[NU Sports] Despite the loss, why I'm happy tonight

[Joe Thiegs]

Yeah, both my teams lost yesterday in games they were in position to win late in the fourth quarter, losing because of pivotal, frustrating plays.  Still, I'm not devastated and even optimistic looking forward.

With the NU game, I was listening to WGN's web audio feed and following the stats on ESPN GameCast after the kids went to bed.  From the post-game interview, I took away that Fitz will use this as a teaching moment.  Remember, the Rose Bowl team blew a (big) fourth-quarter lead and lost to Miami yet rebounded to run the table in the Big Ten.  I don't think we have that kind of team this year, but we can still have a successful season.

I was at the Minnesota-Cal game, and the Gophers showed a lot of poise and toughness in clawing back from 14-0 and 21-7 holes to have the game tied 21-all late into the fourth quarter, even sacking Cal on third and long in Gopher territory, which was nullified by a Cal false start (play never happened).  Cal converted on the second-chance 3rd-and-even-longer on the way to their game-winning TD.  A late pick by Weber (much like Kafka's) stopped what could have been the tying drive for Minnesota and led to the final Cal TD.  (An aside:  Jahvid Best is an absolutely unreal football player.  Lots of fun and a privilege to watch--too bad we were on the other side.)  The point is, though, that the Gophers showed they could hang with and be in a position to win against one of the very best teams in the nation until the very end.  The game was a lot closer than it looked from the box score.

Next week should be very interesting.  The Gophers have shown no rushing game, and the 'Cats haven't shown much of one either.  In the Gophers' case, it seems to be largely because of (a) the absence of a back that can take the game on his shoulders, and (b) an o-line that's big and strong but too often doesn't seem to be able to block very effectively.  Both teams have a strong passing attack, with Kafka spreading it out quite a bit, while Weber-to-Decker is very hard to stop (even when opponents know it's coming and Weber is blitzed or Decker is double or triple covered).  I don't know if there is a more impressive player in the Big Ten than Eric Decker--I can't think of one, at least.  Brandon Green (No. 1) seems to be stepping up a little bit as a decent second threat.  Stoudemire is lightning fast when he gets the ball but has had trouble with drops.  The nice surprise for Minnesota has been the defense.  The front seven has been pretty impressive for the most part, and they've finally got some athletes in the secondary.  Linebacker Nate Triplett won National Defensive Player of the Week honors for his work against Air Force (17 tackles, PBU, and fumble return for game-winning TD).

The teams should be pretty evenly matched.  Using the common road trip to Syracuse as a measuring stick, Minnesota might have a slight edge:  The Gophers beat the Orange in overtime, while the 'Cats lost to the Orange on the last-second field goal.  Of course, it could go either way.

-Joe



-----Original Message-----
From: nwu-sports-bounces at tssi.com [mailto:nwu-sports-bounces at tssi.com] On Behalf Of Jim Bendat
Sent: Saturday, September 19, 2009 11:35 PM
To: nwu-sports at tssi.com
Subject: [NU Sports] Despite the loss, why I'm happy tonight

Sure, I hope NU wins every game. But, every football season, I have one main goal: that SC NOT win the the national championship. That team, and particularly its fans, have this sense of entitlement that forever makes me want to puke. The Trojans' loss today should hopefully eliminate them from any national title hopes. And, with Ohio State also having lost a game already this season, it's hard to ask for more. Now, let's hope the Cats turn it around as conference play begins next week. - Jim B.

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