Gold Rush
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 20, 2008
- Messages
- 1,857
- Reaction score
- 1,193
- Points
- 113
I mean this as a compliment actually as the Wildcats were a pretty tenacious bunch. Their recruiting was consistently not as good as most of the other Big Ten teams but they were severely underrated and upset some pretty good teams. I think most teams headed into the season and penciled that one as a win and they sneaked in and won some Big Ten titles along the way. What I liked about that team is how poised they were - they didn't beat themselves and no matter if they were winning or losing played hard until the end of the game.
Before the season started, how many teams penciled in the Gophers as a win, maybe even an easy one? Or, if they didn't they probably penciled it in as a game they should win if they played their best? Then at the end, after they lost say how did we lose that one? My guess is Wisconsin, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Purdue and certainly Nebraska all are guilty on that one. Well - that's the same thing Northwestern used to do. Respect is hard earned in college football.
I think this Gopher bunch today has been flying under the radar much the same way. I think a lot of people saw PJ Fleck as the second coming of Tim Brewster, maybe a little crazy and questioned his leadership. Even Jerry Kill who knew him very well has badmouthed him every chance he gets. Now people are changing their tune on Fleck as well as the team bigtime. People are hopping on the bandwagon, but they are 8 games late - us Gopher fans have been enjoying this run. I bet Fox Sports will notice a nice little uptick in viewers for the Rutgers game for starters!
If the Gophers can keep Fleck, they have a chance to be right there with Iowa and Wisconsin and in the hunt for big things every year. For now, let's enjoy the ride as long as we can and if we lose - we get right back out there and line it up again next week with our best effort. That is exactly what made Northwestern so tough, too.
Before the season started, how many teams penciled in the Gophers as a win, maybe even an easy one? Or, if they didn't they probably penciled it in as a game they should win if they played their best? Then at the end, after they lost say how did we lose that one? My guess is Wisconsin, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Purdue and certainly Nebraska all are guilty on that one. Well - that's the same thing Northwestern used to do. Respect is hard earned in college football.
I think this Gopher bunch today has been flying under the radar much the same way. I think a lot of people saw PJ Fleck as the second coming of Tim Brewster, maybe a little crazy and questioned his leadership. Even Jerry Kill who knew him very well has badmouthed him every chance he gets. Now people are changing their tune on Fleck as well as the team bigtime. People are hopping on the bandwagon, but they are 8 games late - us Gopher fans have been enjoying this run. I bet Fox Sports will notice a nice little uptick in viewers for the Rutgers game for starters!
If the Gophers can keep Fleck, they have a chance to be right there with Iowa and Wisconsin and in the hunt for big things every year. For now, let's enjoy the ride as long as we can and if we lose - we get right back out there and line it up again next week with our best effort. That is exactly what made Northwestern so tough, too.