PSU game is not the "biggest game since Michigan '03", it's bigger, much bigger.

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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PSU game is not the "biggest game since Michigan '03", it's bigger, much bigger.

We'll see a lot of references to the PSU game being the biggest game since the 2003 Michigan game. I really think this is bigger. With two undefeated teams this late into the season battling, a strong two-game BT West lead if we win, ridiculous amount of national media attention, Fleck's emergence in Year 3 at Minnesota and on and on, this game is the biggest game quite possibly since 1967 when we last tied for the Big Ten title.

And we get two weeks of hype!!!!!

Go Gophers!!
 


Here's hoping Penn State walks into a buzzsaw in a few weeks. This one is definitely bigger then Michigan 03', I just hope that if we do lose the fans don't jump ship the way they did after that Michigan game. Penn State is very good, but I like our chances to spring the upset at home with the way we are playing. Going to be a very interesting couple weeks to see what the buildup is like.

If Gameday does the right thing and comes here it will push the excitement level up to a whole new level.
 




Well, it IS the biggest home game since 2003 with no other game being as big since that time. One probably has to go back to the 1967 season vs. Indiana for a bigger home game.

The 2003 MI game seemed a little different to me. It was all about the team's national perception and a little too early in the year to have big title implications. Mason had the Gophers knocking on the door to being a first-tier Big Ten team (versus the dumpster fire it was previously) which could have helped the recruiting train tremendously. The Gophers position seemed more fragile back then and that loss knocked them back into mediocrity in many eyes. Who knows if Mason would have still been the coach when TCF opened had that Michigan game been won?

This PSU game seems to be more about title implications than perception (a good thing). One could argue the away game vs. Wisconsin in 2014 was just as big, if not bigger, because the winner got the West title.
 

We are only saying this game is more important because we have the benefit of hindsight to see that Mason didn't get us over the hump. I say these 2 are about equal. But don't downplay that Michigan game. The hype around it was unreal.
 

DarrenTheGreek said:
We are only saying this game is more important because we have the benefit of hindsight to see that Mason didn't get us over the hump. I say these 2 are about equal. But don't downplay that Michigan game. The hype around it was unreal.
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Very good point, at the time that Michigan game and they hype around it was huge.
 

Biggest Gopher football game in at least 50 years.
 



BleedGopher said:
We'll see a lot of references to the PSU game being the biggest game since the 2003 Michigan game. I really think this is bigger. With two undefeated teams this late into the season battling, a strong two-game BT West lead if we win, ridiculous amount of national media attention, Fleck's emergence in Year 3 at Minnesota and on and on, this game is the biggest game quite possibly since 1967 when we last tied for the Big Ten title.

And we get two weeks of hype!!!!!

Go Gophers!!
Click to expand...

YES!
 

Is it bigger than when we played for the B1G West title in 2014? Feels bigger, but much less on the line.


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Spoofin said:
Is it bigger than when we played for the B1G West title in 2014? Feels bigger, but much less on the line.


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Agree. In theory this game is bigger and we are ranked higher but in the end what matters is playing in Indy.
 

Spoofin said:
Is it bigger than when we played for the B1G West title in 2014? Feels bigger, but much less on the line.
Click to expand...

Fair point. Especially since it was the Axe game.

I guess this one feels bigger because the 2014 team had taken some losses and we knew that one wasn't the "OMG It's Happening" moment for the program. This game might be that.
 



The 2014 game decided first place in one day. I was there, btw. This game is big, for sure simply because 8-0 vs 8-0 always should be.
The reality is, the Gophers can split their last 4 games and still be guaranteed of at least a share of 1st place in the West. The "bigness"
of this game will likely be determined as the game goes on....how will the weather be....who really shows up tp play....etc
 

Win this game against PSU and the Gophers are seriously relevant.
 

Panthadad2 said:
Well, it IS the biggest home game since 2003 with no other game being as big since that time. One probably has to go back to the 1967 season vs. Indiana for a bigger home game.

The 2003 MI game seemed a little different to me. It was all about the team's national perception and a little too early in the year to have big title implications. Mason had the Gophers knocking on the door to being a first-tier Big Ten team (versus the dumpster fire it was previously) which could have helped the recruiting train tremendously. The Gophers position seemed more fragile back then and that loss knocked them back into mediocrity in many eyes. Who knows if Mason would have still been the coach when TCF opened had that Michigan game been won?

This PSU game seems to be more about title implications than perception (a good thing). One could argue the away game vs. Wisconsin in 2014 was just as big, if not bigger, because the winner got the West title.
Click to expand...

This one feels much more nationally relevant as that Gopher team versus UW already had 3 losses and this PSU team is top 6.
 

rugger14 said:
Win this game against PSU and the Gophers are seriously relevant.
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Absolutely. And then we need to win 2 of 3 to make a serious statement as we close out the year. That home game vs. Wisconsin will be HUGE. Losing to PSU isn’t a killer if we can hold serve vs. Northwestern and either Iowa or Wisconsin.
 

The CFP rankings come out on Tuesday, November 5and our top 15 ranking will be the highest ranking we have had. The match up against PSU is going to be fun, not sure of the outcome but I can only hope that Minnesota football represents itself well and gives PSU all they can handle.
 

There’s zero doubt it’s bigger.


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Reusse's column that week before that game was one of his best. The Gophers, Vikings, and Twins were all playing well...heck maybe the Wolves too. Patrick glorified how this used to be a Gophers town before the Vikings and all the others.

Ironically, in the scheme of things it was the week AFTER the Michigan loss that was the real killer in losing to Michigan State. They were beatable that year and we just came out flat. In the end we beat Wisconsin and ended up 10-3 with the Sun Bowl win over Oregon.

BTW...we went 5-3 in the conference that year too, which was Mason's peak. One more will put us beyond that...seems doable.
 

I didn't think of it this way, but Bleed is probably right. Maybe its because Minnesota felt like more of a legitimate contender going in to '03 than they did this year or maybe it's because of the sketchy start to the year, but I kind of felt like the Michigan game was bigger until reading his post. With where the Gophers are in Fleck's tenure and the fact that PSU is also undefeated this late in the season, this does seem like the biggest game. I will say that winning at least one of the Iowa/Wisconsin games is more important to the dvision title hopes so it's important that the team remains focused regardless of the outcome 2 weeks from now.
 

Spoofin said:
Is it bigger than when we played for the B1G West title in 2014? Feels bigger, but much less on the line.


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Click to expand...

Yes. The 2014 squad was good.....but this team is VERY good. And hopefully this will be a springboard to sustained success.

Fact is....if we beat Penn State.....I think the Gophers are now looking at being the favourite in the final three games of the year. Think about that. Now all of the sudden....winning the West, going to the Big Ten Championship game, and going to the Rose Bowl might not be the ceiling for this team.
 

IMHO this is the biggest game since Iowa came to town in October of 1960. I think this game will be for a trip to the Rose Bowl, figuring that OSU will win out and be in the playoffs and a trip to Pasadena will go to the #2 team in the BIG10.
 

go4rob said:
IMHO this is the biggest game since Iowa came to town in October of 1960. I think this game will be for a trip to the Rose Bowl, figuring that OSU will win out and be in the playoffs and a trip to Pasadena will go to the #2 team in the BIG10.
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Glad someone brought up that classic 1960 game - #1 Iowa vs #3 Minnesota, both teams 6-0. I was a bit young at the time to remember (3 yo), but in the pre Twins and Vikings era this had to be huge. A nice summary can be found here - https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.fo...416/1960-minnesota-iowa-college-football-game
 

The outcome of the Gophers-Nittany Lions game is huge for both teams. There are ramifications not only to potential CFP selection, but also the Rose Bowl selection.

This is a great matchup between two good evolving football programs under great coaches. If they can upset Penn State and then win one more of the remaining Big Ten West games than Wisconsin or Iowa, roses will smell better.

Gophers - keep winning ways and stay healthy! :clap::cheer::clap::cheer::clap::cheer:

Big Ten Standings: https://bigten.org/confstandings.aspx/2019-20/fb?path=football
 
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No recent (last 20 year game) had playoff or national title impact like this one does.

If we win this, we'll be top 7-8.
Each game after would then be the most important leading to Indy.
Let's not sleep on our CFP chances this year.
 

go4rob said:
IMHO this is the biggest game since Iowa came to town in October of 1960. I think this game will be for a trip to the Rose Bowl, figuring that OSU will win out and be in the playoffs and a trip to Pasadena will go to the #2 team in the BIG10.
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Yeah, that's some real history there. Appreciate you bringing it up.

I am really enjoying this year. It's kind of like the '87 Twins.
 

I don’t give a damn which was bigger. I love the feeling I have right now just like I did back then. I was on the news that evening saying we were gonna riot when we sent Carr and his gang packing! That was a huge game.

I just don’t wanna feel like I did after that game ever again. Walked all the way back from the metro dump to T-Hall in a drunken depression... what a huge let down. And what a huge slide back to irrelevance.
 
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stocker08 said:
Yes. The 2014 squad was good.....but this team is VERY good. And hopefully this will be a springboard to sustained success.

Fact is....if we beat Penn State.....I think the Gophers are now looking at being the favourite in the final three games of the year. Think about that. Now all of the sudden....winning the West, going to the Big Ten Championship game, and going to the Rose Bowl might not be the ceiling for this team.
Click to expand...

I don’t disagree. This game feels bigger to me too, but figured that 2014 game may be a better comparison than ‘03 Michigan. Both teams this year may be better than those in 2014 - but there isn’t as much on the line.


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