auburn was determined to stop the running game AND not let Rashod Bateman beat them. So, they smashed the ball down Auburn's throat, particularly on that last drive, and adjusted their passing game to make Auburn's defense beat themselves. Tyler Johnson's long td pass was just an inverse of their normal routes, with Bateman running underneath and drawing the coverage and Johnson going deep.

[Hornets]

Had a great time at the game. This was not a fluke. Minnesota was by far the better team and Auburn only hung in there because of a couple of fluke plays.

I think Minnesota showed up very well with lots of people in the seats and a very enthusiastic crowd. My throat is sore from cheering!

I think that the Minnesota coaches deserve a lot of credit. Auburn was determined to stop the running game AND not let Rashod Bateman beat them. So, they smashed the ball down Auburn's throat, particularly on that last drive, and adjusted their passing game to make Auburn's defense beat themselves. Tyler Johnson's long td pass was just an inverse of their normal routes, with Bateman running underneath and drawing the coverage and Johnson going deep.

Hittin the Tampa Bay nightlife to celebrate?

[mlhouse]

Had a great time at the game. This was not a fluke. Minnesota was by far the better team and Auburn only hung in there because of a couple of fluke plays.

I think Minnesota showed up very well with lots of people in the seats and a very enthusiastic crowd. My throat is sore from cheering!

I think that the Minnesota coaches deserve a lot of credit. Auburn was determined to stop the running game AND not let Rashod Bateman beat them. So, they smashed the ball down Auburn's throat, particularly on that last drive, and adjusted their passing game to make Auburn's defense beat themselves. Tyler Johnson's long td pass was just an inverse of their normal routes, with Bateman running underneath and drawing the coverage and Johnson going deep.

Hittin the Tampa Bay nightlife to celebrate?

Nope. My son is a resident and he had to go into the hospital at 7pm. And, I am too old. Was a fun game to be attend.

[bubu dubu.]

Gawd dammit, how phucking cool is this?

This
Chewing clock and kicking ass

Hope it makes a difference in recruiting. Could be a huge factor in the future.

Last cool stuff was back in the Sandy Stephens days.

It certainly will make a difference in recruiting. It will be hard for us to see, because it likely doesnt mean all of a sudden we are going to get 20 4 star recrtuits next year, but it means that we will get more of the 3 star recruits that are being fought over.

For example, this D'Vion Harris kid that signed with the Gophers last year is a 3 star, with offers from Florida, Michigan, Lousville, and others.

Then, there is this Michael Brown Stephens kid that signed in the same class. He is also a 3 star, but with offers from the likes of Akron and Bowling Green.

This win helps us to get more guys like Harris, instead of Brown-Stephens.

[BigInflateable]

Wow, this thread is going really well

No kidding, man! Is is always like this? Is it just trolls? I stopped hanging around GI cuz all the whining.

I dont get it, after an AWESOME season like this how is anyone ornery? Today's game is one of the funniest Gophs game I ever watched!

Always whiners on this site. One of the best, with a lot of members, but a lot of crying. It's fine when people have a valid point, but many will bitch just to hear themselves bitch about anything.

That said, I'm 41 years old and this is the most successful season in my lifetime! It's the biggest bowl win I've seen. They were in the Citrus bowl not long ago after a 9 win season under Kill. They lost I believe. Last seasons rout of Georgia Tech was fun, but this is better. I have the most genuine feeling of sustainable success after this year too! P.J. may be a little too RAH RAH for some, but it is backed up with wins. ROW THE GOD DAMN BOAT!!!! WHOOOOOOOO

[PurpleHaze]

on the contrary. Was very happy. I am a huge Tyler Johnson fan, and an even bigger Bateman fan. The Tigers were heavily favored for a reason. No one saw the Gophers running down their throat. That was the key to opening things up in the passing game.

Spew hate, backpedal than throw in a fake bs story.

Same BS when you post in purple chat.

Wash rinse repeat.




Like I said, you are such a miserable waste of a human.

hahaha! I feel so sorry for you. You really are pathetic

You feel sorry for me and then call me pathetic. You're a real winner!!!!


Your bit is to spew hate and pessimism towards the Vikes and then talk out of the other side of your mouth and pretend you're a fan. You're the last person to call anyone pathetic. No joke.

[PurpleHaze]

They are going to get slaughtered.

Another "great" prediction! The maniacs will be going crazy!!!!

Fraud with another horrible take.

Find me one analyst who hasn't gotten a prediction wrong.

We are on the CUTTING EDGE of sports entertainment.

#RTSports

Still can't find a link to your own website?

Don't be pathetic and try to say rtsports.com is yours because no one is that delusional. That is an actual respectable website, not some fantasy made up dream.

[bri]

This
Chewing clock and kicking ass

Hope it makes a difference in recruiting. Could be a huge factor in the future.

Last cool stuff was back in the Sandy Stephens days.

It certainly will make a difference in recruiting. It will be hard for us to see, because it likely doesnt mean all of a sudden we are going to get 20 4 star recrtuits next year, but it means that we will get more of the 3 star recruits that are being fought over.

For example, this D'Vion Harris kid that signed with the Gophers last year is a 3 star, with offers from Florida, Michigan, Lousville, and others.

Then, there is this Michael Brown Stephens kid that signed in the same class. He is also a 3 star, but with offers from the likes of Akron and Bowling Green.

This win helps us to get more guys like Harris, instead of Brown-Stephens.

Is there really much difference between high and low 3s though?
I'm curious to see if this means we may get a handful of 4 star guys next year.

[Small Hands]

Spew hate, backpedal than throw in a fake bs story.

Same BS when you post in purple chat.

Wash rinse repeat.




Like I said, you are such a miserable waste of a human.

hahaha! I feel so sorry for you. You really are pathetic

You feel sorry for me and then call me pathetic. You're a real winner!!!!


Your bit is to spew hate and pessimism towards the Vikes and then talk out of the other side of your mouth and pretend you're a fan. You're the last person to call anyone pathetic. No joke.

Get a grip, kid. I hope you enjoy your new year!

[Slap Shot]

Row the boat!
SKI-U-MAH!
Go Gophers!

[Slap Shot]

Texted a buddy of mine who said PJ is a clown earlier in the year, "row the boat". He text back "get back to me when they get to the Rose Bowl".

PJ still has haters, even after this massive win.

He's a bag of hot air who puts himself over the team. I think that's why some still don't like him.

It doesn't really bother me but I see right through his charades.

Dial it back a notch of you want the bit to go unnoticed.

[bubu dubu.]

Hope it makes a difference in recruiting. Could be a huge factor in the future.

Last cool stuff was back in the Sandy Stephens days.

It certainly will make a difference in recruiting. It will be hard for us to see, because it likely doesnt mean all of a sudden we are going to get 20 4 star recrtuits next year, but it means that we will get more of the 3 star recruits that are being fought over.

For example, this D'Vion Harris kid that signed with the Gophers last year is a 3 star, with offers from Florida, Michigan, Lousville, and others.

Then, there is this Michael Brown Stephens kid that signed in the same class. He is also a 3 star, but with offers from the likes of Akron and Bowling Green.

This win helps us to get more guys like Harris, instead of Brown-Stephens.

Is there really much difference between high and low 3s though?
I'm curious to see if this means we may get a handful of 4 star guys next year.

Absolutely there is a difference between high and low 3's...like I pointed out from last years class...one guy was good enough for Florida/Michigan/Louisville...the other guy was only good enough for Bowling Green and Akron (until the Gophers came in). Both were 3 star guys, but obviously one of them was much more highly touted.


As far as 4 star recruits go, maybe we get an extra one or two next season, based on what is being built here, but I wouldnt expect us to jump to like 10 of them in a class...4-5 4 star guys year in and year out is pretty good...In Gopher land, we often wonder why we can't get to the consistency of the likes of Iowa or Wisconsin. Well, those teams aren't blowing it away with 4 star recruits. They are pulling in about 4-5 of them a year...the difference in talent from them, to us in the last few decades though, is they have been getting those higher rated 3 stars that have other P5 offers, while the Gophers had been getting the lower rated 3 stars with offers from the likes of Akron. PJ has been turning that around.

When I look at recruiting classes, I don't look at stars, I look at offers...if theres a 3 star that some of the consistent top 25 teams were going after, he's probably gonna be better than a 3 star guy that Eastern Texas Technical Community College was going after.

[j2j]

Whoa, whoa, whoa! I went to ETTCC, and we don't deserve your condescension!

GO SPARKLERS!

[bubu dubu.]

Auburn fans have been pretty reasonable with their reactions to the bowl. The main grief I have seen them have is Ty Johnson's TD where he won a pie, claiming he was out of bounds....

Here's a picture you can show anyone who makes that claim.

[bubu dubu.]

Whoa, whoa, whoa! I went to ETTCC, and we don't deserve your condescension!

GO SPARKLERS!

[Slap Shot]

[Herky]

Impressive win last night.

[HeHateMe]

I was really impressed with the defense. Special teams gave up a TD and the offense put them on a short field after the INT but still held 'em to 3.

[mlhouse]

Auburn fans have been pretty reasonable with their reactions to the bowl. The main grief I have seen them have is Ty Johnson's TD where he won a pie, claiming he was out of bounds....

Here's a picture you can show anyone who makes that claim.

I can see the image.....


Here is a fact. The Gophers were the much better team yesterday.

Auburn scored on a field goal kicked by Dan Carlson's younger brother after a nervous start and Tanner's INT.

Then they scored on a kickoff return.

And another on a breakdown in coverage.

Other than that, the Gophers smashed the ball down their throats and threw the ball over their heads when they were focused on stopping the run, and the Gophers defense contained Auburn.

With respect to the discussion on the 3-star, 4-star issue. What makes the difference in those situations is the coaching. A terrible coach can take a group of star recruits and lose. A good coach can take a group of mediocre recruits and win.

[full force five]

The whole 3/4/5 star topic is interesting. I felt our interior o-line, dominated Auburn's interior D-line. Basically two 3 star and Dunlop who was a 4 star. I'm not going to look but assuming the interior of Auburn is 4/5 star guys. It's about heart, grit, coaching and desire at major college sports. Those dudes have it. I really like number 60 Schmitz, mean, tough, and big for a center who was a low 3 star coming out with mid-major only offers.

[weimy froob]

Gophers’ P.J. Fleck said interim coordinator Matt Simon had ‘tremendous game’



Minnesota wide receivers coach Matt Simon runs onto the field during the Gophers spring football game at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on April 15, 2017.

By ANDY GREDER | agreder@pioneerpress.com | Pioneer Press
PUBLISHED: January 1, 2020 at 9:55 pm | UPDATED: January 2, 2020 at 6:41 am

TAMPA, Fla. — Gophers interim offensive coordinator Matt Simon had a successful audition for the permanent job in Minnesota’s 31-24 win over Auburn in the Outback Bowl on Wednesday.

Minnesota was able to gash a Tigers defense that ranked 13th in the nation with only 18 points allowed per game this season. The Gophers had 494 total yards, 171 more than Auburn’s per-game average.

“I thought Matt Simon called a tremendous game,” Gophers coach P.J. Fleck said. “I thought he was poised all day.”

Fleck felt like that was especially true when Simon wanted to go for it on fourth-and-1 from the Auburn 41-yard-line with 3:20 remaining in the fourth quarter and the Gophers leading 31-24. Simon called a play-action pass from quarterback Tanner Morgan to Bryce Witham, and the fourth-string tight end made a leaping, one-handed catch for 11 yards.

The Gophers had called timeout before the play, and Fleck asked Simon one more time, “Is this what you want to run?”

“He’s like, ‘Absolutely, coach,’ ” Fleck relayed. “I was like, man, the first-day coordinator, you are all over it. But it was a great call.”

Minnesota went for it on fourth-and-1 from Auburn’s 28 with the score tied 24-24 earlier in the final quarter. But Morgan fumbled the snap under center, and while Minnesota recovered, it was a turnover on downs.

In between those fourth-down attempts, Tyler Johnson said Simon “saw something that he liked,” and it was another play-action where Morgan was able to find Johnson wide open for a 73-yard touchdown.

The Gophers also went for it on fourth and less than 1-yard in the second quarter, with wildcat quarterback Seth Green throwing his first pass of the season to Bryce Witham for a go-ahead score at 17-10. Green had rushed 26 times during the season.

The Gophers’ three-year offensive coordinator, Kirk Ciarrocca, left for the same job with Penn State on Dec. 26, and Simon was named interim that day. Simon, a Farmington native was courted by the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks while at Minnesota, has called plays in the Gophers’ underclassman scrimmages for three years.

Fleck said he has been interviewing candidates in Florida via phone, and he expects that process to ramp up after the bowl game.

[weimy froob]

Simon received universal praise from coaches, players and also Auburn’s side after his debut as interim coordinator.

“Their coaches had a super game plan,” Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. “They executed it.”

[PurpleHaze]

hahaha! I feel so sorry for you. You really are pathetic

You feel sorry for me and then call me pathetic. You're a real winner!!!!


Your bit is to spew hate and pessimism towards the Vikes and then talk out of the other side of your mouth and pretend you're a fan. You're the last person to call anyone pathetic. No joke.

Get a grip, kid. I hope you enjoy your new year!

Ok adolescent. Go play in the sandbox.

[Small Hands]

You feel sorry for me and then call me pathetic. You're a real winner!!!!


Your bit is to spew hate and pessimism towards the Vikes and then talk out of the other side of your mouth and pretend you're a fan. You're the last person to call anyone pathetic. No joke.

Get a grip, kid. I hope you enjoy your new year!

Ok adolescent. Go play in the sandbox.

Sounds good. You can’t really get so upset over anyone having an opinion other than yours. Maybe mommy should have taught you that everyone has an opinion. Maybe you wouldn’t be such an angry little bitch.

Not that I need to justify anything to you, but I love all the MN sports teams except the Wild. I’m just not a fucking blind homer like you.

Fuck off now, K?

[PurpleHaze]

Get a grip, kid. I hope you enjoy your new year!

Ok adolescent. Go play in the sandbox.

Sounds good. You can’t really get so upset over anyone having an opinion other than yours. Maybe mommy should have taught you that everyone has an opinion. Maybe you wouldn’t be such an angry little bitch.

Not that I need to justify anything to you, but I love all the MN sports teams except the Wild. I’m just not a fucking blind homer like you.

Fuck off now, K?

Why is your opinion always a big fuck you to everything Vikings? You being a fan is like saying Hitler did great things for Jews, see how that doesn't make any fucking sense whatsoever?

Me a blind Homer? You really are a fucking moron if you think that, no doubt at all in any way. I have ALWAYS said constructive criticism is a necessity, you just have pure and utter hate and it's obvious kid. If you had constructive criticism then fine but it's not even close to that it's just blind hate. You're too fucking stupid to know the difference, that's why this conversation is going no where. I like debating with fellow Viking fans, that's why we will never get along and I will always mock you for being a worthless troll.