pk2
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This might fall under the heading of "another dead horse to beat even further," but I thought it was worthy of a new thread, due to the national nature of the source.
From Stewart Mandel's Mailbag in The Athletic.
What is Minnesota’s expectation with P.J. Fleck in terms of performance in the Big Ten this year? This being his is third season, is this a hot seat season for him?
Ethan F., Arlington, Va.
You know, after Fleck went out of his way last summer to warn everybody it might be a rough rebuilding season, Minnesota quietly got much better by the end. When the Gophers were sitting at 1-5 in the Big Ten, coming off a bad 55-31 loss to Illinois on Nov. 3, I would have guessed they weren’t going to win another game. Fleck that week fired defensive coordinator Robb Smith, which at the time felt like kind of a panicky move for not yet being through his second season.
Instead, seemingly out of nowhere, Minnesota hammered Purdue 41-10, and then, after a 24-14 loss to division champ Northwestern, stunned everyone with a 31-15 rout of Wisconsin in Madison. And then the Gophers topped it off by routing Georgia Tech 34-10 in the Quick Lane Bowl to finish 7-6. Needless to say, that hot finish raises expectations considerably for 2019.
No, he is not on the hot seat. If anything, it feels like he’s a bit ahead of schedule given the extent of the rebuild he took on. Freshmen comprised more than 50 percent of Minnesota’s roster last season, highest in the country according to the school. Only five of last season’s starters were seniors, QBs Tanner Morgan and Zack Annexstad will be entering their sophomore seasons and star WR Tyler Johnson is returning for his senior year. It’s entirely reasonable for Gophers fans to be thinking about a nine-plus-win season.
For those who can get access to theathletic.com, which is a pay site:
https://theathletic.com/802680/2019...-performed-best-in-the-2019-recruiting-cycle/
From Stewart Mandel's Mailbag in The Athletic.
What is Minnesota’s expectation with P.J. Fleck in terms of performance in the Big Ten this year? This being his is third season, is this a hot seat season for him?
Ethan F., Arlington, Va.
You know, after Fleck went out of his way last summer to warn everybody it might be a rough rebuilding season, Minnesota quietly got much better by the end. When the Gophers were sitting at 1-5 in the Big Ten, coming off a bad 55-31 loss to Illinois on Nov. 3, I would have guessed they weren’t going to win another game. Fleck that week fired defensive coordinator Robb Smith, which at the time felt like kind of a panicky move for not yet being through his second season.
Instead, seemingly out of nowhere, Minnesota hammered Purdue 41-10, and then, after a 24-14 loss to division champ Northwestern, stunned everyone with a 31-15 rout of Wisconsin in Madison. And then the Gophers topped it off by routing Georgia Tech 34-10 in the Quick Lane Bowl to finish 7-6. Needless to say, that hot finish raises expectations considerably for 2019.
No, he is not on the hot seat. If anything, it feels like he’s a bit ahead of schedule given the extent of the rebuild he took on. Freshmen comprised more than 50 percent of Minnesota’s roster last season, highest in the country according to the school. Only five of last season’s starters were seniors, QBs Tanner Morgan and Zack Annexstad will be entering their sophomore seasons and star WR Tyler Johnson is returning for his senior year. It’s entirely reasonable for Gophers fans to be thinking about a nine-plus-win season.
For those who can get access to theathletic.com, which is a pay site:
https://theathletic.com/802680/2019...-performed-best-in-the-2019-recruiting-cycle/