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They listed Minnesota as the team that will disappoint. That makes no sense. A disappointment is a team that doesn't live up to expectations. Since most of the pundits expect the Gophers to finish very badly, if we do finish badly, that will only be meeting expectations, and can't be considered a disappointment. With predictions as dire as those facing the Gophers, to disappoint would require the Gophers to be even worse than the predictions, which would be difficult.

It's all wild cards. We're replacing 9 starters. The article called the offense a mess. If the starters are decent, if the offense turns out to be not such a mess - the offense has to be better - then the Gophers could surprise.

Generally, the teams that surprise are the ones that no one predicted: it wouldn't be a surprise if people expected it.
 

RodentRampage said:
They listed Minnesota as the team that will disappoint. That makes no sense. A disappointment is a team that doesn't live up to expectations. Since most of the pundits expect the Gophers to finish very badly, if we do finish badly, that will only be meeting expectations, and can't be considered a disappointment. With predictions as dire as those facing the Gophers, to disappoint would require the Gophers to be even worse than the predictions, which would be difficult.

It's all wild cards. We're replacing 9 starters. The article called the offense a mess. If the starters are decent, if the offense turns out to be not such a mess - the offense has to be better - then the Gophers could surprise.

Generally, the teams that surprise are the ones that no one predicted: it wouldn't be a surprise if people expected it.
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+ 1

The only way we can disappoint is to go 0-12. That won't happen.
 

As an outside observer I really have no idea what to expect from the gophers. As a badger fan that worked close with Jeff Horton while he was at UW, I expect him to do some good things with the U offense. Without trying to incite a riot on the board, I just don't know how much he can do with the offensive cast of players he has at UMN. The line play last year was horrendous, and despite what this board believes to be some superstar young kids, I don't know what kind of impact that will have on this year.

While I agree that Brew has brought in some more talented and athletic kids than under the previous regime, I don't think those kids are any more talented than what the top 6 or 7 Big Ten teams are bringing in every year as well.

As for the season prediction- it will be a fun one to follow for Gopher fans. Who really knows what the hell will happen with the team. If the line play greatly improves, the run game opens up, Webber gets his game back, and the less experienced defense plays like most here expect, the Gophs could have a great year. Then again, you could get the same bad line play, bad run game, bad Webber, and an overrated defense and end up in the stinker. This season is a tough one to predict.
 

The analysis was an accurate one but maybe not a good one. Our returning offense was a mess last year. On defense we lost 9 starters. It's hard for them to evaluate incoming new talent and the help of a stable coaching staff for the first time. I'm very hopeful, but on paper, well..we should be as poorly rated as we are.

It's why they play the games and it's why I'm driving to Murfreesboro in a few weeks. Go Gold!
 


I think the biggest mystery is going to be week 1. To be completely honest, I think the gophers win by 10-17 points. Brew has seen some losses to non-BCS teams, and if the Gophs open up with a L to MTSU, in what is a pretty big judgment year for Brew, I have a hard time seeing the team bounce back to a successful season. You've got to imagine Brew understands the implications of this game and will have the team ready to go in week 1.

Middle Tenn. W
SOUTH DAKOTA W
USC L
Northern Illinois W
Northwestern L
Wisconsin L
Purdue W but it will be a good game on the road
Penn State L
Ohio State L
Michigan State L
Illinois W
Iowa L
 

MNBadgerGuy said:
While I agree that Brew has brought in some more talented and athletic kids than under the previous regime, I don't think those kids are any more talented than what the top 6 or 7 Big Ten teams are bringing in every year as well.
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Spot on comment. Iowa just received a commitment from a second 4* OL, and, while we offered, we weren't one of the finalists. Last year, there were a number of highly rated recruits very interested in the Gophers, but we didn't get our signature win that may have sealed the deal with them. This year, the Gophers need to surprise and beat one or even two of the top teams we face just to prove to the top recruits that Minnesota is on course to become a top tier team. I realize Brew's recruiting is bringing in better athletes than we've seen in a long time, but he needs the signature wins to get a few more of the highly regarded recruits.
 

Both Ferenz and Fitzgerald swear off recruiting ratings. They want program players. I just do not really understand the notion that "Brew's recruiting is bringing in better athletes than we've seen in a long time". Then we will win more games than we have won in a long time. Right?
 

Would you prefer to have the #1 rated recruiting class, or the #120 rated recruiting class? If you say that you would prefer the #1 rated class, then you admit there is at least some meaning to the ratings. There is a correlation between how highly a class is ranked and success on the field. It is not, and no one has ever claimed it to be, a 100% correlation. And further, it should be noted that Brewster's first recuiting class will be Juniors this year. How about if we see how they do when they are seniors, because players typically are better by the time they are seniors than they are when they are freshmen. 2007 doesn't count as one of Brewster's recuiting classes, it would take a miracle for Brewster to have had much impact coming in just a couple weeks before signing day. No one has ever said that Brewster was THAT good of a recruiter.
 



Gopherhurrin said:
Both Ferenz and Fitzgerald swear off recruiting ratings. They want program players. I just do not really understand the notion that "Brew's recruiting is bringing in better athletes than we've seen in a long time". Then we will win more games than we have won in a long time. Right?
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If you can't see that we have better athletes across the board than in the past, then you aren't paying attention. There's no doubt we are faster than we've been in a long time, especially on defense. However, better athletes doesn't always equate to more wins.

As it's been said many times already, this year will be the year where many of these good athletes will get a lot of playing time, so we'll see if that equates to more wins and a better team.
 

I think the Badger fan summed it up well. No one knows what's going to happen this year. We all know one thing for sure and that is we will play 12 games this year. Beyond that who knows what's going to happen this year.
 

Gopherhurrin said:
Both Ferenz and Fitzgerald swear off recruiting ratings. They want program players. I just do not really understand the notion that "Brew's recruiting is bringing in better athletes than we've seen in a long time". Then we will win more games than we have won in a long time. Right?
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Coaching plays a factor. Great players can still be part of a bad team b/c of coaching decisions. Scheme also plays a role. You can have the most talented drop back passer ever, but if you run a run spread you'll be SOL.

Downplaying the fact that this is a more talented and athletic Gopher team because other teams are getting this type of player is silly. That said, it is still up to Brew and the staff to put the team in a position to succeed. That's what Ferentz does. The reason he talks about "program players" is not because this means the are less talented. It means he is willing to sacrifice some level of talent/athleticism if it gets him a player who is very coachable and will be successful running his scheme instead of a really talented player who doesn't listen and f's up the scheme by being selfish.
 

GoAUpher said:
That said, it is still up to Brew and the staff to put the team in a position to succeed. That's what Ferentz does. The reason he talks about "program players" is not because this means the are less talented. It means he is willing to sacrifice some level of talent/athleticism if it gets him a player who is very coachable and will be successful running his scheme instead of a really talented player who doesn't listen and f's up the scheme by being selfish.
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100% agree. I like how Ferentz only accepts a recruit's verbal commitment only after they agree to stop looking at, and visiting other schools. When a recruit does this, Ferentz knows he has a future player that has already bought into the program.
 



I know whats going to happen.....Wisconsin OSU or Iowa is going to win the Big10 while Minnesota or Illinois is going to finish in last.
 


RealPushBack said:
I know whats going to happen.....Wisconsin OSU or Iowa is going to win the Big10 while Minnesota or Illinois is going to finish in last.
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Because Purdue and Indiana are proven Big10 forces...
 

GoAUpher said:
Coaching plays a factor. Great players can still be part of a bad team b/c of coaching decisions. Scheme also plays a role. You can have the most talented drop back passer ever, but if you run a run spread you'll be SOL.

Downplaying the fact that this is a more talented and athletic Gopher team because other teams are getting this type of player is silly. That said, it is still up to Brew and the staff to put the team in a position to succeed. That's what Ferentz does. The reason he talks about "program players" is not because this means the are less talented. It means he is willing to sacrifice some level of talent/athleticism if it gets him a player who is very coachable and will be successful running his scheme instead of a really talented player who doesn't listen and f's up the scheme by being selfish.
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Either the coaches are doing a poor job of coaching, or the coaches are recruiting the wrong type of players for the system, or the players are not as talented as you and others are saying, or we are going to win more games. We will all learn more in one month. But, IMHO, the object of the game is to win the games, not the ratings.:)
 

Call me what ever you want but you team is NOT good. But then again coming off that great 6 win season and that really good bowl performance while returning so many All Big10 players it not fair that ALL THE EXPERTS expect you to finish in the bottom 3. Personally if Illinois wasn't so bad you would be last place. At least Indiana has a QB and WR.
 

MNBadgerGuy said:
As for the season prediction- it will be a fun one to follow for Gopher fans. Who really knows what the hell will happen with the team. If the line play greatly improves, the run game opens up, Webber gets his game back, and the less experienced defense plays like most here expect, the Gophs could have a great year. Then again, you could get the same bad line play, bad run game, bad Webber, and an overrated defense and end up in the stinker. This season is a tough one to predict.
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Spot on analysis. I think overall the season will be a mixed bag. There will be times I am ready to pull my hair out, and other times when I will be pleasantly surprised (much like last season, case in point - MSU game vs. Illinois game).
 

I can't argue to much with what MNBadgerGuy has to say either and I also believe college football is very difficult to predict, with a great degree of accuracy, before the season starts. The only thing I would argue (without trying to incite a riot) is that his W/L prediction is very "pundit" like, in that the only wins predicted for the Gophers are from the lesser (no disrespect intended) teams on our schedule. Not sure how many wins the Gophers will have this year but on some given weekend all the cosmic tumblers within Gopher nation will align themselves and I believe we will pull a major upset, with a little luck may be more than one. Additionally, we will more than likely lose to one or more of those "lesser" teams as well.
From the recruiting perspective I would like to see the current coaching staff stay in place long enough to have the opportunity to have their recruited players as 4th year Juniors and 5th year seniors. In terms of competitivness we could then compare apples to apples and really see how we are doing against the other Big 10 teams. Trying to draw some sort of absolute conclusion before then is pointless and unfair to both athletes and coaches. We shall see!
Go Gophers.
 

RealPushBack said:
Call me what ever you want but you team is NOT good. But then again coming off that great 6 win season and that really good bowl performance while returning so many All Big10 players it not fair that ALL THE EXPERTS expect you to finish in the bottom 3. Personally if Illinois wasn't so bad you would be last place. At least Indiana has a QB and WR.
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Is it so unreasonable to let them play a game or two before we determine how good or bad they are?

Ass clown.
 


I like how these guys said Dom Alford is the standout. He is awful.

To all posters who get defensive when someone predicts us to finish last or near it...calm down. It's where we deserve to be. What makes you all believe we are better than Purdue, Indiana, or Illinois? I hope like hell we are but we are coming off of a very mediocre season. We lost our offense (Decker), our line sucked last year and until they hit the field we don't know if they are improved or not. Who knows what to expect out of Webber, and we have no running game. We have a lot of great athletes on defense but who knows if they can ball or not. If great athletes meant great success, Usain Bolt would be the richest man in the football. I believe this team has potential to be good, especially on D but we don't know.
 

MNBadgerGuy said:
As an outside observer I really have no idea what to expect from the gophers. As a badger fan that worked close with Jeff Horton while he was at UW, I expect him to do some good things with the U offense. Without trying to incite a riot on the board, I just don't know how much he can do with the offensive cast of players he has at UMN. The line play last year was horrendous, and despite what this board believes to be some superstar young kids, I don't know what kind of impact that will have on this year.

While I agree that Brew has brought in some more talented and athletic kids than under the previous regime, I don't think those kids are any more talented than what the top 6 or 7 Big Ten teams are bringing in every year as well.

As for the season prediction- it will be a fun one to follow for Gopher fans. Who really knows what the hell will happen with the team. If the line play greatly improves, the run game opens up, Webber gets his game back, and the less experienced defense plays like most here expect, the Gophs could have a great year. Then again, you could get the same bad line play, bad run game, bad Webber, and an overrated defense and end up in the stinker. This season is a tough one to predict.
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Good analysis from the outside looking in....here is one from the inside looking inside (as in I have an inside understanding of the Badger program also).

First off I love how Wisconsin and Iowa approach it's game and recruiting plan (asside from ridiculous easy scheduling). Both programs run a defense and offense that they can recruit the majority of its players from the midwest ie home states. This is now the gophers approach. The difference is the Gophers are bringing in better players from OUT of state. I have seen up close the Florida and Texas players Wisconsin brings in....advantage Gophers.

No doubt any sane person would and should pick Iowa and Wisconsin to finish better than the gophers. This is based on last seasons records and performances but it's also based (mostly) on this seasons schedule. The gophers is much more difficult.

The offense will be better than last year. At QB we have one of the top 3 in the conference. The line will be better because players or healthier, stronger and not being redshirted. More importantly they are in an offensive scheme that better suites them.

Inexperienced on defense? Again from the outside looking in that's how it appears but from the inside looking out....with exception of one, everyone of these guys played a lot last season. Depending on how you look at it, unfortunately for them some of them played behind NFL caliber players.

Again, overall for a person looking in you made some great points.
 

Sportsfan24 said:
Good analysis from the outside looking in....here is one from the inside looking inside (as in I have an inside understanding of the Badger program also).

First off I love how Wisconsin and Iowa approach it's game and recruiting plan (asside from ridiculous easy scheduling). Both programs run a defense and offense that they can recruit the majority of its players from the midwest ie home states. This is now the gophers approach. The difference is the Gophers are bringing in better players from OUT of state. I have seen up close the Florida and Texas players Wisconsin brings in....advantage Gophers.
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I understand what you are saying, but I'm not buying it. Rivals thinks UW's class last year was one of the poorer in the conference. I don't pretend to be an expert of high school football recruiting, because there are a TON of variables that go into making a college football player successful, but I truthfully wouldn't swap UW's class for UMN's class. Despite the hate of coach Bielema on this board, he has a very good feel for the type of players he wants to bring into the program. Look at Borland last year- OSU and others thought he was too small but he is a perfect fit for UW.

Sure, I'd like to bring in five star players, but if UW's staff can continue to evaluate and select players that fit what BB is trying to accomplish, he will be fine. Like this kid who committed today http://rivals.yahoo.com/wisconsin/football/recruiting/player-Mike-Caputo-104927

With all due respect Sportsfan, wasn't Kim recruited to UW by BA not BB? I'm not saying that to marginalize Kim, but the knock on BA was that his recruiting slipped the last 3 or 4 years of his tenure. Others outside of Madison won't agree, but UW's recruiting has seen a major uptick since BB became Head Coach.

You're free to believe that the OOS kids Brew is bringing in are 'better' than what UW is bringing in, but you won't find many UW fans who would agree.
 

MNBadgerGuy said:
I understand what you are saying, but I'm not buying it. Rivals thinks UW's class last year was one of the poorer in the conference. I don't pretend to be an expert of high school football recruiting, because there are a TON of variables that go into making a college football player successful, but I truthfully wouldn't swap UW's class for UMN's class. Despite the hate of coach Bielema on this board, he has a very good feel for the type of players he wants to bring into the program. Look at Borland last year- OSU and others thought he was too small but he is a perfect fit for UW.

Sure, I'd like to bring in five star players, but if UW's staff can continue to evaluate and select players that fit what BB is trying to accomplish, he will be fine. Like this kid who committed today http://rivals.yahoo.com/wisconsin/football/recruiting/player-Mike-Caputo-104927

With all due respect Sportsfan, wasn't Kim recruited to UW by BA not BB? I'm not saying that to marginalize Kim, but the knock on BA was that his recruiting slipped the last 3 or 4 years of his tenure. Others outside of Madison won't agree, but UW's recruiting has seen a major uptick since BB became Head Coach.

You're free to believe that the OOS kids Brew is bringing in are 'better' than what UW is bringing in, but you won't find many UW fans who would agree.
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Not to marginalize Kim?(LOL). Then what do you do? You marginalize Kim (LOL). First off let me say, I have no idea how Kim factors into the conversation... but okay I will play.

Kim is better than any safety Wisconsin has had on it's roster since Bret has been the coach. Keep in mind last years safeties played behind him when he was there (3rd and 4th on the depth chart...Brets decision). In 2007 Kim was 2nd team FS and SS and nickle DB. Since 2006, asside from Kim Wisconsin hasn't had a safety who can both cover and tackle. Wisconsin safeties last year couldn't cover at all and tackled poorly, don't you think your coach would have liked to have had the DB who led all conference DB's in tackling and ranked high in passes defensed on his roster? Bad question, we already know the answer to that. That's why he wouldn't grant him a release.

Now back to the topic. I'm not one of those guys who can't like or appreciate another school. Wisconsin and BB have been very successful. BB's record and success as a head coach can't be denied. Bret's recruiting success? Asside from John Clay who are we talking about? Gabe Carmini was a BA recruit. As was Deandre Levy, Joe Thomas, Jack Ikewondo, Obrien Schofield, Shaunesy, Castillas, PJ Hill, Garret, Owen Daniels, Issac Anderson or Travis Beckum. Please don't mention Lance Kendricks, I had more to do with him commiting than BB....seriously. Hell forget OOS players, there is no denying that almost ALL of the star players on BB teams committed to Alvarez.

Note: This isn't a BB rip, he and I have made peace. I wish him continued success but from a recruiting stand point Brewster takes a back seat to few coaches in the BigTen and BB isn't one.
 

not only a troll...

RealPushBack said:
Call me what ever you want but you team is NOT good. But then again coming off that great 6 win season and that really good bowl performance while returning so many All Big10 players it not fair that ALL THE EXPERTS expect you to finish in the bottom 3. Personally if Illinois wasn't so bad you would be last place. At least Indiana has a QB and WR.
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A troll with horrible grammar. The true greatness of a wisconsin education.:rolleyes:
 

go4fan said:
I like how these guys said Dom Alford is the standout. He is awful.

To all posters who get defensive when someone predicts us to finish last or near it...calm down. It's where we deserve to be. What makes you all believe we are better than Purdue, Indiana, or Illinois? I hope like hell we are but we are coming off of a very mediocre season. We lost our offense (Decker), our line sucked last year and until they hit the field we don't know if they are improved or not. Who knows what to expect out of Webber, and we have no running game. We have a lot of great athletes on defense but who knows if they can ball or not. If great athletes meant great success, Usain Bolt would be the richest man in the football. I believe this team has potential to be good, especially on D but we don't know.
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:banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead:

That's our issue with the predictions. You say it yourself, we don't know. But the predictions are based on pretending that they do in fact know.
 

MNBadgerGuy said:
if UW's staff can continue to evaluate and select players that fit what BB is trying to accomplish, he will be fine. Like this kid who committed today http://rivals.yahoo.com/wisconsin/football/recruiting/player-Mike-Caputo-104927
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Just so we're clear, you're happy to have a commit with offers from OSU, PSU, Pitt, WVU, Mich, MSU, and BC? Way to step out on a limb!

(His rating is a mistake, by the way. As I'm sure you're aware, Rivals rates based only on offers, and takes nothing else into account, so he is clearly a 4-star. They apparently just haven't updated it yet.)

Seriously, though - if you take into account the recent performance of the programs, and how that affects a recruit's perception of the school, Brewster's recruiting is so disparate from Bielema's that it's ridiculous to even compare the two.
 

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