Last update: October 29, 2006 – 9:22 PM
Football: Gophers need to snap back, but next game's no snap
The Hoosiers, who had looked like they might sleepwalk through the season, are on a roll. And they're hungry, too.
Chip Scoggins, Star Tribune
It sounds odd, but this is a bad time for the Gophers football team to face ... Indiana? Strange but true.
The Hoosiers appeared destined for another can't-wait-for-basketball-season campaign when they lost back-to-back home games in September to Division I-AA Southern Illinois and Connecticut.
But in one of the biggest surprises of the Big Ten season, the Hoosiers are 5-4 overall, have won three of their past four games and come to town this weekend needing only one more victory to become bowl-eligible for the first time since 1993.
Indiana improved to 3-2 in conference play Saturday with a take-notice 46-21 rout of Michigan State to grab sole possession of fifth place in the Big Ten.
The Hoosiers have a red-hot quarterback-receiver tandem in Kellen Lewis and James Hardy, and a confidence that seems to grow stronger each week.
The Gophers, on the other hand, are searching for something positive that will pull them out of their current malaise.
"Indiana is playing far better than anybody expected this year, so it's going to be a tough game," center Tony Brinkhaus said. "We're not playing well, but every day guys show up for practice with a good attitude. We're working hard. I know the coaches haven't given up on us. I think our psyche is all right. We just have to play better."
In a marked departure from years past, the Gophers expressed more frustration with their production and execution on offense than their defense after a 44-0 loss at Ohio State.
The defense still gave up too many yards, points and third-down conversions for anyone's liking, but that unit showed signs of life and progress at times. The offense? Not so much.
That is perhaps the most troubling aspect of the team's backslide the past three weeks. In recent years the Gophers could be counted on to run the ball and score points in high volume. They are having a hard time doing either now.
"To be honest, it's not any major glaring thing," tight end Jack Simmons said. "We look at the film and it's one thing here and then something completely different the next play. We have to figure out a way to come together as an offense and get back the rhythm that we're used to playing with."
The Gophers were especially frustrated by their inability to convert turnovers into points. The offense got a short field twice after turnovers and did nothing with it.
"You need to capitalize on those things, especially when you're gaining great field position," Gophers coach Glen Mason said. "We need all the help we can get, all the momentum we can get, all the confidence we can get because when you dig yourself a hole, you have to dig yourself out. It's easier getting into a hole than out of a hole."
And, as Mason said Saturday, time is running out on the season. The Gophers must win their final three games to be bowl-eligible for the fifth consecutive season. That's a tall order, given the current state of things. Even a home game against Indiana looks daunting right now.
"We've played teams of all different levels," Brinkhaus said. "We've played the No. 1 team in the country and a I-AA team. We're just not executing right now."
Chip Scoggins
