Positive Numbers: Gopher soccer (Last Week: -1). I don't remember, in the history of the WMNSS, a team that has had such a surprisingly good week than the University of Minnesota women's soccer. A side that drew twice against fellow BcS schools and lost what appeared to be a bubble-team deciding game against LSU began what any club in the Big Ten would see as the toughest road trip you can take in-conference, against an Ohio St. club that is ranked in the bottom reaches of some Top 25's and then against top ten-ranked and presumptive conference champion Penn St. -- and beat both of them. Drawing against both would have been ceiling for this squad's prospects. That they outright won both games? They cleared their biggest hurdle with flying obstacles, and now it feels as though they are playing with house money.
Against the Buckeyes in Thursday's conference opener, Lindsay Agnew gave OSU a 1-0 lead in the 13th minute off a rebound from a shot by Nichelle Prince. It took until well into the second half for the Gophers to respond, but they did -- first by Sydney Squires from 18 yards out in the 67th minute, then by B1G Offensive Player Of The Week and unheralded striker Simone Kolander (stuffing in her own rebound) in the 80th. When you outshoot Ohio St. 16-9, that usually means you'll get more goals, and Minnesota did.
The win over the Nittany Lions is still very surprising. The Gophers stayed tight in the backline (they gave up eleven Corner Kicks while getting only six) and was able to make their only tally, in the 32nd minute stick. And who made the tally? Simone Kolander, off assists from Haley Helverson (the person who captains the team alongside Kolander) and Squires:
Kolander and the team deservedly got a lot of plaudits for their week, but I thought those two upset road wins would vault them into all the Top 25 polls, and it hasn't. At least one poll has Minnesota in the Top 25; at least one poll does not. What the hell does this squad need to do to get the respect they still haven't entirely received?
So, as of right now, they have to be in the NCAA Tournament. The toughest part of their regular season schedule is now behind them. They have more home games than road games, although three of those roadies come back-to-back-to-back. They have won four in a row and are unbeaten in their last six matches. And if you include the 9-1 ass-whipping they put on Nebraska-Omaha before they embarked on this two-game road trip, they have never been in better form -- this season, and maybe ever.
They should get a warm reception (and a large crowd) Friday when they host Purdue at Robbie Stadium. (I'll be there, I think.) They then host Indiana Sunday afternoon.
#0: Gopher volleyball (Last Week: -1). Having almost as good a screening week as the U. soccer team is the U. volleyball team. Last weekend they had (using a soccer phrase) three clean sheets in sweeping Bryant, Sam Houston State and the College Of Charleston in the Charleston Invite. Three patsies, so it's not that impressive. However, last (Wednesday) night's five-set win at AVCA #12 Ohio St. is very impressive. It got tough near the end; they took the first two sets (Set 2 at 12), but a narrow 23 loss in Set 3 ebbed their momentum and gave the Buckeyes Set 4 at 19. In the fifth and deciding set, Minnesota lost a 5-2 lead, but ripped off the final four points of the set and match (the last three kill shots by Daly Santana) to take it 15-11. Santana finished the win over OSU with 19 kills, but before the conference season began the Big Ten named Setter Samantha Seliger-Swenson (who notched 53 assists against the Buckeyes) has been named a Freshman Of The Week for the third week in a row.
So after a rough two-game losing streak to begin the year, this club has won nine in a row and are now in the Top 25. The sledding remains tough, however. They are at #1-ranked Penn St. Saturday evening, then begin the home portion of the B1G schedule Wednesday night against Northwestern.
#-1: Vikings (Last Week: -4). Well, that's better. Against the Detroit Lions, a team some people think will be a Wild Card and could challenge Green Bay in the NFC North, they were largely in control, winning 26-16. When the opponent turns the ball over three times, you should win.
There are still some weaknesses on the Vikes, lots of them. Most of them surround Adrian Peterson. The 134 yards rushing and 58 receiving masks the fact that he has lost a noticeable step, or two, when he's handed the ball. He no longer has the burst of speed to exploit a hole in the line and get into the second level. He now has happy feet, choosing to cut when the All Day of old would have burst through a seam -- or a player.
Worst of all, watching the game, I don't think he's fully paying attention on the field. I had heard that Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater (who had a good game Sunday, even though it was through a pop-gun passing game) frequently had to tell Peterson what play they were going to run. That 49-yard improvised pass from Bridgewater to AP only happened because Peterson blew a blocking assignment; he has never been willing to pick up blitzes. And, of course, there are those three fumbles. One of them was neutralized on a penalty, one he recovered, the last was the only turnover Minnesota had in the game. Remember that Peterson was plagued with fumble-itis the first two years of his career but it was mostly gone since. I think that these fumbles, when added to the other things you notice about him, point to inattention -- if not indifference.
They team isn't 0-2. But do you really know how good or bad this team is? Maybe we'll get some clarity when they host The Bastard Los Angeles Chargers Sunday.
#-2: Gopher football (Last Week: -2). I assume that the Vikings and the Gophers talk to each other when it comes to schedules. Because this will be two weekends in a row where the college football team takes the field Saturday, then the pro team they are Airbnb'ing plays on the same turf Sunday. This is the second (and final) year of this arrangement, and by now they have the routine down. They actually got the Vikings logo put down over the "M" logo between the games. And I have been told that after the Gophers game they change the colors in the "MINNESOTA" in both end zones from maroon-and-gold to purple-and-gold by laying down this special paint/dust that, after the Vikings game is over, can be collected up by a vacuum, revealing the permanent maroon-and-gold paint underneath.
All well and good. But wouldn't it be actually better for only one of these teams to play at TCF Bank Stadium every week so the facilities crew wouldn't have to do this any week, let alone two weeks in a row? I assumed that, because the Gophs begin playing most of their cupcake games at home, the ViQueens will start their season on the road. Then, once the college team ends its season by Thanksgiving, the Vikes can take over the stadium for, say, three of their eight home games in December. I think that would be better, wouldn't it?
OK, anyway ... they got really lucky outlasting Kent St. 10-7. Offense remains a huge problem; Quarterback Mitch Leidner threw for only 184 yards. It got so bad that his backup was seen on the sidelines warming up. But he never got in.
When asked about this QB controversy (and there is one, or at least there should be), Head Coach Jerry Kill did something I have never seen him do: He would not comment. And he said he wouldn't talk about Leidner even though he was asked four or five times about it. He then got really self-pitying in his post-game press conference, sheepishly reminding the media that they won and hinted that the fans booing the offense whenever they had to punt meant that he was about to be fired ... "But that's OK," Kill said, "we have a lake home."
This behavior is beneath any HC, and certainly one who I once thought of as a grown-up. I really thought that he would be forthright and answer the media's totally fair questions, or be a little more artful in evading them. That he would utter "no comment" and then follow that up with saying that maybe he should be fired ... well, he's shrunk a little in my eyes.
And I don't know why Kill would feel so defensive. This article on SI.com illuminates how he's pulling in the best recruiting classes Minnesota has ever seen. The nut graf, the main thrust of the article, is that Kill is finally reaping great dividends from reaching out beyond Minnesota to recruit as he got Dredrick Snelson, a four-star recruit from Florida, to come up north. Maybe. It's a verbal commitment, and he still will visit with Florida and Louisville. But he says he'll be going to Jerrysota. Now, Coach Kill, why all this talk that you should be fired if you've got this Snelson kid coming up from Florida to play for you?
Meanwhile the defense is being held up as a bastion of the great play Kill is instilling in this program, but the opponents in their two wins isn't exactly the '99 St. Louis Rams here. And I do not know if we're going to get any more clarity on how good this squad is in this early Saturday afternoon's Homecoming game against Ohio.
#-3: Twins (Last Week: -3). I don't know how to think about how the Twinks did this screening week. Sunday's 8-1 win over The Anaheim Angels Of Los Angeles Angels Of Anaheim Angels Of ... prevented them from getting swept at home; nonetheless they helped revive the Wild Card chances of an Angels team that were on the outskirts of the race. But a pair of two-run victories over another team on the outskirts, Cleveland, has leveled their week at 3-3. Moreover, as the Houston Astros are now chopping, the Twins stand only one game behind the 'Stros for American League Wild Card 2 (although the Angels stand only 1/2-game behind Minnesota). They go 3-3 this week and they are even closer to ALWC2 than this time last week.
Pitching is now going to make or break this team. Phil Hughes, filling in for an ailing Tommy Millone, was able to outpitch Corey Kluber in last (Wednesday) night's win. Mike Pelfrey might be scuffling. The bullpen is being used to its capacity now. And even though they are no longer playing any team with a better record than them, it only takes one starter to put a spanner in the Twins' works.
I was wrong last week: This is not the last homestand of the season. They come back to Target Field to finish the year in October; I just didn't see it because I was only looking at September. And looking at September, I see that this screening week ends on the 30th. Which means that they finish the current homestand with a game against Cleveland this (Thursday) evening, then finish the final road trip of the season with a pair of three-game series against Detroit and Cleveland.
#-4: Gopher men's basketball (Re-Entry!). Their season doesn't start until mid-November, but I have to put this team in because they had a pretty good week off the court. Monday, Guard Amir Coffey, the top-ranked basketball recruit in the state of Minnesota (and son of Gophers star Richard Coffey), chose to stay at home and play for Richard Pitino. Then, on Wednesday, Arkansas Power Forward Eric Curry said he is coming up here to play for the Gophs as well. That's two four-star recruits in three days. I don't think Pitino has had recruiting coups such as this.
Now, to win.
#-5: Lynx (Last Week: -5). Yeah, yeah, yeah, they beat the Los Angeles Sparks to win their First Round Western Conference playoff series. But I still think the writing's on the wall with this godforsaken club. They needed three games to beat the Sparks -- not two, three. And that road loss in Game 2 they lost by ten, 81-71. Worst of all, they only beat L.A. in Game 1 by a bucket, 67-65. If they lost to Los Angeles in Game 1, they would've been swept out of the playoffs. The top seed in the Western Conference could have been swept in the first round of the WNBA Playoffs.
So I'm supposed to think they stand a chance against a 2-seed Phoenix Mercury team with Brittney Griner on full lock? I mean, they only needed two games to beat Tulsa, and they have been off since playing Saturday. The Jynx needed to play on Tuesday (where they won by 11, I'll give you that) and have a two-day turnaround. Plus, Minnesota's older. Tonight's (Thursday night's) Game 1 at Target Center could be a fucking disaster ... and the last game Lynx fans will see their team play at home.
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