I blame all of our troubles on...

Donate To GopherHole
F

fridge2012

Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2009
Messages
120
Reaction score
0
Points
16
Mike Kafka. Think about it. We're ranked 20th, 7-1, on our way to a sure 8-1 against a mediocre Northwestern team playing a back-up QB. Enter Mike Kafka. Miraculously, he runs for 200+ yards, being the only impactful player on their offense. If it weren't for his performance, we would've never been in a position to throw that last second pick-six, and we wouldn't have lost. If we would've won, we would've carried momentum into a game with a rebuilding Michigan team, and been 9-1 after that game. Instead we're drained emotionally, and finish the season a dismal 7-6. Ever since the Kafka incident, we are 10-25, with 50+ point losses to rivals Iowa, and Michigan. Point is, our recent struggles are not Brew's fault, because Kafka ruined his career. (He was on his way to the Rose Bowl, til he met Mike Kafka). It's not Maturi's fault, how could he have predicted Kafka would kill Brew's coaching ability? And it's not Kill's fault, he doesn't even know Mike Kafka, he's just caught in the middle. If you wanna be mad at someone, be mad at Mike.
 

You're right! I'm glad Vince Young just passed him on the depth chart. Screw Kafka!
 

This post is all kinds of hilarity and awesomeness haha
 

This is funny. My brother was with me at the NDSU game. Afterward, he said, "The program hasn't recovered from the pass that deflected off Decker's hands that the Northwestern guy returned for a touchdown. Why didn't we take a knee and go to overtime?"
 

+1 to the OP and CP Gopher.

lol
 


CP Gopher said:
This is funny. My brother was with me at the NDSU game. Afterward, he said, "The program hasn't recovered from the pass that deflected off Decker's hands that the Northwestern guy returned for a touchdown. Why didn't we take a knee and go to overtime?"
Click to expand...
Funny that back then many of us (including myself) appreciated a coach who would go for the win in the fourth quarter, in response to Mason's epic fourth quarter collapses. Now I just wish we could be in the running when it gets that late in the game. Gonna be a long season boys
 

The decision not to take a knee there was one of the most baffling decisions I have ever seen a coach make, right up there with the hail mary call against Virginia in a bowl game. The Gophers had a horrible FG kicker and were at their own 25 or so with a minute and change to go. It was just incredibly unlikely that the Gophers would a. get in field goal position and b. make the field goal. Add in the fact that we lost Decker for essentially the season in that game (yes he technically came back, but he wasn't the same guy) and it is very easy to point to that game as the point in which we lost all momentum.
 

actually, i blame former gopher punter justin kucek (circa 2005 against becky badger) as the man to blame all of life's troubles on. for me, it started with his inability to catch and punt away a well hiked snap (a punt that would have sealed a 2nd gophers victory over becky badger in 3 seasons). instead his miscue cost our gophers that game. that is where it really started folks. blame justin folks.......not poor, little mikey kafka. :)
 

I blame pantherhawk, who pisses everyone off.
 



I blame Chris Perry. If he doesn't catch 11 passes for 120+ yards in Michigan's 2003 victory over us (we didn't we put a DB on him?) we win that game and we go to the Rose even if the rest of our season plays out the way it did. That game is the game that killed.

We win that, Mase doesn't go into early retirement and we never hire Brewster. Instead, we watch the Gophs blow a huge lead on their way to losing the Rose Bowl, but at least it's the Rose Bowl.
 

Blaming someone else is pure drama. We are overreacting. We have been in every game this year right up to the opening kickoff.
 


I blame Joel Monroe for missing a 20 yard field goal which would've put Minnesota up 10 against Northwestern.

Then Brew's decision to go for the win ended up completely neutering him. Two weeks later up 21-7 with the ball at the 37 yard line, he runs out the clock against Wisconsin. You knew he'd be Bielema's b*tch after that.
 



supadupafly said:
actually, i blame former gopher punter justin kucek (circa 2005 against becky badger) as the man to blame all of life's troubles on. for me, it started with his inability to catch and punt away a well hiked snap (a punt that would have sealed a 2nd gophers victory over becky badger in 3 seasons). instead his miscue cost our gophers that game. that is where it really started folks. blame justin folks.......not poor, little mikey kafka. :)
Click to expand...

This is exactly correct. We had no business losing that game. We had just beaten Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Look at where wisconsin football has gone since that play. Now look at where Gopher football has gone since that play.
 


fridge2012 said:
Mike Kafka. Think about it. We're ranked 20th, 7-1, on our way to a sure 8-1 against a mediocre Northwestern team playing a back-up QB. Enter Mike Kafka. Miraculously, he runs for 200+ yards, being the only impactful player on their offense. If it weren't for his performance, we would've never been in a position to throw that last second pick-six, and we wouldn't have lost. If we would've won, we would've carried momentum into a game with a rebuilding Michigan team, and been 9-1 after that game. Instead we're drained emotionally, and finish the season a dismal 7-6. Ever since the Kafka incident, we are 10-25, with 50+ point losses to rivals Iowa, and Michigan. Point is, our recent struggles are not Brew's fault, because Kafka ruined his career. (He was on his way to the Rose Bowl, til he met Mike Kafka). It's not Maturi's fault, how could he have predicted Kafka would kill Brew's coaching ability? And it's not Kill's fault, he doesn't even know Mike Kafka, he's just caught in the middle. If you wanna be mad at someone, be mad at Mike.
Click to expand...

Now that you put it this way, I was wrong to blame Joel. Thanks for setting me straight.
 

Doubtful.

But that game @ Illinois was a great football game and a wonderful win.

We physically beat the (@#$ out of the Illini that afternoon.
 

It actually is interesting to think about that. I remember watching that game on TV, and how incredulous I was that nobody was able to tackle him after that pick, that was ridiculous. If we beat Northwestern, we carry that momentum into beating a Michigan team that would have gone 2-10 if we had beaten them, likely beaten Wisconsin as we nearly beat them anyway, carry momentum into the season finale against Iowa at home, end the regular season 11-1, and go to the Rose Bowl, fulfilling Brew's promise in just his second year here. But instead, people who decided they hated him at the first press conference are thumping their chests and taking personal shots at him, even though they were very nearly proven completely wrong about him. We could maybe be top 15 at this point, imagine playing Wisconsin in the very first Big Ten title game. But whatever can go wrong, WILL go wrong in Minnesota, and so here we are, losing to FCS teams and asking to fire Kill before half a season has gone by. For every great victory here, I swear there must be at least 6 heart-wrenching losses.
 

Cayman said:
carry momentum into the season finale against Iowa at home, end the regular season 11-1, and go to the Rose Bowl, fulfilling Brew's promise in just his second year here. But instead, people who decided they hated him at the first press conference are thumping their chests and taking personal shots at him, even though they were very nearly proven completely wrong about him.
Click to expand...

So instead of 55-0 against Iowa, it's a trip to the Rose Bowl. Gotcha.
 

Maximus said:
So instead of 55-0 against Iowa, it's a trip to the Rose Bowl. Gotcha.
Click to expand...

I do believe that at the time when we were 7-1, we were favored to win all the rest of our games. I realize betting lines and predictions and whatnot don't dictate what happens in football, but had everything gone as predicted, we would have been 7-1 in conference, tied with Ohio State and Penn State, and gone to the Rose Bowl, unless Ohio State's head-to-head victory got them a trip to the Rose Bowl instead. (I don't know if Ohio State's head-to-head would mean they would go, or if Penn State's head-to-head victory over Ohio State, or Minnesota having not to been to a Rose Bowl since 1962, as opposed to 1997 and 1995 for Ohio State and Penn State respectively.)

As it stands, we went into that game off of three straight losses, and Iowa went in after wins against #3 Penn State and Purdue the previous two weeks. Their confidence was likely up, ours was down, and we probably played poorly and made stupid mistakes as we did yesterday (I didn't actually watch the 2008 Iowa game). Had we beaten Northwestern, Michigan, and Wisconsin as we should have, we probably would have been top 15 at least, and ranked higher than Iowa, at home. Why is it so crazy to think that we could beat a conference opponent who is ranked lower than us at home?

Even if we do lose to Iowa in spectacular fashion, that still puts Brew at 10-2 in his second season at Minnesota, with a win against Wisconsin, and he's a hero. The original post is based on speculation of what would have happened had we beaten Northwestern in 2008, and so is my post, and I don't think it's as out-there as your response makes it sound.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom