Bowling Green Falcons News - MinnesotaSportsFan https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/tag/bowling-green-falcons/ Minnesota sports, but different Wed, 27 Dec 2023 00:37:41 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=32,height=32,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/cropped-cropped-MSF-favicon-1.jpg Bowling Green Falcons News - MinnesotaSportsFan https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/tag/bowling-green-falcons/ 32 32 Bowling Green Coach Mocks Minnesota’s Pass Attack After Gophers Run Over Falcons https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/gophers-football/bowling-green-coach-mocks-minnesota-gophers-pass-attack-quick-lane-bowl/ Wed, 27 Dec 2023 00:26:08 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=46065 The Minnesota Gophers defeated Bowling Green 30-24 in the Quick Lane Bowl on Tuesday, in a contest that felt a lot closer than it actually was, thanks to a Falcons squad that, to their credit, would not go away in the 2nd half.

But in the end, PJ Fleck remained undefeated in bowl games, as Gophers head coach (5-0), and Minnesota extended their bowl winning streak to SEVEN games, the longest in college football.

Darius Taylor returns to dominance in Quick Lane Bowl victory

Fresh off of a new contract with Minnesota’s official NIL collective Dinkytown Athletes, phenom freshman running back Darius Taylor made his triumphant return to the football field, after spending about half of the regular season nursing undisclosed injuries.

Related: Phenom Freshman Darius Taylor Announces He’s Staying in Minnesota

Just like when he won three-straight Big Ten Freshman of the week awards a couple months ago, Taylor was playing on another level compared to everyone else, running up, down and all around the Bowling Green defense.

When the dust settled and the scoreboard showed a Minnesota 30-24 victory, Darius had racked up 208 yards and a touchdown, on 35 carries, as PJ Fleck showed off his most prized weapon for the 2024 season.

Minnesota Gophers underwhelming through the air

With Taylor running at full speed, Fleck realized very quickly that the Falcons defense was not going to be able to slow him down. And when PJ knows that you can’t stop his running game, he’s going to run and run and run and run and run and run and run.

So to nobody’s surprise, that’s what happened. Minnesota ran the ball 44 times, between Taylor, Jordan Nubin and QB Cole Kramer. On the contrary, aforementioned super senior quarterback — who pushed off some wedding planning to make his first career college start — only threw 16 times, completing half of them for a total of 26 yards and one early game touchdown strike to Elijah Spencer.

Related: Gophers Football Receiving ‘Substantive NIL Packages’ Recently; Basketball Still Behind

Bowling Green coach Scot Loeffler mocks Gophers pass attack

After the game, Bowling Green head coach Scot Loeffler appeared frustrated with losing to a Gophers team that couldn’t even muster 30 yards through the air, telling a local reporter at the postgame podium that Minnesota “couldn’t throw it from me to you”.

Loeffler didn’t seem concerned with the many other reporters within earshot, who do not cover the Falcons, including Pioneer Press beat reporter for Gophers sports, Andy Greder.

The funny part about the opposing head coach’s comments is that they aren’t wrong. There’s a reason why Cole Kramer was a career backup at the University of Minnesota, a school that has not been known for its passing prowess for at least two decades.

PJ Fleck will PJ Fleck no matter who is making jokes

But as has often been the case under PJ Fleck, that didn’t matter on Tuesday night because Loeffler’s Falcons couldn’t stop Darius Taylor, just like defenses struggled to stop Mo Ibrahim before him. I expect the Gophers passing attack to improve by leaps and bounds next season, under transfer QB Max Brosmer.

Related: 4 Minnesota Gophers Defensive Coordinator Candidates to Replace Joe Rossi

But as long as Darius Taylor is healthy or Minnesota has a dominant feature back to feed, opponents are going to have to prove they can stop the ground game before Fleck worries about throwing the ball against them. And I can promise Scot Loeffler’s comments aren’t going to change his ways. In fact, they’ll make PJ him smile from ear to ear.

]]> Tue, 26 Dec 2023 18:37:41 +0000 Minnesota Gophers Football Minnesota Gophers Land Quick Lane Bowl vs Bowling Green https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/gophers-football/minnesota-gophers-quick-lane-bowl-2023-bowling-green/ Sun, 03 Dec 2023 20:53:01 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=45435 We’ve already covered why the Minnesota Gophers will be playing in a bowl game this season, even though they didn’t reach the 6-win bowl eligibility marker. Sometimes a focus on academic success can still pay off…

But on Sunday, we found out what bowl they will play in and who their opponent will be. First, the College Football Playoff Committee named (1) Michigan, (2) Washington, (3) Texas and (4) Alabama as the four playoff teams, leaving an undefeated Florida State team out of the running for NCAA National Champion.

Related: How Much NIL Can Gophers Pay vs What Transfer QBs Actually Cost?

Quick Lane Bowl: Minnesota Gophers vs Bowling Green Falcons

Throughout the rest of the day, the entire slate of bowl matchups has been revealed. And just moments ago, we finally found out where and who the 5-7 Golden Gophers will play. Detroit, MI – Quick Lane Bowl vs (7-5) Bowling Green.

PJ Fleck is undefeated in bowl games (4-0), as Minnesota Gophers head coach and he’s 5-2 overall as a college football head coach (1-2 at Western Michigan).

  • 2018 (7-6): Quick Lane Bowl vs Georgia Tech | (W) 34-10
  • 2019 (11-2): Outback Bowl vs Auburn Tigers | (W) 31-24
  • 2021 (9-4): Guaranteed Rate Bowl vs West Virginia | (W) 18-6
  • 2022 (9-4): Pinstripe Bowl vs Syracuse | (W) 28-20
  • 2023 (5-7): Quick Lane Bowl vs Bowling Green
]]> Sun, 03 Dec 2023 15:37:42 +0000 Minnesota Gophers Football It’s Time for Tanner Morgan to Sink or Swim https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/gophers-football/its-time-for-tanner-morgan-to-sink-or-swim-minnesota-gophers/ Wed, 29 Sep 2021 23:52:45 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=36410 Have you ever woken up in a state of panic because of a horrible nightmare? There’s that “sigh-of-relief” moment you feel when reality sets in: “It was just a bad dream…”. Well, unfortunately for Minnesota Gophers fans, what we witnessed between the Minnesota Gophers and Bowling Green Falcons last Saturday afternoon was not “just a bad dream”.

The Gophers took to their home Huntington Bank Stadium turf and got smacked around by a ‘group of five’ team that hadn’t beaten a ‘power five’ school since 2019. The maroon and gold looked underprepared and shocked with the type of tenacity brought by the BGSU defense. But the ugliest part of last weekend’s nightmare happened whenever Tanner Morgan dropped back to throw the football.

Tanner Morgan’s No Good, Very Bad Day

Tanner doesn’t deserve all of the blame for his poor play. The veteran-laden offensive line that’s supposed to keep him cozy-warm in the pocket vs MAC opponents wouldn’t have stopped seven middle-schoolers last weekend. But guess what? If you can’t muster better than 5/13 for 59 YDS, 2 INT’s and a lost fumble, nobody is going to care about your o-line play.

Even as badly as the Gophers played on Saturday, Tanner Morgan still had the ball in his hands late in the 4th quarter, down just four points, with chances to lead his team down the field to victory. And to the very last possession, fans thought it would happen.

Why not? Morgan has proven more than capable in those situations, even when he and the rest of the team rode the struggle bus for three quarters. In 2019 vs SDSU, Georgia Southern and Fresno State, Tanner threw Minnesota to 4th quarter victories.

But vs Bowling Green a week ago, instead of a point-producing, game-winning drive, Tanner threw two ugly interceptions that sealed the loss. Both were thrown with under two and a half minutes to play.

Who lacks confidence?

I’m struggling to understand who lacked more confidence against Bowling Green; Tanner Morgan when he dropped back to throw OR Fleck and Sanford when they called plays? It’s clear that head coach, PJ Fleck and offensive coordinator, Mike Sanford, did not trust Morgan to throw them to victory. Even against a much lesser opponent.

Obviously, throwing just 13 times in a game where you trailed throughout, speaks volumes. But specific plays tell the story in more detail. Late in the 3rd quarter with the Gophers down 10-7, for example, the Minnesota offense had the ball at the BGSU 33 yard line. It was 3rd and 6 yards. Instead of trusting their senior QB to throw them a huge first down, Fleck and Sanford opted to run the ball. They were stuffed for a 1-yard loss. Matt Trickett missed the 52 yard field goal one play later.

It’s these types of calls that show an obvious lack of trust in Tanner Morgan and contribute to a day where he only threw the football 13 times.

Sink or Swim vs Purdue

So it’s time to take the training wheels off of Tanner Morgan, whether he’s ready or not. The coaching staff needs to show their confidence in him by putting more weight of the outcome on his shoulders. At this point, if you can’t trust Morgan then it’s time to turn to the next guy in line. Since losing OC Kirk Ciarrocca and wide receivers, Tyler Johnson and Rashod Bateman, the Kentucky kid’s failed to produce results worthy of a power 5 QB.

With your star running back, Mohamed Ibrahim, out and defenses keying to stop the run, trusting Tanner’s arm is a very logical offensive game plan. So PJ Fleck and Mike Sanford should scheme and call a game that is much more balanced vs what we witnessed last weekend.

Both guys have talked this week about doing exactly that, while still staying true to themselves. We’ll see if that actually happens. And if it does, we’ll indeed see whether or not Tanner Morgan is the right guy to lead the Minnesota Gophers going forward. I’ll be in the press box at West Lafayette when we find out. My first road game as a big j. Hopefully it’s a W.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

]]> Thu, 30 Sep 2021 09:03:31 +0000 Minnesota Gophers Football Tanner Morgan, Gopher Offense Terrible in Embarrassing Loss to Bowling Green https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/gophers-football/tanner-morgan-gophers-offense-terrible-in-embarrassing-loss-to-bowling-green/ Sat, 25 Sep 2021 19:44:01 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=36403 The Minnesota Gophers have one of the oldest teams in college football. It includes NINE fifth-year players, SEVEN sixth-year players and ONE seventh-year player, all who get regular playing time. This is a squad that relies (maybe) on just TWO freshmen who get on the field on a semi-regular basis with. Mar’Keise Irving gets some run on offense and (CB) Justin Walley on defense.

A team with that much veteran leadership should be, if nothing else, consistent. You should know what you’re going to get game-in and game-out. But the Minnesota Gophers have been the opposite of consistent during the 2021 season and the inconsistency monster reared its ugly head again vs the Bowling Green Falcons, costing them an ugly Homecoming loss vs a MAC opponent.

MACtion Problems

The Minnesota defense was the only faction that came to play on Saturday. They gave up two scores on the day and one of them, a TD in the 2nd quarter, was handed to Bowling Green by PJ Fleck. Up 3-0, Fleck decided to go for it on 4th and 1 from his own 29-yard-line. Trey Potts was swallowed up before the line of scrimmage and the Falcons found the end-zone on the ensuing drive to take a 7-3 lead.

That’s how the first half would finish because the Gopher offense couldn’t get anything started. Chris Autman-Bell caught Tanner Morgan’s first pass of the game and appeared to re-injure his ankle when tackled. He never returned.

Can’t Win Without Moving the Football

The biggest problems for the Gopher offense had nothing to do with injuries, however. The Minnesota offensive line, which is supposed to be one of the best in the country, was terrible for most of this game. No matter the look, the Gophers could not get their running game going. And when they needed Tanner Morgan to complete passes, he couldn’t.

It’s hard to move the football down the field when you can’t run or pass. The Gophers had just two big plays in the entire game. They both came in the 3rd quarter when former Eden Prairie star, Cole Kramer, took a QB keeper to the house and later, Trey Potts finally broke through the line for a huge run. While Kramer’s run ended in a TD, Potts’ dash led to a missed 52-yard field goal.

Ugly Day for Tanner Morgan

Morgan’s play seemed to get worse as the game went on. Finally, Fleck and his offensive coaching staff had no choice but to put the game in Tanner’s hands. He responded by throwing two interceptions to end the game. The final score an abysmal 14-10. Morgan’s final line might have been worse: 5/13, 59 yards and 2 interceptions.

I don’t know where the Minnesota Gophers go from here in 2021. Nobody’s job on offense should be safe. especially Tanner Morgan’s. A good team cannot be this inconsistent on the offensive side of the football.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

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