Biggest change: Gophers did not fade away

Melvin Gordon is better than Montee Ball, better than James White. He's going to be a better pro than Ron Dayne, the 1999 Heisman Trophy winner.

I was stunned by Gordon's greatness in watching the Gophers and Wisconsin from Camp Randall on Saturday. I also was beyond impressed with the Gophers' defensive effort against him.

There had to be a half-dozen times when Gordon made a bounce at the line of scrimmage, saw some daylight and was a half-step away from going 40, 50, 60 yards, as he did continually against Nebraska, and a Gopher – Damien Wilson, Cedric Thompson, someone – would corral him with a certain tackle.

The Gophers finally relented, and Gordon shook open for 24 yards to trigger the fourth-quarter drive that put the Badgers in front 27-17.

Tracy Claeys' defense was so Gordon conscious that the Gophers did seem to be catching their collective breath a couple of times when Melvin was on the sideline, and Corey Clement gashed them with blasts up the middle.

In the end, Gordon wound up with 151 yards, but he's so dangerous, it could have been double that if Minnesota didn't tackle like mad men late into the afternoon in Madison.

Coach Jerry Kill lied all week about the prospects for his star running back, David Cobb, to play because of a hamstring problem. Cobb came out and ran with the same ferocity that he has displayed for two wonderful seasons, and the Gophers had the Badgers in retreat for most of the first half.

The Gophers had only two first downs in the second half by the time Wisconsin had its second touchdown (to make it 27-17), right?

The only real play the Gophers made in the second half was the one moment when the Badgers lost track of Maxx Williams, and the outstanding tight end turned a two-yard pass into a 53-yard gain.

No matter what we hear between now and the Gophers' bowl game, I'm betting that Williams – a third-year sophomore – gets enough positive reinforcement about his draft potential to enter the 2015 NFL Draft.

Maxx's numbers aren't dazzling, for two reasons: the Gophers run the ball on an incredibly high percentage of plays, and quarterback Mitch Leidner is a very erratic thrower. The scouts won't care about his numbers. They have seen the wheels, the hands, the willingness to block. Maxx is a montster.

As for Leidner, It would have been interesting, if Phil Nelson hadn't decided to transfer and then allowed his life to be ruined with a moment of violent stupidity, who would have been the quarterback down the stretch for the Gophers this season?

Following every disappointment, the last two being Ohio State at home and Wisconsin on the road, Gopher zealots still have the need to emphasize the improvement in the "program'' since Kill took over … as though that's new information.

Yeah, the Gophers are better than they were with Tim Brewster. Let's get on with life.

Here's what does impress me: The attitude that has been infused into Gophers football – whether it comes from Kill, his staff or the competitive nature of the lead horses on this roster.

Cameron Botticelli, the Wisconsin boy … how disruptive was he on Saturday until the Badgers started giving him extra attention?

And Cobb. And Zac Epping and Tommy Olson, in the middle of the offensive line. And as I said, Cedric Thompson, with his magnificent, hard-nosed approach to playing safety.

In 2013, the Gophers stunk it out in the Big Ten opener at home vs. Iowa, stunk it out at Michigan, and you looked at the schedule and wondered if 0-8 in the conference was an actual possibility. And then the Gophers came out of a bye week and put together a four-game conference winning streak that included a historic victory over Nebraska.

This season, the Gophers started 2-0 in the Big Ten, then needed a big rally to edge an awful Purdue team 39-38 at TCF Bank Stadium, and then lost to an awful Illinois team on the road.

You saw those two games of putridity in October, and looked at the finish – Iowa, Ohio State, Nebraska and Wisconsin – and figured it was a 50-50 shot to lose all four.

As in 2013, the Gophers rallied from two weeks of lousiness. They overwhelmed Iowa, provided a challenge for Ohio State, beat up Nebraska in the second half, and hung with Wisconsin for most of the game (by hanging on for dear life vs. Melvin).

What's different about these Gophers the last two seasons than their predecessors can be summarized succinctly: