The Most Underwhelming Team in the B1G

MennoSota

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...Minnesota.
https://saturdaytradition.com/big-ten-football/the-most-underwhelming-team-so-far-in-the-b1g-is/


The most underwhelming team is also undefeated. But relative to expectations and considering how close their games have been against subpar competition, Minnesota owns this distinction.

That’s because the Golden Gophers very easily could be 0-3 right now against a very soft schedule: South Dakota State, at Fresno State and Georgia Southern. Their strength of schedule ranks 87th in FBS, according to teamrankings.com. And Minnesota trailed in the fourth quarter of each of those three games, needing somewhat crazy finishes. It had less than a 50-percent chance to win in all three, according to ESPN’s win probability meter — including just an 8.1 percent chance to win at Fresno State and a 36.8 percent chance against Georgia Southern. So yeah, the Golden Gophers are fortunate to be 3-0.

You may be thinking, wait, a 3-0 team is the most underwhelming? You bet. But they won, right? Isn’t that enough. No, it’s definitely not enough. If this were the NFL, then it would be enough. That’s a one-possession league, meaning the worst teams in the league will lose the majority of their games by one possession and the best teams in the league will win most of their games by one possession. Rarely is there a double-digit spread (unless the Patriots are hosting the Jets when the latter is on their third-string QB).

But this is college football. Style points matter. So does context. Minnesota was favored by 17 points against Georgia Southern and 14.5 against South Dakota State. A good Big Ten team takes care of business against those teams at home. Minnesota, though, needed a touchdown with 5:39 left against South Dakota State to retake the lead before holding on for dear life while the Jackrabbits drove into Golden Gopher territory. And did you

If this was Purdue (one of the most inexperienced teams in the country), then I could understand. But Minnesota had 16 starters back this season, including nine on offense. The Golden Gophers had their top five rushers, their top five pass catchers and their starting quarterback all back from a season in which they won three of their last four, including a 22-point win against Wisconsin.

So that’s why there was plenty of buzz about the Golden Gophers building on that strong finish to 2018 and taking the next step in P.J. Fleck’s third season. In a wide-open West Division with a favorable schedule, Minnesota seemed to be a shoo-in to win nine games.

After seeing the issues on the offensive line and Tanner Morgan’s inability to get the ball to Tyler Johnson consistently (he had just seven catches for 99 yards the first two games before exploding for 10 catches for 140 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winner against Georgia Southern), I’m no longer optimistic Minnesota has any chance of contending in the West. Even with a favorable crossover schedule that doesn’t include Ohio State, Michigan or Michigan State, the Golden Gophers are struggling right now in ways that we didn’t think an experienced team would. If Minnesota continues to play this way, it will be right back at 6-6 or 7-5, even with a great schedule lined up.
 

It is hard to argue with this early analysis.
 

The same article could also be written about Michigan State, Michigan, Northwestern, Nebraska, Purdue and Penn State. Three of those teams even lost games they should have won, based on pre-season expectations.


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The same article could also be written about Michigan State, Michigan, Northwestern, Nebraska, Purdue and Penn State. Three of those teams even lost games they should have won, based on pre-season expectations.


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But it wasn’t written about them. Wonder why?


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^

Perhaps not this particular article, but every one of those teams is being ripped by someone. They all deserve it to a certain degree. The only Big Ten teams currently immune are OSU, Wisconsin, and Iowa, who have done a fine job of beating up on inferior teams. As we saw with Maryland, that can be a little deceiving.
 



Yes, please tell us why and show your work.

Why?
Being 3 for 3 in underwhelming performances against inferior teams not enough for you?

Work?
I can show you talent rankings to prove the inferior part and YouTube replays to prove the underwhelming part of you would like.


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^

Perhaps not this particular article, but every one of those teams is being ripped by someone. They all deserve it to a certain degree. The only Big Ten teams currently immune are OSU, Wisconsin, and Iowa, who have done a fine job of beating up on inferior teams. As we saw with Maryland, that can be a little deceiving.

Bottom Line: we belong in this article. Nice to be 3-0. But yeah, we have been terribly underwhelming.


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"I’m no longer optimistic Minnesota has any chance of contending in the West. Even with a favorable crossover schedule that doesn’t include Ohio State, Michigan or Michigan State, the Golden Gophers are struggling right now in ways that we didn’t think an experienced team would. If Minnesota continues to play this way, it will be right back at 6-6 or 7-5, even with a great schedule lined up."

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Hmmm... "if Minnesota continues to play this way..."

How, exactly, has Minnesota been playing? Let's analyze a little more thoroughly...

Despite shooting themselves in the foot repeatedly, and even though they've played down to their competition, Minnesota has kept their composure and rallied to win three times in three games. They've made mistakes, but they have overcome them 100% of the time.

Take that into careful consideration, and then tell me that the Gophers will win only 2 or three more games "if they continue to play this way" ... which is exactly what this writer is predicting.

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"But this is college football. Style points matter."

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Nah. Screw your 'style points'; I'll take the wins.
 



Bottom Line: we belong in this article. Nice to be 3-0. But yeah, we have been terribly underwhelming.


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Not as underwhelming as Purdue, who actually lost to a bad team. Fortunately, we can prove how underwhelming they are next week.
 

Not as underwhelming as Purdue, who actually lost to a bad team. Fortunately, we can prove how underwhelming they are next week.

Purdue also played 2 P5 teams while we played a MWC, a Sun Belt, and an FCS team. At best we have been equally underwhelming.


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Purdue also played 2 P5 teams while we played a MWC, a Sun Belt, and an FCS team. At best we have been equally underwhelming.


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Purdue has absolutely more underwhelming than us.

Nevada went 3-9 two years ago and 8-5 last year. Fresno went 10-4 two years ago and 12-2 last year in the same conference. Fresno beat Nevada 41-21 in 2017 and 21-7 last year. And Fresno only lost @USC by 7 this year (currently up 21-10 on #10 Utah), Nevada lost @Oregon by 71 this year.

Gophers found a way to beat a much better MWC team compared to the one Purdue found a way to lost to. And Fresno State is a more hostile environment than Nevada.

And Purdue got absolutely blown out by TCU team that went 6-7 last year, a game where Purdue opened up as 3 point favorites. TCU is of course much better than GSU or SDSU, I'm not denying that but Purdue already has a 21 point loss on their resume, the gophers don't. Now if the gophers played TCU, would they get dominated? Maybe we would, maybe we wouldn't. I personally don't think we'd lose by 21. But regardless we know for a fact that Purdue has a blowout loss on their resume and we can't say for a fact that the same would have happened to the gophers.

There are definitely more Purdue fans that would rather have our resume than gopher fans that would prefer Purdue's. Plenty of their fans have already had their proverbial bubble pop already. That hasn't been the case for gopher fans.
 

Purdue has absolutely more underwhelming than us.

Nevada went 3-9 two years ago and 8-5 last year. Fresno went 10-4 two years ago and 12-2 last year in the same conference. Fresno beat Nevada 41-21 in 2017 and 21-7 last year. And Fresno only lost @USC by 7 this year (currently up 21-10 on #10 Utah), Nevada lost @Oregon by 71 this year.

Gophers found a way to beat a much better MWC team compared to the one Purdue found a way to lost to. And Fresno State is a more hostile environment than Nevada.

And Purdue got absolutely blown out by TCU team that went 6-7 last year, a game where Purdue opened up as 3 point favorites. TCU is of course much better than GSU or SDSU, I'm not denying that but Purdue already has a 21 point loss on their resume, the gophers don't. Now if the gophers played TCU, would they get dominated? Maybe we would, maybe we wouldn't. I personally don't think we'd lose by 21. But regardless we know for a fact that Purdue has a blowout loss on their resume and we can't say for a fact that the same would have happened to the gophers.

There are definitely more Purdue fans that would rather have our resume than gopher fans that would prefer Purdue's. Plenty of their fans have already had their proverbial bubble pop already. That hasn't been the case for gopher fans.

3-0 is waaaaaaay better than 1-2.
Everything else is your opinion or 2018 stats which interest me little.

Hate to break it to the group here that wants to inflate SDSU, GSU, and talk about FSU as if they are the same team as the ‘18 version after they lost their starting QB to the NFL and 9 other starters on offense - but we haven’t played a really good team yet.

Neither Purdue nor the Gophers have been impressive. I’ll take 3-0 for sure, but stop putting lipstick on a pig. We have been as underwhelming, if not more so, as anyone in the B1G - just as the author of this article said.


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I love Gopher “fans”. You make us so proud.

This team has character. Maybe you should look inward as well.
 

3-0 is waaaaaaay better than 1-2.
Everything else is your opinion or 2018 stats which interest me little.

Hate to break it to the group here that wants to inflate SDSU, GSU, and talk about FSU as if they are the same team as the ‘18 version after they lost their starting QB to the NFL and 9 other starters on offense - but we haven’t played a really good team yet.

Neither Purdue nor the Gophers have been impressive. I’ll take 3-0 for sure, but stop putting lipstick on a pig. We have been as underwhelming, if not more so, as anyone in the B1G - just as the author of this article said.


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Again, Fresno lost @USC by 7, the same USC who is beating #10 Utah right now. Nevada lost by 71 points to Oregon. Every single data point we have whether it be past or present suggests Fresno is a much better team than Nevada and the gophers found a way to win and Purdue found a way to lose. That alone is enough to say they have been more underwhelming than we are regardless of what else happened.

Even though we haven't played great and have made mistakes, it's much easier to be encouraged by Minnesota's non conference performance than Purdue's. Minnesota has made mistakes but most of them are either correctable or uncharacteristic. There is reason to believe those will be fixed. Purdue's problems are much more fundamental in nature, less flukey and are harder to fix (running the ball, stopping the run, stopping the pass, pass protection etc.) and Purdue, unlike Minnesota, hasn't shown they can do those things with the players they have. (Minnesota's have shown they can do it).
 

Again, Fresno lost @USC by 7, the same USC who is beating #10 Utah right now. Nevada lost by 71 points to Oregon. Every single data point we have whether it be past or present suggests Fresno is a much better team than Nevada and the gophers found a way to win and Purdue found a way to lose. That alone is enough to say they have been more underwhelming than we are regardless of what else happened.

Even though we haven't played great and have made mistakes, it's much easier to be encouraged by Minnesota's non conference performance than Purdue's. Minnesota has made mistakes but most of them are either correctable or uncharacteristic. There is reason to believe those will be fixed. Purdue's problems are much more fundamental in nature, less flukey and are harder to fix (running the ball, stopping the run, stopping the pass, pass protection etc.) and Purdue, unlike Minnesota, hasn't shown they can do those things with the players they have. (Minnesota's have shown they can do it).

3-0 is the best we can be right now. Impossible to be better. Everything else is style points.
 

Oh, well. It's better for outsiders to have low expectations than high expectations for the team, because it should have no effect on how the Gophers perform. On the other hand, their opponents might be prone to buying into the low expectations and have poorer preparation.
 

Oh, well. It's better for outsiders to have low expectations than high expectations for the team, because it should have no effect on how the Gophers perform. On the other hand, their opponents might be prone to buying into the low expectations and have poorer preparation.

Higher expectations help for recruiting and ticket sales though. But I see your point.
 

Again, Fresno lost @USC by 7, the same USC who is beating #10 Utah right now. Nevada lost by 71 points to Oregon. Every single data point we have whether it be past or present suggests Fresno is a much better team than Nevada and the gophers found a way to win and Purdue found a way to lose. That alone is enough to say they have been more underwhelming than we are regardless of what else happened.

Even though we haven't played great and have made mistakes, it's much easier to be encouraged by Minnesota's non conference performance than Purdue's. Minnesota has made mistakes but most of them are either correctable or uncharacteristic. There is reason to believe those will be fixed. Purdue's problems are much more fundamental in nature, less flukey and are harder to fix (running the ball, stopping the run, stopping the pass, pass protection etc.) and Purdue, unlike Minnesota, hasn't shown they can do those things with the players they have. (Minnesota's have shown they can do it).

We have made so many mistakes in 3 games it is hard to refer to any of them as uncharacteristic.


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3-0 is waaaaaaay better than 1-2.
Everything else is your opinion or 2018 stats which interest me little.

Hate to break it to the group here that wants to inflate SDSU, GSU, and talk about FSU as if they are the same team as the ‘18 version after they lost their starting QB to the NFL and 9 other starters on offense - but we haven’t played a really good team yet.

Neither Purdue nor the Gophers have been impressive. I’ll take 3-0 for sure, but stop putting lipstick on a pig. We have been as underwhelming, if not more so, as anyone in the B1G - just as the author of this article said.


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I’m getting really sick of the pessimistic approach that so many Gopher fans bring to every season. It’s as if a lot of our fans, speaking this way, would rather us just be 0-3. I mean you all speak like we are. We’ve had seasons, like last, where we demolished our non-conference schedule: NM State 48-10, Fresno State 21-14 (not a demolish), Miami (OH) 26-3, but then we went into conference play and got obliterated over and over again. I’d rather get close games now, and still win, but have our players see just how much they need to improve before the Big Ten games begin. I think blowing out non-conference opponents can make teams too cocky. I think our team last year thought we could handle the Big Ten when we went in 3-0 fairly easily. This year, these players are aware that every game is going to require 100% effort. I have a lot more confidence in this team than I have in awhile. After seeing how well they can stay composed when their backs are against the wall, and they need a late comeback victory. That composure that Morgan & Co. have might win us a few more close games this season, games that past Gopher teams would make sure to lose.


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I’m getting really sick of the pessimistic approach that so many Gopher fans bring to every season. It’s as if a lot of our fans, speaking this way, would rather us just be 0-3. I mean you all speak like we are. We’ve had seasons, like last, where we demolished our non-conference schedule: NM State 48-10, Fresno State 21-14 (not a demolish), Miami (OH) 26-3, but then we went into conference play and got obliterated over and over again. I’d rather get close games now, and still win, but have our players see just how much they need to improve before the Big Ten games begin. I think blowing out non-conference opponents can make teams too cocky. I think our team last year thought we could handle the Big Ten when we went in 3-0 fairly easily. This year, these players are aware that every game is going to require 100% effort. I have a lot more confidence in this team than I have in awhile. After seeing how well they can stay composed when their backs are against the wall, and they need a late comeback victory. That composure that Morgan & Co. have might win us a few more close games this season, games that past Gopher teams would make sure to lose.


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Well, I would agree that the way we won the games may very well prepare us better for B1G play - but that isn’t my point at all. We aren’t discussing the final result this year or if the NC games will prepare us better. We are discussing how we looked in the first 3 games.

This pessimist predicted a 9-win season before the year and still think we can do that. We most likely needed to start 3-0 to get there and I’m glad we are 3-0. Let’s be honest tho, we have been very underwhelming. If we play like we did in (pick 1 of the 3) who would we beat in the B1G other than maybe Rutgers?

I’m not saying we will continue to play that way. In fact, I doubt we will. I would be shocked if we didn’t play far better starting next weekend after the bye. But I’m not about to be bothered by a media member calling a spade a spade nor do I buy into this idea that a “real fan” is always positive about the team. So Minnesotan.


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Again, Fresno lost @USC by 7, the same USC who is beating #10 Utah right now. Nevada lost by 71 points to Oregon. Every single data point we have whether it be past or present suggests Fresno is a much better team than Nevada and the gophers found a way to win and Purdue found a way to lose. That alone is enough to say they have been more underwhelming than we are regardless of what else happened.

Even though we haven't played great and have made mistakes, it's much easier to be encouraged by Minnesota's non conference performance than Purdue's. Minnesota has made mistakes but most of them are either correctable or uncharacteristic. There is reason to believe those will be fixed. Purdue's problems are much more fundamental in nature, less flukey and are harder to fix (running the ball, stopping the run, stopping the pass, pass protection etc.) and Purdue, unlike Minnesota, hasn't shown they can do those things with the players they have. (Minnesota's have shown they can do it).

I don’t play the transitive theory with sports. Never works that way.

Also, I wasn’t aware all of our mistakes were uncharacteristic and correctable whereas all of Purdue’s are fundamental. That is an eye opener for me.


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I don’t play the transitive theory with sports. Never works that way.

Also, I wasn’t aware all of our mistakes were uncharacteristic and correctable whereas all of Purdue’s are fundamental. That is an eye opener for me.


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All legitimate college football rankings rely on some permutation of the transitive property. Without an analysis of who you have played, their record, and how good their opponents are, we are just stuck comparing straight records.
 

...Minnesota.
https://saturdaytradition.com/big-ten-football/the-most-underwhelming-team-so-far-in-the-b1g-is/



"After seeing the issues on the offensive line and Tanner Morgan’s inability to get the ball to Tyler Johnson consistently (he had just seven catches for 99 yards the first two games before exploding for 10 catches for 140 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winner against Georgia Southern), I’m no longer optimistic Minnesota has any chance of contending in the West.

Yes, the offensive line has had real issues but Tanner Morgan hasn't had difficulty getting the ball to his receivers and his receivers have done an excellent job of catching it. Tyler Johnson hasn't caught as many balls this season as one might expect but that is because defenses have been concentrating on him. The receivers have been sharing the wealth and that's a good thing.

The passing game has been an impressive strength so far. Against GA Southern, we had 31 passes and 48 rushes (although a few were QB sacks). If we would have reversed those attempt numbers, that game wouldn't have been as close. We wasted an awful lot of downs (and slowed our drives considerably) trying to run against a defense that wasn't allowing it.
 

On the other hand, their opponents might be prone to buying into the low expectations and have poorer preparation.

I doubt that. I think any coach who watches films from the first three games has to be concerned about our passing game. Being unimpressed by our running game could be likely. I also think our pass defense has been pretty fair this season so far.
 

I don’t play the transitive theory with sports. Never works that way.

Also, I wasn’t aware all of our mistakes were uncharacteristic and correctable whereas all of Purdue’s are fundamental. That is an eye opener for me.


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You don't need to use that snarky sarcasm to make a point. Just tell me what you think next time.

Look, the biggest reason the Fresno game was so close was primarily untimely penalties as well as turnovers. Well, in 2017, Minnesota was the last penalized team in the nation and last year they were 6th least penalized. This year in our two other games we only had 4 penalties each game. So I think it's safe to say that those untimely penalties definitely were uncharacteristic. And Mo fumbled at the Fresno 30 yard line or so. Was that the first time Mo fumbled in his career? I could be wrong but I believe it was. If so that is uncharacteristic of him.

Against GSU, the two biggest mistakes were the blocked field goal for a TD and strip sack for a TD. When was the last time either happened to the gophers? I can't remember. I don't even remember the last time we even had a FG blocked. I think it's pretty likely we won't see either of those happen again for a while, definitely not in the same game.

We haven't been able to run the ball as effectively but 4 out of the 5 starters were the same as in the bowl game where we rushed for 220+. This line has shown they can do it in the past.

Purdue on the other hand hasn't been able to run the ball, defend the run, defend the pass. Purdue wasn't very good at these things last year and aren't as good in the front 7, at the O-line or at RB compared to were they were last year. So they have never shown that they can do those things last year with the guys they had or this year with the younger, less experienced guys.
 

You don't need to use that snarky sarcasm to make a point. Just tell me what you think next time.

Look, the biggest reason the Fresno game was so close was primarily untimely penalties as well as turnovers. Well, in 2017, Minnesota was the last penalized team in the nation and last year they were 6th least penalized. This year in our two other games we only had 4 penalties each game. So I think it's safe to say that those untimely penalties definitely were uncharacteristic. And Mo fumbled at the Fresno 30 yard line or so. Was that the first time Mo fumbled in his career? I could be wrong but I believe it was. If so that is uncharacteristic of him.

Against GSU, the two biggest mistakes were the blocked field goal for a TD and strip sack for a TD. When was the last time either happened to the gophers? I can't remember. I don't even remember the last time we even had a FG blocked. I think it's pretty likely we won't see either of those happen again for a while, definitely not in the same game.

We haven't been able to run the ball as effectively but 4 out of the 5 starters were the same as in the bowl game where we rushed for 220+. This line has shown they can do it in the past.

Purdue on the other hand hasn't been able to run the ball, defend the run, defend the pass. Purdue wasn't very good at these things last year and aren't as good in the front 7, at the O-line or at RB compared to were they were last year. So they have never shown that they can do those things last year with the guys they had or this year with the younger, less experienced guys.

With the caveat the season is still really young and we won’t really know much until another 2-3 weeks:

We lead the conference in sacks allowed with 11.
This season our yards per play and rush game are far below average, 13th in yards per attempt.
We are 13th in yards per play given up. The silver lining is Purdue is 14th..

There is still room for optimism the team will improve but there are also worrying red flags and it’s not just dumb penalties IMO. Nobody wants to see a repeat of offensive and defensive struggles through the first 2/3 of the 2018 season. The upcoming game is huge for seeing what improvements have occurred over the bye, bragging rights, and team (and fan) confidence.
 

All legitimate college football rankings rely on some permutation of the transitive property. Without an analysis of who you have played, their record, and how good their opponents are, we are just stuck comparing straight records.

which highlights the fundamental issues with college football rankings. Because college football is NOT transitive. Look at us and common opponents last year. We lost to Ohio State in a close game. Purdue blew tOSU out. We blew Purdue out. So that means we're better than Ohio State, right? Except the beat us.

We man handled Wisconsin. Who beat Illinois 49 - 20. We got blown out of the building by Illinois. Illinois. So, Wisconsin who beat Illinois soundly who blew us out is better than us. Except they weren't.
 

You don't need to use that snarky sarcasm to make a point. Just tell me what you think next time.

Look, the biggest reason the Fresno game was so close was primarily untimely penalties as well as turnovers. Well, in 2017, Minnesota was the last penalized team in the nation and last year they were 6th least penalized. This year in our two other games we only had 4 penalties each game. So I think it's safe to say that those untimely penalties definitely were uncharacteristic. And Mo fumbled at the Fresno 30 yard line or so. Was that the first time Mo fumbled in his career? I could be wrong but I believe it was. If so that is uncharacteristic of him.

Against GSU, the two biggest mistakes were the blocked field goal for a TD and strip sack for a TD. When was the last time either happened to the gophers? I can't remember. I don't even remember the last time we even had a FG blocked. I think it's pretty likely we won't see either of those happen again for a while, definitely not in the same game.

We haven't been able to run the ball as effectively but 4 out of the 5 starters were the same as in the bowl game where we rushed for 220+. This line has shown they can do it in the past.

Purdue on the other hand hasn't been able to run the ball, defend the run, defend the pass. Purdue wasn't very good at these things last year and aren't as good in the front 7, at the O-line or at RB compared to were they were last year. So they have never shown that they can do those things last year with the guys they had or this year with the younger, less experienced guys.

I would agree the penalties and mistakes would be uncharacteristic for the 2018 team. This, however, is the 2019 team. After three games, those issues are consistent. Every team has a bad game in those areas. Not every team struggles in their first three games against inferior competition.

As far as 2017, given the coaching strategy in year zero, the lack of mistakes and penalties has zero to do with actually attempting to win football games, and I'd posit is irrelevant beyond the fact that this is NOT the 2017 team......its the 2019 team.
 




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