Gopher Football Schedule has Win Possibilities

Gopher Gal is rather tired of pondering Minnesota football losses. With the Vikings 1-3 and now the Gopher Football team 1-5 what is happening to our once hearty Minnesota football teams? I still have faith that the Golden Gopher Football Team will win at least two more games. The remaining Gopher Football Schedule looks like this:

Sat. Oct 13 Northwestern - at Evanston, Illinois
Sat. Oct 20 North Dakota State - Metrodome 11:00 AM
Sat. Oct 27 Michigan - at Ann Arbor, Michigan
Sat. Nov 03 Illinois (Homecoming) - Metrodome 7:00 PM
Sat. Nov 10 Iowa - at Iowa City, Iowa
Sat. Nov 17 Wisconsin - Metrodome

I think the Gophers can pull a victory off in the Gophers vs. North Dakota State game at the Metrodome and tickets for this match-up are pretty expensive starting off at $99 per ticket on a Gopher Football Tickets web site. I know a lot of NDSU fans make the trip to the Dome and it should be an exciting game. Let’s hope the Gophers fare better in their border battle than the Vikings did against the Packers two weeks ago.

The second win I think will come in the Gophers vs. Illinois game on Saturday November 3rd. It’s Gopher homecoming and coach Tim Brewster will do whatever is necessary to bring home the victory for his University of Minnesota students and fans. Anyone care to challenge my predictions?

Let’s hear your Gopher Football Comments!

Gopher Hockey Ranked #2

With the Minnesota Wild Preseason off to a rolling start, it is never too early to talk about Gopher Hockey (besides Gopher Hockey Tickets were mailed out last week). I see the forces that be are naming the Golden Gopher Hockey team as the number 2 team this year in the WCHA. Well, we will just have to see about that. I am not debating the fact that North Dakota will be tough, but the Gophers will be equally competitive and listed as number two their Fighting Sioux rivals will only make the Gopher Hockey team want “it” more. Here are the results:

2007-08 Preseason WCHA Coaches' Poll
School (1st Place Votes), Points
1. North Dakota (7), 79
2. Minnesota (3), 74
3. Colorado College, 55
4. Denver, 53
5. Wisconsin, 52
6. St. Cloud State, 43
7. Michigan Tech, 41
8. Minnesota Duluth, 23
9. Minnesota State, Mankato, 19
10. Alaska Anchorage, 11

Gopher Lose Big Ten Opener, Hope to Rebound

Once again the Minnesota Gopher football team played stellar in the second half, but just couldn’t recover from their first half fallout. Minnesota spotted Purdue a 21-point halftime lead and lost the Big Ten season opener by a 45-31 count at the HHH Metrodome in Minneapolis last Saturday.

I was proud to see my Gophers score on four consecutive possessions after halftime and I kept asking myself where was that team at the beginning of the game? I am sounding like a broken record because that is what I said last week! Clearly, Tim Brewster didn’t read my recommendation that he start the Gophers off earlier in the evening to fool their minds into thinking that the first half is really the second half. Brewster even said in a post game quote:

“Our coaching staff needs to figure out a way for us to start better. We are
going to continue to put our guys in positions to make plays. Sooner or later
those breaks are going to fall our way.”

My challenge to Brewster is how many games do you need to figure this out? I think by the fourth game of the season you should have it figured out. Next up for the Gopher football squad: Ohio State at the Dome this Saturday 7pm. Lots of Gopher Football Tickets for sale , $40 (below face) to get you in the door.

Gophers Lose on the Road

As a huge gopher football fan, I still believe in this team. It’s tough to look at last weeks loss and not want to throw up, but the Gopher Football team will take on Purdue Boilermakers this Saturday in it’s first Big 10 game and I still have high hopes for the outcome.

Last Saturday, the Gophers lost to Florida Atlantic Owls 42-39 in Florida. Gopher quarterback Adam Weber passed for 335 yards and four touchdowns and receiver Eric Decker hauled in a career-high 12 passes for 165 yards, but Minnesota couldn’t overcome seven turnovers. The defense didn’t exactly look top notch either allowing 42 points to a non-conference team?!? That’s lunacy.

The one thing I have consistently noticed about the Gophers football team this year? They always play better in the second half. Why is that? Does the pep talk in the locker room fire them up? Are they just slow starters? Maybe the Gophers should spend more time warming up before the Purdue game so they take the field with the same energy they do in the third quarter of football games.

Gopher Football Fans don’t give up! Support your team and head out to the Metrodome Saturday night. There are still good Gopher Football Tickets left and the game should be interesting to say the least. I doubt Tim Brewster will want to be embarrassed on national TV.

Buy Gopher vs. Purdue Tickets!

Gopher Football Team Wins!

Gopher Gal went to the Gophers football game last Saturday and I have to say that it was one of the most on the edge of your seat games I have ever been to. The Gophers played Miami (Ohio) at the Metrodome and managed to pull off an emotional 41-35 victory after three overtime periods.

I was only one of over 45,000 screaming maroon and gold fans that held their breath at the Dome on Saturday as the Gophers’ offense took to the field first in the second overtime and moved the ball to the Miami 2-yard line. The drive lost steam and Minnesota was forced to attempt a 26-yard field goal which Jason Giannini pushed wide left. I heard several Gopher fans say, “well our kicker missed, but theirs won’t so lets just leave.” This Gopher Gal is glad she stuck it out because the Miami Redhawks rushed four consecutive plays, needing only to score to capture the win, but they went no further than the Gophers’ 10-yard line. The Miami kicker then lined up for a 33-yard potential game winning goal which sailed wide right.

In the third overtime, Senior cornerback Jamal Harris made his second interception of the game, ending the RedHawks’ drive in the final overtime period. Amir Pinnix made the final touchdown to win the game for the Golden Gopher football team. Pinnix finished with 126 yards on 28 carries, his fifth consecutive game with over 100 yards. Gopher Gal thought Adam Weber and Ernie Wheelwright looked solid for the Gophers, but I think Wheelwright is more successful when he catches and runs on the side of the field vs. the center. I hope Brewster sees that in the tapes and adjusts some of the Wheelwright play options to the right side. Tim Brewster announced that Gopher kicker Jason Giannini lost his role on the Gopher football team and this Gopher fan is happy. The Gopher offense needs a lineup of strong players and that includes the kicker.

Next up is a trip to Florida to take on Florida Atlantic on noon on Saturday. The Gopher team departs Thursday night and let’s hope Tim Brewster can add to his first victory with a road win. Gopher Nation is alive and well!

Gopher Football Loses Opener, Needs a Win

I was reading on Gopher Football Tickets .com that the area surrounding the Metrodome was very festive on game day last Saturday and this Gopher Girl definitely agrees. The tailgaters were in full swing around the Metrodome and the sea of maroon and gold fans was a site to behold. Gopher Tailgating started early, but fans kept streaming in until the evening kick-off. It was nice to see the University of Minnesota Gopher Marching Band parading through the streets spreading the Gopher Nation fever.

The Gopher jubilee was quickly deflated as the Gopher football team looked weak against it’s Bowling Green opponent. The Gophers lost the game in overtime after Bowling Green successfully converted a two point play to win the game by one point.

The Gophers need to regroup quickly for their next game this Saturday September 8th vs. Miami (Ohio) RedHawks at 11 a.m. in the Metrodome Minneapolis. Let’s hope Tim Brewster can get his crew in line and put a mark in the win column for Gopher Football fans.

Gophers vs. Bowling Green this Saturday

I can’t believe the start of the Gopher Football season is just a few days away. I just read over on Gopher Football Tickets.com that Adam Weber won the starting quarterback position for the Gophers. I am a huge Adam Weber fan and I can’t wait to see what he does with this Gopher offense. Kick-off against Bowling Green is at 7:00pm on Saturday, September 1st and I see there are great tickets available for less than $25! Saturday is the official start of Gopher Nation and all true Gopher football fans better have their maroon and gold on and their Gopher Football Ticket in hand. Go Gophers!

Gophers Hockey land a local legend to coach

A local hockey coaching legend has been added to the University of Minnesota’s women’s hockey staff. Tom Osiecki, who has over 40 years of coaching experience under his belt, will take the job of coaching the defensemen while newly promoted Brad Frost will undertake head coaching duties.

Osiecki, who lives in Burnsville, started the Burnsville High School hockey program back in 1966, and he coached there for 24 years while leading them to two state championships. Osiecki was briefly a NHL scout for the Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars from 1990 to 1995. After that period, Osiecki broke new ground and barriers in the women’s game, when he coached Burnsville girl’s hockey and started the St. Olaf women’s program. Golden Gopher hockey looks bright with the addition of local hero Osiecki.

Gophers Prep for Season Opener

The Minnesota Golden Gopher football team had a productive scrimmage on both sides of the ball last Saturday at the Gophers indoor practice facility. Offensively, the two competing quarterbacks both hit strides at one point in the scrimmage. Adam Weber started off slow, missing on 8 of 10 throws, but came back to complete 9 of 14 passes on in a stretch where he led the offense to a pair of touchdowns. Tony Mortensen didn’t get as many reps as Weber, but also had a nice stretch where he completed 6 of 8 passes with two 20-yard catches. Wide receiver Ernie Wheelwright pulled in two touchdown catches, surely impressing a watchful Tim Brewster.

On the defensive side, the Gophers came up with some big interceptions during the 2-minute drill, which is exactly the time the defense wants to become aggressive and not let teams gain cheap yardage on the “prevent” defense (the Gophers have a history of blowing huge leads). Saturday’s scrimmage will be analyzed by Brewster and the Gophers extensively.

Mortensen and Weber Continue Starting Quarterback Battle

I’m still following the Minnesota Golden Gophers football team’s starting quarterback battle, and as of now, junior Tony Mortensen is losing ground on redshirt freshman Adam Weber, the latter being praised by head coach Tim Brewster. Brewster has said Weber has made the biggest strides at the quarterback position since spring. Weber’s problem early on was a lack of understanding of the new spread offense, but as he’s worked more closely with it, Weber has reportedly done a better job. Last Saturday, Weber made back-to-back completions and then scrambled for a big gain, showing he can get the job done. Mortensen still has a good chance to get the starting job, however, as he knows the offense just as well and has a few years of experience as a backup under his belt. Brewster and offensive coordinator Mike Dunbar will most likely let the two compete all the way up to the season opener on Sept. 1 against Bowling Green.