College Football News: Minnesota & P.J. Fleck Ready To Row To A Big Ten Title?

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pk2

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A couple of snippets:

And in comes Fleck, who’s sort of the anti-Kill/Claeys.

Fleck takes cheesy rhetoric to a whole other level, but he’s slick, young, brash, good-looking, and he knows he’s a star.

Turning 37 this season, he’s got the youthful energy to fly around at 1,000 miles per hour with his go-go-GO brand of coaching, but he also showed off the chops to take Western Michigan to a 13-0 regular season and the Cotton Bowl by building up the program that was sinking fast.

If he wins, he’s all of a sudden the Big Ten West’s biggest star and personality for a program that hasn’t known a whole lot of star power lately.

But how will the whole Fleck thing come across if Minnesota doesn’t win right away? The act will be fantastic theater if the Gophers become players in the West chase, and he’ll be a perfect lightning rod for opposing fan bases, but will it all wear thin when there’s a three-game losing streak?

It was a chance worth taking. He was the perfect hire at the perfect time for a program that needed to start fresh with a coach who somehow got through the offseason musical chair coaching search without a Power Five gig.

http://collegefootballnews.com/2017/preview-2017-minnesota-p-j-fleck-ready-to-row-to-a-big-ten-title
 

College Football News Preview 2017: Minnesota Golden Gophers

They preview the offense and the defense, and then:

Key Player To A Successful Season

QB Conor Rhoda, Sr. – He waited his turn behind Mitch Leidner, but will it be his gig? The 6-3, 215-pounder has the size, the arm, and the running ability to fit the mold, but he’ll have to hold off Demry Croft for the gig.

The 6-5, 200-pound Croft has an accurate arm – he was great this spring – and is slippery-smooth as a runner the he gets in the open. He’s getting every shot at the job, but no matter who the starter will be, he’ll have to make the passing game more efficient. Leidner was a good, veteran leader, but he didn’t make the passing game go.

The Minnesota Season Will Be A Success If …

Minnesota wins ten games. After winning nine games last season – and coming up with a bowl win during all of the turmoil – how hard can it be to win ten this year with a strong team coming back? The Gophers had Penn State beaten, they lost to Iowa and Nebraska by seven each, and they pushed the Badgers.

The non-conference schedule – Buffalo, at Oregon State, Middle Tennessee – isn’t bad, and the Big Ten slate isn’t awful even with a trip to Michigan. They get Nebraska and Michigan State at home, and they just might be good enough to get to nine regular season wins.

The last time the Gophers won ten games in the season was also the last time they were able to beat …

Key Game To The Minnesota Season

Nov. 25 vs. Wisconsin – P.J. Fleck’s undermanned Western Michigan team gave the Badgers a nasty time in the Cotton Bowl – but didn’t get the win. Minnesota always seems to give Wisconsin a rough time, too, but without anything to show for it losing 13 straight going back to the 2003 victory. Can Fleck end the regular season by taking the Paul Bunyan Axe? Beat Bucky, and set the dial to Rivalry On.

http://collegefootballnews.com/2017/minnesota-golden-gophers-preview-2017
 

I didn't know college football news was still around.
 

Those are two separate articles, by the way, which is why I started two separate threads. Not sure if that was clear to the moderators.
 

pk2 said:
Those are two separate articles, by the way, which is why I started two separate threads. Not sure if that was clear to the moderators.
Click to expand...

That's our bad. Sorry about that.
 



I like what PJF has done since being hired, mainly with the recruiting, but I think some people need to adjust their expectations. I think this team is headed for somewhere around 5-7 wins this season. This is PJF's team, but not his guys.

It takes time to bring in players to fit a coaches scheme. I think a Claey's team would win more games going into this season, but I think PJF is the better guy for the job.
 

skauma said:
I like what PJF has done since being hired, mainly with the recruiting, but I think some people need to adjust their expectations. I think this team is headed for somewhere around 5-7 wins this season. This is PJF's team, but not his guys.

It takes time to bring in players to fit a coaches scheme. I think a Claey's team would win more games going into this season, but I think PJF is the better guy for the job.
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Seen this theory raised several times in prior threads- soon to be negated by a formidable list of coaches that were quite successful in their inaugural season. This team has plenty of talent and if the coaching staff's ability is close to what their reputation would suggest then anything less than 7-8 wins would be disappointing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Oregon Gopher said:
Seen this theory raised several times in prior threads- soon to be negated by a formidable list of coaches that were quite successful in their inaugural season. This team has plenty of talent and if the coaching staff's ability is close to what their reputation would suggest then anything less than 7-8 wins would be disappointing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

prepare to be disappointed.
 



skauma said:
I like what PJF has done since being hired, mainly with the recruiting, but I think some people need to adjust their expectations. I think this team is headed for somewhere around 5-7 wins this season. This is PJF's team, but not his guys.

It takes time to bring in players to fit a coaches scheme. I think a Claey's team would win more games going into this season, but I think PJF is the better guy for the job.
Click to expand...

With the amount of change Fleck is bringing, 5 is about right. Anything above five will be gravy in my opinion.
First years can be very tough when you aren't a top ten program.
 

Oregon Gopher said:
Seen this theory raised several times in prior threads- soon to be negated by a formidable list of coaches that were quite successful in their inaugural season. This team has plenty of talent and if the coaching staff's ability is close to what their reputation would suggest then anything less than 7-8 wins would be disappointing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Good job setting your sights too high.

First year QB? "Oh yeah... we'll win 8 games easy says Oregon Gopher!"
 

Face The Facts said:
Good job setting your sights too high.

First year QB? "Oh yeah... we'll win 8 games easy says Oregon Gopher!"
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Having a bevy of quality RBs to hand off to will help either Croft or Rhoda. Add in what appears to be a favorable schedule and I wouldn't be shocked to see an eight or nine win season. The question is whether or not the losses on defense can be overcome.
 

Five wins would be a colossally disappointing season. You don't double your head coach's salary to cut your wins almost in half. Why do you think so little of P.J. Fleck's coaching ability?
 



skauma said:
I like what PJF has done since being hired, mainly with the recruiting, but I think some people need to adjust their expectations. I think this team is headed for somewhere around 5-7 wins this season. This is PJF's team, but not his guys.

It takes time to bring in players to fit a coaches scheme. I think a Claey's team would win more games going into this season, but I think PJF is the better guy for the job.
Click to expand...

Not the case here. Fleck has said that unlike WMU, where he did need to do that, the Gophs players on the roster already fit the scheme, at an overall higher talent level.
 

PMWinSTP said:
Not the case here. Fleck has said that unlike WMU, where he did need to do that, the Gophs players on the roster already fit the scheme, at an overall higher talent level.
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You have said this 1000 times, can you link where he has said this?
 

PMWinSTP said:
Not the case here. Fleck has said that unlike WMU, where he did need to do that, the Gophs players on the roster already fit the scheme, at an overall higher talent level.
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Still wrong. Last year's Western Michigan team had more talented starters than Minnesota will this year. Fleck is inheriting less talent.
 

Gophers7NatTitlesBadgers0 said:
Having a bevy of quality RBs to hand off to will help either Croft or Rhoda. Add in what appears to be a favorable schedule and I wouldn't be shocked to see an eight or nine win season. The question is whether or not the losses on defense can be overcome.
Click to expand...

I'm more worried about defensive backs than anything on offense.
 

Face The Facts said:
Good job setting your sights too high.

First year QB? "Oh yeah... we'll win 8 games easy says Oregon Gopher!"
Click to expand...

Pros
Was Mitch so much better year 4 than year 1? No.
Are there dozens of examples of first year quarterbacks making an impact of division I power 5 football? Yes.
If the bar to being better than last year at the QB position means being better than Mitch played last year is that totally unreasonable? No.
Is it hard to imagine a coach who was a wide receiver bringing something to the table and helping improve our wide receiver play? No.

Cons
Do most teams perform on offense first year in a new system very well? No. Especially when it is second year in a row of new OC.
Do most new QB's regardless of age fail to perform at an Elite level in college? Yes.
We had an Elite composite defense last few years. More likely that gets better or gets worse? Probably worse initially.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
Still wrong. Last year's Western Michigan team had more talented starters than Minnesota will this year. Fleck is inheriting less talent.
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What you say is debatable, but what isn't debatable is that Fleck's roster last year was more talented compared to their conference peers than his roster will be this upcoming season - which really is all that matters in this debate. Just because ndsu is head and shoulders above their peers in talent, doesn't mean their coach could go to an overall more talented team like, say, Maryland and expect to have equal success.

On to the win total - I anticipate the Gophers being the 'favorite' in 5 or 6 games in 2017 (@ Oregon State is the one game I think could go either way). That being said, I only see about 3 games with spreads over 4.5/5 (Buffalo and MTSU in our favor and @Michigan in theirs) so we should have a decent chance to either upset a couple or be upset by a couple. I expect the Vegas number to be 5.5/6 (like it almost always is), and that we will win 6 or 7 pre-bowl games. 5 would technically be a little disappointing, but I think 'colossal' is going a little far.
 


GopherWeatherGuy said:
Still wrong. Last year's Western Michigan team had more talented starters than Minnesota will this year. Fleck is inheriting less talent.
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No he isn't. Last years Gopher team was better than Fleck's WMU team. They were still a MAC team with MAC recruits. Minnesota has more talent than WMU, no doubt. People are getting carried away with the amount of talent at WMU.
 

DMB123 said:
No he isn't. Last years Gopher team was better than Fleck's WMU team. They were still a MAC team with MAC recruits. Minnesota has more talent than WMU, no doubt. People are getting carried away with the amount of talent at WMU.
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Of Western Michigan's starters in the Cotton Bowl, they had 3 players drafted including a 1st rounder and a 2nd rounder. They have another 3-4 returning starters that will be drafted next year, including another 1st or 2nd round offensive tackle.

The Gophers had 1 player taken in the 7th round and might not have any drafted next year. Western Michigan was more talented and it's not close.
 

dpodoll68 said:
You don't double your head coach's salary to cut your wins almost in half.
Click to expand...

This coaching move wasn't only made for the 2017 season. It's important to take a big-picture look with these things. We absolutely could only finish with 6 or 7 wins. Doesn't mean the coach is a dud or that the change was a failure. Just like Claeys' 9-win record season shouldn't anoint him as the best Gophers coach ever.

The team dynamics are totally different.
 

We are counting on some QB's who were recruited by Kill to lead the program, or a freshman who was recruited by Western Michigan. Not saying any are bad but Kill wasn't exactly a great QB whisperer. My hope is that Fleck finds a higher level QB in the next class.
 

Face The Facts said:
We are counting on some QB's who were recruited by Kill to lead the program, or a freshman who was recruited by Western Michigan. Not saying any are bad but Kill wasn't exactly a great QB whisperer. My hope is that Fleck finds a higher level QB in the next class.
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He also had offers from Louisville and Wake Forest. Don't let facts change your narrative, though.
 

dpodoll68 said:
He also had offers from Louisville and Wake Forest. Don't let facts change your narrative, though.
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Are those two offers supposed to be extra encouraging....?

I hope we do well but those are hardly big endorsements.
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
Are those two offers supposed to be extra encouraging....?

I hope we do well but those are hardly big endorsements.
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They are power 5 offers, and Louisville is and has been a much better program than the U. I would trust a QB offer from Bobby Petrino over almost anyone on the planet.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
Of Western Michigan's starters in the Cotton Bowl, they had 3 players drafted including a 1st rounder and a 2nd rounder. They have another 3-4 returning starters that will be drafted next year, including another 1st or 2nd round offensive tackle.

The Gophers had 1 player taken in the 7th round and might not have any drafted next year. Western Michigan was more talented and it's not close.
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You're only looking at a handful of players to make that determination? WMU had decent talent among their starters. But 1-100 Minnesota is by far the more talented team. Had we played them last year there's zero doubt in my mind that we would have handled them rather easily. The idea that Fleck is inheriting less talent at Minnesota than he had at his MAC school is absurd. You need to look deeper than a few drafted players.
 

DMB123 said:
You're only looking at a handful of players to make that determination? WMU had decent talent among their starters. But 1-100 Minnesota is by far the more talented team. Had we played them last year there's zero doubt in my mind that we would have handled them rather easily. The idea that Fleck is inheriting less talent at Minnesota than he had at his MAC school is absurd. You need to look deeper than a few drafted players.
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Based on what? They were solid all around plus have the 6-7 drafted/will be drafted. We had 3 common opponents and both teams went 2-1. They played a closer game with Wisconsin than we have in 8 years.

Not only do I think Western Michigan would have beat us last year, they would have likely been able to beat Iowa or Nebraska or both if they played the same schedule as us. They didn't just beat the MAC, they thoroughly dominated the MAC.
 

dpodoll68 said:
They are power 5 offers, and Louisville is and has been a much better program than the U. I would trust a QB offer from Bobby Petrino over almost anyone on the planet.
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I hope he is a diamond in the rough, but not many other folks thought so.
 

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