2021 Minnesota Game Poster No. 13: West Virginia

Click to enlarge.

Previous game posters:

Ohio State

Miami (OH)

Colorado

Bowling Green

Purdue

Nebraska

Maryland

Northwestern

Illinois

Iowa

Indiana

Wisconsin

In our Cactus Bowl poster, a parody of Pitfall!, Goldy swings from a giant saguaro cactus over a pit in the Sonoran Desert. In the distance are the McDowell Mountains, and below the ground lurks West Virginia's musket-wielding Mountaineer.

The version of Pitfall! I used as the base for the aesthetic was the ColecoVision port because it had a more vibrant color palette than the original Atari 2600 release, though I ended up not sticking strictly to said palette for the whole thing. The sprite designs, limited by the number of pixels the game could use, are simple and flawed. Rather than correct these imperfections, I decided to stay true to them in most cases. This is why Goldy's chest seemingly has a hole in it, as Pitfall Harry's sprite has the same issue.

Thank you to everyone who viewed these posters or even showed them to someone else. I don't know if a similar series will return for 2022, but I enjoyed putting it together this season.

We Are Maroon and Gold Episode 177

A smattering of college football notes, some Gophers-related and some not.

Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes here.

What Might Be the Gophers' Priorities in the Transfer Portal?

The first edition of National Signing Day is next week, but it is also the season of transfers. A year ago, for example, Jack Gibbens announced his decision to join the Gophers from Abilene Christian. With P.J. Fleck preferring to have most (if not all) of his team's high school class locked down by mid-December, Minnesota is also pursuing players in need of a new school.

Typically, there are two reasons to add transfers to your team:

• To build depth, often making up for attrition or lapses in recruiting
• To find stopgap starters to bridge the gap between outgoing veterans and unprepared youth

These aren't isn't hard and fast rules, as every situation is different, but for the average, reasonably well-run college football team, that is why transfers are important. 

This post will examine where the Gophers might need to plug some holes with experience.

Quarterback

Potential need: depth

Minnesota looks unlikely to look for someone who would have a real chance at supplanting Tanner Morgan at quarterback. But the team may have to make up for losses behind him on the depth chart. As the second-choice passer, Zack Annexstad offered experience in the program and as a onetime starter. Maybe Cole Kramer or Athan Kaliakmanis is ready to take second-team snaps (either individually or splitting them), and maybe Fleck wants one or both of them to see garbage-time snaps in preparation for a potential starting role in 2023.

However, he may prefer a more veteran hand as the backup. Additionally, the departures of Annexstad and Jacob Clark will put the Gophers at four scholarship quarterbacks once commit Jacob Knuth signs. If the Gophers want to go back to five to gain some experience at the position, or to protect themselves further from the (low) risk of giving a true freshman meaningful snaps, a transfer might provide that. Though finding the right fit — an upperclassman who understands he isn't supposed to play next year and possibly ever — could be difficult, successfully finding one might be beneficial. Maybe there's a native of the Upper Midwest who wants to be closer to home or a junior college transfer wanting a season in a Big Ten program.

Midweek Review: Wisconsin 13-23 Minnesota

1. JUMP. JUMP. JUMP. JUMP.

Who Makes Sense As the Gophers' Next Offensive Playcaller?

Co-offensive coordinator Mike Sanford Jr. will not return to Minnesota for the 2022 season. The struggles of the Gophers' offense this season, as well as the decline of quarterback Tanner Morgan, have been well-documented, and I've covered them here. This was a necessary move.

Though it'll probably take some time before we know the answer to this question, it's reasonable to ask as the search starts: Who might succeed Sanford as playcaller?

The names that I list below — those of two internal candidates and five external ones — are not the product of any reporting. They are instead coaches I think the Gophers could or should consider to fill this opening on their staff because of their talent and potential fit, and who could conceivably view calling plays at Minnesota as an upgrade to their current positions. Maybe they don't fit for one reason or another in a way we can't see from the outside, whether that be personality or how their career goals align with joining the program at this point. But with what perspective we have, the candidates below have some logic behind their inclusion on this list.

Internal Candidates

Matt Simon — Co-OC, WR Coach

Simon is perhaps the most obvious candidate on several levels, among them his long-running ties to P.J. Fleck. When Simon played receiver at Northern Illinois — Fleck's alma mater — Fleck was his position coach. After graduating, he started his coaching career as a quality control coach on NIU's staff with Fleck. Two years after Fleck followed Greg Schiano from Rutgers to the Buccaneers, Simon had his job as the Scarlet Knights' receivers coach. When Fleck became head coach at Western Michigan, Simon joined as receivers coach, a position he's held on Fleck's staffs since then.

2021 Minnesota Game Poster No. 12: Wisconsin

Click to enlarge.

Previous game posters:

Ohio State

Miami (OH)

Colorado

Bowling Green

Purdue

Nebraska

Maryland

Northwestern

Illinois

Iowa

Indiana

Our last regular-season game poster features Goldy in the place of the protagonist of Dig Dug, blowing up Bucky Badger with an air pump as he leaves the top of the tunnel. There are two white flowers and one large red one to indicate that this is Game 12. The high score is 185100, referencing the year of the University of Minnesota's founding (1851).

I originally made a larger version of this, with a full game map, but the interesting part of the art was always Goldy and Bucky. So while I've generally tried to mimic what I'm parodying as closely as possible, I decided to crop the design for aesthetic purposes. I threw a bit of snow on the ground because of what time of year it is, but like with the Illinois poster, it doesn't appear we'll actually get any snow in the Twin Cities before Saturday.

One thing I thought as I was making this one is that, in a way, its tone resembles old college football paraphernalia, where the home team is depicted enacting some comic violence upon the mascot of the visitors. This would usually be on a button or program. Considering some of the content of those, it's probably best that we don't revive that era. But there's a humor to the genre as a whole, and I'm fine momentarily embracing that in a harmless way before a major rivalry game.

Next week... Well, there is no next week, most likely. Chandler probably will not be able to throw together a poster in time for the Big Ten Championship, should Minnesota somehow reach it. But for the bowl game? We'll see about that.

Midweek Review: Minnesota 35-14 Indiana

A hiccup in the first quarter of the Gophers' trip to Bloomington had the feeling of foreboding, but it soon turned out to be nothing. Facing a depleted Indiana team, Minnesota settled into the game and made quick work of the hosts. Now all that's left is a visit from Wisconsin after Thanksgiving — but first, it's worth reexamining a rare comfortable win.

1. The running game carried the day.

It wasn't flashy, nor was it anywhere near Minnesota's best rushing performance of the season. It was just a consistently good afternoon from the Gophers' offensive line and running backs. Ky Thomas led the way with 105 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries. It was another day where he demonstrated his balance and vision, shuffling away from would-be tacklers and picking up extra yards by spotting areas into which to run.

2021 Minnesota Game Poster No. 11: Indiana

Click to enlarge.

Previous game posters:

Ohio State

Miami (OH)

Colorado

Bowling Green

Purdue

Nebraska

Maryland

Northwestern

Illinois

Iowa

In our poster for the Gophers' 11th game, Goldy (and P.J. Fleck) travel to Bloomington and meet Indiana head coach Tom Allen in front of the Sample Gates, located at the entrance to Indiana University's "Old Crescent." Allen greets his challengers with his program's mantra, "LEO."

The style is modeled on the "overworld" of the second generation of Pokémon games, whose Silver edition is perhaps the video game to which I have devoted more time than any other in my life — even granting how little I've played it since I was probably 12 years old. (NCAA Football 14 is probably its chief rival.) It didn't make sense to have Goldy as a trainer, since he's not human, so like Pikachu in Pokémon Yellow, he follows Fleck around. The building to the left is meant to represent Franklin Hall, home to Indiana's media school.

Though a battle scene might make more sense as a more overt homage to Pokémon games, I thought I had covered too similar a ground with my Iowa poster. I admit that this is among the simplest art I've made in this series, but I am fine with simplicity. Also, having visited the IU campus and found it quite nice, I wanted to pay tribute by portraying one of its landmarks.

Coming next week: a Border Battle poster to close the regulars.

Midweek Review: Minnesota 22-27 Iowa

1. The Gophers lost because their head coach played scared on 4th down.

P.J. Fleck was defensive in his postgame press conference about his decisions to kick four field goals. "You always want touchdowns," he said. But the truth is that he did not coach like it.

Not on 4th-and-goal from the 2-yard line, given the chance to start building an early lead on a team without much of an offense. Not on 4th-and-1 from the 14-yard line to close the first half. Not on 4th-and-2 from the 11-yard line, when Minnesota trailed by 4 points in the second half. Fleck had opportunities to be aggressive but chose to take the points.

His most defensible kicking decision was a 4th-and-9 attempt from 53 yards out — which itself was questionable. Deploying Dragan Kesich for the kick made some sense, considering how limited Matthew Trickett's range is and the power in Kesich's left leg. But Kesich had yet to try a college field goal. Based on what I've seen from him in warmups and in August's open practice, Kesich's kicks are often line drives. Long field goal attempts sacrifice height for distance, but Kesich might be especially prone to low kicks. That heightened the possibility of a block, which is what happened.

Beyond those risks: 53-yard field goals don't often succeed. I haven't seen much accuracy from Kesich in the samples I mentioned. An unblocked attempt might have just missed. The odds of converting on 4th-and-9 weren't good either, but the reward was greater. Even if the Gophers made it but stalled out afterwards, they at least would have set up an easier field goal.

I'm not saying Fleck definitely should have gone for it in this spot, but doing so would have been a valid choice. (That he did not punt in that spot is only worth so much praise.)

The larger point is that Fleck had yet another game where he coached not to lose rather than to take the game. That is inexcusable any week, but to take such a conservative approach in a vital game for Minnesota's chances in the West — against a rival — is particularly egregious. That he was appropriately aggressive one time does not change the fact that Fleck's mismanagement throughout the game made the difference. He must change, or his team will keep losing the same way.

2021 Minnesota Game Poster No. 10: Iowa

Click to enlarge.

Previous game posters:

Ohio State

Miami (OH)

Colorado

Bowling Green

Purdue

Nebraska

Maryland

Northwestern

Illinois

We've finally come to the first poster I made for this season of Gopher football, that for the Iowa game. Unlike other posters, this one isn't modeled on any particular game as much as a genre, specifically fighting games like Street Fighter and Tekken. Goldy and Herky face off on the field at Kinnick Stadium, with the lights shining down and the children's hospital in the background. Each mascot's health bar is in increments representing one win in the series history: 62 for Minnesota, 50 for Iowa. Floyd of Rosedale sits between each bar.

As I said in my original post for the Ohio State poster, I started working on this as something to share among a few friends. A couple of hours into my work, it became clear this was going to be a more expansive project, so I decided to use it for a different purpose and disseminate it to a wider audience. I'm quite proud of how it turned out. Though everything here is traced, doing so pixel-by-pixel to create something like this is a meticulous process. The pictures I found of Goldy and Herky I had to make into sprites. Each chairback in the stands I placed myself. I even made a pixelized Iowa flag to wave from the top of Kinnick's east stand. I put a tremendous amount of work into this, and I hope you find worth in it.

Next week, Goldy goes to Bloomington for Chandler's penultimate game poster of the regular season.

Midweek Review: Illinois 14-6 Minnesota

1. For the second time this season, the Gophers were embarrassed on their own field.

It's not that it wasn't surprising. Though just over a month before, Minnesota fans bore witness to a similar sight — even down to the opposing team's most prominent color — that didn't make this instance more palatable. If anything, it made it worse in their minds: We knew this could happen, and here we are again. And that's what stung more than the surprise: the familiarity. 

Minnesota's loss to Illinois Saturday was inexcusable. Was it as great an upset as the loss to Bowling Green? No. Is it the first time this season that the Illini have gotten an improbable road win? Also no. But for all the talk P.J. Fleck and his players have given about being vulnerable every week, and treating every game like its own championship, to suffer the same fate twice makes those words ring hollow. To have done so for the same reasons that have cost the Gophers games in the past reflects a refusal to break from the way they want to play, regardless of if it is the right way. To have spoiled any chance of a trip to the Rose Bowl before even facing their toughest challenges is the kind of slip-up that embittered this program's fan base long ago.

Because despite what Fleck said coming into the game and has said in its aftermath, Illinois is not a good team. Minnesota, given as much as a 90-percent chance of winning by certain projections, should have made quick work of the visitors. But a hopeless offensive performance, compounded by mismanagement, killed all chance of victory.

2021 Minnesota Game Poster No. 9: Illinois

Click to enlarge.

Previous game posters:

Ohio State

Miami (OH)

Colorado

Bowling Green

Purdue

Nebraska

Maryland

Northwestern

My Gophers game poster this week is based on the title screen to The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, one of the most beloved video games ever made. Instead of Hyrule Castle, though, the structure in the foreground is the Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis. The city's skyline is in the distance and reflected on the water instead of mountains. To reflect the transition into November, ice is beginning to form over the top of the Mississippi River, and the sky is a dreary grey. Meanwhile, Goldy's silhouetted face is in the clouds. The title itself, done in the style of the original font, features the state of Minnesota in place of the Triforce and an oar where Link's sword would be.

A friend to whom I showed this a few weeks early said this was my best poster. I'm not sure I agree, but I do feel good about it. My biggest regret is that Minnesota takes up too much space, obstructing the view of a skyline I tried to make look true to its inspiration. If you want a clear look at it, here you go.

I have nothing else to point out except that a month ago, when I finished this, I thought it would be colder in the Twin Cities by now. Certainly, I figured, it would have snowed once, right? Alas, that is not the case, and my poster looks a season ahead of schedule. It wasn't worth correcting at this point, both due to the time required during a busy week for me and because I like the way it looks just fine. At least my being wrong means that it will be nice at the game on Saturday.

Next week's poster is the one that started this whole project back in March, for the game against Iowa. Consider coming back here to see it.

Midweek Review: Minnesota 41-14 Northwestern

Domination is not always pretty, or even interesting. The Gophers' sixth win of the year was neither. But it was what they needed to do against a bad Northwestern team whose specific weaknesses made for a favorable matchup, and now Minnesota sits alone atop the Big Ten West.

1. The Gophers stuck to their usual philosophy and were rewarded.

As I said at the end of last week's post, Northwestern was going to allow Minnesota to run the ball. The Wildcats field one of the worst run defenses in the country, giving their run-first visitors a distinct advantage Saturday.

It played out predictably: For the second straight week, Minnesota ran for more than 300 yards. Over their eight drives, the Gophers gained an absurd 84 percent of available yards, by a good margin their highest mark this season. Though there were a few more big runs than they've gotten most of the season, the Gophers did their work in smaller chunks: 3 yards here, 7 yards there, with few negative plays and a perfect success rate in "power" situations (3rd- or 4th-and-2 or shorter). It was hardly flashy, but it worked.

2021 Minnesota Game Poster No. 8: Northwestern

Click to enlarge.

Previous game posters:

Ohio State

Miami (OH)

Colorado

Bowling Green

Purdue

Nebraska

Maryland

In honor of Halloween, this week's Gophers game poster is based on the cover artwork for one of the most acclaimed horror video games of all-time, 1999's Silent Hill. Goldy Gopher takes the place of protagonist Harry Mason, staring off into the snowy Evanston night. (Disclaimer: It's not supposed to snow Saturday. Nor is it a night game.) In place of Harry's daughter, Cheryl, is Willie the Wildcat, who walks past the eerily glowing entrance to Ryan Field. P.J. Fleck's face can be seen where police officer Cybil Bennett's is on the original cover. In the fog is the ghostly image of Joseph Medill, the namesake of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. I've added branding in imitation of a PlayStation game's jewel case and the old Konami logo.

I don't know if this is my best game poster, but it is among my favorites. Like the Colorado poster, I made this with a drawing pad, tracing images as best I could to fit the style. Goldy is the best-looking object in the picture — vitally so, seeing as how he is the most prominent. I wanted him to look less like the modern Goldy and more like that from 1999, so I found old gameplay footage of an old NCAA Football game to trace over. This helped me get a three-dimensional-looking shading better than probably anything else I drew. Fleck and Medill look a little more "drawn" than I was hoping, but they each are significant improvements from where I started. I had to tone down the detailing to make sure they looked more feasibly like they were created on a computer in 1999.

Similar to Purdue Pete's cameo on the Purdue poster, maybe my favorite detail I threw in is Medill. It's just a dumb nod to all the Northwestern alumni in media who have been the subject of internet jokes beginning with "As a Medill grad...". I have no strong opinion on Medill grads, but I thought it would be a decent bit.

Now, to answer an important question: Is Ryan Field scary enough for a Silent Hill parody? Not really, no, unless wealthy suburbanites frighten you. Especially not this year, with Northwestern's shoddy play. The place is usually a haven for visiting fans. But the Wildcats have seen some weird peaks, and the height of their stadium's natural playing surface has been mythologized as helping even the odds against superior competition. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a way to work in the grass. But let it be known that I did want to include it.

With a game against Illinois next week, there will be an Illinois poster next week.

Midweek Review: Maryland 16-34 Minnesota

For once, the Gophers made it easy. Saturday's 34-16 win over Maryland was not flawless, but it was a far smoother game than Minnesota has had since trouncing Colorado, and it was over a likely better team than those now 2-5 Buffaloes. It was a game where Minnesota's experience along the lines dominated, and where the team's running backs romped for more than 300 yards. And it was a win that puts the Gophers on the doorstep of a bowl and increases their odds of finishing near the top of the Big Ten West. Not a bad place to be after seven games.

1. Minnesota's rushing attack delivered a beating.

If P.J. Fleck has a vision of what a perfect game looks like for his team, it might resemble this one. Using their behemoth offensive line, the Gophers plowed over the Terrapins with little resistance. Nearly three-fifths of Minnesota's runs gained at least 4 yards, and only three carries failed to gain yardage.

While the Gophers gained plenty of yards between the tackles, they created their biggest plays attacking the edge. Outside zone calls and intelligent cutbacks led the Gophers' running backs into open space for chunk plays like this one:

2021 Minnesota Game Poster No. 7: Maryland

Click to enlarge.

Previous game posters:

Ohio State

Miami (OH)

Colorado

Bowling Green

Purdue

Nebraska

In this week's game poster, it's a parody of Mario Kart, with Goldy speeding away from Testudo at the finish line. In the place of Lakitu is P.J. Fleck, brandishing an oar instead of waving a checkered flag. Minnesota's stadium is in the background.

For this one, I referred to different iterations in the Mario Kart series rather than using just one. The original uses an aesthetically unappealing double-box setup to display both the map and the player. That would not look good as a poster, so I instead used the map overlay that appears in future games. Though the simple backdrop is meant to resemble Mario Circuit, I based the track on the roads going around the stadium. The turn onto Oak Street from 6th Avenue in the northwest corner is a bit sharp, but a player could navigate it smartly by drifting.

I came to the idea when thinking of turtles in video games, to represent Testudo. Bowser was an obvious comparison. It might have been too obvious, but I thought basing the poster on Mario Kart rather than on one of the battles against Bowser in a core game was a workaround. While I used Bowser as the base for Testudo's sprite, I "painted" Goldy on top of Yoshi.

Come back next week to see a game poster befitting a game the day before Halloween.

Midweek Review: Nebraska 23-30 Minnesota

Minnesota's bowl chances are a lot higher after beating Big Ten west rivals Nebraska Saturday. The Gophers never trailed, but it ended up anything but easy thanks to a second-half Huskers surge. Though much of that was down to execution, better coaching in the second half might have made the game more comfortable in the end. Regardless, it was a solid win in many ways, beginning with the Gopher offense's dominant first half.

1. Mike Sanford Jr. had his best half as the U of M's playcaller.

From the start of the game, the Gophers broke from their usual tendencies. On their first play, instead of handing the ball off, Tanner Morgan threw a quick hitch to Chris Autman-Bell out of a six-lineman set. On the next 1st down, Morgan threw again. When his pass fell incomplete, the Gophers didn't try to just make 2nd-and-manageable and run the ball; Morgan threw a slant that picked up 10 yards for the conversion.

As the Gophers continued driving down the field, they used six different personnel groupings on 14 snaps and never ran on more than two plays in a row until within the red zone. When faced with 4th-and-1 from the Nebraska 5-yard line, P.J. Fleck didn't hesitate in leaving the offense on the field. Then, sub-package quarterback Cole Kramer finished off the drive with his first college completion, finding a wide-open Brevyn Spann-Ford in the end zone.

2021 Minnesota Game Poster No. 6: Nebraska

Click to enlarge.

Previous game posters:

Ohio State

Miami (OH)

Colorado

Bowling Green

Purdue

This week's poster is straightforward: It's the player selection screen from NBA Jam, but with players from the Gophers and Cornhuskers. The original hardwood backdrop is now turf, the teams are all from the Big Ten, and the basketball-related attributes are now for football. Each player's portrait is pixelated like in the actual game. Minnesota and Nebraska's logos are true to the era, with football-toting Goldy and the Tom Osborne-era "Huskers" script over the N.

I have only a couple of things to point out about my process here. The first is that Adrian Martinez has been so good that this week, I had to change the attributes I gave him in May, when I first finished the poster. I thought if I had to change anything, it would be because he played poorly enough to be benched. Instead, I had to bump his throwing and speed ratings to not look like a fool.

The second item is the concept of the ratings and how I imagined a two-on-two football video game looking. I thought of how backyard football games go and what the traits are you need in those: You have to run, you have to catch, and you might have to avoid being tackled and fumbling. Sometimes, you have a real quarterback, and sometimes you don't. Imagine Big Ten Jam (an incongruous pairing, I know — a game that is loudly fun and an organization that is stodgily self-important) as something like that: backyard football, but with superhuman leaping catches and over-the-top jukes. You can run the option or throw the ball. Most attributes are self-explanatory. We'll say strength determines how often a player fumbles or forces a fumble. Maybe Gus Johnson does commentary. I think that sounds alright.

Next week, Minnesota hosts Maryland, and you can once again expect a game poster in this space.

Midweek Review: Minnesota 20-13 Purdue

In a rainy West Lafayette, the Gophers got their first win of Big Ten play on Saturday. With an idle week upcoming, we'll have to wait a while to see if this foreshadows Minnesota's season getting back on track. But for now, the Gophers are above .500 after beating a competent opponent.

1. Minnesota went deep a lot. (By their standards, anyway.)

Tanner Morgan's first two completions of the day signaled how the Gophers would approach the rest of the day: They would use lots of play-action, they would throw short (as on a 6-yard gain through Ko Kieft), and they would go deep (as on a 32-yard touchdown to Chris Autman-Bell), with little in-between.

On the day, Morgan attempted 18 passes, and seven traveled at least 30 yards downfield. Three of those ended in completions, and if not for an Autman-Bell drop, another would have. Though he underthrew his receivers a couple of times — probably not a product of avoiding overthrows like the one he had last week, but potentially — and he was hardly asked to make intermediate throws, Morgan was accurate and kept the ball out of danger of being intercepted. It was a fairly sharp performance from a quarterback that has taken a lot of criticism since last year.

The reason Morgan could take so many shots downfield is that his offensive line kept him clean most of the day. After getting pressured on nearly half his dropbacks and sacked four times against Bowling Green, Morgan only dealt with six pressures against Purdue (according to Pro Football Focus) and was never sacked. The Boilermakers' George Karlaftis and Branson Deen each got in a couple hits, but that wasn't often enough to significantly impact Morgan's performance. His blockers did well, which allowed him to do well.

2021 Minnesota Game Poster No. 5: Purdue

Click to enlarge.

Previous game posters:

Ohio State

Miami (OH)

Colorado

Bowling Green

This week, the Gophers hit the road for the first time in Big Ten play. For our purposes, we'll imagine that the whole team has been crammed into the back of a van closely resembling that from the Sly Cooper series, with a maroon-and-gold paint job, the raccoon logos replaced with Gophers, and the ringed-tail flag changed to brown. As they roll into West Lafayette, the ominous likeness of Purdue Pete looks down upon them from the night sky.

I was going to reference the Sly Cooper series at some point as part of this project, as every game of the original trilogy ranks among my favorite video games. (Sly 2 might be my favorite game ever.) To imitate the Cooper Gang's van, I placed custom shapes over it in PowerPoint until I had a new, Minnesota-themed van. PowerPoint is where I made everything else on the poster as well, including an obscured depiction of the university gateway on the corner of Grant and State streets. This was an arduous process, but I think it turned out well. I hope Purdue Pete's ever-looming, terrifying presence — sort of like Clockwerk in the games — is as funny as I've thought it to be since adding it at the end.

With no game next week, there's no poster. But expect one in the days before Nebraska comes to town.

Midweek Review: Bowling Green 14-10 Minnesota

1. This was the most inexcusable performance of the P.J. Fleck era.

The Gophers were 30.5-point favorites entering the game. Depending on which projection system you prefer, they were given a roughly 97-percent chance of winning. After the win at Colorado, Minnesota had jumped to 30th in the Massey Composite, a full 95 spots above the visitors. Fleck, in his fifth season in charge, has raised the program's level in recruiting and has a roster consisting nearly entirely of players he signed. The starting lineup on both sides of the ball is full of upperclassmen, many of whom were starters or contributors to the team that went 11-2 two seasons ago.

Bowling Green had not beaten an FBS opponent in nearly two years. The Falcons' roster was full of underclassmen, many of whom along the lines were 20 or more pounds lighter than the Gophers lining up against them. Their head coach, Scot Loeffler, has spent the last decade riding the fact that he was once was Tim Tebow's position coach, getting this job after three seasons of coordinating dreadful offenses at Boston College. He was likely to be fired after this season and still might be, seeing as how this was just the fifth win of his tenure.

Save for a catastrophic rash of injuries and bizarre turnovers, there was no reason for Minnesota to have lost this game. (And even that scenario might not provide enough of an excuse.) If it was merely close, there would be reason for worry and sharp criticism. And the Gophers lost. They lost because they beat themselves with a conservative offensive philosophy that has gotten them in trouble in the past but never changed, as well as sloppy play.

As embarrassments go, the Gophers have not suffered anything comparable since losing to South Dakota in Tim Brewster's final season. It was fully avoidable.

2021 Minnesota Game Poster No. 4: Bowling Green

Click to enlarge.

Previous game posters:

Ohio State

Miami (OH)

Colorado

The inspiration for this week's poster is the classic arcade game Space Invaders. In place of the player's ship is Goldy's head, which is firing lasers at a horde of pixelized Bowling Green logos. With nine games to go entering this week, Goldy has nine lives. To imitate what a game looks like in a cabinet — where a layer of plexiglass sits above the screen — I added a faint glow around every sprite.

There isn't much to say about this one, as it was rather straightforward. As with Miami, there aren't a ton of interesting potential video game tie-ins with BGSU's mascot. As a result, I chose a game that can be used generically enough to fit for any opponent. Goldy's head doesn't quite match the proportions of the original ship because there was no way to make his two teeth look good in a sprite that's an odd number of pixels wide. The laser he shot is therefore off-center from his head, though it's far enough away that that should be imperceptible at a glance. I came around on the glow effect after a few weeks of looking at it; the version of the poster without the glow felt flat. Overall, I like the way the poster turned out.

Next week, Chandler will unveil his poster for the Purdue game.

Midweek Review: Minnesota 30-0 Colorado

There was a party in Boulder on Saturday, though its thousands of participants weren't the hosts. Legions of Minnesota fans traveled to see their team win handily against a Power Five opponent, packing Folsom Field with maroon and gold and making plenty of noise. It was nearly end-to-end domination, even with some small imperfections in the Gophers' performance. They look on track to make a bowl or maybe finish as high as 2nd in the Big Ten West.

1. Joe Rossi's defense delivered a historically suffocating performance.

After disastrous bursts against Ohio State and a mixed day against Miami (OH), it was fair to question where the Gophers' defense was going. Rossi stabilized this unit when he replaced Robb Smith as defensive coordinator in 2018, and he fielded a strong group the following year, but last season, the bottom fell out. Though there were signs late in 2020 that his inexperienced players were settling in, Rossi needed them to put forth a complete performance facing a limited Colorado offense.

The defense delivered just that, and then some. Saturday's game was the first Minnesota shutout since 2006, the first shutout of a power-conference opponent since 2004, and the first road shutout of a power-conference opponent since 1977.

By my searching, the Gophers allowed their fewest non-sack rushing yards (12) since 1998. Before then, game-by-game stats are less complete. However, I could find no other game from 1979 onward (when the school's web-based box scores are available) in which Minnesota allowed negative unadjusted rushing yards. The closest any opponent came was Michigan State's 3 yards in 2006. It's possible this was the lowest unadjusted rushing total the Gophers have allowed since Michigan netted -46 yards in 1962.

Colorado's 63 net yards of offense is also the lowest total of any Gophers opponent since at least 1979. The next-closest team was 1983 Northwestern, who put up 118 yards yet beat Minnesota 18-22 in a chaotic game. (The Wildcats recovered eight of 13 total fumbles.) Saturday's performance is also just 15 yards off the program record of 48 yards allowed, recorded against Navy in 1962.

And that total yards figure was not entirely the result of the Gophers' offense hogging the ball (which it did). The Buffaloes averaged 1.4 yards per play; at that pace, they would have needed another 26 plays to cross 100 total yards for the game. If the Buffs had run 80 plays, which is what some of the highest-paced teams in the country average per game in a typical year, they would have totaled just 112 yards. Sure, the Gophers would have allowed more yards if they had faced more plays, but it's not like that's the only reason they kept their opponents' numbers so low.

Surely no one is asking whether this game means Minnesota has a top defense now, considering the flaws it showed in earlier games. But the fact the Gophers put forth, without hyperbole, their best statistical performance in decades should be cause to recalibrate our stance on this unit. While it's not so strong that it won't get burned against the right team, Rossi has a defense that can keep weaker opposition at arm's length. That represents a major step up from last year and, if it holds, will likely be worth an extra win or two by season's end.

2021 Minnesota Game Poster No. 3: Colorado

Click to enlarge.

Previous game posters:

Ohio State

Miami (OH)

I have been looking forward to unveiling this week's poster for some time because of the many hours I put into it, what I learned trying a new method and aesthetic for this one, and how well I feel it turned out. While most video games I reference in this series are old enough for someone to be nostalgic for them, this week, we're parodying the cover of Red Dead Redemption 2. For the unaware, it is one of the most acclaimed games of the last decade, taking place in a serious of fictional states resembling the American West. One such state imitates Colorado. In place of protagonist John Marston in my poster is Goldy; instead of a gang of seven masked riders, there are five Minnesota football players.

Much of what is on this poster I made with a drawing tablet, which I purchased just for this purpose. I love the almost chiaroscuro shading in the game's art, and I was glad to find a tutorial on YouTube that helped me a bit with imitating it. The original picture of Goldy I traced actually features him in the Jerry Kill-era uniforms, but updating the design wasn't too difficult. In the sun, behind Goldy, there is supposed to be a mountain; however, when I placed him into the picture, the mountain was obscured. The sun and the ground I gave a more scuffed, "painted" look using different brushes in GIMP, combined with the smudge tool. For the drawings, I used the ink tool.

The five players are, from left to right: Chris Autman-Bell, Coney Durr, Tanner Morgan, Braelen Oliver, and Mohamed Ibrahim. Obviously, Ibrahim won't play against the Buffaloes or in any other game remaining in the season, but having worked on this for much of June and into early July, I frankly have put am not about to spend more time to replace him in the poster.

Come back next week for Chandler's Bowling Green game poster.

Midweek Review: Miami (OH) 26-31 Minnesota

The important thing ultimately is that Minnesota won on Saturday, and for a long stretch firmly in control of proceedings. But the manner in which they won, by letting Miami back into the game with predictable offense, untimely penalties, and getting beaten in pass defense, after the RedHawks produced nothing in the first half — that's all reason for totally valid concern. The Gophers have a lot to correct before their trip to Boulder.

1. It started off so well for the Gophers' pass defense.

Miami couldn't throw the ball against Cincinnati with A.J. Mayer in Week 1. With Brett Gabbert in at quarterback on Saturday, the RedHawks were probably going to fare better. But in the first half, that didn't look like it was going to be true. Gabbert's longest throws fell incomplete. When he completed passes, Miami's receivers didn't pick up additional yards. His pocket wasn't clean. Gopher defenders broke up a couple passes. Going into halftime, Miami was down 21-3, and a big reason was that Gabbert was 5-for-12 for 57 yards. 

2. After a while, Miami's passing game got better results... but it still wasn't a great day.

Gabbert's initial struggels didn't hold up, in part because he didn't actually play that poorly from the beginning. His misses weren't by much, and he hit his receivers in the hands on a couple incompletions. Though he didn't put in a great first-half performance, Gabbert was not the main reason Miami was down.

After halftime, the RedHawks started connecting on some of their deep throws. Roughly two-thirds of their second-half passing yardage came on four plays, and only one came with significant yards after the catch.

The first big completion was this fade from Mayer to Jack Sorenson. Though Terell Smith kept in phase and had tight coverage, the underthrown pass gave Sorenson a chance, and he set up 1st-and-goal with a great catch.

2021 Minnesota Game Poster No. 2: Miami (OH)

Click to enlarge.

Previous game posters:

Ohio State

This week's game poster stars Goldy in the place of Bo Jackson in Tecmo Bowl, spiking the ball after a touchdown. The stadium in the background is adjusted slightly to look more like the Gophers', and the referee is dressed like a Big Ten referee instead of an NFL one.

This one was relatively straightforward — it was one of the posters that took the least amount of time — but it had its own minor difficulties. It was hard to make Goldy look just right; as much as I tried to downsize his biceps from how absurdly large digital Bo's are, I could only do so much. So Goldy is a bit more buff than he is in real life. The colors are also a little more muted than I initially had them in order to better match the game's color palette.

And there was the simple difficulty of figuring out what this poster should be. There's little history and no animosity between Minnesota and Miami. The game is unlikely to be very close. There was no interesting way for Goldy to interact with Swoop the RedHawk. I could be accused of sidestepping the issue by not finding a Miami tie-in, but I'm fine with that. Everyone knows Tecmo Bowl. Unless the Gophers play with their food for a while or break some records, this game shouldn't be memorable for anyone. An essentially generic poster, then, is suitable.

Come back next week to see the poster for Minnesota's trip to Colorado.

Midweek Review: Ohio State 45-31 Minnesota

Minnesota figured to be a decent team this season. Ohio State figured to be one of the best in the country. After the Buckeyes left Minneapolis with a 45-31 win Thursday, the Gophers having led for stretches, it makes sense to stick to our assessments of each. Even so, we can take away some things that can inform our opinion on the season ahead for Minnesota.

1. The Gophers' defense burst too many times.

Ohio State started its first drive 8 yards from their own end zone. A few plays later, and the Buckeyes had more space, but they faced a 3rd down. To get an early stop against what might be the best offense in the country would have been a significant early victory for Minnesota. The Gophers' defense is likely to be more reliable in 2021 than they were last year, but it was hard to imagine them keeping the Buckeyes off the board often Thursday. To have a chance, the Gophers needed to take advantage of opportunity they had to prevent OSU from scoring.

Instead, this happened.

The Buckeyes opened in a funky form of quads to the field, with two receivers stacked on top of one another in the slot and tight end Jeremy Ruckert positioned as a wing back. This forced the Gophers' defensive backs over the field side, essentially leaving rush end Boye Mafe and safety Tyler Nubin the only defenders protecting the boundary. At the snap, Ruckert pulled across the formation and kicked out Mafe. Miyan Williams got outside too quickly for Nubin to change course after he came crashing down to make a play. Williams kept running for a 71-yard touchdown.

2021 Minnesota Game Poster No. 1: Ohio State

Click to enlarge.

Since 2013, the Ohio State blog Eleven Warriors has had a running tradition during football season: For every game, graphic designer Walt Keys makes a game poster in his distinct style, featuring Brutus Buckeye in a scenario relevant to that week's opponent.

OSU meets Clemson? Keys recreates a Calvin and Hobbes strip. The Buckeyes travel to Texas for a matchup with TCU? Brutus rides into the sunset with a Horned Frog on a spit. Chase Young, "The Predator," is back for the Penn State game? A dreadlocked Brutus stands partially out of frame, pointing three lasers at the forehead of the Nittany Lion statue. Keys' posters — like the blog, as well as most Ohio State fans on the internet — can take an arrogant tone but are routinely clever and look universally cool.

2021 Gophers Season Preview

I realize it comes across as naïve to say that the reservoir of stupidity, greed, labor exploitation, and brain trauma that is college football has a genuine, intrinsic beauty. The rituals passed down to us and that we form with our friends, the historic rivalries with neighbors, the glow of a college campus on Saturday, the idea of an affordable pastime, all have been and will continue to be watered down and slowly drowned out by the organizations whose colors we wear or to whom we pay a streaming subscription. Every criticism of the sport's culture is valid. Major college football is an all-consuming machine of a business that will continue to be corporatized and "Who's In?"-ed to death until all that is left is a soulless, exclusionary enterprise for the richest fans and most popular programs, with a sportsbook logo branded on everyone's shoulder.

And it probably comes off as pretentious to get so nihilistic, to act like these things weigh on me, but they do. My alma mater's football team plays in a stadium named for a bank. A decade ago, playing traditional rivals and preserving the sport's larger, regionalized ecosystem was less important to the school and its conference mates than expanding into new television markets. Its administration correctly backed out of playing sports during a pandemic a year ago, only to change their minds when they saw how much money everyone else was making. (Unless I'm being harsh, that is — the group who made sure their discussions were exempt from public records requests clearly was not trying to hide their motives.) It buys out basketball coaches, orders new football uniforms, and gets enough boosters on the line to build $166-million facilities but claims it has to cut a few non-revenue sports to make ends meet. Where is the beauty or altruism?

You and I both know that altruism wasn't ever there. The sport has been this way since practically the beginning. I just didn't know any better when it entranced me at 9 years old. Supporting college football has always been an ongoing moral compromise, and that was arguably never truer than in 2020.

But would I be writing this if I could quit?

For now, at least, I can still be blinded by the beauty. This week, I felt called to watch the Prayer at Jordan-Hare again. I watch some perspective of its sequel, the Kick Six, every couple months. My mind sometimes drifts to Quinton Flowers, a man who deserved as much as anyone to be fairly compensated for his labor, and who did everything he could except win in one of the most perfectly loony football games ever. This summer, I was on the field at Jones Stadium in Lubbock and gleefully recited to my football-agnostic friend every detail of November 1, 2008. I consider Minnesota's 2019 victory over Penn State one of the best memories of my life.

I long to make more of those memories. Between Minnesota's last home game with fans and their opening game of the 2021 season, it will have been 642 days. Twenty-one months without tailgates, without "Battle Hymn of the Republic," without "Who hates Iowa?" chants in the concourse. My brain tells me there's ample reason to make our wait longer, considering the recent spike in COVID-19 cases, but every part of me feels that it's been too long. God, do I want to be back.

While I'm fully vaccinated (and dearly hope you are as well), it will take a moment for me to feel home again. The most crowded place I've been since last March might be the grocery store; a crowd of potentially 50,000 people may be too much for me. I might spend the next 3-and-a-half hours fearing what happens when all of us go home, or to work, or to school. My conscience won't be clear this season, and it won't in any season to come.

Yet when I find my seating companions and can finally catch up, that apprehension will fade a little. At 6:38 p.m., when the Pride of Minnesota spills out of the tunnels, it'll fade a little more. And just before 7:00 p.m., I'll see this...

...and at least for a moment, I'll feel that rush: the genuine happiness that college football gives us, that the capitalists who run it can commoditize but not quell, and that so completely detaches us from reality. For a little while, what happens on that field will be the most important thing in the world.

Is this good for me? For anyone? I cannot say yes. But it feels too good for me to walk away.

2021 Gophers Position Previews: Special Teams

After a truncated 2020, Minnesota returns to a full 12-game football season Sept. 2 against Ohio State. Here at Ski-U-Blog will be previews of the team's notable players within each position group. Here is the final post in this series, covering the Gophers' specialists.

Likely Starters

Since Emmit Carpenter's departure, Minnesota's placekicking has gone downhill. As an upperclassman, Carpenter wasn't able to replicate his 2016 Big Ten Kicker of the Year success, but he was nevertheless reliable. He converted every extra-point attempt his last two seasons, and he could hit field goals from 50 yards out.

Between 2019 and 2020, Gopher kickers missed five PAT attempts, went a pedestrian 7-of-11 on 30- to 40-yard field goals, and made zero attempts of more than 40 yards. Minnesota has left points on the board — at times, important ones — because of inconsistent kicking.

So head coach P.J. Fleck tried the transfer market. From Kent State, in steps Matthew Trickett, a two-time All-MAC First Team selection and the conference's 2019 Special Teams Player of the Year. Trickett has missed one PAT attempt in 95 tries. Using estimates from Stadium, we can say that his 82.5 percent field goal conversion rate was 5 points or so better than the average Power Five kicker's would have been, given the locations of his attempts.

An earlier version of this chart included an incorrectly calculated points
over expected estimate.

If you're after "big-time" kicks, Trickett kicked two walk-off field goals during the 2019 season. Here is the second, against Buffalo.

All of this points to the Gophers having found their guy at placekicker.

2021 Gophers Position Previews: Secondary

After a truncated 2020, Minnesota returns to a full 12-game football season Sept. 2 against Ohio State. Here at Ski-U-Blog will be previews of the team's notable players within each position group. We finish up the defense by discussing the Gophers' defensive backs.

Likely Starters

You could tell last season that Tyler Nubin really wanted to make plays. Minnesota's new boundary safety had maybe the toughest ask of any of the new starters in replacing Antoine Winfield Jr., the unanimous All-American who led the 2019 Gophers in tackles by being everywhere. Winfield made an impact at every level of the field and was as valuable as any defender in the Big Ten thanks to his tackling ability and instinctual play.

It's not reasonable or fair to speculate whether Nubin had Winfield on his mind when the then-true sophomore opened the 2020 season, or if he was trying to play like Winfield instead of in his place. What is undeniable is that Nubin was just as aggressive as his predecessor — if not more so — but did not yet have the understanding that made Winfield a star.

Every game, Nubin missed a gap. Every game, he took poor angles and overran plays. Every game, he looked ready to make an important stop, or to keep the ballcarrier from getting to the second level, but he put himself out of position and made things worse.

Nubin is the deep safety on the far side.

If anyone needed a proper offseason, it was Nubin.

2021 Gophers Position Previews: Linebackers

After a truncated 2020, Minnesota returns to a full 12-game football season Sept. 2 against Ohio State. Here at Ski-U-Blog will be previews of the team's notable players within each position group. Today's preview post is about the Gophers' many linebackers.

Likely Starters

Perhaps the player whose course in 2020 was most emblematic of the unit as a whole was, fittingly, one of its captains: Mariano Sori-Marin.

Sori-Marin was one of seven new starters on defense after spending two seasons on special teams, as a fill-in, or as a third linebacker. Anticipating he'd see a bigger role in 2020, defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Joe Rossi had given Sori-Marin more playing time as a true sophomore. After an offseason and then a couple of tune-up games (Minnesota was to open with Florida Atlantic and Tennessee Tech), Sori-Marin was likely to be ready enough for Big Ten play.

Then the pandemic hit. Spring football was cut short, offseason workouts had to happen at home, the season was cancelled, and then the season was hastily (and cynically) thrown back together for a nine-game, conference-only sprint. The concept of a typical college football season, with standard development and acclimation periods, did not exist.

To be a first-time starter was suddenly a greater challenge. To make the situation harder: The other projected starting linebacker was to miss the season for reasons totally unrelated to the pandemic, so someone even less experienced was now in line to play next to Sori-Marin.

When the season finally started, Minnesota's defense was a mess, and Sori-Marin was a big reason why. While he didn't miss tackles as often as some of his teammates, Sori-Marin misread plays, got pushed around, and was too slow to catch up to opposing ballcarriers. Head coach P.J. Fleck said he was trying to do too much. Sometimes, it looked like it. Other times, Sori-Marin was just outmatched.

2021 Gophers Position Previews: Defensive Line

After a truncated 2020, Minnesota returns to a full 12-game football season Sept. 2 against Ohio State. Here at Ski-U-Blog will be previews of the team's notable players within each position group. Today's preview post is about the Minnesota front four.

Likely Starters

It didn't get talked about for a few reasons — primarily a series of poor performances as a team, plus the season's generally chaotic month-and-a-half-long sprint — but Minnesota's defense featured a bona fide breakout player in 2020. We all thought he could break out, too. He made Bruce Feldman's Freaks List and everything.

When the season actually happened, he led the Gophers in havoc plays. He tied for sixth in the Big Ten in sacks despite only playing six games of an intended nine-game schedule. He was one of just two Minnesota defenders to get even an honorable mention for an all-conference team (and deserved better), and he's going to be an NFL Draft pick. He's doing it all as a native Minnesotan, to boot.

So can we please talk about Boye Mafe?

The 6-foot, 4-inch Hopkins product is an explosive pass rusher with a knack for disruption. In addition to his sacks, Mafe broke up two passes and forced two fumbles last season. He could be better at setting the edge, but his value as a rusher outweighs that relative deficiency. He's the best player on the Minnesota defense and should rack up more accolades this year.

2021 Gophers Position Previews: Offensive Line

After a truncated 2020, Minnesota returns to a full 12-game football season Sept. 2 against Ohio State. Here at Ski-U-Blog will be previews of the team's notable players within each position group. We finish our look at the offense with the linemen.

Likely Starters

A lot of attention toward the Gophers' offense is specifically directed at the wide receivers. This is no surprise, considering head coach P.J. Fleck and offensive co-coordinator and receivers coach Matt Simon's history of putting wideouts in the NFL. Mohamed Ibrahim also receives a good amount of press, and, being the quarterback, so does Tanner Morgan.

But what's often overlooked about Fleck's tenure at Minnesota is that he and offensive line coach Brian Callahan have a type. Not a particularly sophisticated type, mind you, but a well-defined one.

Put simply: They like meat. Though Minnesota is a zone-running team, which often would mean preferring leaner, more mobile blockers, the Fleck regime has prioritized size in recruiting. According to 247Sports' records, the Gophers have gotten 18 offensive line commits since 2017 who then made a roster. Nine have been listed as 6-and-a-half feet or taller (including 2022 commit Tony Nelson), and seven have weighed at least 300 pounds. Four players were 320 pounds or more as high schoolers.

Meanwhile, the current starting five linemen are plenty experienced. Each player started his first game in 2018 or 2017; as a group, they combine for 143 starts. They have all had ample time to develop — which, for four of them, has included adding more pounds. As a result, Minnesota enters 2021 with one of the country's biggest offensive lines, and possibly the biggest in program history.

2021 Gophers Position Previews: Quarterback

After a truncated 2020, Minnesota returns to a full 12-game football season Sept. 2 against Ohio State. Here at Ski-U-Blog will be previews of the team's notable players within each position group. Our next stop in the series is the quarterback position.

Likely Starter

It was a disappointing 2020 for Tanner Morgan. His completion percentage dropped 8 points, and when he completed his passes, he averaged 3.5 fewer yards than the year before. He threw just two more touchdowns than interceptions. Despite being a third-year starter, his statistics were worse than those he posted as a freshman. He went from being getting hyped as a 2021 NFL Draft dark horse (which, to be clear, was never fair) to having his confidence called into question (which also wasn't really fair). What was the deal?

Probably some of it can be attributed to the arrival of new offensive co-coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mike Sanford Jr. — not to say that it is Sanford's fault; the Minnesota offense was very similar to what it was with Kirk Ciarrocca as playcalller, and many of the philosophical problems with Sanford's offense were shared with Ciarrocca's. But any time there is a coaching change, that can have some negative effect as players get acquainted with the new braintrust. That becomes more likely, if not exacerbated, when a pandemic forces teams to spend less time together.

There's also the departure of Tyler Johnson. I will get into the receivers in an upcoming post, but for now we should acknowledge that while Rashod Bateman was Minnesota's most dangerous wideout, Johnson was the most utilitarian. After losing a receiver who could make plays at any level of the field, the Gophers in 2020 relied too much on Bateman to play different roles. Becoming the focus of the offense also meant becoming the focus of the opposing defense.

Bateman's late-season departure also hurt; Minnesota receivers dropped seven passes over the last two games of the season, which docked Morgan a few percentage points on his season-long completion rate.

But Morgan was also just worse. He had some of the worst games of his Gopher career, which could include staggeringly bad passes in front of, over, or short of his receivers.

That wasn't the kind of passer Gopher fans had come to expect. Despite his physical limitations, he had established a fairly consistent level of competent play. Morgan didn't become an altogether bad quarterback in 2020, but that consistency was fleeting.

From a statistical perspective, what did Morgan's step back look like, and what can his coaches do to help reverse it?

Click on any image in this post to enlarge it.