Scoggins: Gophers could have their moment; can P.J. Fleck's football team seize it?

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In spite of that fact Chip works for the Strib, I have always enjoyed his work. You can hear him at every Fleck Tuesday presser asking good, informed questions (not like Souhan showing up randomly and asking "What's your favorite Glen Mason saying?"

Chip can always be counted on for a fair, reasonable and knowledgeable take on the Gophers. I think that goes underappreciated by a lot of our fans.
 


He did a great job as the Gopher beat writer back in the Mason days. If you hear him on the radio you can tell he really enjoys college football. He is loyal to the Tennessee Vols.
 

Schnauzer said:
It's happening:

"In a bleak Twin Cities sports scene, the Gophers have a legitimate chance to start 8-0 and expand their following at a time when Minnesota sports fans could use a boost."



http://www.startribune.com/p-j-fleck-s-gophers-have-their-moment-can-they-seize-it/562829242/
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Gophers have tended to lose the big game in the past, so one is cautious. Also, Nebraska has several game breakers, notably Robinson and Washington. It looks doubtful for Martinez, but his backup is as good or better, Martinez having a bad year overall. Spielman will really be missed, but he also may play - Frost is being cutesy about these injured guys. The Nebraska defense is tougher this year. Then there is the fact that they laid 50+ on us last year. On a dry field at Lincoln, I think the Huskers would win. It's more of a tossup on a cold, windy field in Minneapolis. The gutsier team may win.
 


At the National level - and probably also among fans of other B1G schools - I think people are still looking at MN as a question mark. The Gophers are 5-0 - but they've had to squeak out a lot of close games, and both B1G wins came over teams that were playing their backup QB's.

So I think there are legitimate questions about just how good the Gophers really are.

As a result, the Nebraska game could be a "moment" game IF the Gophers win decisively. if the Gophers win by 6 pts or less, people will say "they wouldn't have won if Nebraska was healthy" and so forth.

if the Gophs want to make a statement, they will need a no-doubt win - at least a 2 TD margin.
 

Does this team feel like it has a chance to be pretty similar to Iowa 2015? That team didnt play the toughest schedule ever, and had a few close wins against bad teams, but kept winning and all of a sudden found themselves 12-0 and suiting up for the B1G title game.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
At the National level - and probably also among fans of other B1G schools - I think people are still looking at MN as a question mark. The Gophers are 5-0 - but they've had to squeak out a lot of close games, and both B1G wins came over teams that were playing their backup QB's.

So I think there are legitimate questions about just how good the Gophers really are.

As a result, the Nebraska game could be a "moment" game IF the Gophers win decisively. if the Gophers win by 6 pts or less, people will say "they wouldn't have won if Nebraska was healthy" and so forth.

if the Gophs want to make a statement, they will need a no-doubt win - at least a 2 TD margin.
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It's not worth caring about what "people" say IMO when it comes to the Gophers or a variety of other subjects. If they win by a point I'll be happy and so will Gopher fans who pay attention.
 

Oh wow. The comments on that article are real tough. So many uninformed takes on there...I almost went down the rabbit hole to try and correct some misinformation, but caught myself. This is the gem of the bunch:

"Another view is if they don't beat this pathetic Nebraska team without its top 2 stars, in the second year of a complete do-over....then the Rowboat will start taking on water. This isn't a "nice to have" win. Nebraska got beat by a crappy Colorado team, barely beat a horrific Illini team that has unraveled, and had to get a last second field goal to beat a nose-diving Northwestern. If you can't beat Nebraska this year, you'll never beat them, and the Music Man will have lost his tune."

This guy's narrative is clearly not bothered by the fact we have beat Nebraska 3 times in the last 6 seasons.
 



bleedsmaroonandgold said:
Does this team feel like it has a chance to be pretty similar to Iowa 2015? That team didnt play the toughest schedule ever, and had a few close wins against bad teams, but kept winning and all of a sudden found themselves 12-0 and suiting up for the B1G title game.
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Looking at the full Big Ten schedule, if the Gophers, Wisconsin, and Iowa win all their games except those against higher ranked opponents (as of today), then the Axe game will be for the West title.
 

BroncoRedux said:
It's not worth caring about what "people" say IMO when it comes to the Gophers or a variety of other subjects. If they win by a point I'll be happy and so will Gopher fans who pay attention.
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The point of the thread was whether the Gophers could "seize the moment."

Yes, the die-hard fans will be happy with a 1-point win. But that will not win any new converts or bring lapsed fans back. I still say that, if this is going to be some kind of a statement game, the Gophs need to make a splash. a 1-point win is not a splash. To silence the doubters and win more respect on the national stage, the Gophers need to win by at least 2 touchdowns - at lease IMHO.
 

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