Posted August 31, 2011    

•Jerry Kill

•Joel Maturi

•Joe Webb

•MIAC Football

•Lindsay Whalen

Could Kill’s First Miracle Come Saturday? 

Can Jerry Kill walk on water?  

The first test comes near the Pacific Ocean on Saturday when his lowly regarded Gophers play nationally ranked Southern California.  The Trojans are among the legendary programs in college football history but are perhaps vulnerable to an upset because they are on NCAA probation, banned from post-season play and operating with a reduced number of scholarships. 

The common view is the Gophers, 3-9 last year and expected to be among the Big Ten’s worst teams, will lose the game by three touchdowns or more.  But ESPN.com’s Pat Forde is an admirer of Kill and he predicts the Gophers will upset Southern California.   

Another ESPN college football authority, Ivan Maisel, was on 1500 ESPN Sunday talking about the Gophers and Kill.  Maisel doesn’t expect much of a season in 2011 but is optimistic about the years to come under Kill who starts his first season as Gophers coach on Saturday after turning around other college programs.  

Kill has many admirers locally and nationally.  He’s reportedly often mentioned by other coaches as a superior head coach, and if there’s been a negative word spoken about him by Minnesota fans and media since his arrival last December, we missed it.  

The Gophers-USC game looks like a personnel mismatch on paper.  The Gophers have so many ifs in talent and depth that it quickly leads to that conclusion.  The Gophers, for example, start a new quarterback, MarQueis Gray.  The Trojans have returning regular Matt Barkley, a junior, and a player Kill sees playing in the NFL some day.  

“First round draft pick,” Kill said.  “He’s got nice receivers to get it to.  He gets the ball out quick.  Smart, well coached.  They do a good job with him.” 

The Gophers have a roster with lots of inexperienced players, including in the all important offensive line where six redshirt freshmen and true freshmen, and two sophomores dominate the depth chart.  “I think two or three years down the road (they) should be a special group,” Kill said.   

Right now, though, it’s not 2013 or 2014.  Saturday reality is USC, ranked No. 25 in the country by Associated Press, and not Kill’s first choice for an opening assignment.  He would prefer a non-BCS opponent and a cozy game at TCF Bank Stadium.   

Some day the Kill fandom expect him to walk on water, maybe the Mississippi.  None would mind if he starts with an ocean on Saturday.

 

Worth Noting 

Gophers athletic director Joel Maturi told Sports Headliners about 1,100 Minnesota fans are expected at a pre-game pep rally on Saturday before the USC game, perhaps the largest such road turnout in decades for Minnesota.  Fan planes from Minnesota are headed to Los Angeles, plus the southern California area is home to a large number of University of Minnesota alums. 

When Gray was in high school in Indianapolis USC encouraged him to attend one of the Trojans’ quarterback camps but he didn’t do so.  The Trojans didn’t offer him a scholarship. 

The Minnesota-USC game starts at 2:30 p.m. Minneapolis time and will be televised by ABC.  Tomorrow night beginning at 7 p.m. central daylight time UNLV plays at Wisconsin on the Big Ten Network.   

Vikings marketing executive Steve LaCroix said via email on Monday the club has tickets remaining for all home games “starting @ $39 per ticket.”  He also reported “limited availability” for the Green Bay game at Mall of America Field on October 23.     That ticket inventory is “via a 2-game package” that includes the Detroit game on September 25, according to LaCroix.  

The Vikings, 1-2, finish their preseason schedule tomorrow night at Mall of America Field against Houston.  Only twice in franchise history has the team gone winless in preseason, 1961 and 1979.  The Vikings went on to have losing records in the regular seasons of both years.  

The August 29 issue of Sporting News Magazine has the Vikings finishing last in the NFC North with a 5-11 record.  

Quarterback Joe Webb ran for 46 yards and one touchdown on two carries against Dallas last week.  During the preseason he has 90 yards rushing on nine attempts while completing 12 of 23 passes (one interception) for 170 yards.  His extraordinary running and impromptu scrambling ability must have head coach Leslie Frazier and offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave intrigued about using Webb occasionally in the Wildcat formation as the featured runner-passer.  

The Vikings played for the first time on the new Mall of America Field last Saturday against Dallas.  Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission executive director Bill Lester described the look of the new $476,000 turf as “stunning.”  Marching bands tamped on the turf earlier this summer to break it in and Lester said he’s not aware of any player complaints about the new field. 

Former Vikings quarterback Tarvaris Jackson is struggling with his new team, with one touchdown pass, one interception and being sacked seven times in three games.   A bad season by Jackson and Seattle could position the Seahawks with the No. 1 pick in next year’s NFL draft.  That choice will almost certainly be Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck.  If Luck isn’t available when Seattle drafts, Carroll might choose his former USC quarterback, Matt Barkley.

 

Notes Plus   

When it comes to college football bragging rights in Minnesota, the honors go to Division II and III teams.  Minnesota-Duluth, national champion two of the last three years, is rated No. 1 in the country in preseason rankings like D2Football.com. St. Cloud is No. 13 in the D2Football.com rankings.

Minnesota-Duluth coach Bob Nielson has turned plenty of heads with his work.  His best players include junior offensive lineman Garth Heikkinen from Duluth Central High School.  He’s a popular choice for preseason first team All-American.  The Bulldogs open their season at Augustana (ranked No. 9 by D2Football.com) on Saturday. 

MIAC powers St. Thomas, Bethel and Saint John's have all received at least one top 10 national preseason ranking.  The Tommies have been ranked fourth by The Sporting News, No. 5 by D3football.com and seventh by Lindy's Sports. The Royals were ranked No. 4 by Lindy's Sports, seventh by D3football.com and No. 15 by The Sporting News.  The Johnnies were No. 9 in The Sporting News poll and No. 25 in the D3football.com poll. 

In the preseason MIAC coaches poll, St. Thomas is the favorite to win the conference championship.  The Tommies received six of nine first place votes while the Royals had two and the Johnnies one.  Among the league’s outstanding players is St. Thomas wide receiver and returner Fritz Waldvogel, a former MIAC Offensive Player of the Year, who could be a first team Division III All-American.

The Lynx, who have won the first Western Conference championship in franchise history, are awaiting official playoff dates from the WNBA.  The club has four regular season games remaining including a home game against New York Friday night and the season finale in Phoenix on September 11.  

A WNBA source told Sports Headliners the Western Conference best of three games semifinals may start on Thursday, September 15 and end on Tuesday, September 20 at the latest.  The WNBA finals are likely to begin on September 22.  The Lynx will have home court advantage in the Western Conference playoffs and possibly in the finals. 

Minnesota’s talented roster includes players like Maya Moore and Lindsay Whalen who have been on winning NCAA, WNBA and Olympic teams.  Moore will be Rookie of the Year, while Whalen and teammate Seimone Augustus are league MVP candidates. 

Although the franchise has lost money for several seasons, the WNBA source said the Lynx revenue sources, including ticket sales and corporate revenues, have “dramatically increased” and the club is “nearing profitability.” 

Twins starting pitchers finished the club’s 2-9 homestand on Sunday with a 7.04 ERA. 

Ben Revere, with 25 stolen bases, is chasing the Twins record for most stolen bases by a rookie, 31 by Luis Rivas in 2001.

 

Fritz Waldvogel

  Seimone Augustus