Minnesota breakdown with The Daily Gopher

Penn State hosts Minnesota this homecoming weekend. It will not be the first time the two teams have met on homecoming, the last being the epic Minnesota upset of No. 2 Penn State in 1999. Both teams come in with winning records, so it should make a big impact on the Big Ten title race.

Today we're happy to have Tom, The Daily Gopher blogger, here to talk about the upcoming game from a Minnesotan view.

ZN: What's been the biggest surprise for the Gophers the first half of this season?

TDG: Nate Triplett along with the overall linebacking corp has been my biggest surprise. I was comfortable with Lee Campbell at MLB and the athletic Simoni Lawrence on the weakside, but I kind of assumed Triplett would be replaced by the younger Keanon Cooper sooner rather than later. But Triplett has been really, really good so far this year. He is making big plays and showing more athleticism than what I was expecting to see.

ZN: Biggest disappointment?

TDG: The passing game has really disappointed. At best, Adam Weber is playing at he exact same level he was playing a year ago. Realistically he has regressed a little bit. All anyone can say about our offense is that we have Eric Decker. He is a great wide receiver and should get the ball thrown his a way a LOT, but we have a few other receivers who are rather good. Whether it is due to playcalling, penalties or lack of execution from the QB and/or OL; those other receivers are just not getting the ball enough.

ZN: Talk a little bit about the Gophers' run defense. Is is really all that bad? And what do you see happening going up against a peaking PSU run game?

TDG: Before the Wisconsin game I didn't think the run defense really was that bad. Air Force racked up a ton of yards but they also ran the ball 66 times. Cal's Jahvid Best racked up a lot of yards but he is really good and in quarters 2 through 4 we bottled him up rather well. But then John Clay destroyed us in the second half of the Badger game and I'm beginning to rethink how I feel about our run defense. This week will be a great test.

ZN: How important has Adam Weber been to the program? Does it bother Gopher fans that he's never really given any attention by the media?

TDG: Depends on who you ask. There are a lot of Gopher fans, and this group is growing, who are fed up with Adam Weber. He has struggled this year with his accuracy and unfortunately for him there is a highly touted recruit sitting behind him. My problem with this group is that they have unrealistic expectations. Weber completes a 47 yard pass to Decker but Decker had to slow up to catch it so therefor Weber is terrible. Armchair QBs can easily conclude that any QB worth his salt should be able to hit a wide up receiver in stride for 6 points instead of being tackled on the 2. What they don't realize is that QB's underthrow and miss open receivers all the time. Tom Brady missed a wide open Randy Moss early in their Denver game last week, it happens. Especially at the collegiate level.

In their defense, he has not had a very good year this year. He hasn't made great decisions and he has been rather inaccurate. He still gives us the best chance to win and his two year resume supports that. He'll finish his junior year as the school's all time leader in completions, yards, touchdowns and should still be #1 in completion %. Eventually Gopher fans will appreciate what he meant to the program but not when he struggles with a freshman behind him that everyone is anxious to see on the field.

ZN: Talk about one unit-vs-unit matchup Minnesota can win this week. And one that UM will probably lose.

TDG: Alright here goes.

MN OL vs. PSU Front Seven - this one might be the key to the game. The Gopher OL has been pretty bad this year but has improved in the Big Ten portion of the schedule. They absolutely have to open some holes up for the running game and they have to give Weber some time. This is a lot to ask but if they can do these things Minnesota can stay in the game.

PSU OL vs. MN Front Seven - Another big one because the Gopher DL needs to be able to slow down the ground game. We are strong up the middle and we get DE-Cedric McKinley back after a two game suspension so that should help. I'm not delusional enough to believe that we are going to make Penn State one dimensional but we have to force third downs and keep Royster contained. I really like our linebackers so I think there is a chance we can slow down Royster but I also have realistic expectations. Our three starting linebackers all rank in the top 10 in tackles. That shows that they are where they are supposed to be and the DL is keeping linemen off them. They have to take good angles and not miss tackles if they want to win this battle.

MN Passing vs. PSU Secondary - As long as Decker is fully healthy and if Weber plays OK, I'll give this advantage to Minnesota. I have a healthy respect for the Nittany Lion secondary but everybody gameplans for Decker and everybody falls short. And if Weber is able to find Troy Stoudermire, Brandon Green or Hayo Carpenter for a couple big plays then we might even be able to score some points. But much of this falls back on what kind of time the OL will give Weber.

PSU Passing vs. MN Secondary - I used to think this was a strength of the Gophers but I'm not as confident as I once was. Traye Simmons is supposedly our best corner but you aren't going to make a CB coverage training video with his play this year. He has been OK and he has made some big plays but sometimes being lucky is better than being good. Marcus Sherels on the other corner is solid, Kyle Theret has been a very good SS and FS-Kim Royston likes to bite on play-action then get beat deep. There is talent here but through six games they have yet to play their best game. Penn State's receivers are not the best we are going to see all year but Daryl Clark might be the best QB we are set to see.

Special Teams vs. Special Teams - If Minnesota is going to win this game I think something will have to happen on Special Teams (see Iowa game!). The Gopher Special Forces have been very good in all phases this year. Troy Stoudermire gives the Gopher offense great field position on a regular basis. The coverage units have been outstanding. And the kicking/punting has surpassed expectations. Every single week I'm waiting for Stoudermire to house a kickoff and every week there is a return or two where he just can't make that last guy miss to house it. He is very dangerous and could be a major X-factor on Saturday.

Many thanks again to Tom, and good luck to the Gophers... but not too much luck.