A Win For The Ages - Breaking Down The Cats-Gophers

Live from Evanston, it's Saturday night! The much-maligned Big Ten has been getting props for an incredible slate of finishes today headlined by our beloved Cats. After consuming hours of college football on several networks, I've seen John Saunders, Craig James, Doug Flutie, Brent Musberger and even Kirk Herbstreit comment on the Brendan Smith pick six TD. I've seen Mike Kafka get an ESPN All-America nominee promo and the Smith pick get a nod as a Pontiac Game Changing Performance. I've got about 12 hours before I start really thinking about Ohio State and therefore enjoying life, so before we dive in to "the great, the good and the disappointing", I need to put Mike Kafka's amazing performance into perspective.

Mike Kafka's Stats vs Minnesota:
Passing: 12-16-2, 143 yds, 2 TDs, Sacked 2 times
Rushing: 27 carries, 217 yds (8.0 per carry) (243 gross yards, -26 yards for sacks)

Some context. Here is how Kafka's day fits among some "running" QBs' single game rushing records:
Tim Tebow: 166 yards
Michael Vick: 210 yards
Antwaan Randle El: 210 yards
Mike Kafka: 217 yards
Pat White: 247 yards
Vince Young: 267 yards
Brad Smith: 293 yards

For the record, Matt Roe, of Augustana College, holds the alltime NCAA record for single game rushing by a QB with 342 rushing yards on 44 carries in 2004.

The Great
Mike Kafka. What can you say about a guy who looked like he was starting his 26th consecutive game, not CJ? He simply ran at will finding tiny seams and beating Minnesota to the corners. He even passed well before the poor downfield pick (his second) and the coaching staff corked the passing game. 27 carries for 217 yards and 12-16 passing for 143 yards, 2 TDs is one hell of a day. A day Cats fans will remember forever.

The Coaching Staff. Yes, I disagreed with many of the third and long decisions (of the eight 3rd and long plays, we only passed twice), but I am proud as a peacock as to how prepared we were. They got off the bus focused and hitting hard. Minnesota is a very solid team and we overcame the loss of CJ, Tyrell and even Vince with flying colors. In a word - resilient.

Defensive Blocking on Smith's Game-Winner. I've seen the play 20 times and it gets better each time. Smith's awareness to get to the sideline, his fellow DBs laying lumber to pave the way for an unforgettable TD - it was a clinic.

The Good
Mike Hankwitz. Hank brought the kitchen sink. Every play. Our pass rush responded well by flushing Weber all day, and despite that, the sophomore QB still managed to put up incredible numbers (31-51, 327 yds, 53 yards rushing). Most importantly we came up big on our end of the field as we have all year long and kept them out of the endzone. The "D" surrendered only 10 points.

Corey Wooton. He continues to grow game by game. He no longer needs to get around his blocker and is starting to be able to disrupt the QB by bullrushing his defender. The one sack hardly gives his presence justice.

Eric Decker Defense. Yes, we double-covered and cheated on zone coverage, but we eliminated the big play from the Big Ten's most productive target. I like the kid and actually felt bad for him on the game-winning pick that went through his hands.

Special Teams. A week after the Indiana train wreck, we responded well. Stefan Demos continues to get it done, pinning the Gophers several times. We did not give up the big plays on kickoffs or punt returns and we held on to the rock, which in and of itself was a win.

The Disappointing
Omar Conteh. Yes, the O-line wasn't exactly busting holes, but Omar continues to dance along the line of scrimmage and his 12 yards on 12 carries were, at times, painful. I'm hoping Omar can regain his 2007 smashmouth approach.

Offensive Play Calling. I'm all for game management, but after Kafka's pick 6 we deserted the pass, and Mike had looked very confident up to that point. We threw a grand total of four times in the second half - three for completions. Most eyebrow-raising were rushes on the following second half plays:
3rd and 11 at MN 46 - Conteh rush, 4 yards
3rd and 16 at MN 37 - Kafka rush, 7 yards
3rd and 12 at NU 35 - Kafka rush, -4 yards

For what it's worth, Kafka's first quarter TD pass to Jeremy Ebert was the best QB-to-WR play of the season. Perfect pass and amazing over the shoulder catch.

Minnesota Fans. So much for riding NU attendance. The sea of empty seats for a 7-1 team in the Rose Bowl hunt is embarassing. Don't give me any nonsense about the size of the Metrodome (64,000). The school is six times the size of NU.

Around the Big Ten
What a day of finishes. Michigan State gets a game-winning FG to edge Wisconsin in a game in which they were outrushed by a multiple of 10. No exaggeration. Purdue beats Michigan on the hook-and-lateral and the Illini squeak out a win against Iowa (awww, I feel so bad for the Hawkeyes). LTP called the exact margin of victory in the CMU win over Indiana (3) and Penn State is about to back in to the #2 slot, that is unless Texas Tech leapfrogs them!


Superstition Wins!
As many of you noted, I reverted to "Start Wearing Purple" as the in-game filler. And it worked. Thanks to an LTP reader, perhaps we should consider the following ode to Kafka. OK, it is famous writer Franz Kafka, but c'mon, someone can manipulate the audio out there.