Gopher Football Sunday: Minnesota at Oregon

Justin Gaard is back to talk about the Gophers loss at Oregon. Ryan Burns of Gopher Illustrated joins and gives his perspective on the loss.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
And welcome you into the six five one carpets plus
studios on this Sunday morning. I'm justin Guard and this
is Gopher Football Sunday. The Gophers fell on Friday night,
late in the evening here Central time, forty two to thirteen.
The record now six and four, four and three in
the Big Ten, with the final road trip of the season,
which has not been good to them. Life on the road,

(00:21):
with a trip to Wrigley Field this next coming Saturday
to face Northwestern at eleven o'clock. We got that kicktime,
I think late last night. The Gophers will face Northwestern
at Wrigley eleven o'clock on Saturday. If you are new
to the show here on Sundays, we try to carve
out an hour for Gopher Talk before we turn it
over to Vikings coverage. They've got the Bears at US
Bank Stadium today at noon. And also if you're looking

(00:43):
for something to do, if you're not going to the game,
join me at Hophouse at Mystic Lake. I'll be there today,
very excited to check out hophouse for the first time
at Mystic, So join me. If you don't have anything
going on today, you're not going to the game at
US Bank Stadium.

Speaker 2 (00:55):
We will be there at noon.

Speaker 1 (00:57):
But the other thing we do here is spend the
first seme of the show examining what we liked what
we didn't like from the most recent Gopher performance. And
unfortunately for the Gophers and for all the fans that
made the trip out to Eugene, Oregon, this was a
road game, which in twenty twenty five means there wasn't
a lot to like. They are now zero to four
on the road, and save for a middle portion of

(01:20):
the game against Cal all the way back in September,
have really just played poorly and in a lot of
cases have just not been very competitive and fairness and savagery.
And it should be noted at the beginning of the season,
when we looked at the schedule, we knew their most
challenging games were going to be on the road.

Speaker 2 (01:36):
The home schedule was extremely inviting.

Speaker 1 (01:39):
It looked like a six and one or seven and
zero on the home schedule side of things, and the
road schedule was meety, especially when it included two playoff
teams in Ohio State and Oregon. But the hope, at
least for me, was, and I know this, most recent
road game was at least get into the games in
the road, to at least get into the first second
quarter where you felt like, all right, let's see what

(02:00):
can happen here, Because odds are Oregon and Ohio State
and to a lesser extent, Iowa are probably going to
be better than you. Certainly Ohio State and Oregon, but
you'd at least like to hope to get into the games.
And in the Big Ten, they just have not been
able to. And opponents have a say in that. And
Oregon and Ohio State have way more talent across the

(02:21):
board than do the Gophers. Obviously, I think that was
pretty clear again on Friday night. But I was hoping
that they could at least smoke and mirror their way
into it on Friday and they just weren't able to
do it. So in terms of what we liked what
we didn't like, Burnsy and I will talk about what
we liked in Eugene, and that was the environment and
atmosphere in the overall vibe. It has nothing to do

(02:42):
with the football game because there just wasn't a ton Obviously,
you can hit the bratch on Brian kfan text line
six four six eight six with your thoughts as well.
Let's start with the Gopher defense, because I do think
that is really the main part of the story. Oregon
got pretty much whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted it,
almost immediate elite. Dante more of their quarterback who's very good,

(03:04):
was insane, had record setting numbers twenty seven of thirty.
He had three incompletions on the entire night, three hundred
and six yards, two touchdowns, countless throws for third down conversions.
The rare times that they needed them, they were able
to get them. And it continued to trend. As Burnsy
pointed out in his most recent Gopher Illustrated dot Com

(03:27):
takeaway story, opposing quarterbacks have completed seventy percent of their
passes on the road for the Gophers this year, or
when the Gophers were on the road seven passing touchdowns
and no interceptions. And I was more frustrated with the
start of the game than kind of as we got
into the game and Oregon made some nice plays and

(03:48):
catches and critical third downs and the touchdown over on
the sideline closest to me where he drags his foot in,
did he not don't know? Those plays are going to
happen where guy just makes a really good play where
the cover is actually there, but one guy's a five
star and one guys of three like that stuff happens
when you play a really good team. I was more

(04:08):
frustrated in the beginning when it was pretty clear that
the Gophers just weren't seeing things clearly. They weren't ready
for the speed, they weren't ready for the scheme, they
weren't ready for the environment.

Speaker 2 (04:21):
Whatever they weren't ready for, they just weren't ready for it.

Speaker 1 (04:24):
And the first couple of drives, and I probably said
this on the broadcast, I know I said it off
the air as we're kind of talking through some things.
They had multiple guys at Oregon running free on multiple plays,
and that just shows that you're you're just confused. You
just don't know what you're looking at. You don't know
where you're supposed to be, you don't know what they're doing.

(04:44):
You're not ready for this, You're not ready for that.
And that's just been the problem on the road. They
have not been ready to go enough to just hold
water and try to make things interesting as long as
they possibly can. Are there going to be plays that
the other team make, especially at Oregon where there's not
a ton you can do about it, of course, and
I think we saw that with their tight end, who

(05:07):
was just a complete matchup problem.

Speaker 2 (05:09):
They had no answer for him.

Speaker 1 (05:11):
And even at halftime PJ said, we've got some matchup
problems out here. I think that's one of the ones
that he was talking about. But early on, when you
on the first drive you have a pretty easy pitch
and catch thirty nine yard play. Just to after you
actually do play a pretty good defense on first and
second down, if I remember correctly, and it's just because

(05:31):
guys had a miscommunication or guys didn't know where they
were supposed to be. And that's the stuff where I
think frustration is warranted and criticism is warranted. Where you
just obviously didn't know where you were supposed to be
or what you were supposed to do, or something confused
you and you weren't ready for something. That's to me
what's been frustrating about the Gophers on the road this season.

(05:53):
There's gonna be games where they just don't have enough dudes.
That's something that we're going to talk about with Burnsey
and how do they close that gap to make it
more competitive, but the first couple of drives, Oregon clearly
had seen a couple of things that they were ready
to exploit, and the Gophers were just not able to
stop it offensively. It's still the problems up front and

(06:14):
on that side. They did try to smoke and mirror
their way into that game with a million different wildcat
looks and a million different formations that we haven't seen
and bringing Cooy Parritch back out on the offense for
more snaps than he's had probably since that col game.
He had a couple, i think against Michigan State, but
they were trying to use him in a lot of
different ways. Wasn't for a lack of creativity, but if

(06:37):
you don't have the dudes up front to give your
quarterbacks some time and give your running back a hole
or two, it really doesn't matter how good it looks
on the whiteboard and how creative you want to be.
And that's just what it felt like to me. Drake
didn't have a ton of time. They did not run
the ball very well, and it's mostly because of what
we've talked about on this show, and I know Burnsy
has talked about it all season as well. They just

(07:00):
haven't been able to consistently block well enough. And moving
forward because I think we kind of know what they
are this year there and they're clearly not going to
make a ton They're not going to do a ton
of changes. I know they mixed and matched a couple
of things on Friday, but moving forward in the offseason
and in recruiting in the future, like the trenches obviously

(07:20):
on the offensive side need to be addressed in a
very big, big way.

Speaker 2 (07:24):
So what now?

Speaker 1 (07:26):
Now, They've got a couple of winnable games against Northwestern
and Wisconsin. The Northwestern game technically on the road, it's
not in Evanston, it's at Wrigley.

Speaker 2 (07:35):
The Wisconsin game is here at home.

Speaker 1 (07:37):
Best case scenarios in eight and four with a six
and three Big Ten record, We'll see what happens these
next two weeks. Northwestern had a heartbreaking loss to Michigan
yesterday where they did pretty much everything they could to
stay in the game and then take the lead in
the fourth quarter, and Michigan gets a field goal at
the buzzer to walk off Wrigley with a heartbreaking victory

(07:57):
for Northwestern. So I think they're still looking for Bowl eligibility.
So that will be as one of the surprise teams
in the Big Ten. I'm curious to see how that
one goes, because this is clearly not the talent that
Ohio State and Oregon have, probably not the talent that
Iowa has. It's probably the most winnable road game they've
had since cal and it's one because of what has

(08:20):
happened and transpired on the road up until this point.
You have to get you have to get this thing
to set yourself up for an eight win season against
a Wisconsin team that has hung in there despite all
the stuff they've been dealing with this year, both internally
and externally, and that's what's ahead of them. So we'll
see what happens these next two weeks. Hit the bratsh

(08:40):
on Brian Kfin text line six four six eight six.
You can also tweet me at Guardsey. We're here until
nine o'clock when we hand it off to Barrero for
Sunday sermons, and then it's vikings the rest of the
day with a divisional game at home today against the
Chicago Bears.

Speaker 2 (08:54):
When we come back.

Speaker 1 (08:55):
My buddy Ryan Burns from Gopher Illustrated dot Com for
his weekly Gopher football Sunday recap and therapy session and
whatever else you want to call it. Burnsey joins me
to talk Gophers in Oregon when we continue on the fan.

(09:42):
Welcome back Gopher football Sunday. Here on this Sunday morning
on the fan, guards you here in the six y
five to one Carpets plus studios, we are reviewing the
Gophers loss on Friday night at Oregon forty two to thirteen.
They are now six and four overall, four and three
in the Big Ten, with a road trip to Wrigley
Field to face Northwestern next Saturday at eleven o'clock. A
guy I know who maybe woke up to that news

(10:03):
or got it late last night and it just made
his weekend that the Gophers are not playing another night
game on the road and another night game in general,
is Ryan Burns from Gopher Illustrated dot com.

Speaker 2 (10:13):
Nobody covers the Gophers like Burnsy.

Speaker 1 (10:14):
That's why we have them on the show every week
and have for a very long time, and that's why
we do a podcast called The Pair and a Spare,
And that's why Gopher Illustrated remains one of my favorite
websites because of what he and Ryan James do. Ryan
James was in the meat grinder last night. We might
spend a minute or two on that with Nico Medved
versus Doug Gottlieb. But Burnsy's on the Connectico Water Systems hotline.

(10:35):
Now he's back from Eugene. No worse for the wear.
How are we doing this Sunday morning, Burnsy?

Speaker 3 (10:41):
We're doing all right. We're going to try to be
as some would say on this radio network. I think
it's a therapeutic davenport of love and trying to support
this fan base that just continues to get their brains
beat in when the Gophers travel on the road and
Friday night, Unfortunately for you and I who made the
trip out there, as I know a lot of Gopher
vans did, we got to work through it.

Speaker 1 (11:02):
There were a lot of Gopher fans out there, which
was awesome as usual, and they hung in. They wanted
to take in the Oregon vibe. They weren't saying, hey,
we're getting crushed at halftime, this game is over, we're leaving.
They wanted to see shout, They wanted to see all
the music that gets played.

Speaker 2 (11:17):
They wanted to see the sunset. They hung in.

Speaker 1 (11:19):
They hung in, but that was another rough one, Burnsy,
and I know you heard a little bit of the open,
but there's gonna be Let's start with the defense, because
there's gonna be. As I said in the open, there's
gonna be times where a guy just out jumps you,
or Dante More threads a perfect pass on a third
down over a linebacker in between the safety, or somebody

(11:39):
makes a one handed catch on his knee on third
and fourteen and gets fifteen yards when actually you had
just come out and scored and made it the two
score game and may have made it somewhat interesting had
you gotten to stop there. But again, the tone defensively
was started in the first couple of drives, where I'm
sure you could see it in the press box. There
were plays where it wasn't just one Oregon offensive player

(12:01):
that was breaking free. It was two, sometimes three where
they were Dante More had his options, and that to
me just speaks to they just weren't ready to go
again to whatever it was the speed, the physicality, the scheme,
the environment.

Speaker 2 (12:15):
I don't know which one of those they were.

Speaker 1 (12:17):
But that's the toughest part for me is I was
hoping to see a little bit more to just get
into the game before things just got completely pear shaped,
and unfortunately they did not see that.

Speaker 2 (12:28):
We did not see that on Friday. Yeah, some of.

Speaker 3 (12:31):
It's about the Jimmies and Joe's and not necessarily the
ex's and o's. But let me ask you this, as
we get into the Gopher defense discussion. Who is your
favorite Oregon quarterback in our lifetime? Would it be your man,
Joey Harrington? Would it be Justin Herbert bow Knicks, Marcus Mariota.
I can continue to go down the line here, I think.

Speaker 1 (12:48):
I'll go with Mariota. I don't really like any of
the other guys. I can't like bow Knicks because he
plays for Sean Payton. Right now, Harrington was fine overhyped
though clearly Herbert he annoys me too because he been
anointed the last five years and they haven't really done anything.
So I guess, by process of elimination, I'm gonna take
the Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota.

Speaker 3 (13:08):
Well, look, I won't disagree with you, but when Dante
Moore comes out and breaks the organ single game completion
record without his top.

Speaker 2 (13:16):
Two receivers, he beats some guys.

Speaker 3 (13:20):
Like that's a if that doesn't just describe the day
for the Gopher defense where they don't force a single punt,
will the starters are still in and then the opposing
quarterback without his top two wideouts sets the organ up.
We just listed all those quarterbacks the organ single game
completion record. I mean, that's how pair shape this thing got.
And from the opening drives where you have a coverage

(13:43):
bus between Zaekwon Bryan and Koy Perrich for thirty eight
easy yards, you have Kenyan Sadik I have his coming
out game where he reminds people why he's going to
be a first round draft pick.

Speaker 2 (13:53):
Is a tight end.

Speaker 3 (13:55):
He would have walked into the end zone if that
throw would have been better on the first drive. Just
too many guys out of position, too many guys taking
poor angles, too many guys missing tackles. And that's how
you look up. And I believe almost all the way
until Oregon pulled the starters. Not only don't you force
a punt, your averaging giving up about eight nine yards

(14:16):
of play? How's that sitting with you? Guardsy not well?

Speaker 1 (14:20):
And I think it's the out of position, like the
bad angles is going to happen because you're just not
used to it, or you're just not good enough, whatever
it is. But the out of position and you wrote
about the first big play, and I guess this to
me is a bigger conversation and we can spend some
time on it. I let's ask it this way. How
would you evaluate the sophomore season of koy Perrich?

Speaker 2 (14:41):
Not great? Not great at all. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (14:44):
I think he is in what the kids would call
the sophomore slump.

Speaker 2 (14:49):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (14:49):
Now the question is why. I think we all can
see that it hasn't been there with some of the
angles he's taken, and he's been putting spots in the
alley is a safety where I mean we've seen him
in spots where it almost reminds you of the early
years of Jordan Howden with how it's been responded to,
or Tyler Nuban or whoever it may be. And as

(15:09):
a young player, you are liable to make those plays.
It's just that in opportunities last year he didn't make
those as a true freshman.

Speaker 2 (15:17):
So the question is why.

Speaker 3 (15:18):
Is it because they were trying to do too much
with him in the offseason. I don't think they would
agree with that or else. Why is coy Perrits playing
a season high in offensive snaps against Oregon for the
first time. I don't know what the answer is, and
that's part of the confusion with the Gopher defenses. I
look across the board right now and I ask you,

(15:41):
I know what the counting stats say for tackles for
loss and sacks in terms of Big Ten games, but
what do they actually do well. They got a takeaway
thanks to and I'll call it a very head scratching
the decision on third and sixteen to go the tunnel
screen throwback to the running back where if you're Oregon,

(16:02):
you're already averaging it nine yards of play. Just run
a normal play and that's the only go for takeaway
in the last month. They've got one. So they don't
take away the football. They can get sacks and tackles
for loss of times, but they don't get off the field.
It's either a sack gets them off the field, but
because I know takeaways don't. So that's where with two

(16:22):
games to go, it gets a lot easier in terms
of Jimmy's and Joe's the next two weeks for this defense,
right facing a Northwestern offense that you know what you're
gonna get. It's gonna bring a lot of people back
to the Kirkshiaki years with what Zach Luhan wants to
do with the Northwestern offense. And then we can ask
Brett for his thoughts on now the revamped and completely

(16:42):
banged up Wisconsin offense. There you're breaking up.

Speaker 1 (16:46):
Yeah, I don't think. I don't think Brett's watched since
twenty twenty three. I think he gave up on this
thing a couple of years ago. But well, maybe we'll
get his final thoughts before the end of the show.
But yeah, I don't think he's watched. But go ahead.

Speaker 3 (16:58):
Yeah, I mean, it's it's going to get easy year,
and they need it to get easier because if you're
going to give up forty two points to orient it,
this just doesn't matter offensively. And that's with the amount
of players that even Oregon had defensively that are going
to be NFL draft picks. That's where the entire first
row of the press box was NFL scouts. So I
do as any I do, as any media member would do.

(17:21):
I go down and talk to one of them, and
I'm like, I think I know how good organ is,
but can like, can you show me? And it's like
ten of the eleven starters have draftable grades right now,
and I'm thinking to myself, oh boy, it's gonna be
an interesting one for Greg Carbo's offense. But it's just
look for the Gopher defense, if you're going to get

(17:41):
knocked back and if you're going to take get poor
angles taken, it, it just is what it is going
to be. But for Koi, it's how do you get
koy playing faster again? And I know everybody wants to
see the interceptions and the takeaways. I do too, but
if you can't stop the run and everything is just
constantly and second and third and shore.

Speaker 2 (18:01):
Some of it's that, some of it's.

Speaker 3 (18:02):
You've actually been able to get home on the quarterback
where if you just get pressure, then eron throws get
up in the air and that's Wherekoaike can go make plays.
But right, it's not just one thing, and that's the
frustrating part about it.

Speaker 1 (18:14):
Yeah, I think that's a good point that you make
about they because he's had some games where I think
he's had double digit tackles, like I do think he's
improved in that area. But it just seems like there
have been so many near misses and then obviously you know,
broken plays like the first one we talked about where
I don't know what happened between him and Za Kwon Bryan.
I don't know whose responsibility that wasn't I don't know

(18:35):
football well enough. It just seems like but they also
haven't they haven't been an advantageous for your safety situations
a lot right where there are those errant throws. So
some of it's probably unfair and just because knowing like
it's not for lack of you know, because some people
think just because because how he kind of is smooth
out there, Like I get texts like it doesn't seem
like he's into it. It doesn't seem like I'm like, that's

(18:56):
completely unfair, Like he's locked in like on the side
lines like before the games, like at practice, Like it's
not for like with supporting teammates with stuff like that,
Like it's not any of that stuff, you know what
I mean that I think people were worried about. It's
just that I think you say it correctly. He hasn't
been allowed to have the impact because of situations that

(19:17):
they put themselves in. But there's also times where I
do think he's just been a step slow. Is that
because he's peeking over somewhere else? Is that because he's
not in the right spot. Is that because he's trying
to make up for somebody else. There's just so many
things that I'm curious about. I guess with.

Speaker 3 (19:32):
Koy, well, that's even where just holistically as a defense,
I think this is one of the games you could
also point to that Minnesota was pressing to get takeaways.
I think about that Oregon touchdown run where it's fumbled
across the line briefly, according to the referees, regains some
sort of possession before fumbling it again out the back
of the end zone, which we can get into a

(19:53):
whole discussion about how different the game of football is
refereed in college versus in the NFL, on how the
rules are somehow so subjective and so different between two.

Speaker 2 (20:05):
Levels that are very very close.

Speaker 3 (20:08):
But you look at that touchdown run and I'm watching
multiple guys not try to get people on the ground,
but they're trying to go with the Peanut Tillman punch.
And that's great if a cabal comes out, but if
you don't get it. I mean, that's where that run
turns into instead of an eleven yard gain, a forty
one yard touchdown, or you saw Kenyan Sadik almost score

(20:28):
on the one where he's ruled down by his helmet.
It sounds like from listening back to the broadcast, and
I know there was if I saw one, I saw
twenty of these. For those of you who did watch
the game and had the TV broadcast on, it sounds
like if people listen to RG three one more time,
they're going to have to take some different types of
medications to have to be able to get through the broadcast.

(20:49):
So luckily for you and I, we don't have to
do that. But it feels like this was a Gopher
defense pressing to get turnovers. They know it like we
know it because I'm the problem with being a media
jack Will asking these kids and asking the coaches, hey,
you've got one takeaway now in the last four games,
your offense is stinks. It's struggling to try and get

(21:10):
anything in terms of advantageous field position, Like where are
the takeaways for the amount of chaos that you've caused
around the quarterback? Which comes back to the tackles for
loss and the sacks, where the Gophers are top three
in the Big Ten. It's a perplexing situation to be
one of the most sacked defenses in all of the

(21:31):
Big Ten, all of college football. Yet you have one
takeaway in the last month. So some of it's they're pressing.
Some of it I just don't think the ball is
necessarily going their way at times. But also you watch
the game and it's about the Jimmies and Joe's with
the amount of speed that Oregon has, and I know
they have one of the best track facilities in the
entire country. Yep Iowa gets to play them in a

(21:52):
driving rainstorm in forty eight degrees and unfortunately for the Gophers,
they got sixty degrees in dry tempts and that.

Speaker 1 (21:58):
Speed played up On tonight, Ryan Burns Gopher Illustrated dot
Com joining here on Gopher Football Sunday, Dan Barrero and
Sunday Sermons coming up next, and it's Vikings covers the
rest of the day. It's the Vikings and Bears at
noon US Bank Stadium. What have been the problems in
coverage in general this year? Burns ey because it's the
seventy percent number that you laid out the quarterbacks on

(22:20):
the road and when we've seen other quarterbacks at home, right,
we saw eighth didn't get going, we saw Michigan State's
quarterback get going. And I know you've spent a lot
of time on Gopher grid Iron radio talking about it
as well, that coverage wise, they just haven't been as
sticky as maybe they've been in years past. So what
what have been the problems?

Speaker 3 (22:38):
Well, on the road, everything's a problem, which is part
of why they've been outscored by over one hundred points
in four games. But yeah, that's the stat of opposing
starting quarterbacks on the road now is to a point
where it feels like they're going against the Madden created
quarterback for those of you who play the video games,
where the Gophers are now allowing eighty two eight two

(22:59):
percent of passes to be completed against them for an
average of two hundred and sixty six yards per game
with nine touchdowns and no picks, and you are just
a wet paper bag in the blowing wind against the
pass and the part of the reason is they stink
its own coverage there. I think that is probably the

(23:20):
biggest difference I've noticed from Corey Heatherman's defense to where
I think they were really good in their zone drops
as a linebacker and secondary unit. To this year, it
seems like either opposing offensive coordinators know the coverage call
that's coming, so whether that's cover two, cover three, cover four,
and either Danny Collins has to mix it up a
little bit more or Minnesota is not in the right

(23:43):
spot where you see busted coverages like we talked about
with Zekwon Bryan and Cooy Perrits, where there's a miscommunication.
But I also think you don't see Minnesota run a
lot of press man because they know they can't really
cover on the outside for some of these freak athletes
like Oregon has Now. I would love to see it
more in these final two regular season weeks because what
Northwestern and Wisconsin have for receivers is very, very very

(24:08):
different than what the Gophers faced out in Eugene. So
it's going to have to be a little bit of
give and take for Danny Collins. But they just have
not been executing their zone drops the way that they
have the last couple of seasons, especially under Corey Heatherman
in my opinion. But it's also you look at empty
recruiting classes in the high school ranks where you're starting

(24:30):
essentially two transfers outside with John Nester from Iowa and
then Jonta McMillan, who's a converted nickel safety, because Zekwon
Bryant has been hurt, Mike Gerald has been hurt. I mean,
you don't want to always be in a spot where
you're starting At the University of Minnesota transfers all the time. Now,
they can hit like they have historically with guys like

(24:50):
Ethan Robinson over the years, but they need to do
a better job of recruiting and developing corners. And they're
playing some young guys Mike Jerald certainly, and zay Kwon
Bryan's been banged up. Yeah, that's also I think part
of the issue here.

Speaker 1 (25:05):
Yeah, and Zaikwon Bryan played the first half, did not
play in the second half, was not It was not
dressed there. So yeah, depth is and depth is going
to be an issue to place like Minnesota, right, that's
the That's the thing. If you lose your top line
in twenty twenty five, you're not going to have a
bunch of dudes just lined up. That's kind of the
way it's going. When you talk about you know, nil

(25:26):
stuff and money stuff and all of that stuff, like
there's there's going to be a drop off. It's just
been a lot, right, and you mentioned it. Brian's been
through some stuff and even when he was healthy, like
earlier in the season. I remember they were think he
got benched one game, you know, early on in the
season because he just wasn't as sticky as they would
have hoped. So they got to figure that out. Speaking
of figuring things out, because I know for this season,

(25:47):
you've probably given up and because there's there's nothing really
you can do in season other than your theory of
just anybody else, just another body, which they are not
going to do well.

Speaker 3 (25:59):
The part let me stop you here is I don't
even know which part of the Gopher team we're talking
about yet, which is part of the issue.

Speaker 1 (26:05):
That would be part of the problem. Yeah, I'm talking
about the offensive line, which you've talked about. You were
on this for you were on this early that they
weren't getting enough, certainly from the interior and obviously when
you lose Philip Daniels to Ohio State, that guy's pretty good, right.
It would probably look a little bit different if you're
trying to plug one hole as opposed to two. But

(26:26):
it again was the issue, and I'm curious what's the
path forward there because they clear they have some empty
money in there that you've talked about, right, and guys
that they brought in that have not played. They have
some young guys there on the x heire that I
think are going to be decent players right, certainly thinking
looking at Nathan Roy. But give me the twenty twenty

(26:49):
sixth plan if you were, if you were Brian Callahan
and PJ. Fleck and whoever's in charge of bringing people
in to get this thing back to a more workable
level before we talk about the game on Friday night.

Speaker 2 (27:02):
Just in general.

Speaker 3 (27:04):
Yeah, that's where I've been talking a lot with Derek Burns,
who does great work for us on the Gopher Good
Iron Radio podcast and former goal to Gopher offensive lineman.
He knows offensive line play, and he made the comment
to me here over the weekend that this might be
the one of the worst Flack era offensive lines he's watched. Now,

(27:24):
why the why is the important here? We're trying to
be a solutions driven Sunday Morning, Davenport of Love Thirday however,
you want to get through this as you're going to
get your Starbucks or heading off to the sanctuary there.
The why is because they have a bunch of empty
recruiting classes in the high school ranks. You go back
to twenty twenty one guys that should be red shirt

(27:44):
seniors right now. It took three high school offensive linemen.
None of them played, none of them are no longer here.
You look at the twenty two class, Ashton Beiers is
the only hit from the four man recruiting class that
they took there. From the ranks, two have left. The
other one is Tony Nelson, who played in this Oregon
game at the very end, but they just do not

(28:05):
give a shot to. And then Greg Johnson is the
hit from the twenty three recruiting class, who is a
third year player. Yeah, you would like to have Philip
Daniels there, who continues to start game after game for
the Ohio State Buckeyes. But when you have that is
a double digit. Between the three high school classes, there
three four or five different guys that they took respectively

(28:28):
in those years, and you can only really point to
two hits three hits. That's the problem is for a
school like the University of Minnesota that just does not
have the portal money, the Phil Knight money to go
out and get adequate bodies. That's the problem is you
see what Minnesota can afford from the portal. They're starting

(28:49):
at right guard and right tackle, and I'd argue they've
been a part of the problem. But the bigger part
is you're not playing kaleide to fi who might be
the most expensive of the three of them, from the
portal for whatever reason, whether that's he's not doing the
right things behind the scenes, whether that's he's not practicing well,
whatever that may be. For a school like the University

(29:10):
of Minnesota, you cannot afford to just have dead money
sitting there where you only have a limited budget in
comparison to your big ten brethren, and for you to
just whiff so poorly that they can't even play when
they were probably expected to be the most talented of
the three of them, that is a problem. And that's
where you get to the twenty six on line. I mean,

(29:32):
that's the question I have is you see what they
can afford from the portal, so are you just going
to then lean into young guys such as Brett Carroll,
who got some snaps in at the end of the
Oregon game, such as DJ Ship, who is a true freshman.
You have a couple of young guys like ri Corey's
Andrew Trout and Gavin Meyer. But we've seen you played

(29:55):
true freshmen on the offensive line in the Big Ten.
May the Lord bless and keep you with trying to
Drake Lindsay upright, who I think for the first time.
I don't know if you watch the game back, but
Drake is starting to actively rip his offensive line coming
off the field.

Speaker 2 (30:09):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (30:10):
And I don't blame him because that's I mean, you
want the offense to do anything. I want the offense
to do anything. But I'm watching Greg Harbo with seven
man protection calls, so seven Gophers are staying in. Oregon
is rushing for and Drake Lindsay by the time he
gets to the top of a shotgun drop has two
guys in his face. It it just they have to

(30:33):
execute better upfront and it gets a little easier. Even
though I think Northwestern Wisconsin's defenses are improved from what
they were a month ago or even.

Speaker 2 (30:42):
A few weeks ago. Yep, But if the.

Speaker 3 (30:44):
Offensive line cannot But I mean, if we're going to
be watching I even think about the amount of vitrol
that was around Greg Harbo's second and twenty run call. Look,
I get it, it's second and twenty White calling a run. Well,
then you go back and watch. The Gophers have seven
guys blocking and there's five organ guys in the box.

(31:06):
Five maybe five and a half if we want to
be kind, the result is a tackle for loss. They
cannot literally block anyone consistently in the same running schemes
that Brian Callahan, the run game coordinator, was executing for years.
And for whatever reason that is, I don't care what
plays you call. We're watching coy perriage, in orbit, motion

(31:29):
run the option with Drake Lindsay, because everything that this
offense does they have to fight for. To get four yards,
they just have to fight for. But if you're not
going to be any good upfront, it just to me,
it doesn't matter. It just you have to find a
way to press the right buttons to get this offensive

(31:50):
line to be physical and to know what way they're
going to step right or left to stop having this
mas upfront.

Speaker 1 (31:58):
Yeah, it's you want to talk about, like why is
Iowa had you know, a pretty good season. And why
did Iowa hang with Indiana, Why did Iowa hang with Oregon,
you know.

Speaker 2 (32:07):
At home both of those games.

Speaker 1 (32:09):
It's because they've had an offensive line that's been intact
for a while, right, and is able to and has
grown up together more kind of what they've done historically,
and they're able to control more things. Right, You're able
to stay on the field offensively, You're able to shorten
the game, You're able to run the ball, You're able
to get Gronowski a little bit of room to make throws.

(32:29):
Like that's the biggest difference I think in the two teams, right, Like,
that's in my opinion, is that they're well, obviously there's
a lot of differences, but if you want to know
how does Iowa do what they've done this year? I
think it starts right there, doesn't it That they've been
able They haven't had a lot of misses, and a
couple of years ago when maybe they weren't running the
ball as well and they were having all the troubles offensively,

(32:50):
those guys were growing up. Well, now they're old and
they're really good and they're able to control more things.
And I know they had a heartbreaking loss yesterday, which
we can talk about. But that's where that's the biggest
difference I see is that they just they can control
things and the Gophers can't control anything up there right now.

Speaker 3 (33:09):
Well, that's where Fleck has even his actions, have admitted
he knows it's a problem because he's not going to
throw an individual player under the bus, right But you
saw the amount of offensive line combinations they had in
September and October. They have the same five guys, but
they're rotating them everywhere, and then they have just essentially
since the buye said well, we're just going to stick

(33:29):
with this group, and I just refuse to believe that
this is the best five because if this is the
most talented five they believe they have.

Speaker 2 (33:37):
Boy, is that a.

Speaker 3 (33:38):
Problem behind the scenes, because what is happening with the
lack of development from some of these other younger guys
where Khalide to five or even a Purdue transfer in
Jaden ball like Tony Nelson Breccare. I mean, I don't
care who you pick for your favorite offensive lineman. It's
just for two games left, the right tackle in the
right guard are going to be out of eligibility when

(34:00):
the Bowl game comes and goes what is the upside
and continuing to throw them out there. I've watched with
my own two eyes what this what the issues continue
to be. And that is where when you bring up
the eyewa thing. And I think that's a great point
because I think that's the way you start to dig
yourself out is you commit to blaying all of your

(34:21):
resources and not just money, but time, energy effort in
the weight room into some of.

Speaker 2 (34:26):
These young guys.

Speaker 3 (34:26):
I do think they have gifted young players on the
offensive line and Nathan Roy, who I think had probably
his worst games starting is to go for on Friday Night.
I mean, he's largely been very, very good for Minnesota
in terms of Richard freshman at left tackle, Greg Johnson
still got years left, so does Ashton Beers. But you
have to start to develop and get ready these younger

(34:49):
guys that are more athleticism and that can help you
down the line, because that's the way you start to
dig yourself out. Commit to the young guys because you
know in the portal for the the demand is always
not going to meet the supply. In the portal offensive
and defensive line, everybody's always going to need them right.
Clearly don't have the budget to get the guys you

(35:10):
need to get there. That's what last portal season has
taught me. You got to start to develop the younger
guys quicker.

Speaker 1 (35:16):
Or do you reallocate how you're doing your money? Do
or do you because like you say, I mean I'm
guessing and I'm not saying you gotta guys have to
take pay cuts, but or do you do you have
to take some chances at some other positions and say
we have to get this right.

Speaker 2 (35:32):
I heard trying to remember who it was.

Speaker 1 (35:34):
It might have been the Tulane coach who was saying
this couple of months ago. And they obviously aren't going
to have as much money as anybody, right Tulane, but
they've had a pretty good program in the last few years.
I think it was tu Lane and he basically said,
my theory was, if we can get the lines correct
on both sides, the rest of the guys will take
care of themselves if we because if you have a

(35:56):
great skill player and you can't block for him, it
doesn't matter, right, so history will. We're putting everything in there,
and I know you got to have the coys and
you got to have the dariuses and obviously I'm sure
Drake's not coming here for free, even though money is
not an option for the Lindsay family.

Speaker 2 (36:09):
But do you do you have to re examine what
you're doing.

Speaker 3 (36:13):
There because for a place, and I continue to say it,
and I know no one wants to hear it, but
for a place like Minnesota, every dollar matters. You don't
have the budget of Phil Knight, you don't have the
budget of Mark Cuban. You have to make sure every
single dollar. And yeah, you have fourteen more million dollars
than what you had a couple of years ago because
of the house settlement, But so to that not a

(36:36):
boon because every other power for program also does so
the way you allocate in the way again, I think
it's a fascinating off season discussion is for some of
your top skill position players. I mean, you mentioned them,
do you really want to have them be top five
in money going forward when you know that you lose

(36:57):
Devin Eastern, Jalen Logan, reading Anthony Smith after this year
and you're gonna have to throw a ton of money
into try to rebuild the defensive line. We've talked about
how the offensive line is no good. How do you
continue to rebuild there? Because that's where it starts in
the Big Ten. If you want to win games consistently, boy,
you better be good upfront. And they ain't good upfront
right now. So when you look at what Marcus Hendrickson

(37:20):
does and you look at what Garrett Chronoff does, that
is going to be a discussion topic for them. With
the portal coming in January and there's only one portal window. Now,
I'll also remind people of that there's one portal window.
It's like second third week of January. Every other school
is going to be saying the same thing. We want
to be really good upfront, but let's see how Minnesota

(37:41):
attacks it here come portal season, because that is going
to be fascinating to see. Is I would do exactly
like Somemmerl said the Tulane coach. You got to rebuild
up front, and so we're going to see what some
of these offers look like to certain guys on the team.

Speaker 1 (37:56):
All Right, in our final couple of minutes, I want
you to rank or evaluate your Oregon experience. You came
in day of game. I had never been out to Eugene.
I don't think you had ever been out to Eugene.
Talk me through what you thought of the place For
those that might be considering making the trip in years
to come.

Speaker 3 (38:14):
It was fantastic, honestly. I mean, yeah, it was a
top three game experience. I think in my fifteen years
of covering college football at different venues, I knew Autson had,
you know, the stereotype or at least the reputation of
being loud, the fans being really into it. I felt
from the amount of times you know, you're just walking

(38:35):
around or even in the lyft or an uber. I mean,
one of my lifts was an Oregon football season ticket holder,
and so I'm picking his brain about what it's like there.
I thought the fans were incredibly welcoming. I think I
had many many A different person say, I'm surprised there'sre's
many Ruin and.

Speaker 2 (38:50):
Gold out here.

Speaker 3 (38:52):
Yeah, like they knew who Minnesota was because of the
amount of Go fans that we're traveling out there. But
I think the way Orgon in like their administration and
their staff put on a go excuse me, an Oregon
football game with the different things in between timeouts and
whatever that may be, is incredibly well done production like that,

(39:14):
that fan base and that the entire fans were into
it the entire game and they just didn't let up
when there was a TV timeout or whatever it was.

Speaker 1 (39:23):
What did you think? I thought it was incredible too.
I left it going. I never want to hear when
a coach gets fired or a high profile job opens up.
I never want to hear Dan Lanning's name ever mentioned again.
Dan Lanning is never leaving Oregon ever, if he if
he ever leaves Oregon, he's an idiot. And I don't

(39:44):
think he's an idiot. And I know he's basically said
as much because he was rumored for the Alabama job
or he was asked about the Alabama job right a
couple of years ago, and he said, I have everything, Like,
I can't imagine being the coach there.

Speaker 2 (39:56):
I just can't imagine being the coach there.

Speaker 1 (39:58):
Where you have all the money that you want, You've
got all the facilities that you want. You've got a
stadium that's only fifty four thousand, right, it's not a huge,
big house Ohio Stadium, even Kinnick or Camp Randall. And
I loved all the music. I loved I think it
was cool that it was a night game for us there,
so we could see that as well. I thought that
added the vibe to it. I just I left it there, going,

(40:19):
if Dan Lanning ever leaves this, then he's not as
smart as I think he is, because this is as
good as setups. And I heard the same from Gopher
fans Burnsy that they had a great experience with the
fans there. One of my friends actually told me I
heard secondhand through another friend that he was in line
for a beer and an Oregon fan pulled him out

(40:41):
of line and directed him to the short line and
said go there.

Speaker 2 (40:45):
There's no way. He just like physically grabbed him said
go over there. Like that. Stuff just doesn't happen very often.

Speaker 1 (40:51):
Like it was awesome, it was cool, and you and
I were sitting there in the press box looking at
the whatever they are, the mountains, the hills, the trees,
whatever you want to call it.

Speaker 2 (40:58):
I just thought, what a place.

Speaker 1 (41:00):
And it's impossible to get too as people know, and
it hasn't historically been this football power, but what a unique,
unique situation they have there. And I just kept saying,
if I'm Dan Lanning, I mean I'm never ever leaving
here because this is as good as it gets.

Speaker 3 (41:17):
It's such a unique experience to be able to overlook
the rolling hills of pines and different types of trees
out there. But it's also set and essentially a residential
neighborhood where you look and up there's Autson Stadium, and
there's the nine figure practice facility they're building. My only qualm.
And I know what upset Andy Greeder, our good friend

(41:38):
from the Pioneer Press so much that he wrote about
it was postgame media. They have this beautiful nine figure
facility being built. They have this beautiful stadium. Yeah, and
I'm sitting in a grad party tent in the parking
lot to try and interview a head coach you just
got his brains beat in by thirty.

Speaker 2 (41:57):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (41:57):
And there's people partery like literally in a tailgate lot
in a party city tent.

Speaker 2 (42:03):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (42:04):
I've never, like I've been to a lot of different
football games in my life covering this team, I've never
seen something like that. It reminds me. I know that
Purdue has done that from time to time.

Speaker 2 (42:13):
Yep.

Speaker 3 (42:14):
In no possible way is Phil Knight's money being like,
how do we not throw us in a janitor's closet
somewhere within the stadium.

Speaker 2 (42:25):
You gottagate lot.

Speaker 3 (42:27):
Yeah, in a party city tent to try and interview
the head coach. And I'm telling you, on the other
side of the tent three feet from him is just
tailgaters just.

Speaker 2 (42:38):
Living it up.

Speaker 3 (42:39):
What a weird type of little experience there at the end.
But yeah, whenever the Gophers do go back, and for
those of you now listening to you and me opine
about it, it's worth it. I mean, I think that
experience was fantastic.

Speaker 2 (42:53):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (42:54):
Did you like the walking tacos and cupcakes that they
had at that grad party that you went to?

Speaker 2 (42:57):
Did you appreciate that? Yeah? Leaves there.

Speaker 1 (43:00):
Yeah, it's it's always funny to me in places that
have all the money do have because the visiting locker
room wasn't very good either. It's disconnected from you know,
it's just basically a standalone room. It's very similar to
similar to Purdue. It always cracks me up, like it
cracks me up, and people don't care about this, but
it is interesting, like Wisconsin's press box and their stuff terrible, right,
Penn State, Penn State? Who was they just paid their

(43:22):
coach seventy million dollars to leave. All their stuff is
subpar compared to where out it. But Oregon knows what's important. Man,
the home team. Yeah, and the home the home team
stuff is nice. And if you don't want to deal
with a few leaves in your party city tent, that's
your problem.

Speaker 3 (43:41):
As I'm watching Dan Lanning do his press conference from it,
what looks like a nineteen seventies like he's this chair
was worth more than the entire setup for the for
the tent.

Speaker 1 (43:53):
It looks like Augusta National where he it's looking. It
looks like Tiger Woods is gonna be next after him
or Rory McElroy. All right, in our final minute or
two burns Ey, And this has been fun. I hope
people have helped. Gopher fans have enjoyed the venting from Burns.
And as we tried to like you say, move to
the path forward. Here we go to Wrigley. You're very excited.
It's an eleven o'clock game, I know, But tell us

(44:16):
what we need to know about the Northwestern Wildcats and
our final minute or two here?

Speaker 3 (44:21):
Well, here's I post this to you in our pre
production meeting. Here, would you rather be the Gophers who
got their brains beat in on Friday night and you
knew that the probably ten minutes in the game they
weren't going to win. Or would you rather be a
Northwestern fan base who saw their team be plus five
in the take give and lose. You had every opportunity

(44:43):
to beat Michigan in Wrigley multiple times your plus five
in the take give. I don't know what the win
probability would be for every team that's ever been plus five,
but it's got to be north of ninety five percent,
and then they get walked off as it as it expires. Now,
this is a Northwestern team that is about the same
as every other Northwestern team. You can remember. They are

(45:07):
well coached, They are physical upfront. You get the narrative
street that I know guards he loves to talk about
on this program. With former Gopher offensive lineman Martees Lewis
starting at right tackle for them, they love to run
the RPO. They're very stout defensively. I mean, this is
gonna be for the next two weeks, both in this
Wrigley game coming up this weekend and in Wisconsin when

(45:30):
they come to hunting to Bank State. First, one of
twenty wins. That's the way that these next two games
are gonna go. It's gonna be a meek grinder, but
it has to be. You know that Northwestern is not
going to out athlete you, certainly not like Oregon did.
So you're gonna have to find ways. And what I
will also mention for those of you make in the
trip guards he wants to make sure you get to

(45:52):
try the Chicago delicacy that is Melord.

Speaker 2 (45:55):
He has agreed to take some with me know what
that is.

Speaker 3 (46:02):
But it's also that Wrigley Field field, just the playing
surface is going to be horrific.

Speaker 2 (46:07):
I could.

Speaker 3 (46:07):
I was watching the game on the plane on the
way home, and I can notice already it's starting to
get torn up. And then I looked at the forecast
this morning for Chicago Thursday, Friday rain. One thing is
gonna be very loose, very Uh, it's gonna be You're
gonna see a lot of guys slipping out there. So
it's a team that is fighting to try and get
to boil eligibility, this Northwestern team. But you better come

(46:30):
ready to play because they will punch you in the mouth.

Speaker 2 (46:33):
Absolutely.

Speaker 1 (46:33):
I appreciate you. Burnsy, We will see you at Wrigley
on Saturday. Thanks man, see you, mister Milort. Ryan Burns,
Gopher Illustrated dot Com Final segment to go for football
Sunday when we come back. Gophers lose forty thirteen Friday

(46:54):
night in Eugene. They're six and four, four and three.

Speaker 2 (46:56):
In the Big Ten.

Speaker 1 (46:57):
They've got the road trip to face Northwest and at
Wrigley next Saturday at eleven, and win these next two games.
Finish eight and four. That's all you can do at
this point and have a good performance on the road.
Show up on the road in Northwestern you would think
would be a more inviting atmosphere and vibe and overall
bit than would Oregon, Iowa and Ohio State be.

Speaker 2 (47:18):
So that's the hope. We'll see if it happens.

Speaker 1 (47:20):
Dan Barrero Sunday Sermons is next have an elite Sunday