Where do you think we are at this point in the season?

Where are the Gophers at?

  • On their way to the CFP!

    Votes: 5 4.9%

  • On way to B1G Championship but not ready for the Big Boys.

    Votes: 33 32.0%

  • They've got a shot at the B1G West.

    Votes: 60 58.3%

  • Ready to join the top of the conference.

    Votes: 3 2.9%

  • They have won the games they should have but now it all stops.

    Votes: 1 1.0%

  • They've been lucky to get this far.

    Votes: 1 1.0%
  • Total voters
    103
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Otis

Otis

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Quick poll to see where you Gopher fans feel the team is at and where we are heading.

I think we are on our way to winning the B1G West but it won't be easy.

Penn State - This is most likely the hardest game on the schedule at this point. I think we can score on PSU but not sure if we can slow them down. Could be a close game or a blowout.
@ Iowa - Iowa has a bad offense. I like our chances here. I look for a hard fought Floyd game where either side could win.
@ NW - This should be a victory since NW can't seem to score in a brothel.
Wisconsin - This will be a donnybrook. Look for the most physical game of the year where either team could win.


Go Gophers!
 
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I always viewed this year as the last step up to prepare for two really good seasons in 2020 and 2021.
At this point however, navigating the 8 game start without a loss, the opportunity is now there to "catch lightning in a bottle".

Gopher have won 8 of their last 9 power 5 games. Only loss was at home vs NW last year in a game where we started off with dropped passes and turnovers.
Of those 8 wins, 7 came by margin of 22 points or more. Purdue closing in from a 21 point deficit to 7 thanks to the onside kick was the one exception.

Iowa and Northwestern are the only Big Ten West teams PJ hasn't beaten, both played twice.

What was going to be a sound season could be a great one instead, and could set a foundation for a nice run over the next couple years through 2021.

Will need to determine in the next year or two who are freshman are this year who will be aiding the sophomores. (J. Clark, Kramer, Williamson, Potts, Nubin, freshman D-liners, etc.)
 

Would GH'ers be happy with a 2-2 finish to end the year? (leaving us at 10-2)
 

GopherJack said:
Would GH'ers be happy with a 2-2 finish to end the year? (leaving us at 10-2)
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I'd be slightly disappointed that we didn't take full advantage of how the seasons started, but I'd still be happy that we finished 10-2 with a 7-2 conference record.
 

GopherJack said:
Would GH'ers be happy with a 2-2 finish to end the year? (leaving us at 10-2)
Click to expand...

I wouldn’t be happy. But I wouldn’t be mad. I think 3-1 doable but that means winning games against two (or 3) ranked teams. Not saying they can’t but it is a tall task for any team
 


GopherJack said:
Would GH'ers be happy with a 2-2 finish to end the year? (leaving us at 10-2)
Click to expand...

I think it would depend some on how the 2-2 came about but anyone not happy with a 10-2, 7-2 season would be nuts. There are 3 really good teams in our final 4 regular season games, splitting with that group would not be a terrible thing as long as we are competitive in all the games.

Feels like we are a little bit ahead of schedule so if we do end up losing a few here down the stretch people need to not lose their minds and understand that the future is bright no matter how this season finishes up.
 


GopherJack said:
Would GH'ers be happy with a 2-2 finish to end the year? (leaving us at 10-2)
Click to expand...

That would leave me with mixed feelings. I would certainly acknowledge the 10-2 season as the best season we have had during my time seriously following the gophers, so I would be very excited with the overall outcome. Dont think I would be able to help feeling disappointed that we squandered an opportunity.

It is like when we have a big game against a good team and blow a lead to lose by one or two scores. On the one hand, it is an objectively better outcome to be competitive in a loss than to just get the doors blown off in a blow out. On the other, being in a position to pull a big one off and blowing it stings more in some ways.
 





The three remaining teams of some substance that MN has to play PSU, IA and WI may have an Achlle's heel. That is if one player goes down the team is left in dire straits.
For MN it would be the only QB on the roster. If that happens the future would be very clouded.
There may be a difference of opinion about this but as they say a difference of opinion is what makes for horse races.
 

This team is balanced enough to win out the rest of the way. Yes, that is unlikely but one game at a time. The problem as I see it is how we will fare against four really good defenses. Until the games happen we just don’t know.

I think it will be tough sledding on the ground and we are going to need a good plan to get the ball to receivers and that’s going to need to include plays that can get off in that 1.5 to 2.5 second range because that’s probably all the time TM2 is going to get vs fronts like PSU. They harassed the Iowa QB all night and that’s a pretty good line - but Iowa isn’t as dynamic at WR across the board. This next one will probably come down to individual execution and a solid game plan to move the chains and keep them off balance which is sort of Captain Obvious stuff...

Beat PSU or play competitive and then Iowa, WI look more attainable. Sell out on the run and hope the back end can hold up.
 

GopherJack said:
Would GH'ers be happy with a 2-2 finish to end the year? (leaving us at 10-2)
Click to expand...

I would regardless of who the 2 wins are against. Of course the happiest 10-2 for me would be IA and Wisc wins.
 



I'd be happy with 10-2. Even if one of the wins is against NW, as long as we win the Axe and the West in the last game!
 

I'd be happy to finish 10-2 if it meant we won the West and were going to Indianapolis.

But I'll admit I'd also feel a twinge of disappointment at missing a really big opportunity. We have the chance to do more, to accomplish something really memorable. I'd like to see the Gophers show that they can beat top teams, rather than merely compete against them.

I also think Iowa and Wisconsin are good teams with weaknesses. They aren't great teams. They are beatable.
 

They're gonna win the West barring injuries...and I will be ECSTATIC with a division championship and appearance in Indy.

They've been far too dominant these past 5 weeks for anyone to reasonably expect them to just fold in these final 4 games. I wouldn't be surprised in the least if they won them all...and the worst I can predict is 2-2. I guess that could still lead to Wisconsin winning the title, but if I were to predict a win in any of the big 3 games remaining, it would be against Wisconsin. Team matches up spectacularly well and the game is at home.
 

I think in the end I could be happy with 8-4 for this season. Obviously being 8-0, you'd hate to lose your last 4.

So end of season, I'll be happy either way at this point, but I also wouldn't say I'd be happy losing the remaining 4, especially NW.

I think we should have a very good chance at Iowa this year. They played us when we had Robb Smith last year. That's seldom discussed on here as a Robb Smith game. We all just think it was a regular loss to Iowa, but I think that game last year is one we could have won with Rossi.
 

My heart says CFP. With a two game lead and four to go, I think Indy is a good bet. I truly believe it will be a Gopher/Buckeye matchup for the BT title. Not real confident in a Gopher victory, but will be satisfied if it's competitive.
 

I know I’m going to get jumped on for this, but IF we dominate PSU in two weeks do we break into the top 4?
 

Jeshurun said:
I know I’m going to get jumped on for this, but IF we dominate PSU in two weeks do we break into the top 4?
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My original comment was going to be no, but the top three should be some combination of OSU, Clemson and the winner of LSU and Alabama.

So, if someone gets blown out in the LSU/Alabama game, it is possible we jump to 4 IF we dominate PSU.
 

Penn State will be a reality check. If we win, then we're a legitimate top 10 team. If we lose but its close, still top 20. I won't mention the other potential outcome as I don't think its likely.
 

Jeshurun said:
I know I’m going to get jumped on for this, but IF we dominate PSU in two weeks do we break into the top 4?
Click to expand...

Top 4, not likely in my opinion. Top 8 definitely. There will be too many skeptics if we win that game still. This is a team trying to overcome decades of being seen as a dormant, average, non-threatening Power 5 school. We’ve been given little to no credit with our 8-0 record so far. Just now we’re scratching the surface of being recognized nationally. If we obliterate Penn State, and I mean totally take them to school, then maybe top 4. But it would need to be in combination with top 8 teams looking weak against teams or losing this week and next as well.


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The calm before the storm hits

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Dreams go up in smoke in Gopher land, Twins land, Vikings land. Fleck has engineered a remarkable turnaround and this is a good Gophers team, but not up to the CFP or OSU if they win the west.

Happy to be proven wrong!
 

If you rank the remaining schedule from hardest to easiest:

1. PSU - No.5 in the nation coming to town for a battle of unbeatens! It don't get much bigger than this! It's hard to find flaws with the Lions, have to see what Pitt did to slow them down.

2. @ Iowa - This isn't looking as daunting as it used to. The Iowa offense is fairly anemic, I like our chances in what should be a very toughly contested game.

3. Wisconsin - We match up well with the Badgers. But, you can throw the records out any time we play for the Axe! This will be either a very close game or a blow-out one way or the other. Too much emotion in this game!

4. @ NW - Really, at this point, losing here would be a major disappointment. Our offense should be more than capable of outscoring the Wildcats.

I see 2-2 as the minimum acceptable record out of these four games with us favored to beat NW, toss-ups with Iowa and Whisky and a 40% chance of topping PSU. 3-1 gives us the West!

Should be fun.

Go Gophers!
 

Hoping the Gopher coaching staff is looking to the games Penn State didn’t win by much, and taking notes. Pitt and Iowa were close to finding a way. Let’s hope we can build on their strategies.

Iowa doesn’t scare me much, but playing in Iowa scares me. I’ll be at the game. Hoping I don’t drive back that day saddened.

Northwestern, playing at NW seems to be tough for the Gophers regardless of where either team is at record wise. I think this season it’s hard for me to see us losing to them. But the chances of it being a trap game are there, this is the Big Ten.

Wisconsin has flaws, and losing two in a row taking them far away from CFP hopes could have partly deflated them emotionally. By the time they come here I hope they’ve got little left in the tank to throw our way.

I think 4-0 is definitely possible, a lot of years this would be a crazy claim to make, but not this year.

I think 3-1 is more likely. A loss to one of the three ranked teams we have left feels bound to happen. I’m just hoping of these three games, Wisconsin isn’t the one we lose. The Axe needs to stay here


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voted for big west but i dont agree with the caveat of not ready for the big boys. I firmly believe with our balanced Offense and stout D we can hang with anyone. Wisconsin is still a 1D offense with JT. Thats why they lose to OSU bigtime, they dont have the playmakers at WR like we do. I for one dont think that PSU is that great and wont be shocked if we take it to them. We got a punchers chance baby and thats all we need!
 

Man what I would give to see us just totally destroy Penn State. What would the college football world do? Can you imagine the college football coverage of that? We’d be the talk of the nation the entire week following.


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I have not been this excited for a game since 2003 MI. That being said I hope we get the close W but I still believe this team will do great things if they keep it competitive win/ lose.
 

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