PiPress: Gophers picked to finish 6th in West

Ewert86PC

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Once again, the Pioneer Press has to kick the Golden Gopher football program. They run this article where they predict the Gophers will finish sixth in the B1G West. Only Illinois will keep us from the cellar according to their article.

I guess we should just move on and worry about the 2019 schedule.

https://www.twincities.com/2018/07/...o-finish-near-bottom-of-big-ten-west-in-2018/

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Once again, the Pioneer Press has to kick the Golden Gopher football program. They run this article where they predict the Gophers will finish sixth in the B1G West. Only Illinois will keep us from the cellar according to their article.

I guess we should just move on and worry about the 2019 schedule.

https://www.twincities.com/2018/07/...o-finish-near-bottom-of-big-ten-west-in-2018/

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PJ said we won't be any good until 2020. Probably best not to worry about 2019 either.
 


Well they ran an article where others picked us to finish 6th.... but yeah that article is just a report about ... another news article elsewhere. That seems kinda silly.
 

Hey - the Pioneer Press did not take the poll. They are simply reporting on the results. If you read the article, it states that 28 media members (which would be.....2 for each B1G school) voted in the poll. At the top of the heap, 14 picked OSU for 1st, and 13 picked the Skunks. Gophers were clearly behind Purdue, but well ahead of Illinois. The Gophers' point total would also put them ahead of Rutgers and Indiana in the East - so the Gophers would be 11th overall according to the voters.

And - if we're being honest - that's probably a fair assessment, all things considered. Gophers have a big ? at QB, and for some at least, the jury is still out on Fleck as a coach at this level.

Now, if they came back and took the same poll at mid-season, the results may very well be different. The Gophers could be higher - or they could be lower.

Again, in all fairness, you can look at the Gophers and find reasons for optimism. You can find reasons why the Gophers are being under-rated. But, an outside observer could also look at the Gophers and find reasons why the poll's placement is warranted.

Respect is earned. Want to be respected - win games. It's that simple. 41 days and counting until we begin to get some answers.
 


Seems about right, honestly. At least, to an impartial observer.

I don't know how we could claim to be better than anyone but Illinois, and have a convincing argument.

It's clear we're not really on the same level, in terms of track record, as Wisconsin, Iowa, Northwestern. Nebraska has more talent, and their own hot shot young coach. Purdue has some good vibes going with their new staff, had a nice season, and just beat us.

We are coming off of a disaster of a season, in which or offense was terrible. We have a low 3-star redshirt freshman flip from a MAC school and a walk-on (sort of) competing for the QB spot. One of our best playmakers, and one of the only home run threats, is out for the year (Brooks). Our secondary, even with Winfield back, could very easily be a train-wreck. The defense line could be better, but is largely unproven.

The more I type, the more I wonder if Illini fans are offended. But, seriously, we could better this year. I'm slightly optimistic they'll surprise some people. But, it coukd spiral out of control rather easily and quickly.
 


. Gophers have a big ? at QB, and for some at least, the jury is still out on Fleck as a coach at this level.

Nebraska has a big ? at QB as well...a true frosh who didn’t play his senior year due to injury is projected starter. Backup is a redshirt freshman recruited for other guys offense.

If the jury is still out on Fleck at this level, it is also out on Frost.

Purdue has two QBs with experience, both are coming off surgeries. I hope Blough is healthy and good to go. He was terrible versus us. If Sindelar doesn’t come in last year, we beat them.

Brohm went 6-6, barely beating us in West Lafayette. PJ went 5-7. What did Brohm prove over Fleck? Brohm went heavy on jucos and grad transfers and playing true frosh and had some decent defensive seniors and ended up with a one game bump over Fleck. We have outrecruited Purdue.
 

Respect is earned. Want to be respected - win games. It's that simple. 41 days and counting until we begin to get some answers.

We beat Nebraska three out of five last years. One of those losses was in Lincoln by 7 points, we had good chance to score late. We destroyed Nebraska about 300 days ago. We beat them in Lincoln in 2014. Minnesota has earned a higher ranking than Nebraska.

We have beaten Purdue four of last five meetings. Three of them double digit wins.

We have outranked Purdue in recruiting.

The blanket acceptance by national media, and by informed Gopher fans, that the program is behind the Huskers and Boilers is confounding to me.
 



We won't win all of these games, but there's no reason we can't beat Maryland, Nebraska, Iowa, Purdue, Illinois and Indiana. NW will be tough, but we seem to trade wins with them every year. That's seven games where we have a decent to good chance at winning. We get Iowa and NW at home which will help. Nebraska on the road will be tough. Obviously the trips to Madison and Columbus we might as well put an L next to those now, but we can get four of the other seven.

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We were better than Northwestern in Big Ten and overall 2013, 2014, and 2016.

Three out of last five, we win head to head.

Last two at home we win head to head.

Thorson may not be healthy on reconstructed knee. After him, big questions at QB.

We have outrecruited Northwestern.

No reason to concede higher ground in Big Ten West to NE or NW or Purdue.
 

We were better than Purdue last year.

I don't care what the scoreboard said.

That game was stupid, and Purdue was/is terrible.
 

We beat Nebraska three out of five last years. One of those losses was in Lincoln by 7 points, we had good chance to score late. We destroyed Nebraska about 300 days ago. We beat them in Lincoln in 2014. Minnesota has earned a higher ranking than Nebraska.

We have beaten Purdue four of last five meetings. Three of them double digit wins.

We have outranked Purdue in recruiting.

The blanket acceptance by national media, and by informed Gopher fans, that the program is behind the Huskers and Boilers is confounding to me.

The preseason love is never there for the Gophers. I agree with your post.
Come out of the gate with some convincing performances, and avoid the injury bug and the worm will turn.
 




We beat Nebraska three out of five last years. One of those losses was in Lincoln by 7 points, we had good chance to score late. We destroyed Nebraska about 300 days ago. We beat them in Lincoln in 2014. Minnesota has earned a higher ranking than Nebraska.

We have beaten Purdue four of last five meetings. Three of them double digit wins.

We have outranked Purdue in recruiting.

The blanket acceptance by national media, and by informed Gopher fans, that the program is behind the Huskers and Boilers is confounding to me.

Why? PJ has sent the message that this is where we are, and has many believing it is where the program was when he inherited it, despite the facts you share. Maybe last year was a one-year dip and PJ has Gophs right back to where they were with Kill/Claeys. Maybe he has another poor year and there will be a lot of question marks moving forward. Either way, the reputation of the current and recent state of the program has largely been influenced by the coach’s message.


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It's not fair to compare the Gophs, who have a coach only his his second year trying to install his system, to places like purdue and nebraska, where their veteran coaches already have everything installed.
 

People - some perspective please. 2 of the people who voted in this poll presumably cover the Gophers. The other voters cover other B1G teams. I suspect they did not spend hours and hours studying the Gophers' roster and researching the program before voting in this poll. Some probably did their homework - others just went by the media guide or the preview magazines to form their opinion.

Most of the people on this board know more about the Gophers than many of the people who voted in the poll. So, what are they voting on?

Well, here's a suggestion: you are not an expect in Gopher FB. So you start with the record. You see a team went from 9-4 with a bowl win to 5-7 the next year. A team that will either start a RS FR or a walk-on FR at QB. What opinion do you form from that? "Gee, these guys are going to have a great year!" Nope. Even if you - as a media member - think Fleck is a good coach, you are probably going to conclude that the Gophers are rebuilding, and not a contender.

In the end, a pre-season poll doesn't mean squat. This poll will not have any impact on the Gophers' record this season. The Gophers are not going to win any games, or lose any games, because of this poll.
 

People - some perspective please. 2 of the people who voted in this poll presumably cover the Gophers. The other voters cover other B1G teams. I suspect they did not spend hours and hours studying the Gophers' roster and researching the program before voting in this poll. Some probably did their homework - others just went by the media guide or the preview magazines to form their opinion.

Most of the people on this board know more about the Gophers than many of the people who voted in the poll. So, what are they voting on?

Well, here's a suggestion: you are not an expect in Gopher FB. So you start with the record. You see a team went from 9-4 with a bowl win to 5-7 the next year. A team that will either start a RS FR or a walk-on FR at QB. What opinion do you form from that? "Gee, these guys are going to have a great year!" Nope. Even if you - as a media member - think Fleck is a good coach, you are probably going to conclude that the Gophers are rebuilding, and not a contender.

In the end, a pre-season poll doesn't mean squat. This poll will not have any impact on the Gophers' record this season. The Gophers are not going to win any games, or lose any games, because of this poll.

Captain Obvious.jpg
 

We were better than Purdue last year.

I don't care what the scoreboard said.

That game was stupid, and Purdue was/is terrible.


Maryland too. Could have been 8-4 and bowling.
 



Forgot I have to be literal for some out here. MSU was winnable, asshat.

No one mentioned MSU so I guess we're supposed to read your mind?

A lot of losses are winnable every year but they are still losses.
 


The most interesting thing about that article was 13 writers picked Wisconsin over Ohio State? OSU ran all over Wisconsin, then shut down their run game last year. Domination. I don’t remember that game being as close as the score. They’ll (OSU) be better and possibly terrifying this year. Upsets can happen, yes.
 

MSU was not winnable. They rushed for 742 yards, and we scored 3 TD's in the last 20 seconds.

Realize you were being hyperbolic, but I looked it up, MSU had 249 yards rushing, the Gophers scored three touchdowns in the last 11:55, with the last being at 1:06. Additionally, MSU had a "whopping" 120 passing yards. Granted, that was compared to 74 rushing yards (oof) and 216 passing yards for the Gophers.

Though I'd agree that it wasn't realistically a "winnable" game. I mean, you score with 1:06 left to get within 3, there is a chance. But that would have been a game for the ages type comeback. To me, a game being "winnable" means that a couple random plays in the middle of the game go your way you walk away with a win. That was not the case vs. MSU. The Gophers got behind and when MSU started playing prevent took advantage. Had MSU lost after a miracle comeback, they could have called it a winnable game, but I don't think MN has any right to call it that.
 

Realize you were being hyperbolic, but I looked it up, MSU had 249 yards rushing, the Gophers scored three touchdowns in the last 11:55, with the last being at 1:06. Additionally, MSU had a "whopping" 120 passing yards. Granted, that was compared to 74 rushing yards (oof) and 216 passing yards for the Gophers.

Though I'd agree that it wasn't realistically a "winnable" game. I mean, you score with 1:06 left to get within 3, there is a chance. But that would have been a game for the ages type comeback. To me, a game being "winnable" means that a couple random plays in the middle of the game go your way you walk away with a win. That was not the case vs. MSU. The Gophers got behind and when MSU started playing prevent took advantage. Had MSU lost after a miracle comeback, they could have called it a winnable game, but I don't think MN has any right to call it that.

whoa, we had 216 yds of passing offense? that is awesome!
 




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