Keys to the Game: Minnesota Preview
A little note for Purdue this week and the rest of the Big Ten. Minnesota QB Adam Weber is tipping his pitches. If I'm seeing this then I'm sure a highly-paid Big Ten defensive coordinator must notice the same thing. When a pass play is supposed to go to the left side, Weber dips his left shoulder when he's under center and has a severe body lean to the left when he's in the shotgun. When the play calls for the pass to go to star WR Eric Decker on the left side, Weber might as well be turned 90-degrees. -- CFN's Cavalcade of Whimsy
The Gopher running game has been largely ineffective this season. The Gophers come into this contest ranked dead last in the Big10 in rushing. As a team the Gophers have ran the ball 191 times for 687 yards at 3.6 yards per carry. That is just 114 yards per game. The Penn State defense leads the Big 10 in rush defense allowing just 82 yards a game and have only allowed two rushing touchdowns this season. The only thing I caution here is that Minnesota has played a better out of conference schedule than Penn State so the stats may be deceiving. That aside, I still believe that if Minnesota is going to beat Penn State they are going to have to do it through the air.
Penn State Offense – After a slow start this season, the Lion offense has got it going the last two weeks against Illinois and Eastern Illinois. The offensive line has had 6 games to get it together and this weekend will be a good judge as to how the rest of the season will go. The running backs have taken full advantage of the good work the Oline has put in the last two weeks. Royster and Green have been ripping off huge chunks of yardage at a time. Green has shown his big play ability and should see added playing time. He really seems to be putting it all together this year and has held on to the ball. Clark has rebounded nicely from a dismal game against Iowa. He needs to continue to play within himself and give his play makers a chance to move the ball. I would expect to see some designed runs again this week. Purdue’s Joey Elliott rushed for 50 against the Gophers despite being sacked twice. I expect to see a balance approach on offense, and the Lions should give the Gopher defense all they can handle.
Minnesota Defense – The Gopher defense has given up lots of yards this year and is giving up nearly 24 points a game. They are strong up the middle with a nice group of line backers and defensive tackles. The defensive ends have had trouble getting pressure on the opposing teams quarterback. The secondary is strong at the cornerback position but weak at safety. This causes the cornerbacks to give a cushion to the receiver, giving the underneath routes up to the opposing team. This unit needs to play opportunistic football against a Penn State team that has been known to turn the ball over.
Penn State Defense – The Lion defense has played well all year, even in the loss to Iowa they only gave up one touchdown. I expect to see Sean Lee back on the field at 100% this week which should only make this good front seven that much better. Lee and Bowman roaming the outsides of the Penn State defense is something that opposing offenses don’t want to see. Last week Minnesota was down to its third string center. Starter Jeff Tow-Arnette is out for the season with a broken leg. Last week back-up Trey Davis went down with an ankle injury. He was replaced by D.J. Burris. What I’m getting at is that Jared Odrick should have a field day on the interior line of Minnesota. They are going to have to double team him all day to slow him down, this should free up the defensive ends to make big plays. The front seven needs to get pressure on Weber early and often to keep Decker from exposing the big question mark of this defense, the secondary. Decker is a mismatch, but the front seven should even that out.
Special Teams – The advantage here has got to go to Minnesota. Troy Stoudermire is a dangerous kick returner. He leads the Big 10 in kick return yardage and averages 28.3 yards per return. I expect that average to go up after this weekend. The Penn State special teams have been anything but special. It apparent that Anthony Fera will be redshirted so it looks like Wagner will continue to handle the kick-off duties. Ryan Breen had a kickoff for a touch back last week, but I don’t think the ball made it 10 yards off the ground. If the ball hadn’t made it to the end zone the returner would have made it to the 25 before the coverage got anywhere near him. Jeremy Boone is the lone bright spot for the Lions on special teams. He has consistently pinned the opposition back in its territory all year.
Wild Card Minnesota – Last week against Purdue Gopher running back Kevin Whaley broke onto the scene. He ran the ball 8 times for 79 yards and a touchdown. This guy runs like someone is shooting at himJ Link
Wild Card Penn State – The secondary will get its second test of the season when Adam Weber and Eric Decker come to town. Allot of pressure will be on the front seven to get to the quarterback but in the end its going to come down to this young secondary covering the receivers. If I were Minnesota I would try to get Weber in rhythm with the short passing game. This means that the Penn State secondary needs to tackle and prevent yards after the catch.
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