Jeremy: Gophers: 704 yards of Whoopass!!!

I think that most, if not all, of my friends and family would agree that I'm a "glass is half-full kind of guy." True, I have a healthy skepticism about life. True, I have a decidedly over-exaggerated anger toward some things. But for the most part, I have a positive attitude towards life. (Truthfully, I've always believed that instead of "Is the glass half-full or half-empty," a better question is "What's in the glass?")
With this in mind I would like to begin by talking about what I found to be particularly "half-empty" about my beloved Gophers performance on Saturday night. My biggest complaint all of last year was that the defensive pass rush was incredibly weak. Rushing only 3 guys most of the time and almost never blitzing is not the way to win in the Big 10. I think the Gophers proved that last year. Saturday night against Toledo this still seemed to be the case. I don't recall seeing even one hard blitz, and once again, usually only 3 men going after the quarterback. And even when they did blitz it was with a late linebacker that didn't seem to make much of an extra push. They did seem to be doing a little bit more stunt rushing than last year, but that was the only change I could see. The entire second half my uncle and I were constantly yelling "where's the pass rush?" That's my complaint.
But guess what? That's it!!!
My favorite sports columnist Sid Hartman (cough!!!) is already calling the Gophers underrated. I won't go that far, but I will say that the Gophs already looked like a well-oiled machine on Saturday night.
My biggest concern going into this season was probably everybody's biggest concern: quarterback. Brian Cupito still has not taken a snap in a big time college football game, but what he did on Saturday night should put everyone's fears at least to the side for the time being. I know it did mine.
First his stat-line. 10 completions on 12 attempts, 279 yards in the air and one touchdown. Gopher receivers were wide open all night and time after time Cupito found them and hit them in stride. He showed an unbelievable poise in the pocket, an incredible accuracy on his throws and an ability to throw on the run. It was clear from the first series that I saw him play that not only was it his turn to be under center, but he was ready to be there, he was comfortable being there, and he was going to make the most of the opportunity.
My knock on Abdul Khaliq was always that he was a great athlete, but he just was not a good decision maker. I'm not here to bash Khaliq, he led us to some incredible wins. But he continually had trouble recognizing open receivers, when he did find them he had trouble hitting them with catchable passes, and he often opted to run over throwing to an open receiver. He was a great runner, but that was the greatest dimension he brought to the offense: his threat to run. Cupito does not have the athletic ability, the cannon of an arm, the threat to run or the size of Khaliq, but what he brings to the offense is going to bring a dimension to this team that should be very fun to watch.
The rest of the offense followed their new leader without missing a beat. 415 yards on the ground, 289 yards through the air. Do the math! That's right: 704 yards of total offense (second most in school history).
The offensive line was UN-BE-LIEVABLE. Cupito had all the time to throw in the world all night long. Jared Ellerson continued as the featured receiver with over 100 yards receiving on only 4 catches.
The run blocking was obviously adequate, although I thought they could have opened up some bigger holes. The Barber/Maroney Show along with their new sidekick Amir Pinnix produced 5 touchdowns on the ground. A note on Barber. He is probably my favorite part about watching this team. With his speed and quickness you would think that he would run around people. But instead, when he is confronted by a potential tackler, he lowers his shoulder and tries to go through them. He runs like he actually WANTS to hit people. Punter Rhys Lloyd even joined in the running festivities with 28 yards on two fake punts.
One more note on the rushing game. Cupito's rushing stats? Zero yards on zero rushes. Doesn't seem like it hurt the attack.
Besides the above mentioned lack of pass rush, the defense still looks very very good. They gave up over 400 yards of total offense, which isn't unheard of in college football, but through 3 1/2 quarters they only gave up seven points. Not surprisingly Toledo's quick hit passing offense produced the bulk of their yards, but the Gophers only gave up 94 yards on the ground, and for the 15th strait game the Gophers did not allow a 100 yard rusher.
As a team the Gophers are very obviously more mature. For the game they had only one penalty and no turnovers. Long time Gopher Football fans, please take a moment to revel in that phrase again: NO TURNOVERS!!!
Big 10 opponents still await us and there is still a lot of work to be done, but we'll take a 9 touchdown performance and a 42 point win over a good MAC opponent to start the season any day. True, Toledo is no Michigan, but by all accounts they should have been able to give the Gophers a decent run for their money. Either Toledo is nowhere near as good as everyone thought or the Gophers are far better than anyone imagined. Please join me in hoping for the latter.