Formula for victory

I have been giving the current gopher problems a lot of thought recently- too much actually- and I reached the conclusion that the only way the gophers are going to make it to a bowl game this year is if they take some risks on O and D. In other words, they must out-coach their opponent to make up for obvious personnel deficiencies. I know this is laughable considering Glen Mason is the coach and he is on record as saying "you live by the run and you die by the run." But I will offer my strategy for the gophers this week anyway.
First on the list of gopher problems is D, particularly D line play. The now 35 year (except rarely in 1998-1999) inability to get a spark of a pass rush dooms even the infrequent good performance they manage from time-to-time (see 2003 Michigan). Thus, this week aganinst Michigan, the priority must be getting heat on Henne. I still maintain that he is poor Q that benefits from a front line that rarely allows pressure on him. He cannot run well, he has a tendency to stare at one receiver, he holds the ball a long time and he is prone to fumbling. Consequently, the game plan should be to stay in a nickel package all game and blitz often. I do not mean send one or two LBs or a safety, Michigan is ready for that kind of blitzing and the last two years proves they pick it up well. No, I mean send one more guy than they can block to ensure a quick throw and maximum pressure. This is the only way Minnesota can get pressure and it requires gambling with single coverage on the wide-outs and possibly getting burned on the draw play. But I would put T Campbell on Avant and tell him to jam Avant - hold if necessary - and disrupt their routes. I expect that Michigan will have some big plays but we might also force some turnovers and some stops. Besides its to give up a big play for a score once in a while rather than watching Henne sit in a lawn chair and pick us apart on 10 play TD drives all day. It's true the gophers cannot allow Hart to beat them with 6, 8 ,and 12 yard runs, but the blitz should help take Hart out of the game and make Henne throw to win. I like my chances better against Henne than Hart.
In addition, In order to win, the gophers will likely have to score in the 30s- even with my D strategy, therefore they need to get creative on Offensive. My first approach would be to come out in a no-huddle O, maybe even spread formation and throw the ball. I know, we have a bad Q and we want to bleed the clock and shorten the game..blah ...blah ..blah. Michigan is going to be posied to stop the run but if Minn comes out in a no-huddle with a spread look I promise you Michigan's D will be confused. Cupito may not be able to handle it but you have got to try it. Try to create match-ups where Wheelwright is lined up agains their smallest corner- let him use his size to catch passes and make their speed less effective. Also put Wallace on their saftey- in the slot- he has good speed and could give Barringer or whatever his name is trouble. Then send Maroney out wide to line-up against a LB and throw him the ball. By spreading the field we should be able to get some favoarble match-ups that will help us complete passes. If we can move the ball and score- even 3- on the first drive Michigan will be huddling on the sidelines trying to make adjustments. It is at that point that we can start to mix in runs. I want to keep their D front on the field and get them tired- they are big and will wear down. So under no circumstance do we let them sub. In the Purdue game Minn. began by running trap plays- something they had not shown in the non-conf play. This completely fooled PU - who had preared for the outside zone play- and it was successful for most of the game. We need to do that again only on a much larger scale. I think we should run the flea-flicker and the throw back pass - these plays will help keep the safeties back and should give us a chance to run the ball. The point is we must do something (many things) Mich is not prepared for and this will make them more cautious all game long and help nuetralize their speed. I also would not be afraid to go on 4th down anytime it is less than 3 yards or when we are their side of the field. Of course, the argument against this idea is that we should wait until the Wisconsin game when we are at home and try to surprise a Wisc. team that has a suspect pass D (Indy last week). But my feeling is that even if it doesn't work this week it will make Wisc. look at more film and give us some practice. If the gophers play their same old style this week they will lose for sure. Even if they play well they will still lose, just by fewer points. So this is the product of my day-dreaming and frustration- now I will imagine what it would be like to have a good coach.....