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Game Thread tOSU vs. Minnesota, Sat 11/7 @ 8pm ET, ABC

FILM STUDY: WHO WILL MAKE PLAYS IN THE MINNESOTA PASSING GAME?

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After dropping a tough opening-season matchup against No. 2 TCU, Minnesota ripped off three straight wins to enter Big Ten play with a 3-1 record. Now losers of three of their last four games and in the middle of a three-game stretch that will see the 4-4 Gophers play three consecutive games against top-25 teams, the unit desperately needs a win to keep their bowl eligibility hopes alive.

In spite of an inspired performance one week ago in honor of former head coach Jerry Kill, who resigned in the days prior to the game due to health issues, the Gophers ultimately lost to Michigan 29-26 when they failed to punch the ball in from the 18-inch line.

But as the Gophers now face the nation’s second-ranked pass defense in Ohio State, interim head coach Tracy Claeys must remain true to the squad’s offensive identity: a hybrid pro-style/spread offense designed to grind out yards on the ground while scheming open wide receivers and tight ends through play-action.

Even before the loss of star tight end Maxx Williams to the NFL, the Gopher offense has slowly evolved into a unit that runs spread concepts out of smash mouth football formations. Much like Penn State, the Minnesota offensive unit has married traditional pro-style alignments with progressive concepts like the zone blocking scheme (ZBS), Bubble/Now screens, and wide receiver jet motion. The Gophers will huddle and take the snap from under center one play, then move to a no-huddle, check–with-me pace the very next.

They often run their offense out of a variety of pro and spread formations throughout the game, rotating in and out of 11 (one back, one tight end), 12 (one back, two tight ends), and 21 personnel (2 backs, one tight end).

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Although the tight end retains an important role in the Minnesota offense, the unit has moved away from a tight end-centric play-action game, relying on skills players at the outside positions to create chunk gains. Sophomore tight end Brandon Lingen currently leads all Minnesota tight ends in pass receptions with 15 on the season at 2.5 per game (good for fourth on the team), compared to leading wide receiver KJ Maye’s 39 receptions (4.9 per game). You will see the tight end targeted this Saturday, often in the red zone, but likely not the volume we have seen in past seasons.

Entire article: http://www.elevenwarriors.com/colle...here-will-the-gophers-passing-yards-come-from
 
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Anyone else get the feeling we might have a new red zone QB Saturday night? #MillerTime

From 11W recap of coaches show:

On the Gopher secondary: "They played almost zero coverage against our rivals and challenged them to throw the ball." Meyer expects Minnesota to try to take away Ezekiel Elliott and make Cardale beat them.

Teams with much less defensive talent than Minny have done this already in 2015. I'm of the opinion that as goes Braxon at QB so goes the OSU chances for what should be a comfortable win. Wouldn't shock me at all if he's used well outside the 20's sooner rather than later a la JT taking over.
 
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Mitch Leidner Will Test Ohio State's Ability to Stop a Mobile Quarterback Yet Again

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It may seem like a while back when the Ohio State defense struggled with a mobile quarterback. When Maryland’s Perry Hills rushed for 170 yards and two touchdowns against the Silver Bullets in early October, the Buckeyes promised to get it fixed.

Since that point, OSU has allowed –28 rushing yards to opposing quarterbacks, but neither Penn State’s Christian Hackenberg nor Rutgers’ Chris Laviano is a dual-threat option.

Whether the Buckeyes have improved or not will be on display against Minnesota’s Mitch Leidner Saturday night.

“We’ve got to keep our eye on him,” OSU linebacker Darron Lee said of Leidner this week. “We’ve had a couple of issues here with scrambling quarterbacks.”

Leidner has been one bright spot on Gophers offense that is just barely ranked inside the top 100 nationally.

“He gets those guys motivated,” Lee continued. “He’s the driving force behind that offense.”

Entire article: http://theozone.net/Ohio-State/Foot...bility-to-Stop-a-Mobile-Quarterback-Yet-Again
 
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The best thing about the interviews had to be the "No comment on Braxton" responses. I can't help but feel excited about the possibilities this week.

Sad to think that we only have a few more games remaining with Brax. Gonna miss that kid like crazy. Hell of a Buckeye. Hope he knocks it out of the park with every remaining opportunity this season.
 
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