Big Party's B1G Word of the Day

Posted by Big Party

Incredulity
(noun) in·cre·du·li·ty - a state or feeling of disbelief

Outside of screaming my head off to raise the noise level in support of the defense, I was pretty quiet during the 2nd half on Saturday. I couldn’t believe what was happening in front of us (and I’m pretty sure the people behind me couldn’t believe that I actually was able to fit into my tight maroon pants).  The Gophers were legitimately beating a top 25 team on both sides of the ball, but we kept finding ways to let them stay in the game (e.g., drive-extending facemask penalties, consecutive drops in the 4th, etc.).  As a survivor of the Glen Mason era this looked all too familiar, and I couldn’t help but anxiously wait for the other shoe to drop.

Did we just drop three consecutive passes
in the fourth quarter?

But the shoe didn’t drop.  The defense came up big late in the 4th, and the offense took advantage of a short field to punch the ball into the end zone to clinch the game.  The Golden Gophers emphatically slammed the door shut on a formidable foe just when it looked like the tables were going to turn.  The crowd so incredulous as to what they just saw that it took 15 seconds to for the fans to realize the game was over and rush the field.

I want to apologize for the late/brief post today.  The mighty paycheck providers and the U of M part-time MBA program have been dominating my time this week.  However, excuses are like butts: everybody has one and I can’t stop staring at them.

Things I liked:
Coaching – Higgy already mentioned this one at length in his last post, but I don’t think the staff can be applauded enough for the job they did on Saturday. I loved the inclusion of the jet sweep and Donovan Jones’ first significant action for the Gophers.  Also, the pre-snap movement and myriad of offensive formations led to a couple of nifty big plays (GOODGER!).

Pictured: A Nebraskan unwittingly unleashing
the beast that would lead to their eventual demise.

David Cobb – A running back with a name built for Nebraska methodically pounded the Cornhuskers into the turf.  Two-yard gains turned to four-yard gains as he always seemed to find a way to fall forward.  He also showed some slick moves in the open field.  Those last two sentences seem really generic.  HE JUST REALLY WENT OUT THERE AND PLAYED GOPHER FOOTBALL, YOU GUYS.

The Big Fellas – The defensive and offensive lines both played strong games.  Optimus, Cockran and the boys got pressure on Martinez all day and made sure he couldn’t find a rhythm in his first game back from an injury, and the O-line paved the way to nearly 300 yards on the grounds against a formidable Nebraska front 7.

QB1 – Well, that was not the same Phil Nelson that played at the last game at The Bank. He had a better day throwing the football than the stats let on, and he played with confidence and swagger.  I’ve watched the replay of the game clinching 1 yard TD about 15 times since Saturday and it still makes me smile. The Leidner-led offense in the first quarter did an efficient job moving the ball as well.  I am very interested to see how  the coaching staff uses these guys against Indiana.

Incredulity - the fact the author of this post
once dressed as Glen Mason for Halloween.

Nebraska Fans – The Nebraskans I met generally seemed like really nice people.  The Classy Gentlemen may have to make the trek to Lincoln next year to see if they’re as agreeable on their home turf.  The nice fella sitting next to our group (I’ll call him Bill Ne-Brasky) seemed particularly amused by our antics, including this exchange:

PA Announcer – The Gophers have entered the Case IH Red Zone!

Me – (Yelling to no one in particular) Really? That’s just going to make Nebraska fans yell louder because they all love their International Harvester tractors!
Bill Ne-Brasky – (laughs) What?
Me – (leans in) I’m kidding. My dad actually used to work for International Harvester. 
Bill Ne-Brasky – Really? Crying shame they only make trucks now!
Me – Damn straight!

Note – I have never made physical contact with an International Harvester product in my life.

Things I didn’t like:

John losing his keys - This isn’t really relatable for anyone else, but it’s really the only negative I could come up with. If you found a set of random keys at The Bank on Saturday, please let us know.

Please let us know if you find this guy's keys.
Supposedly there was some sort of Pokémon keychain attached to it.