Is the Thursday game a 'must win' for the Gophers?

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I don't think so. In college football, "must win" to me means a game that either has the potential to mathematically eliminate you from a championship or, even if it leaves a technical possibility, would for all intents and purposes eliminate us (like we are still mathematically alive, but we need Wisconsin to lose their last three games, two of which are against the worst two teams in their conference). I guess I would also apply it to a game where losing it would result in the coach being fired, or severaly warming their seat up.

It would be very disappointing to lose a game to a team in year zero when we are heavily favored in and should win. That said, I think could still be in a good position to challenge for a west division title, and bad losses happen, so it wouldn't move the needle in terms of seat warmth for a coach who has been pretty successful here (nor should it). So it would be a crappy way to start the season, but not "must win."
 


Major downer but not a must win. Agree w post above, needs to mean more than just a loss or bad start to season
 



It would be disappointing to lose to Nebraska because it's disappointing to lose any game. A loss in game one means the Gophers would have to go 8-3 the rest of the way to have a pretty good season and that would mean beating three of this group: tOSU, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, North Carolina. Could happen. What I like about the Gophers these last few years is that I go into each game thinking we CAN win. That was not the case for decades.
 

A must win. A yes or no we have the team we should this year. Even more so a game of how big a win. A close game says we aren’t ready. A loss means no West Championship. I am confident of a big win.
 




FanSinceTheFifties said:
It would be disappointing to lose to Nebraska because it's disappointing to lose any game. A loss in game one means the Gophers would have to go 8-3 the rest of the way to have a pretty good season and that would mean beating three of this group: tOSU, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, North Carolina. Could happen. What I like about the Gophers these last few years is that I go into each game thinking we CAN win. That was not the case for decades.
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We should win at least 4,of those six.
 

With so many big games on the schedule, there's plenty of successful season scripts that include a loss to Nebraska. Very few of those include winning the West.
 


I've wasted my afternoon watching/listening/reading previews of this game.
Every. Single. One. Says. It. Will. Be. Close.
But none of them really justify it.
I am curious, why is it universally accepted that the game will be close?
 



gopherjay said:
If we have visions of the west division title it is a must win. Losing this one would put a serious buzz kill on the vibe and knock us out of the division title. We need it.
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That is a new concept....eliminated from the division title after one conference game and before the month of September even starts....

It is an important game because it is a division and conference game......it would be a major bummer to lose at home against a team we have done well against in recent years and one we are in a better position than in terms of the current state of the programs.

But the season isn't over if we lose to Nebraska. So it isn't a must win game but it would make the prospects of winning the division much tougher given our schedule and crossover games if we lose.
 


Absolutely and if we don’t this team is not as good as advertised. Nebraska is such a hot mess I expect them to win the penalty margin by 5-1 though.
 




I almost think every game this year outside of Michigan and Ohio State are must wins because of the tough schedule losses could quickly add up. We can't afford to give a game away or 7-5 could come quickly.
 

kg21 said:
Hell Yes it is. Which is why I'm a little on edge for this game.
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I'm always on edge when we play Nebraska. You never know which Jekyll Hyde version of that team will show up. They have always had talent, but played for an ass-hat coach in Frost, and because he was pain in the a$$ you could count on them making dumb mistakes.

Ruhle will be unpredictable and have good athletes. Hopefully our current running backs are up to the challenge of playing in the Big 10. 3-3-5 defenses can be tricky to read and play against if they blitz and you do not know what direction it is coming from. Our tight ends should be able to help block this front. I don't think we will be overconfident but hopefully have a reserved, quiet confidence that we can have a great game. Looking forward to seeing this version of the Gophers defense. Let's not start slow like we have had a tendency to do in openers.
 

It's the Nebraska championship season! Of course we want to be 1-0 in the Nebraska Championship season. Plus the chair is on the line so go donate now because it's a must win for a lot of kids.
 

gopherdudepart2 said:
I'm always on edge when we play Nebraska. You never know which Jekyll Hyde version of that team will show up. They have always had talent, but played for an ass-hat coach in Frost, and because he was pain in the a$$ you could count on them making dumb mistakes.

Ruhle will be unpredictable and have good athletes. Hopefully our current running backs are up to the challenge of playing in the Big 10. 3-3-5 defenses can be tricky to read and play against if they blitz and you do not know what direction it is coming from. Our tight ends should be able to help block this front. I don't think we will be overconfident but hopefully have a reserved, quiet confidence that we can have a great game. Looking forward to seeing this version of the Gophers defense. Let's not start slow like we have had a tendency to do in openers.
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I am not sure about the good athletes part of your analogy. The reason they have been a big disappointment since coming into the Big Ten is the absence of good athletes.
 

It's a must win. This is a rivalry game, albeit not to the degree of the axe, pig, or jug. We also need to snag as many victories as we can get this season and it starts here. A loss will take the wind out of the sails in terms of the casual fan and we need them to fill the seats come the Michigan game. It's time to start expecting wins in some of these conference games against teams that weve had some historical trauma with (Beat Iowa). Nebraska is not what they once were. We are not what we once were. This is the modern era of Gopher Football.
 


Hard to call it a must win when we would still almost certainly win the west and have a shot at the playoff if we lose it but win the rest of our games.

If we assume we'll lose to Michigan and Ohio State we'd likely need to win the other 7 to win the west so in that sense it's a must win, but that means all of the other conference games are must wins which makes "must win" meaningless. Iowa and Wisconsin are closer to must wins because the head to head is more likely to matter as a tiebreaker, for Nebraska it shouldn't.
 

It has been too long of an off-season to begin the 2023 season with a loss, especially to Nebraska. I realize both teams have some question marks leading into Thursday night, but the home crowd should help carry the Gophers to a victory of big red.
 

The Gophers' Thursday night opener against the Cornhuskers is a must-win game for any title aspirations.

The Gophers face two formidable unknowns that can end in an upset by Nebraska. Will the Georgia Tech transfer Four-Star Dual Threat QB Jeff Sims wreak havoc on the Gophers' Defense? How will the Gopher Offense do against Nebraska's new 3-3-5 Defense?

www.espn.com

Jeff Sims - Nebraska Cornhuskers Quarterback - ESPN

View the profile of Nebraska Cornhuskers Quarterback Jeff Sims on ESPN. Get the latest news, live stats and game highlights.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
 

Not sure what must win means

But it is a must win to contend for the division
If they lose the coach isn’t getting fired.

I would imagine must win means one of those two things
 


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