Coach ,

We hope you enjoyed Christmas weekend. While the NFL seemed to dominate the schedule, we have a week full of college football.

Today’s games look like they may be won in the trenches, so that’s the focus as Coach Trent Kaufmann breaks it all down and shares some coaching points from these staffs.

Enjoy the games!

Coach Grabowski

Game Previews: 

Quick Lane Bowl - Bowling Green Falcons vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers

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The Quick Lane Bowl will feature two programs that are looking to build momentum heading into next season. Bowling Green ended an up-and-down season at 7-5 which included a win as a three-touchdown underdog to Georgia Tech. That win helped them find their stride, and they ended the season on a 6-2 run. Expect a motivated Falcons team who look to capture the program’s first bowl win since 2014.

Minnesota enters the game heading in a different direction. They lost their last four games after a 5-3 start to end the season. Adding to the challenge, the Gophers starting QB, Athan Kaliakmanis, will not be suited up after entering the transfer portal. He was the only Gopher to complete a pass this year..

This is a game that may see a good amount of momentum shifts. There is also familiarity here as well. In the 2021 BG stunned the Gophers coming in as over 30 pt underdogs and leaving with a 14-10 victory. 

Gopher Head Coach P.J. Fleck is additionally a former MAC Head Coach. Things will get interesting here as these two kick off the post-Christmas festivities in Detroit. See how the running game will be led by the Minnesota Movers here.

Brian Callahan - Minnesota O Line Fundamentals, Techniques & Drills

Understanding the personality of your program and your offense is paramount to success. To a degree you can mold and change who and what your team is but, in most cases, adopting some of the personality of your school district and the type of student athlete that are within your schools. This personality must mesh with how you run your offense. 

From highs chool to college this is the case. From understanding your roster to understanding your community/student body. This is all important in driving success. In this case, Coach Callahan and Coach Fleck understand that the personality of their team and offense is not necessarily the same as Coach Fleck would have encountered during his time at Western Michigan where passing was at a premium. 

Embracing the idea of controlling and running the ball the Gopher Offensive Line takes the personality of the Minnesota Movers. This personality has led to them being a slow paced offense that is immensely effective in the Red Zone and the run game. As this program moves forward if the efficiency ramps up and builds upon this the Gophers will be in great shape.

Video: What We Believe in Up Front

Other Clinics from These Staffs:

Andy Sowder - Situational Offense

First Responder Bowl - Texas State Bobcats vs Rice Owls

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The Owls are determined to make a statement in the bowl game and cap off their season with a memorable victory. The Owls will have to be good in money down situations… see their philosophy here.

Mike Bloomgren & Sanders Davis - Short Yardage and Goal Line

As an offense at the end of the day you have to know that you can capitalize in your money down situations. We would all obviously wish to succeed every single time within these situations but, we know that is not really possible. Being able to open up the playbook in these situations and be repeatedly successful drives confidence. 

A year ago Rice was 89% successful in short yardage and goal line situations. Plays help but, approach and attitude oftentimes is the biggest driver in these situations and execution in the end is the ultimate deciding factor. See the small changes and approach at surface level here.

Video: Our Approach

Other Clinics from These Staffs:

How to Teach your OL to Drive and Create Holes | Mike Bloomgren

Guaranteed Rate Bowl - Kansas Jayhawks vs UNLV Rebels

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For the second straight year the Kansas Jayhawks are playing football in late December. After a narrow overtime defeat in the Liberty Bowl a season ago, the Jayhawks are looking to end the season on a high note and reach nine wins when it travels to Phoenix for a post-Christmas battle in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl.

UNLV is an offensive-minded team that averaged 34.3 points per game and it put up points in a variety of ways. UNLV averaged 235 passing yards per game and 179.5 on the ground, proving it could win either way. The Rebels had multiple 300-passing-yard games (Colorado State and Air Force) and 300-rushing-yard games (UTEP and Hawaii) this year.

Part of having a stellar defense to slow the offense down will be the linebacker play that we look into here. Winning in the box will be important in this game.

Planning Linebacker Indy for Gameday Success

Increasing your linebackers knowledge and comfort with their responsibilities within blitz and pressure concepts can increase the productivity of these items. Here we see the Bang path that is emphasized by Coach DeLeone that talks to us about remaining tight within our path, understanding where the interior defensive lineman is headed and trusting the path. 

Learning more about this I would pair the knowledge of this course and how the Jayhawks move and create comfort among other items with their linebacker drills to the drills presented in the LFG clinic this past season with Jeff Choate (LINK). These are two clinics that show you various fundamentals and promote the skills necessary for you to aid the growth of your linebackers and their effectiveness in various situations and skills.

Video: Bang Path

Other Clinics from These Staffs:

Scott Fuchs- Pass Blocking (Short Sets and Techniques)

With changes in coordinators, coaches, and personnel on the field, the game usually reverts to the basics, so blocking and tackling can be big factors in the games today.

Happy Holidays! Enjoy the games!

Coach Kauffman