Higgy's Handshake - RB David Cobb

What trophy is this again? Who cares! Let's break it!

Posted by Higgy

When we knocked off Nebraska, I did a dangerous thing as a Gopher fan. I peeked ahead at the schedule and dared to dream about wins over Indiana and Penn State to put us at 8-2 when Wisconsin comes to town. Somehow, that dream has come true.

The most recent chapter was an outstanding 24-10 home win over Penn State that always felt closer than two scores in the second half, but that's largely because a two-score lead can - and has - disappear in the blink of an eye. There were so many moments when I had the Nittany Lion's comeback all mapped out in my head. But, in a fashion that is starting to become less surprising, the Gophers kept flipping my made-up script (with a little help from Bill O'Brien and friends).

Roughing the punter on fourth-and-long to keep a Penn State drive alive? Rally for a stop and zero points. Donovahn Jones fumble in Penn State territory? Defense clamps down, no points. Nittany Lions drive into the red zone? Great defense and mediocre passes on third and fourth down. No points. On the doorstep on the one yard line? Fumble. James Manuel. Gophers ball. No points. A handful of third downs as the Gophers tried to run out the clock? All converted. Minnesota wins.

I'm definitely not used to this yet, but good Lord am I enjoying it.

Immediately skeptics start to chime in and downgrade our victories. Northwestern was missing Venric Mark and Kain Colter. Taylor Martinez played through an injury. Indiana handed us the game. Penn State fumbled on the one. Ya know what? I don't care. To quote Lucille Bluth, "I won't respond to it." In Gopher land, all victories are worth celebrating. We'll act live we've been there before once we've been there before. Until then, dance Jerry, dance.

That brings us to this week's Higgy's Handshake. This one is probably long overdue, so it's as much for his body of work lately as the individual Penn State performance, but a hearty handshake is extended to one of the most surprising offensive stars in the entire nation this season, JUNIOR RB DAVID COBB.

Saturday's numbers were spectacular. 27 carries for 139 yards, 3 catches for 30 yards and one touchdown. Only one negative run for a loss of one on 27 carries. That's quite a stat line.

The Classy Gentlemen's view of Cobb's TD run Saturday.

It's actually pretty deceiving. Cobb had two carries for 83 yards and 25 carries for 56 yards against a stout Lions defensive front, so it wasn't the consistent 4- and 5-yard runs we've become accustomed to, but the total performance is certainly outstanding, and those two long runs were massively important plays. In both instances, we were pinned deep until Cobb went both 39 and 44 yards. We didn't score on either drive, but Cobb and "Perfect" Peter Mortell flipped the field position the entire length of the field in both instances and helped keep Penn State off the scoreboard.

Plus, Cobb has been incredible lately. Raise your hand if you thought Minnesota would have a 1,000-yard rusher this season. Ok, now keep your hand up if you thought it would be David Cobb. That's right, all those Donnell Kirkwood and Rodrick Williams hands are down. But don't fret, we had no inclination that Cobb was capable of this. A year ago, he had one carry for eight yards. Read that again. One carry for eight yards. This season Cobb has 970 yards and 7 TDs on the ground with an average of 5.4 yards per carry. He's also got 148 yards receiving, and has been one of the biggest reasons for our recent four-game renaissance. The ESPN B1G Blog ranks him fifth for Offensive Player-of-the-Year honors. Insane.

Don't get it twisted, Cobb isn't Barber, Maroney, or even the tree-trunk thighed Gary Russell. But he's not Duane Bennett or DeLeon Eskridge or Shady Salamon either, and that's been awesome. Plus, he has been flat-out tremendous in pass protection and between that and his receiving ability, he's been a reliable - and sometimes remarkable - every-down back. Cobb is worth a serious salute from the Classy Gentlemen, and his efforts have certainly made the Gophers a better, more balanced football team. Well played, good sir. Keep it up, 27.

EXTRA POINTS
-I apologize for the lateness of this blog post. Until tonight, my week has consisted of working, sleeping and seeing Dave Chappelle at First Avenue. So, you know, not a bad week, but not as blog-filled as four wins in a row deserves.

Goldy seeks out his favorite video blogger.

-The two most recent episodes of The Constable and The Kellen have been incredible. Last week, we heard about how excited Kellen is to play hockey on the same team as his friend Cameron, and Saturday that dynamic duo got a special meet-and-greet with Goldy. This week, his impassioned plea for College GameDay to visit Minneapolis is must-see Recession Proof TV.

-How incredible has Peter Mortell been? Two-straight B1G Special Teams Player-of-the-Week honors don't do it justice. He's been amazing. With our control-the-clock, play-good-defense, field-position philosophies, his punting has been a huge boost to what we're trying to accomplish. During the down years, I swore I'd always appreciate a good punter more when and if we have one, and now we have one. And I'm appreciatin'.

-Phil "Full" Nelson was amazing in the first half. He looked great. I was a little disappointed we took the foot of the pedal with him in the second half, because it looked like he could pick apart Penn State all day. Give the line a lot of credit for keeping him clean, and Phil made good decisions and good throws on almost every attempt. Also, him and Maxx bailed us out on the wheel-route TD, but Minnesota again showed ineptitude on a first-half ending drive. Bruiser was fuming about spiking the ball on first down with two timeouts and just under 30 seconds left, and he was right. Then we used the TD with the clock stopped. Poor time management. But in the end it worked and we got a huge TD to make it a two-touchdown lead that never disappeared.

-Why do male Penn State fans love waving pom poms? There was a group near us with their faces painted fully in Navy Blue, and I think they spent more time trying to taunt the Minnesota cheerleaders than actually watching the game. What the heck goes on in State College? The Classy Road Trip there (eventually, probably in an RV) will be one of mystery and discovery.

 Mustachioed mascots are a nice compliment to big wins.

-Our receivers block. I'm especially impressed with Donovahn "The H is Silent" Jones. A true freshman former QB might be our best blocking wideout 10 games into his college career. I'll excuse his fumble because that kid is proving that he's a football player. Jon Gruden would probably make up a ridiculous nickname for him.

-How great was the breaking of The Bell?

-I've got a few special blog entries planned for the bye week. I'll be back tomorrow with a look back at our picks and a quick look at the landscape while the Gophers lie dormant. Rest up, recharge, and start focusing on the Ax.

-I know I already linked this, but it's one of the three best things I've ever watched on YouTube, behind only this and this. Speaking of YouTube, the Gophers four-game winning streak has been a lot like going into town, even if it's only for just an hour.