Wisconsin -10.5

Some Day...Maybe

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Gophers have a real chance, only 10.5 point underdogs and the game is AT Wisconsin. ESPN gives Minnesota a 16.6% chance! Can’t wait for kickoff! If the last 14 years tell us anything, it’s that we got a real good chance to win this game! I’m expecting a mistake free game by our young Gopher offense and a defense that will stifle Jonathan Taylor and that poor WI offensive line. I don’t expect any big plays from Wisconsin, especially play action passes or long runs.

Cozy up, this is definitely the year!!! You can just feel that things will go our way, that we’ll get the breaks, and capitalize on all of them! RTB


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Gophers have a real chance, only 10.5 point underdogs and the game is AT Wisconsin. ESPN gives Minnesota a 16.6% chance! Can’t wait for kickoff! If the last 14 years tell us anything, it’s that we got a real good chance to win this game! I’m expecting a mistake free game by our young Gopher offense and a defense that will stifle Jonathan Taylor and that poor WI offensive line. I don’t expect any big plays from Wisconsin, especially play action passes or long runs.

Cozy up, this is definitely the year!!! You can just feel that things will go our way, that we’ll get the breaks, and capitalize on all of them! RTB


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I'll have whatever your having, because the Gophers are going to get smacked. Last year was bad and this one could be worse. Especially being on the road.
 

All three phases of the game click and the Gophers have a shot...

Around 15% sounds correct...
 

I say 50/50. They are better, but we have more to gain/play for. It is pretty much a lost season for WI.


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I would be more surprised by the Gophers getting their butts kicked than I would be by them winning.

Is that optimism?

JTG
 

Some of our best games this year have been against good opponents. We hung in against OSU and Northwestern, upset Purdue, and beat a strong Fresno State team. Our 3 20+ point losses were to mediocre to bad teams.

If we can keep Taylor somewhat in check and avoid turnovers we have a solid shot at winning. Of course that is easier said than done but it's not like last year where we had no chance. Wisconsin has a huge question mark at QB and could be playing their 3rd string. Outside of Taylor they don't have as many playmakers as they usually do.
 

Some of our best games this year have been against good opponents. We hung in against OSU and Northwestern, upset Purdue, and beat a strong Fresno State team. Our 3 20+ point losses were to mediocre to bad teams.

Well, Wisconsin is kind of a mediocre team this year...
 

They're 5-1 at home, we're 0-4 on the road. They are 4-1 against common opponents, we're 1-4. They are playing for an 8-4 bowl vs a 7-5 bowl, we're playing for any bowl. They haven't lost to us in a decade and a half. Their running game is better than our running D. They are underachieving compared to our overachieving freshman, but they're also bigger and more experienced. Fleck can call all the timeouts he wants, this is going to be a blow out as per usual.
 



I think this game comes down to two things.

1. The ball is the program

2. I forgot what my second one was.
 

I think this game comes down to two things.

1. The ball is the program

2. I forgot what my second one was.

Probably had to do with knowing the difference between happiness and joy or failure is growth... There's like two dozen things this game can come down to actually.
 

If Cashman has 20 plus tackles again, we should be in the game.
On offense we can't turn it over and our field goal kicker can't miss his chances.

Those are my two keys to giving us a chance.
 

Maybe I’m giving PJ too much credit but I think he absolutely knows how important this game is and still has a few tricks up his sleeve.

Plus Wisconsin has nothing to play for. They’re in the midst of a lost season, there fans don’t care (I got tickets for this game at a price Mark Coyle would be appalled by) and the Gophers have everything to play for.

Let’s hope for crappy weather and for the Gophers to go up early and Wisconsin packs it in. Maybe it took 5 weeks for the kids to learn to play on the road.
 



Maybe I’m giving PJ too much credit but I think he absolutely knows how important this game is and still has a few tricks up his sleeve.

Plus Wisconsin has nothing to play for. They’re in the midst of a lost season, there fans don’t care (I got tickets for this game at a price Mark Coyle would be appalled by) and the Gophers have everything to play for.

Let’s hope for crappy weather and for the Gophers to go up early and Wisconsin packs it in. Maybe it took 5 weeks for the kids to learn to play on the road.

I don't think it matters in who wins the game, but if you think the Badgers have nothing to play for you are crazy. How about not being on the first team to lose the axe in 14 years? This is far from a lost season.
 

I don't think it matters in who wins the game, but if you think the Badgers have nothing to play for you are crazy. How about not being on the first team to lose the axe in 14 years? This is far from a lost season.

True. They are also playing for a better bowl game.


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I don't think it matters in who wins the game, but if you think the Badgers have nothing to play for you are crazy. How about not being on the first team to lose the axe in 14 years? This is far from a lost season.

I think speaking relatively, this team doesn’t care. They started the season playing for a national championship, now if they win it’s the difference between a bowl in Boca Raton or Tampa.


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It's good to see some people here not taking this game for granted. People last week thought Northwestern had nothing to play for and got mad when they didn't roll over and die so we could make a bowl game. The same is true for this week. People are acting as though Wisconsin is going to be like Nebraska last year and just give up.

When Wisconsin comes out and actually plays hard, like Northwestern did, then people are going to be like last week and get upset that we lost to a team that they thought, "Had nothing to play for and no reason to try hard."

Honestly, I don't get where this mindset that, just because Wisconsin hasn't been as good as years past, means they are going to stop playing. Did they stop playing vs. Purdue? No. Then, why would they stop against one of their biggest rivals, especially since they've dominated the series for a decade and a half?
 

I don't think any of us can really take Wisconsin for granted for the rest of our lives.

Even if we won the next 14-15 in a row, I doubt any of us would consider a game we can take for granted after recent history. (recent being last 25 years)
 

I don't think any of us can really take Wisconsin for granted for the rest of our lives.

Even if we won the next 14-15 in a row, I doubt any of us would consider a game we can take for granted after recent history. (recent being last 25 years)

Yes, of all the frustrations inherent in being a Gopher football fan, the inability to beat Wisconsin for half a generation is the biggest.

There are kids playing high school football who have never witnessed a Minnesota victory over the hated Badgers in their lifetime.

JTG
 

I'd love to see the Gophers play a complete game on the road (force turnovers, not commit any...), but so far we haven't seen it.
I would be a happy camper Saturday eve if it happens though. Our OLine has to play like they did versus Purdue and the defense has to play like it has the past two weeks, and win the TO battle.
 

Fleck has given us lots of stinkers with no signature win in his first two years. It's time for him to get one and start tilting the balance sheet back in his favor.
 

I'd love to see the Gophers play a complete game on the road (force turnovers, not commit any...), but so far we haven't seen it.
I would be a happy camper Saturday eve if it happens though. Our OLine has to play like they did versus Purdue and the defense has to play like it has the past two weeks, and win the TO battle.

If we can keep Morgan/ Annexstad upright, we might have a chance. Their secondary might not be as strong as it has been in the past. We will see.
 

It's good to see some people here not taking this game for granted. People last week thought Northwestern had nothing to play for and got mad when they didn't roll over and die so we could make a bowl game. The same is true for this week. People are acting as though Wisconsin is going to be like Nebraska last year and just give up.

When Wisconsin comes out and actually plays hard, like Northwestern did, then people are going to be like last week and get upset that we lost to a team that they thought, "Had nothing to play for and no reason to try hard."

Honestly, I don't get where this mindset that, just because Wisconsin hasn't been as good as years past, means they are going to stop playing. Did they stop playing vs. Purdue? No. Then, why would they stop against one of their biggest rivals, especially since they've dominated the series for a decade and a half?

They will most likely try to get Taylor the Doak award.:(
 

Maybe I’m giving PJ too much credit but I think he absolutely knows how important this game is and still has a few tricks up his sleeve.

Plus Wisconsin has nothing to play for. They’re in the midst of a lost season, there fans don’t care (I got tickets for this game at a price Mark Coyle would be appalled by) and the Gophers have everything to play for.

Let’s hope for crappy weather and for the Gophers to go up early and Wisconsin packs it in. Maybe it took 5 weeks for the kids to learn to play on the road.

I have very little faith that PJ has anything up his sleeve. One thing I've come to grips with in almost two seasons is that we have to hope Fleck out-recruits everybody else over time. I'm not expecting him to out-coach too many Big Ten coaches.

We need zero turnovers, accurate throws and no drops. Then hope a few of our athletes make winning plays. Bateman and Douglas outrunning their guys a few times and Johnson jumping higher a couple times.
 

I have very little faith that PJ has anything up his sleeve. One thing I've come to grips with in almost two seasons is that we have to hope Fleck out-recruits everybody else over time. I'm not expecting him to out-coach too many Big Ten coaches.

We need zero turnovers, accurate throws and no drops. Then hope a few of our athletes make winning plays. Bateman and Douglas outrunning their guys a few times and Johnson jumping higher a couple times.

PLAY ANNEXSTAD!!!!!!!!!!
 

I think speaking relatively, this team doesn’t care. They started the season playing for a national championship, now if they win it’s the difference between a bowl in Boca Raton or Tampa.


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I think the Badgers care far more about this rivalry than you do. I can't imagine you really believe they are not going to care about this game. If anything, after 14 in a row I think they have proven they care a heck of a lot about this game.

If they win the next 2 and can be 9-4 after the adversity they have faced this year it will be a great season, regardless of what the experts thought at the beginning of the year.
 

Taylor has a shot at a 2,000-yard season. I think the Badgers will come out and just pound the ball, trying to get Taylor over 2,000 yards, and control the clock.

So - the most important stat Saturday will be time of possession. If the Gophers are even close to 50/50 on TOP, they might have a shot. If WI winds up with 35+ minutes on TOP, it could turn into a one-sided game (even if WI doesn't score a gazillion points - just saying they will have the ball all the time.).

The key for the Gophers will be to keep under control on offense. If WI runs off some 7 or 8-minute drives, the Gophers can't panic when they get the ball back and try to make it up in one play. If they do, and WI comes up with some turnovers, then it could get really lop-sided in a hurry.
 



Gophers have a chance. I don't know why I always think of the 2007 game in this rivalry but the Gophers had what was perhaps their worst team within my lifespan, yet that game was very close and there was a point where I started to believe they were going to spring the big upset. It reminded me of how wacky true rivalry games can be as that Gopher team had no business hanging with Wisconsin that year. So, good news, anything can happen in a rivalry game.

But the bad news is if you had told me that night, as I exited the Metrodome, that in 2018 I'd still be looking for the Gophers to finally snap the losing streak to Wisconsin, I would have been shocked. First and foremost, Wisconsin has either always, or nearly always been the better team when the two have met dating back to 2003. They have stretched out this winning streak by winning even when they weren't the better team (ahem, 2005, cough), and especially because no matter how much they are favored, they always seem to take the rivalry seriously, and take great joy in retaining the axe. They absolutely will NOT take the game lightly and they absolutely WILL do everything in their power to extend the streak. THAT, is why it is a streak in the first place.

The law of averages simply have to catch up to this awful streak at some point. If the Gophers aren't the better team, even a strange situation where the ball bounces the right way has to take place sooner or later. Wisconsin fumbles the opening kickoff, the Gophers punch it in, and Wisconsin fumbles the next kickoff too. Stuff like that. Sooner or later it has to happen.
 




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