[POST GAME THREAD] - Purdue defeats Minnesota 31-17

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FanSinceTheFifties said:
I wondered how long it would take fans to start bashing a Minnesota HSer. Gophers gave up 31 points. How many games do you expect to score more than 31?
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7 of those points for sure were on Rhoda. He (with the help of bad play calling) put a thin defense in a bad spot the entire game. The defense isn't perfect, but it's safe to say that it will improve once certain pieces are back in the mix. Nobody knows if this offense will get better going forward.
 

easterngopher said:
Croft would not make a huge difference. There's a reason he didn't look much better than Rhoda when they both played against Buffalo and Oregon State.
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Adds a different dimension. Maybe the coaches are less conservative with him available. Could add a spark.


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howeda7 said:
If you believe in your recruiting ability, you don't sacrifice wins this year worrying about 2021.
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There's a big difference between doing what's best for the long term interests of our program, and outright "sacrificing wins". I hope you know that.
 

Was really looking forward to bringing the family back next weekend for the MSU game hoping it would be a competitive enjoyable game. Well- at least the tailgating should be enjoyable.


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Some Day...Maybe said:
Adds a different dimension. Maybe the coaches are less conservative with him available. Could add a spark.


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I'd love to see them do what Joe Moorhead did with Tommy Stevens at Penn State, running a two QB set with Rhoda and Croft/Green. Their speed could wreak all kinds of havoc in a look like that. I would not like to see Croft named the starting QB next week, because I'm not remotely convinced he's a better passer than Rhoda.
 


If Rhoda starts next week our crew will be staying to tailgate in Ski U Mah lot. NHL sega 95 tournament will commence.
 

easterngopher said:
I'd love to see them do what Joe Moorhead did with Tommy Stevens at Penn State, running a two QB set with Rhoda and Croft/Green. Their speed could wreak all kinds of havoc in a look like that. I would not like to see Croft named the starting QB next week, because I'm not remotely convinced he's a better passer than Rhoda.
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Maybe not but he at least keeps the play-side DE/OLB from crashing down the line.


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easterngopher said:
I'd love to see them do what Joe Moorhead did with Tommy Stevens at Penn State, running a two QB set with Rhoda and Croft/Green. Their speed could wreak all kinds of havoc in a look like that. I would not like to see Croft named the starting QB next week, because I'm not remotely convinced he's a better passer than Rhoda.
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Rhoda was 11 for 25 for 101 yards and a pick....I'm sure Croft could do no worse....if Fleck is pointing to the future then start with the most important player on the field.
 

Word said:
It's ok to have high expectations for a 9-4 team that beat the current #11 team in a bowl game.

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That was last year, and this is this year. Both teams are different teams with one having a new coaching staff/program. Poor argument. Move on from last season.
 



1997vacatedfinalfour said:
Rhoda was 11 for 25 for 101 yards and a pick....I'm sure Croft could do no worse....if Fleck is pointing to the future then start with the most important player on the field.
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Hey, he rushed 6 times finishing with over a 3 yard average. #dualthreat
 

1997vacatedfinalfour said:
Rhoda was 11 for 25 for 101 yards and a pick....I'm sure Croft could do no worse....if Fleck is pointing to the future then start with the most important player on the field.
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You don't know that. Croft was at 58.3% completions against Buffalo, and Rhoda was at 60%. As I said, I'd love to see Croft get some reps in a two QB set or a wildcat look (or even run the offense for a quarter), but we don't have any evidence to suggest that he'd be appreciably better than Rhoda.
 

I hope I'm wrong - but my gut tells me that Fleck is playing Rhoda over the other QB's because Rhoda fits the "culture" better than the other QB's - not because he's the "best" QB or the "most talented" QB.

If Fleck thinks that "culture" is more important than X's and O's, that's his choice. But Gopher fans have to live with that choice.

This may sound crass, but culture is not going to sell tickets. To sell tickets, you have to win games. If this turns into a true rebuilding situation, with 2 or 3 tough years, the T-Wolves may be out-drawing the Gophers. Heck, the Lynx may be out-drawing the Gophers.
 

Scoops5 said:
That was last year, and this is this year. Both teams are different teams with one having a new coaching staff/program. Poor argument. Move on from last season.
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Right, silly to expect the program to move forward.
 



Stuff said:
As I said in the game thread, PJ had the #1 recruiting class in the MAC right after going 1-11 in his first year as a head coach.
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That is like being named the tallest midget - he was recruiting kids that didn't get real interest/offers from P5 schools. The players we need to recruit have to believe they are good enough to play in the NFL some day - not players that are just happy to get a scholarship and the chance to play 2-3 games a year on TV vs. P5 schools.
 


easterngopher said:
Good to know most of y'all think you know enough about the state of the program to make a definitive call on PJ Fleck's ceiling at Minnesota after only 5 games.

People don't seem to realize that Claeys left this program in a pretty terrible position for the long-term, and it got even worse after the suspensions last December. Fleck has been here all of nine months and hasn't signed his first recruiting class yet, so any Brewster comparison or labels like "bottom feeder" are premature and downright short-sighted.

To answer one of the complaints I'm seeing here-
We aren't throwing the ball because we can't. Tanner Morgan may very well be the best QB on our roster, and it's in our best interest not to pull his redshirt. We are not going to be competitive against teams like Purdue (who might I add is much improved and should go to a bowl game this year) with Rhoda throwing 30 times a game, let alone actually win.

But that can change, with guys like Armstrong, Morgan, and Bachmeier coming down the pipe. Minnesota could become a pass-first team within the next three years.

Give it some time. Claeys left the cupboard completely bare on the defensive line, and the O-Line isn't in a much better place. We can fix that by adding depth in 2018, and bringing in top-rated talent for 2019.

Or just rev up the FIUR FLECK train as the losses pile up this year, if you want to send the message to prospective coaches and the college football world that we're the type of program who fires their coach before he even brings in his own players.

Seriously, relax.
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Ditto.
 

Honestly, I think we improved week-over-week so it's a little hard to complain about this loss.
There is really no excuse for our systems being so terribly dumbed down this far into the season though.
Fleck wasn't ready for the B1G and I think that's what you get when you hire an inexperienced coach.

He's showing a lack of innovation, maturity, leadership, and teamwork. I'm not going to rip him because I have seen him adapt at other levels and there is not a doubt in my mind that he is going to adapt here as well.

He's behind the 8 ball now and it's going to take a lot of work to get back out in front of it.
I think that it would be unrealistic to expect a win over MSU next week, but they are going to be coming off a big game and might look right past us so you never really know.

What I'm hoping for next week is better individual play from our defensive backs, Fleck getting over whatever issue he has with Croft and McGhee, or figuring out a way to "get them on the boat" as it were, and an even more complex run blocking scheme (it did look much better today though).

Also, I don't know why we stopped running that slant play to Johnson, but that should really be added back into the playbook.

It kinda bugs me that we run the same 10 or so plays over and over every game. We shouldn't be that limited at a major FBS program.
These kids are the best-of-the-best for their age, even if we're a below average team, you need to trust their ability to learn.
 

Good to see Coughlin have a good game. One of the positives from today. Hope to see him back at linebacker next season with the other two sophomores.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
This may sound crass, but culture is not going to sell tickets. To sell tickets, you have to win games.
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I think the big danger is that there is a high, high possibility we get completely rolled 1 or 2 times this year - WI and UM probably the best candidates for it. With our current defense and no real ball control, I could see some teams putting up 50+ on us - especially if it is seen as auditioning for the play-offs. I am really happy we don't have OSU on the schedule because they will try to run up the score in all remaining games.
 


I didn't know what to expect this year.

Still didn't expect this...
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
I didn't know what to expect this year.

Still didn't expect this...
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This is about what I expected. Fleck was honest that he is not an X's & O's guy. Take that, lower level talent (against the Big 10), and lack of a coherent staff (at least Kill had that), and this is the predictable result. The only thing that would surprise me is if Fleck is actually able to recruit top talent (without off the field issues) to come here despite it being an obvious dumpster fire.
 

csom_1991 said:
This is about what I expected. Fleck was honest that he is not an X's & O's guy. Take that, lower level talent (against the Big 10), and lack of a coherent staff (at least Kill had that), and this is the predictable result. The only thing that would surprise me is if Fleck is actually able to recruit top talent (without off the field issues) to come here despite it being an obvious dumpster fire.
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Robb Smith isn't an idiot though.
We need a new OC, I don't trust this guy at all.
 

MRJ said:
Right, which is all I'm saying. This was never going to be a nine or 10 win team like some thought.

Six wins would be an accomplishment with this team. Fleck knows it and is planning for the future.
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It could have been an 8-9 win team, but we would have had to win these last two. We didn't. But we were ahead or tied with less than 5 minutes left in both and you'd think we lost both 49-0 from reading GH.
 

We'll win 4 if we can beat Illinois, no other wins left on schedule other than that. To take 9 win team to a 4 win team is unacceptable. Not saying he should be fired, we can't afford that. But nothing on the field has impressed me so far.
 

csom_1991 said:
That is like being named the tallest midget - he was recruiting kids that didn't get real interest/offers from P5 schools. The players we need to recruit have to believe they are good enough to play in the NFL some day - not players that are just happy to get a scholarship and the chance to play 2-3 games a year on TV vs. P5 schools.
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Boom! Nailed it.
 

Panthadad2 said:
No QB. Almost no receivers. No healthy D backs. Weak O-Line. It's going to be a long season.
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It's like it is 1982 again. Pass the everclear.

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leadpipegopher said:
We'll win 4 if we can beat Illinois, no other wins left on schedule other than that. To take 9 win team to a 4 win team is unacceptable. Not saying he should be fired, we can't afford that. But nothing on the field has impressed me so far.
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I don't understand this.
How do you believe now that they would only win 4, but three weeks ago you could be thinking somehow this team would be deserving of nine wins.

It's the same team. You've just seen more of the same team play.

My rebuttal is that the team is the same as it was 4-5 weeks ago, and what changed the most is your perception.
 

howeda7 said:
It could have been an 8-9 win team, but we would have had to win these last two. We didn't. But we were ahead or tied with less than 5 minutes left in both and you'd think we lost both 49-0 from reading GH.
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Yeah, it's kind of the nature of the beast, especially as it pertains to football.

People absolutely lose their minds whenever their favorite football team loses a game. It's amazing.

Granted, I'll vent a bit and let the team have it when they're bumbling around. After all, this is Division IA, Power-Five Conference football.

With that said, I understand what Gopher football is and has been for five decades. There aren't any easy fixes and there is no such thing as instant gratification when it comes to Minnesota football. I try to stay as realistic as possible.

However, others just prefer to lose their ever-loving minds entirely.
 

DoubleAlum said:
You're thinking of past teams. Not a chance this team will beat MSU, NW or Neb. Are you actually watching the games?
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Yes. Are you watching any other B1G games? Outside of PSU, OSU and perhaps Michigan and Wisconsin there are a ton of mediocre to bad teams. We're one of them. There are no sure wins. But also only a couple sure losses.
 

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