Sid: Big Ten football title is realistic goal for Gophers

RememberMurray

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 25, 2019
Messages
8,067
Reaction score
7,295
Points
113
“Our entire offseason has been designated to putting our players in high-pressure situations on the field, off the field and having them perform through that and having them know what that feels like,” Fleck said. “This is what we’ve wanted to do with this program — not only this year but into the future. Raise the level of expectations, and that is just part of the natural growth throughout cultural sustainability.”

Fleck said that even though the team will be one of the youngest in the Big Ten, the players are no longer inexperienced.

“There is always going to be higher expectations [after a successful season],” he said. “That is the nature of our profession. That is the nature of sports.”

http://www.startribune.com/hartman-big-ten-football-title-is-realistic-goal-for-gophers/506934001/
 

I believe a Big 10 Championship is doable! Got to prepare first.
 

"Coach P.J. Fleck is bringing back 37 of 44 players from the Gophers’ two-deep chart from the 34-10 victory over Georgia Tech in the Quick Lane Bowl."
 

I just want to make the title game. I want that one entire week where my hopes are up for greatness and going to the rose bowl.
 

From the west getting to the title game is very achievable.

After that... gonna take some magic, but I think this team is looking like if the magic happens it could be the type of team use it properly.
 


Is a goal a prediction or an expectation.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 



From the west getting to the title game is very achievable.

After that... gonna take some magic, but I think this team is looking like if the magic happens it could be the type of team use it properly.

More than likely the loser of that game would go to Rose Bowl.
 



More than likely the loser of that game would go to Rose Bowl.

I’d say it’s about a 30% chance that’s true.


1/3 of the time rose bowl is playoff, so that’s false.
If rose bowl isn’t playoff top ranked non playoff big ten team goes.
50/50 shot that’s the loser of big ten title game.

Big ten champ could miss playoff.
Big ten west or east second place team could be ranked higher than big ten championship loser.
 

Next year or the year after, for this crew. This year will be a step in the right direction, including no bad losses!
 

Lets slow our roll a little. The Badgers are not going to have two down years in a row, the Cornhuskers and Boilermakers are likely going to take big steps forward. Iowa and Northwestern aren't going anywhere. The Gophers have a down schedule this year, but they still need to beat some very good teams to get to the title game. There's a chance they could do it, but I don't think it's a great chance.
 

“Our entire off season has been designated to putting our players in high-pressure situations on the field, off the field and having them perform through that and having them know what that feels like,” Fleck said. “This is what we’ve wanted to do with this program — not only this year but into the future. Raise the level of expectations, and that is just part of the natural growth throughout cultural sustainability.”


I wonder how you do that? Meaning high-pressure situations on and off the field.
 



Lets slow our roll a little. The Badgers are not going to have two down years in a row, the Cornhuskers and Boilermakers are likely going to take big steps forward. Iowa and Northwestern aren't going anywhere. The Gophers have a down schedule this year, but they still need to beat some very good teams to get to the title game. There's a chance they could do it, but I don't think it's a great chance.

The schedule in the Big Ten is never going to be easy and you will always have to beat some good teams to get to the title game. Fleck is clearly trying to instill the belief in the team that they can compete for championships. Unfortunately many in our fan base will cling to the belief that it just isn't possible.

You are correct that our odds of winning the Big Ten Championship this year are not great, but it is not hard to look at the way the team finished last year and see a path to getting to the point where we are playing championship level football.

If things continue on their current trajectory I could see us at the favorites in the West heading into 2020 when we will still be returning a ridiculous amount of experience on the offensive side of the ball.

The West is going to be super competitive and should be a lot of fun. I wonder if Purdue will be as good as some are projecting though because they lost a ton on offense including most of their offensive line. That is tough to rebuild super quickly.
 


Lets slow our roll a little. The Badgers are not going to have two down years in a row, the Cornhuskers and Boilermakers are likely going to take big steps forward. Iowa and Northwestern aren't going anywhere. The Gophers have a down schedule this year, but they still need to beat some very good teams to get to the title game. There's a chance they could do it, but I don't think it's a great chance.

Waiting 50 years isn't slow enough for you?
 

Waiting 50 years isn't slow enough for you?

No kidding.

IMO, you can't control other programs or schedules, so worrying about potential up or down years of division rivals doesn't get you anywhere.
But when was the last time we've seen Gopher FB finish a season as strong as they did last season?
Fleck's right that every season is different and you can't predict next season based on the previous one, but doing things like winning the axe and winning the final regular season game and bowl game back-to-back are signs of progress rarely seen in my 20 years as a fan.

Ski U Mah!
 

I just want to make the title game. I want that one entire week where my hopes are up for greatness and going to the rose bowl.


I was in Vegas, Gophers up in 2 scores in Camp Randall, winner goes to title game

Text wife I might be going to Indy next weekend
She gets pissed, I said don't worry, still half to go

Good news: I didn't have to fight with my wife about going to Indy weekend after going to Vegas
 

if you go back to the aftermath of the Illinois game last season, how many people would have said a B1G title is a "realistic" goal for the Gophers?

Point being - most teams are never as good as the fans think after a win, and they're not as bad as fans think after a loss.

Sure, I would love to see the Gophers win the B1G title. but, I can't say at this point that it is a "realistic" goal. Let's see how the team looks in the non-conference games. This is still a relatively young team. they lost some key players to graduation. There are open positions to fill, and key players returning from injury.

if everything breaks right, yes, the Gophers could potentially go on a run and challenge for a division title. but as a long-time (meaning fatalistic) Gopher fan, it's hard for me to envision a scenario in which everything breaks right. I'm not saying it can't happen - I'm just saying that I just want to see continued growth in the program. the Gophers won 6 games in the regular-season last year. Let's try to win 8 games, and go from there. I could see the 2020 season as a more realistic chance for a division title run.
 

if you go back to the aftermath of the Illinois game last season, how many people would have said a B1G title is a "realistic" goal for the Gophers?

Point being - most teams are never as good as the fans think after a win, and they're not as bad as fans think after a loss.

Sure, I would love to see the Gophers win the B1G title. but, I can't say at this point that it is a "realistic" goal. Let's see how the team looks in the non-conference games. This is still a relatively young team. they lost some key players to graduation. There are open positions to fill, and key players returning from injury.

if everything breaks right, yes, the Gophers could potentially go on a run and challenge for a division title. but as a long-time (meaning fatalistic) Gopher fan, it's hard for me to envision a scenario in which everything breaks right. I'm not saying it can't happen - I'm just saying that I just want to see continued growth in the program. the Gophers won 6 games in the regular-season last year. Let's try to win 8 games, and go from there. I could see the 2020 season as a more realistic chance for a division title run.

Agreed
 

I was in Vegas, Gophers up in 2 scores in Camp Randall, winner goes to title game

Text wife I might be going to Indy next weekend
She gets pissed, I said don't worry, still half to go

Good news: I didn't have to fight with my wife about going to Indy weekend after going to Vegas

So it was your fault then...
 

if you go back to the aftermath of the Illinois game last season, how many people would have said a B1G title is a "realistic" goal for the Gophers?

Big, big changes have been made since then. Those changes clearly made a dramatic difference.

It may turn out that the Illinois, Maryland and Nebraska debacles from last season will be the catalysts that help the team more than anything they do 2019.

Think about it; what if those games hadn't been so brutally, abysmally awful? Who knows what would have happened... or not happened.

Maybe the changes would have never been implemented.
 

I'm excited about the progress and all such we saw this past season.

Having said that, that mountain to climb, the teams with all the talent and advantages.... none of that has changed from when we were just horrific in the years of Hot Chili ... and that Mountain has only gotten a little bit smaller. It's still really big.

I think the gophers winning the B1G would be a pretty historically unlikely event. I'm excited for the team... but that mountain ain't much smaller yet.
 

I'm excited about the progress and all such we saw this past season.

Having said that, that mountain to climb, the teams with all the talent and advantages.... none of that has changed from when we were just horrific in the years of Hot Chili ... and that Mountain has only gotten a little bit smaller. It's still really big.

I think the gophers winning the B1G would be a pretty historically unlikely event. I'm excited for the team... but that mountain ain't much smaller yet.

If you substitute BIG with National Championship I would agree with you but I disagree in terms of winning the BIG in the near future.

With the upgrades in coaching and facilities there is no reason why the U can not be in the mix for the West on a yearly basis starting in 2020 and maybe even this year. The West is going to be a really competitive tough division but we should be able to recruit with and compete with every team in the division.

We have some built in disadvantages against teams like Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State in terms of recruiting but as we have seen we can compete with those teams on a game by game basis and if you get to the title game you have a shot.

A big aspect of the "culture change" that Fleck has been pushing is eliminating this mindset that Minnesota can't be a contender, that the best we can hope for is to be an also ran because that is what we have been exposed to for so long. He believes this program can win Big Ten Championships and he isn't afraid to admit it.
 

A big aspect of the "culture change" that Fleck has been pushing is eliminating this mindset that Minnesota can't be a contender, that the best we can hope for is to be an also ran because that is what we have been exposed to for so long. He believes this program can win Big Ten Championships and he isn't afraid to admit it.

Well said. Let's lose the 'The Minnesota Mindset'. It's time to step up.
 

I agree this could be a great year if everything goes right, as the team is good enough to have a bit larger margian for error than what we have seen in year's past. It is a bit funny to me, though, seeing this from Sid as he tends to always think things are great particularly if the coaches get along with him and give him the feeling they are friends. Using Sid logic, perhaps it is time for this team to move into the Viking's dome to really get the program kick-started.
 

Lets slow our roll a little. The Badgers are not going to have two down years in a row, the Cornhuskers and Boilermakers are likely going to take big steps forward. Iowa and Northwestern aren't going anywhere. The Gophers have a down schedule this year, but they still need to beat some very good teams to get to the title game. There's a chance they could do it, but I don't think it's a great chance.

Yeah, but Fresno State will be way worse than last year. They're losing a lot of production. Who knows, maybe they'll be the youngest team in the history of sports next year?
 

Disagree on whoever said Purdue takes a step forward. In fact I’ll predict Purdue finishes 5-7 right now.
Their schedule is much tougher than last year and they don’t even have to play vaunted Eastern Michigan.
 




Top Bottom