Higgy's Hanshake - No. 9

Posted by Higgy

Are you inspired? I am!

We had lost two in a row. Our coach was off on a leave of absence. Our offense struggled. We were juggling quarterbacks. The defense was struggling. But guess what? We found a way to win against Northwestern in the "downward spiral bowl." The Wildcats - once ranked 16th in this fair land - are now 0-3 in B1G play, and we're reinvigorated and one win from bowl eligibility. What a difference a week and a bye make.

To pull off such a quality road win, there were many individuals deserving of a handshake, starting with acting Head Coach Tracy Claeys and the head coach himself, Jerry Kill, who delivered a serious dose of inspiration by surfacing at halftime. It was great to see the guys play well for their recovering leader, and his temporary replacement.

Saturday was a great day to wear No. 9 for the maroon and gold.

Optimus Prime was another fine candidate as he looked every bit like the dominant NFL prospect we hoped he'd become, flashing his "freak" athleticism with that first-half interception. David Cobb broke the 100-yard barrier, and our offensive line led to 215 yards on the ground. Derrick Engel hauled in a big TD and Chris Hawthorne made a pair of crucial field goals in the three-point win.

However, two individuals certainly left their stamp on the win, and they'll share this week's spotlight. Higgy's handshake is proudly extended to a pair of players both wearing No. 9 - SENIOR LB JAMES MANUEL and SOPHOMORE QB PHILIP NELSON.

Manuel had become a forgotten man of sorts among the Gopher linebackers this season. Aaron Hill is the leader, Damien Wilson had become the defense's most consistent performer and DeVondre Campbell certainly has the brightest future. But Saturday Manuel delivered a signature performance to help his team score a huge road win.

Manuel had five tackles - four solo, one assist - 1.0 tackles-for-a-loss and 1.0 sacks to go along with an interception. And what an interception it was. With less than two minutes to play in the third quarter in a 7-7 tie game, Manuel dropped in front of an errant pass, picked it off, and took it 24-yards to the house for a game-changing play in a big victory.

The former safety showed off his athleticism on his sack as well, timing a blitz perfectly and running down the quarterback for another big play. Manuel helped Minnesota hold Northwestern's vaunted offense - which fortunately was missing stars Venric Mark and Kain Colter - to 94 yards on the ground and 328 total yards. In the process, the defensive No. 9 showed that he was capable of a starring role alongside Wilson and Hill.

Another Minnesota No. 9 has a game ball for
both Manuel and Nelson after Saturday's win.

And Mr. Nelson. My how you surprised us. Claeys said earlier in the week that both QBs would get a shot, and this blogger has been calling for a QB rotation for a couple weeks now (though I admittedly didn't expect it heading into Saturday's game). But recent evidence had pointed to Leidner pretty securely passing the former heir apparent on the QB depth chart.

Cue Lee Corso.

The offense struggled under Leidner through the early stages of the game, and when Nelson was inserted it was like a switch flipped. I'm not an expert on game-planning or adjustments, so it's hard to say whether Northwester was caught off-guard by that drive, which is why Nelson so efficiently piloted us down the field, but it was - along with Manuel's pick - the most important moment of the game. Suddenly, the offense had rhythm, we had a tie game and the Gophers had life.

Nelson's stat line is the epitome of efficiency. He was 8-for-11 for 112 yards and a TD. He only took one sack, and didn't turn the ball over. He also ran nine times for 39 yards and looked NOTHING like the guy who stunk up The Bank against the hated Hawkeyes. It was great to see him looking like himself again, flowing locks and all.

So where do the Gophers go from here under center? Do we keep using The LampLeidner as our starter and bring in Nelson for long relief? Or if Nelson has proven his worth once again does he retake the job? Those are questions for another day. Today, we're just here to celebrate the win and thank both No. 9s for a job well done.

EXTRA POINTS
-Have the Gophers ever practiced a two-minute drill? We took over at midfield 1:44 left and two timeouts and all we managed was 22 yards and longer-than-it-should-have-been missed field goal from 44 yards. We looked discombobulated, unsure and unprepared for that situation. Maybe that's where the QB changeups hurt us ... we had to stick with Nelson because of how he was playing at that point, but the play calling and clock management was atrocious. What a squandered opportunity. Even if Hawthorne connects there, I would still be furious about how that played out.

-I've been calling for more Kirkwood but boy was Cobb good Saturday. Well done by him and the offensive line.

-Peter Mortell has been one of our most valuable players. In this one, the punter kicked seven times for a great 44.7 average with a long of 57. He had two inside the 20 and three punts of 50 yards or more. Watching how the field position ebbed and flowed as the game went on evidenced Mortell's worth. Minnesota's average starting position in the first quarter was its own 20. It improved to the 35 in the second quarter, and was the 40 and 41 in the final two. You'll win a lot of games when you start at the 40 in the second half and the opponents start on the 20.

It was a far cry from the last Gopher punting performance the last time Minnesota played in Evanston. I'm sure the punter's family are still upset the Section 117 Classy Gentlemen were seated directly behind them. There's nothing classy about punting for single-digit yardage. For fun I looked it up - Orseske had three punts for 74 yards - a 24.7 average. But his long was 40, so that means his other two punts traveled a TOTAL of 34 yards, or 17 yards per punt. I need a drink just thinking about it.

Limo Game 2013 is upon us. Let's get classy.

-Our defense flipped the outcome of the game with one definitive stretch late in the third quarter. Manuel took his pick to the house to give us the lead, then Theiren Cockran forced and recovered a fumble and we tacked on a field goal. Great to see our squad on the right side of a couple crucial turnovers, and hope it's indicative of things to come for an improve defense.


-Saturday is early and probably going to be cold, but it will be fun. The Section 117 Classy Gentlemen have decided this will be our annual Limo game, as any event involving Nebraska needs more class than usual. Keep your eyes peeled for a limo dropping off tuxedoed gentlemen at The Bank around 10:30 a.m. and be on the lookout for fake money flying throughout the stadium.

As a result, we are selling our two Lot 37 parking passes. If you have any interest, leave a comment here or check out our Craigslist ad.

Hopefully the red is at a minimum Saturday and the Gophers return home brimming with confidence. Ski-U-Mah.