247: Bold predictions for the Big Ten in 2019 (#9. Fleck finishes season on hot seat)

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9. P.J. FLECK FINISHES THE SEASON ON THE HOT SEAT

P.J. Fleck’s first two seasons at Minnesota have been a mixed bag. There have been some big wins, like beating Wisconsin last year, but there have also been extremely frustrating losses. The Golden Gophers finished fifth in the Big Ten West in 2018, and a similar result may make Minnesota fans somewhat impatient. With other teams in the division on the rise, the Gophers could falter in 2019.

https://247sports.com/LongFormArtic...19-Ohio-State-Michigan-133298164/#133298164_5

Go Gophers!!
 

From the same predictions:

6. NEBRASKA WINS THE BIG TEN WEST

With six straight losses to start the 2018 season, the Huskers winning the division in Scott Frost’s second season seemed pretty unrealistic. Now it’s not too hard to see Nebraska in the Big Ten Championship game. Between a strong 4-2 finish to last year and a quarterback like Adrian Martinez at the helm, Nebraska is poised to make a run at a Big Ten West that isn’t filled with perennial powerhouses like the East is.

Go Gophers!!
 

Those are both garbage predictions but I love it. I’d rather be under the radar. I just do not get the Husker love. They are nowhere close on O or D lines.


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They have more stars, or offers. Something, anyway. Balloons?
 



From the same predictions:

6. NEBRASKA WINS THE BIG TEN WEST

With six straight losses to start the 2018 season, the Huskers winning the division in Scott Frost’s second season seemed pretty unrealistic. Now it’s not too hard to see Nebraska in the Big Ten Championship game. Between a strong 4-2 finish to last year and a quarterback like Adrian Martinez at the helm, Nebraska is poised to make a run at a Big Ten West that isn’t filled with perennial powerhouses like the East is.

Go Gophers!!

They have 1 star on their team...so B1G West Champs? Ok.

Also, this author must not know MN that well, it will take a few seasons of missing a bowl game before the seat gets hot.
 

They have 1 star on their team...so B1G West Champs? Ok.

Also, this author must not know MN that well, it will take a few seasons of missing a bowl game before the seat gets hot.

Its click bait. Nobody knows whats going to happen with the West this year. I honestly feel like 5 teams could win the West this year if a game or two fall in their favor.

Nebraska is picked to be the top in a lot of publications mostly because of how the team finished last year and the 2nd year leap that Frost has made in the past with Offenses. Again they are just predictions with people trying to make educated guesses based on what they have seen in the past.
 

Its click bait. Nobody knows whats going to happen with the West this year. I honestly feel like 5 teams could win the West this year if a game or two fall in their favor.

Nebraska is picked to be the top in a lot of publications mostly because of how the team finished last year and the 2nd year leap that Frost has made in the past with Offenses. Again they are just predictions with people trying to make educated guesses based on what they have seen in the past.

I think Nebraska has as good a claim as anyone in the West.
I'm not sold on the talent level in Wisconsin.
If advanced metrics are to be believed, Northwestern should take a step back.
I cautiously like Minnesota's chances.
 

Unless the Gophers only win 3 games or something this year, Fleck won't be on the hot seat. Winning less than 6 though will get the grumbling started and the "negative" articles will start coming questioning if he can get over the hump.
 



I don't think we have enough money to put PJ on the hot seat after this year.... somewhat similar to Lovie Smith at Illinois... we're just not a team who can afford to swap coaches after one or two bad years unless they were at the end of their contract anyway.
 

If the team totally falters this year and doesn't even hang around in the West Fleck's seat will be warm heading into 2020 but it would take a lot for it to be truly hot.

Off-season filler is all stuff like this is, some projections will have us doing well, others won't but the bottom line is they know next to nothing about how it will all play out so it is pointless to take any of it seriously. It is just writers throwing darts at a board and hoping to get a few right so that they can claim they knew what was going to happen.

Makes for kind of interesting reading but it is just speculation at this point.
 

Iowa will finish around .500 in the big 10.....they will be all over Ferentz........ a few months after the season they will have forgiven Ferentz, and predict they will win the west the following year.

Lather, rinse, repeat!
 

Iowa will finish around .500 in the big 10.....they will be all over Ferentz........ a few months after the season they will have forgiven Ferentz, and predict they will win the west the following year.

Lather, rinse, repeat!

And every 4th or 5th year they will win the West and I'd take that.
 



My prediction is the hottest seats in the West come December 2019 belong to Paul Chryst and Jeff Brohm. Neither will get fired over it -- Brohm has too big of a contract and Chryst has enough goodwill built up. I do think those teams will disappoint their fans the most in the West.
 

I don't think we have enough money to put PJ on the hot seat after this year.... somewhat similar to Lovie Smith at Illinois... we're just not a team who can afford to swap coaches after one or two bad years unless they were at the end of their contract anyway.
Also I think if Fleck is gone, so is Coyle. So it would have to be so disastrous of a season that you'd fire both and I don't see that happening.

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With all of this said, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska, Purdue and Northwestern all have their eyes on winning the West or at least believe its possible. Someone has to have a bad season. Whoever it is immediately will be questioned since the West is assumed to be a wide open race. I personally think Paul Chryst is going to have some heat on his ass by the end of the year.

Also within that list i think Purdue is not equipped to be a real threat yet. Especially figuring out a real QB situation to even get that ball to Moore. Northwestern has a lot of questions to answer and their run last year was the biggest fluke and luck ever.
 
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This what you get when you read articles written by Hockey writers from Tennessee talking B1G football in July (Barely)
 

And every 4th or 5th year they will win the West and I'd take that.

We are heading into year 9 of the West and I believe they've won it once.

I don't believe they win it this year and next year they start over at qb.
 
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With all of this said, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska, Purdue and Northwestern all have their eyes on winning the West or at least believe its possible. Someone has to have a bad season. Whoever it is immediately will be questioned since the West is assumed to be a wide open race. I personally think Paul Chryst is going to have some heat on his ass by the end of the year.

Also within that list i think Purdue is not equipped to be a real threat yet. Especially figuring out a real QB situation to even get that ball to Moore. Northwestern has a lot of questions to answer and their run last year was the biggest fluke and luck ever.

I believe at Purdue to open the Big 10 season is the biggest game of the year for the gophers. We have a nice schedule after that for about 3 games.

I'm not saying it's bigger than beating Wisconsin, but more to get where we want to be this year, we have to have that Purdue game.
 

Fleck wont be on the hot seat this year. After the success in the second half of last season, it would take something pretty egregious, like failing to make a bowl game. And that wont happen, not with this team and not with this schedule.
 

We are heading into year 9 of the West and I believe they've won it once.

I don't believe they win it this year and next year they start over at qb.
6th year, use to be Legends and Leaders

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6th year, use to be Legends and Leaders

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well ya, but 9 years of east and west...….call them whatever you like!

They've won it once. And that year was the one where they played no one.
 

well ya, but 9 years of east and west...….call them whatever you like!

They've won it once. And that year was the one where they played no one.

Weren’t some of the teams in each division different when L&L?


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Weren’t some of the teams in each division different when L&L?


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Not sure, but here is who Iowa beat.

In the opening game they beat #19 Wisconsin 10-6.......Wisconsin had the better play in the game. I think Wisconsin fumbled on the one yard line going in to win or something. Or the qb stepped on a lineman foot on the one yard line or something.

They then beat:

Illinois
NW
Maryland
Indiana
Purdue
Minnesota
Nebraska

They then got beat by MSU in the championship and run out of the rose bowl.
 

First off, let me say I think the Gophers are good enough and will do well enough that Fleck won't go on the Hot Seat regardless. But, if I'm wrong, then I think it could happen.

Maybe we all have different definitions of "Hot Seat", but to me it means if you go 1-4 or something to start the year next year is the AD likely to can you mid-season. So based on that definition:

Unless the Gophers only win 3 games or something this year, Fleck won't be on the hot seat. Winning less than 6 though will get the grumbling started and the "negative" articles will start coming questioning if he can get over the hump.

If they don't make a Bowl, I think he's in the hot seat going into next year. No, they won't pull the trigger this summer (barring something crazy), but in that scenario, I could see him needing to get some wins early next year to not get canned. It's hard to say, because I don't think we know enough yet about Coyle and how itchy his trigger finger is, but it seems like he's more likely to pull the trigger if he sees an issue than not. He pulled the trigger on Claeys and Lucia but not on Pitino, so a little mixed bag.

I don't think we have enough money to put PJ on the hot seat after this year.... somewhat similar to Lovie Smith at Illinois... we're just not a team who can afford to swap coaches after one or two bad years unless they were at the end of their contract anyway.

The attendance is already bad enough. If he sees the fan base giving up on PJ he may have to pull the trigger to try to maintain the income they have. Besides, you are talking about the same team that was paying two different fired coaches and a third coach at the same time. I don't think buyout will be the deciding factor.

Also I think if Fleck is gone, so is Coyle. So it would have to be so disastrous of a season that you'd fire both and I don't see that happening.

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Absolutely disagree Coyle would be fired, unless Gabel wants to get her own person in the office and uses that as an excuse. PJ Fleck and Les Miles were the two most desirable candidates out there, Coyle had both interested and got the one he wanted. Fleck may or may not work out here, but that doesn't change the fact he was a very good hire based on all available information at the time.

Hell, if Maturi wasn't canned after whiffing on Brew when he hired someone whom most AD's would never had considered and it resulted in the team going into the toilet in historic fashion, I don't see Coyle getting canned now for hiring one of the most no brainer hires ever.
 
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The attendance is already bad enough. If he sees the fan base giving up on PJ he may have to pull the trigger to try to maintain the income they have. Besides, you are talking about the same team that was paying two different fired coaches and a third coach at the same time. I don't think buyout will be the deciding factor.

The attendance is already bad enough ... and we don't really see any dramatic efforts to change it.

If they're not willing to do anything dramatic when it is "bad enough" I don't think they're going to pay more to ... still suck. Nobody is showing up year 1 on ... whomever they hire anyway.

It's not "should they" or "will it suck" it is ... who is going to pay for PJ & Co., and a coach who is going to bring in fans, not MN.
 

With all of this said, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska, Purdue and Northwestern all have their eyes on winning the West or at least believe its possible. Someone has to have a bad season. Whoever it is immediately will be questioned since the West is assumed to be a wide open race. I personally think Paul Chryst is going to have some heat on his ass by the end of the year.

Also within that list i think Purdue is not equipped to be a real threat yet. Especially figuring out a real QB situation to even get that ball to Moore. Northwestern has a lot of questions to answer and their run last year was the biggest fluke and luck ever.

I also consider northwestern and Wisconsin to have brutal schedules.
I honestly think northwestern starts 2-4 next season.

1/2/3 = Iowa/Minnesota/Nebraska
4 = Wisconsin
5 = northwestern
6 = Purdue
7 = Illinois

I haven’t decided who I’d pick to win the west yet but right now I lean Iowa
 

There is a 0% chance Fleck gets fired this year. Even if the team was 1-11 and there was a scandal he would survive until at least game 6 of 2020

I personally see 15-0 and a national championship
 

I also consider northwestern and Wisconsin to have brutal schedules.
I honestly think northwestern starts 2-4 next season.

1/2/3 = Iowa/Minnesota/Nebraska
4 = Wisconsin
5 = northwestern
6 = Purdue
7 = Illinois

I haven’t decided who I’d pick to win the west yet but right now I lean Iowa

Iowas offense last year was atrocious, they lost their two most important offensive players to the draft. From what ive seen of Stanley, the guy is about as over rated as they come. Wildy average. I just dont believe in Iowa next year. Their Oline will be strong as always but they have no weapons left. Their offense was bad with two first round TE draft picks. Their defense has a big hole at defensive tackle and the linebacker depth is unusually bad. Replacing guys who under performed last year as it is. Iowa may be in for a rough year. Just my opinion of course.
 

Iowas offense last year was atrocious, they lost their two most important offensive players to the draft. From what ive seen of Stanley, the guy is about as over rated as they come. Wildy average. I just dont believe in Iowa next year. Their Oline will be strong as always but they have no weapons left. Their offense was bad with two first round TE draft picks. Their defense has a big hole at defensive tackle and the linebacker depth is unusually bad. Replacing guys who under performed last year as it is. Iowa may be in for a rough year. Just my opinion of course.

I always expect Iowa to be good when I expect them to be mediocre and be mediocre when they should be good.
Which is why next year may be their year
 




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