On a chilly Saturday in the Twin Cities, Minnesota held off Illinois despite being on the losing end several major statistics, and despite missing several key contributors on defense. As a result, the Gophers are still alive in the bowl game picture, needing to beat 8-3 Wisconsin this weekend for the required sixth win and .500 record- and the much-coveted Paul Bunyan’s Axe Trophy. This is the longest-running rivalry in FBS Football, and while it doesn’t get nearly as much attention as, say, Michigan-Ohio State, make no mistake- it’s every bit as bitter. I’ll discuss the matchup, but let’s look first at how the Gophers managed to best the Illini.
Minnesota Gophers Prepare For Axe Week
The Positive:
Freshman running back Shannon Brooks had a stellar game: 17 carries, 174 yards, and three touchdowns. He was also named Big Ten Freshman of the Week for the second week in a row. I cannot wait to see what this kid looks like a year from now behind what will hopefully be a healthier, more stable offensive line.
Quarterback Mitch Leidner went another week without an interception.
The defense, still with several key players missing, did enough to hang on for the win. Freshmen Julian Huff and KiAnte Hardin, in particular, played very well.
The Negative:
Illinois held the edge in time of possession (35:40 to 24:20) and total yards (433 to 343). If Wisconsin has the ball for an extra ten minutes over the Gophers, or if they outgain the Gophers by close to 100 yards, I don’t see the game ending well for Minnesota.
Leidner completed 15 of just 25 pass attempts, for just 88 yards. The offense has to be more balanced than that this week.
ESPN reports that Leidner suffered a cut on his right (throwing) hand, and was also wearing a walking boot on his left foot after the game. With Paul Bunyan’s Axe on the line, I imagine it would take a significant injury to get either Chris Streveler or Demry Croft into the lineup in place of Leidner, but his effectiveness will be something to keep an eye on.
Up Next…
Yes, Wisconsin has three losses. But look at who beat them: Alabama, then ranked third, in week one; Iowa, still unranked at the time, in week five; and #20 Northwestern a week ago. The Badgers themselves were #25 before losing to the Wildcats. In other words, this is a very good team, despite being out of the Championship picture in the Big Ten. Senior Joel Stave returns at quarterback, having never lost to the Gophers. Stave is going through concussion protocol after the Northwestern game, but it sounds as though he’s on track to play. (Running back Corey Clement has been charged with two counts of disorderly conduct related to a dispute at an off-campus apartment building November 8, but it doesn’t sound as though he’ll be benched or suspended). The offense has been inconsistent all season, but one thing they’re good at is spreading the ball around, both on the ground and in the air. The Badgers have 22 rushing touchdowns on the season, by five different players; Dare Ogunbowale and Alec Ingold lead the team with six and five respectively.They also have 13 passing touchdowns (three thrown by backup quarterback Bart Houston) to five different players. There are, however, two things that stood out to me while watching and reading up on Wisconsin that I think the Gopher defense could exploit: 1) the Badgers’ quarterbacks have been sacked a total of 24 times. Theiren Cockran coming off the edge, or some blitzes by the linebackers, could definitely increase that total; and 2) Stave has 10 touchdowns on the season, but he also has ten interceptions; backup Houston has two more. Forcing the Badgers into passing situations will be key. Also key? Covering receiver Alex Erickson, who had five receptions for 160 yards against the Gophers last year.
While the Badgers’ run defense ranks 6th in the country, and the pass defense ranks 5th, they’ve allowed 10 rushing touchdowns to just five passing. When Minnesota has the ball, they need to hand it off to Shannon Brooks early, often, and definitely in the red zone. The Wisconsin defense doesn’t have that many interceptions on the season (eight), which surprised me as they have a lot of experience in the secondary. The Gophers can’t afford to give their offense extra possessions; however, they also can’t afford to get predictable. Like I said earlier, they’re going to need more than 88 passing yards this week; this might be a good time to involve Drew Wolitarsky a bit more, since K.J. Maye will likely be attracting a lot of attention from the defense. Rashad Still is someone else who has come on of late and could see more targets.
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