Weber finds success comes too late

The Gophers quarterback struggled in the first half, allowing Illinois to take a 28-7 lead before he rallied Minnesota.

By KENT YOUNGBLOOD, Star Tribune

Last update: November 7, 2009 - 11:15 PM

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As the first half ended Saturday with Illinois leading by 21 points, there were boos aimed at the Gophers in TCF Bank Stadium.

Gophers quarterback Adam Weber understood. He was frustrated, too, after two quarters' worth of missed plays and mistakes.

"I'm more frustrated at myself than I think the crowd is," Weber said after the Gophers' second-half comeback came up short in a 35-32 loss to the Illini. "I can't boo myself, that's the difference. The fans demand a great performance, and I don't blame them."

Weber gave the fans half of what they wanted.

In the first half, working a game plan that focused on trying to gash the Illini defense deep, he struggled. He was 5-for-17 and was sacked three times. His floating pass to fullback Jon Hoese in the flat was picked off by Terry Hawthorne and returned for a touchdown in the first quarter.

In the second half, though, Weber played well. Going with more of a control game with shorter passes, he completed nine of 13 passes for 147 yards and a touchdown. He directed scoring drives of 12, 11 and 8 yards, making crucial plays in each one.

But after coming up short despite rallying in the final two quarters, Weber still saw the glass as half-empty.

"I thought it was going to be one of those special games that we'll talk about for the rest of our lives," he said.

Had the comeback been consummated, it might have been.

People would have remembered his 26-yard pass to Hoese that started the Gophers' first drive in the second half, not the frustration of that drive ending with a field goal after Weber was sacked for an 8-yard loss on second-and-goal from the 1.

Folks would have marveled at Weber's 13-yard pass to Da'Jon McKnight on third-and-9 or his wonderful 24-yard strike to tight end Nick Tow-Arnett on third-and-24 that set up a touchdown that drew the Gophers within 28-17.

And what about consecutive passes of 15, 17 and 21 yards -- the last two to Brandon Green -- on a scoring drive that ended with Weber's toss to McKnight for the two-point conversion that drew the Gophers within 28-25 with 9:13 left?

Instead, the talk was about first-half opportunity lost. About the career-high seven sacks. About Weber's costly interception.

Fair? Probably not.

"When the other 10 guys on offense do their job, and we do a good job of protecting Adam and the wide receivers do a good job of running routes and getting open, Adam's a good football player," Gophers coach Tim Brewster said. "When they don't, it's hard for him to be as effective as he'd like to be. I think that's it, in a nutshell."

As always, Weber answered all the questions. Yes, he regretted the interception, the missed plays. When he watches it all on film today it will hurt again. But, Weber, unflinching in his self-analysis, is still looking ahead with his glass half-full. There are two more games left, one at home. Bowl eligibility is still there, as is the possibility of seven victories.

"We all came together, we kept on fighting," Weber said. "I'm proud of how we came out [in the second half] and played.''

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