Greetings.
So, where have I been? In limbo, technologically speaking. There I was, minding my own business, watching the Gophers-Badgers game Saturday when my laptop melted down. I'm talking blue screen of death here. I lost everything, notes, quotes, numbers. Had to fly back to the Star Tribune office to write all my stuff for Sunday's paper. I have to admit, it sent me into a little bit of a tizzy.
Anyway, I have a new laptop now.
The Gophers practiced inside today as they began preparing for Saturday's game against Purdue. There aren't any official changes on the team's depth chart, other than Trey Davis taking over for the injured Jeff Tow-Arnett. But linebacker Nate Triplett, who had a shoulder stinger and an turned ankle against Wisconsin was not in pads today.
The Purdue team we see Saturday won't look that familiar. Remember when every team in the conference save for a couple seemed to be rushing to run the spread offense? Well, the Gophers and Purdue are similar in that they have gone more multiple in their approach. So you'll see two-back sets, tight ends and a lot more running than Purdue showed in the past.
The Boilermakers' new offensive coordinator is Gary Nord, who coached offensive coordinators and quarterbacks at Florida Atlantic from 2005 to 2008. So Gophers fans should see some familiar schemes -- a pro-style, multiple-set attack that attempts to gain a balance between the run and the pass.
Purdue's main running back,
Ralph Bolden, is averaging 108.1 yards per game and 5.6 yards per rush. He had some big success early, going for 234 against Toledo and 123 in a close loss at Oregon. But he hasn't topped 67 in three games since; Northwestern -- a team the Gophers had their best running day against -- held Bolden to 53 yards on 18 carries. I think the Gophers' run defense should get a little healthier this week.
