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Phil Miller is returning to his Big Ten roots to follow Minnesota’s football fortunes for the Star Tribune after a decade of chronicling the NBA and Major League Baseball. The Illinois native began his writing career by covering Utah football for six seasons, and still insists that 12-1 Florida stole the 2009 BCS Championship from the unbeaten Utes.
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Posts about The Big 10
Big Ten's best QBs prefer running to passing
Posted by: Phil Miller Updated: October 9, 2012 - 9:59 AM
Denard Robinson is back on top of the Big Ten rushing leaders. Michigan's senior quarterback, the conference's No. 1 ground-gainer as a sophomore (at 130.9 yards per game), slipped back to fifth place last season (with a 90.5-yard average), behind a quartet of talented tailbacks: Wisconsin's Montee Ball, Iowa's Marcus Coker, Nebraska's Rex Burkhead and Penn State's Silas Redd, now with USC.
But Robinson was his old self Saturday, destroying Purdue's defense with 235 yards on 24 carries, moving him back into first place. He's the most dynamic offensive player in the conference, and has been for three years now.
Here's the thing, though: Robinson's 53.9 percent completion rate is last in the conference, and his eight interceptions are the most of any quarterback. So just exactly how good a quarterback is he?
The Gophers certainly know he's good enough to beat them; Robinson completed 15 of 19 passes against Minnesota last year, and ran for 51 yards on just six carries, as the Wolverines spread around the playing time in a 58-0 rout.
But would you rate the Wolverines' playmaker as the Big Ten's best quarterback?
I don't think you could last season, not in a league with seniors Russell Wilson, Dan Persa and Kirk Cousins. But the competition isn't nearly as deep this season, at least through the first six weeks of the season, and Robinson's legs may be enough to earn him first-team All-Big Ten honors in December. He's in a tight race with sophomore Braxton Miller of Ohio State at the moment, a duel of players with similar styles.
The current top five QBs, a list that could change dramatically as conference play goes on:
1. Robinson, Michigan. He's been held below 100 rushing yards twice this season, and it's no coincidence that the Wolverines lost both games. But if you can't stop him, if you can't force him to pass into traffic, he appears just as elusive now as he was when he shocked the league two years ago.
2. Miller, Ohio State. He was force-fed the Buckeye offense as a freshman last season when Terrelle Pryor abruptly turned pro, and the results weren't good. Ohio State had the worst passing attack in the conference. But Miller has absorbed Urban Meyer's spread offense and flourished, putting up a remarkable season for a sophomore. He averages 127 rushing yards a game, and he's already a far better passer than Robinson, completing 61.5 percent of his throws.
3. Matt McGloin, Penn State. He's held the Nittany Lions together by turning them into a passing team, with a league-leading 249 yards per game, and his 12 touchdown passes also are the most in the Big Ten. Even better, he's only thrown two interceptions, while competing 61.5 percent of his passes.
4. Taylor Martinez, Nebraska. Coach Bo Pelini's faith in the junior passer has paid off, as Martinez has become a viable two-threat quarterback. Martinez averages 57 yards on the ground, and is the league's most efficient passer, completing 66.4 percent of his passes and equalling McGloin's dozen touchdowns.
5. Andrew Maxwell, Michigan State. There's a real drop-off after the first four, especially since half the conference -- Minnesota, Illinois, Wisconsin, Purdue, Northwestern and Indiana -- has started more than one quarterback this season, whether because of injury, inconsistent play or, in the unique case of Northwestern's Kain Colter, the desire to use him at other positions. James Vandenberg of Iowa, the preseason pick of several league observers, has been a disappointment, having reached the end zone only twice all year. That leaves Maxwell, a junior, who has been good but not great; he's a game manager being asked not to make mistakes. Maxwell has done that well, throwing only three interceptions to go with six touchdowns.
Gray, Hageman get noticed by BTN analysts
Posted by: Phil Miller Updated: August 13, 2012 - 9:50 AMThe Big Ten Network is sending its studio crew on a bus tour of training camps around the conference, and they arrived in Minneapolis in time for Saturday's two-a-day practices. Since it's always interesting to hear how the local team is viewed by outsiders, here's a selection of some of the observations tweeted by BTN talent after watching Gophers practice, beginning with a tweet about the team's daily moment spent remembering linebacker Gary Tinsley:
Tom Dienhart (@BTNTomDienhart):
-- Gophers all kneeled and had a moment of silence before practice. I never had seen that.
-- If there is a bigger QB in captivity than Minnesota's MarQueis Gray, show him to me. Looks like a DE!
-- Ra'Shede Hageman. Remember the name. Minnesota DT. A monster.
-- Minnesota OC Matt Limegrover is one of the more vocal and intense coaches I have seen thus far on the tour. He also is a good coach.
-- Great to talk with @go4coop at Golden Gopher practice, the best LB for Minnesota.
Gerry DiNardo (@gerrydinardo):
-- This has been the 4th time we've been to Minn since J. Kill has been the HFC-Every time things get noticeably better.
-- Just finished watching morning practice. Best way to describe it would be very productive and very smart. Veteran HFC.
-- LB depth has also improved drastically; not sure coaches could rank them 1 thru 6 at this time - good competition
-- M. Gray - perfect fit for this Off - If he plays at a high level - post season honors - Minn goes bowling in 2012
-- 1 of the keys mayb biggest key 2 season-TB position Minn will beat all match ups if the opponent has 2 defend QB/TB run game
-- Offensive line is so much deeper than it was J Kill's first spring - they are deep; developing as physical uni
-- D Line better which is major indication when building program - they will be challenged vs. down hill run in Legends
-- L. Edwards talented young LB looked good - James Manuel move from safety to LB has been a great move
-- 3 O Lineman that jumped out-I. Hayes, B. Lauer, J. Pirsig are big part of future - Hayes furthest along - could play
-- Overall what J. Kill brings is a template 2 win by maximizing his resources-this becomes more obvious with every visit
Howard Griffith (@HowardGriffith):
-- Ran into One of the all-time greats in Gophers history RB. Darrell Thompson at practice this morning.
-- DT. Ra'Shede Hageman at 6'6 300 has all the ability to be the most disruptive player on the field in 2012.
Dave Revsine (@BTNDaveRevsine):
-- Hard not to be blown away by MarQuies Gray physically. Showing some nice touch in pass shell drill.Shortell 2nd QB taking snaps.
-- To those asking about RB's - will ask coaches - but seems like "by committee." Cobb, Wright, Kirkwood have all had nice moments
-- Howard likes the looks of Jonah Pirsig - frosh OL. Also very impressed w Hageman's athleticism - maybe he puts it together this yr
-- Yes - they are definitely improved.Would be shocked if their win total doesn't go up.
Mostly ranked schools on 2nd half of Gopher schedule
Posted by: Phil Miller Updated: August 2, 2012 - 2:50 PM The first preseason poll was published on Thursday, and little has changed since January. LSU is ranked No. 1 by the college football coaches, and Alabama, which beat the Tigers in the BCS championship game, is No. 2.
Why does any of this matter for the Gophers? It doesn't, except in gauging their strength of schedule. Four Big Ten teams were ranked among the top 16 -- Michigan the highest at eighth, followed by Wisconsin at No. 12, Michigan State at 13, and Nebraska 16th -- and Minnesota will face all four in the season's final six weeks. (Ohio State, on probation this year, is not eligible to be ranked in the coaches' poll, but almost certainly will be among the top 25 when the AP poll is released in another 10 days. The Gophers don't play the Buckeyes this year.)
That just emphasizes how important a good start will be to Minnesota. The non-conference schedule is a soft one, and the first two Big Ten games, at Iowa and home against Northwestern, are against teams projected by the league's media to finish fourth and fifth in the Legends Division. But the second half of the season is considerably tougher.
The coaches poll can be found here.
Gophers don't get much attention at media day
Posted by: Phil Miller Updated: July 26, 2012 - 8:25 PM Before TV and radio stations get their turn at Big Ten media day, each head coach is expected to hold two press conferences for the non-electronic media: One at a podium in the large main hall, so everyone among the 1,500 or so credentialed media members can get quotes from all 12 coaches, and another while standing at a special interview table just outside, for writers who want to spend extra time with a specific coach.
It was at that second, um, "gathering" that the current standing of Minnesota football in the consciousness of the Big Ten really hit home.
Jerry Kill stood at the coaches' table for several minutes Thursday, genially taking questions from every reporter, blogger and writer there with an interest in the Gophers' upcoming season -- me. As we chatted about his players, his expectations, and his Gopher-maroon jacket, I kept looking over my shoulder, expecting other reporters to join this unexpected one-on-one. After all, the crowds that had surrounded Urban Meyer and Bo Pelini at this same table were usually six deep -- huge scrums that made it impossible to hear from the back.
About five minutes went by before a stringer for the New York Times approached, but just to ask Kill a quick question about the day's main topic: recruiting players away from Penn State. After that? On my own again.
We chatted a little longer, until finally, a couple more reporters approached the table. Then a few more, and more, and more. But nobody asked a question; in fact, hardly anyone even looked at Kill, much less listened to him. Pretty soon, we actually had to move a few steps away from the table as the crowd grew. A Big Ten intern finally told us what was going on -- Michigan's Brady Hoke was due at the table in a moment.
"Winning changes everything," Kill said of his less-than-crushing media load. "You've got to win to make people notice you."
Apparently so. The Gophers were clearly the overlooked step-child of media day; even Indiana's contingent got more attention, and Kevin Wilson's team didn't beat an FBS level team last year. But as Kill said, he couldn't take the lack of curiosity about the Gophers personally. They haven't challenged for a conference title in decades, haven't been to a Rose Bowl in half a century, and haven't won more than three Big Ten games since 2005.
And in a league with telegenic personalities like Urban Meyer, Brady Hoke and Bret Bielema, not to mention a team like Nebraska with what seems like more media members than the rest of the conference combined, it can be hard to get noticed.
In the main hall, a moderator usually has to cut off questions for coaches once their 15 allotted minutes are up. Kill's session ended after only six minutes. Later, as he and the trio of Gopher players picked to represent the school -- linebacker Keanon Cooper, quarterback MarQueis Gray and offensive tackle Ed Olson -- shuttled from one group of TV cameras to the next, they always finished several minutes before the group of Northwestern Wildcats ahead of them, and had to wait.
"That's OK," Gray said. "We're happy to fly below the radar. We know we're going to surprise people this year."
A couple more observations from media day:
-- Kill told me just before going on stage that Olson now weighs 313 pounds, up from the 295-pound level he played at last fall. Moments later, Kill said in his press conference that Olson "weighs 315, 318 pounds now." So my first question for the junior offensive lineman was: Are you up to 320 yet?
"Any minute," he joked. "Maybe I'll have a big lunch."
The truth, Olson said, is he has weighed 313 at his last six weigh-ins, and he's excited about how well he moves with the extra poundage. "And I feel a lot stronger," he said. "Our whole offensive line is a lot bigger and a lot stronger this year."
-- In addition to daily workouts, Gray said his proudest achievement this summer is finishing his degree. A summer-school class completed the requirements for his degree in youth studies, and Gray said he will spend his senior year working on a master's degree. Same with Cooper, who has already finished his degree in athletic management and kinesiology. Olson, though just a junior, said he could complete his degree in business management education this fall if he chose, but he'd rather take a lighter load of classes during the football season, so he'll finish in the spring.
Big Ten announces 2015 and 2016 football schedules
Posted by: Michael Rand Updated: May 21, 2012 - 11:22 AM
The Big Ten released football schedules for the 2015 and 2016 seasons, and the Gophers' home slate in the first of those two seasons looks mighty imposing -- and impressive.
Minnesota will face Ohio State, Wisconsin, Iowa and Nebraska at TCF Bank Stadium in 2015. The Ohio State game will be the first meeting between the teams since 2010.
The team's Big Ten home games in 2016 will be against Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern and Purdue.
With this announcement, Minnesota's schedules for 2015 and 2016 are nearly set. Here are the Gophers' full schedules for those years:
2015
Sept. 5 - South Dakota State
Sept. 12 - at Colorado State
Sept. 19 - TBA
Sept. 26 - Ohio
Oct. 3 - Nebraska
Oct. 10 - at Northwestern
Oct. 17 - at Michigan
Oct. 24 - Iowa
Oct. 31 - Ohio State
Nov. 7 - at Purdue
Nov. 21 - Wisconsin
Nov. 28 - at Michigan State
Dec. 5 - Big Ten Championship Game
2016
Sept. 3 - New Mexico State
Sept. 10 - Indiana State
Sept. 17 - at Miami (Ohio)
Sept. 24 - Colorado State
Oct. 1 - at Iowa
Oct. 8 - Michigan
Oct. 22 - at Nebraska
Oct. 29 - Northwestern
Nov. 5 - at Ohio State
Nov. 12 - Purdue
Nov. 19 - at Wisconsin
Nov. 26 - Michigan State
Dec. 3 - Big Ten Championship Game
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