Are the Gophers better than everyone says they are?

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Cobra

Cobra

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I get it. So many opinions during the lead up to the season, but nobody really knows how it will play out.

I have a gut feeling that Fleck has this twinkle in his eye and a quiet confidence in this years team that says we are better than the collective national media is saying we are. He knows something they don’t. They are underestimating the Gophers and will continue to until they can’t anymore.

Teams will look past us as an easy win to pad their record.
Bad idea. We’ll know soon enough...
 

Gophers gotta win a division or pod or whatever before they get the benefit of the doubt beyond some dark horse predictions from media folks.

But none of that matters if you do the thing / win the games.

This year though, would be amazing considering the schedule.
 
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A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
Gophers gotta wind a division or pod or whatever before they get the benefit of the doubt beyond some dark horse predictions from media folks.

But none of that matters if you do the thing / win the games.

This year though, would be amazing considering the schedule.
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I expect them to win the West with several azz whoppings along the way.
 

Cobra said:
I get it. So many opinions during the lead up to the season, but nobody really knows how it will play out.

I have a gut feeling that Fleck has this twinkle in his eye and a quiet confidence in this years team that says we are better than the collective national media is saying we are. He knows something they don’t. They are underestimating the Gophers and will continue to until they can’t anymore.

Teams will look past us as an easy win to pad their record.
Bad idea. We’ll know soon enough...
Click to expand...
Media might overlook us. I guarantee our opponents don’t.
 



I don’t think any team is going to look past the Gophers, they will bring their A game knowing we are a formidable opponent! It’s going to be an interesting year as we make the transformation to AK slinging the pigskin!
 

A lot of hopium being snorted but that is what preseason is all about. Right now we are tied with Alabama, LSU etc for a playoff spot! Go GOPHERS!
 

I might be drunk on the koolaid but this team feels like it's gonna surprise. Way too much focus by media on the loss of talent and no focus on the upgrades. We've been remarkably resilient since '19 and we have depth and consistency. This will be a 'make some noise' year akin to 2019. Record might not be the same but we're gonna kill one of the giants this year and take home the pig.
 




This team should not surprise anyone. It is PJ’s best team to date.
 

Outside of MN, 8-4 is seen as a Gopher ceiling and 6-6 is the type of year expected as a baseline through yearly rebuilding.

Meanwhile many of us now see 8-4 as the baseline with regular reloading, with potentially better seasons very possible year in and year out.

So there is a definite disconnect when it comes to annual expectations.
 

Cobra said:
I get it. So many opinions during the lead up to the season, but nobody really knows how it will play out.

I have a gut feeling that Fleck has this twinkle in his eye and a quiet confidence in this years team that says we are better than the collective national media is saying we are. He knows something they don’t. They are underestimating the Gophers and will continue to until they can’t anymore.

Teams will look past us as an easy win to pad their record.
Bad idea. We’ll know soon enough...
Click to expand...
Few if anyone will be overlooking us this year. They all know we are a tough team to play. That said, we probably are better than most think but not sure just how much better.
 

I'm at the point where anything less than 8-4 is a disappointment. We are better than most click bate basement prognosticators think. Watching the B1G crew when they were in town showed me that we are a formidable B1G team that knows what they are doing across the board. Fleck also is making comments like, "this is the hardest working team I've had." "They take on every challenge we give them." 8-4 has to be the bench mark every year going forward.
 



Schnauzer said:
Outside of MN, 8-4 is seen as a Gopher ceiling and 6-6 is the type of year expected as a baseline through yearly rebuilding.

Meanwhile many of us now see 8-4 as the baseline with regular reloading, with potentially better seasons very possible year in and year out.

So there is a definite disconnect when it comes to annual expectations.
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Well said.
 

This is why you play the game... tick tock, tick tock... See you all in 16 days.
 

I’m expecting a ten win season. That depends on a lot of things breaking MN’s way whereas in the past they haven’t. Seasons never go exactly as we think they will.
 

I'm cautiously optimistic given Rossi's track record on D and what I think is clear improvement at QB and WR combined with a (likely) modified approach to play calling on O. Still, there's reason for pessimism too.
  • Schedule, obviously. Way tougher than in recent years.
  • Lost a LOT of talent - much of it to the NFL. Portal was a net gain IMO, but I don't see NFL caliber players stepping in at C, CB, & S.
  • It's not easy to replace 3 OL on a team that loves to run the ball. Remember how poorly the OL played early in 2019? I wouldn't be surprised if we see a repeat.
  • Really poor pash rush last season loses one of the most productive guys in Rush (who's still in an NFL camp). Optimistic about Joyner, Smith and Logan-Redding, but there's not much track record there.
  • If the pass rush is mediocre, I'm very concerned about the back-end of the defense having lost Smith & Howden. There's a battle to replace those guys, and perhaps I'll be surprised by who steps up, but those were VERY good players.
Still, I'm optimistic about 8 or 9 wins. PJ has proven time and again that he's recruiting B1G talent all over the field, so we'll be surprised by at least a couple guys. Rossi has proven himself to be one of the top DCs in the country. The passing game should be much more explosive. I expect a LOT of very close games, so break out the pepto.
 

People that don't watch the team think the offense is a huge question mark with the loss of Mo, Tanner and Schmitz. They don't know how that offense probably limited the team and probably don't remember 2019. They also don't know about the huge improvement the team has made at WR, RB depth (we don't know yet if there is a star in the making yet, but it's a lot deeper), and even at QB with AK just hitting the field last year with a mediocre completion percentage (with worst WRs) yet with a very good QBR. They also don't know that there are experienced O lineman in the wings.

Still, no writer is going to stick their neck out with the Gophs until they see the team on the field. For better or for worse, the Gophs will have plenty of chances early on prove themselves against quality teams. The bright side of a tough schedule is that if the Gophs pull of some wins against NE and @ UNC early, they will be ranked probably top 15ish.
 

Simply continuing from last year's predictive rankings used to set all Vegas lines would have put the Gophers #18 in preseason polls. Not one voter in either major poll put the Gophers even where they ended the prior season.

I can't ever recall a time when the Gophers started a season ranked higher than the prior season's end. Routinely, the Gophers are expected to get worse but do not.

The Gophers and Northwestern have been the best P5 teams against the spread over the past decade, meaning they often are underestimated.

The Gophers of the Kill-Claeys-Fleck era have consistently been a favorite of the sharps and the computers much more than the media.

The good news is that there are plenty of games to prove 'em wrong this year!
 

Cobra said:
I get it. So many opinions during the lead up to the season, but nobody really knows how it will play out.

I have a gut feeling that Fleck has this twinkle in his eye and a quiet confidence in this years team that says we are better than the collective national media is saying we are. He knows something they don’t. They are underestimating the Gophers and will continue to until they can’t anymore.

Teams will look past us as an easy win to pad their record.
Bad idea. We’ll know soon enough...
Click to expand...
For a moment there I thought you were a troll for even asking this question. But then you totally redeemed yourself with the bad idea comment!

I think we are in good shape and only the strong schedule is reason for lowered expectations.

The line is going to be strong.
Our QB is more mobile with a stronger arm.
We still have Rossi.

The biggest change is the loss of our tried and true battering ram Mo. I believe in the staffs ability to keep the RB stable stocked with talent and that the new starter will be more of a home run threat than we have had recently.
 

Schnauzer said:
Outside of MN, 8-4 is seen as a Gopher ceiling and 6-6 is the type of year expected as a baseline through yearly rebuilding.

Meanwhile many of us now see 8-4 as the baseline with regular reloading, with potentially better seasons very possible year in and year out.

So there is a definite disconnect when it comes to annual expectations.
Click to expand...
Wonder why 8-4 could be viewed as a ceiling for a team that won 29 games the last three (actual) seasons?
 

Otis said:
For a moment there I thought you were a troll for even asking this question. But then you totally redeemed yourself with the bad idea comment!

I think we are in good shape and only the strong schedule is reason for lowered expectations.

The line is going to be strong.
Our QB is more mobile with a stronger arm.
We still have Rossi.

The biggest change is the loss of our tried and true battering ram Mo. I believe in the staffs ability to keep the RB stable stocked with talent and that the new starter will be more of a home run threat than we have had recently.
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Can’t replace Mo but backs this year will not face stacked box consistently like Mo did.
 



gopherbadgerman said:
2019 was better
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As I recall it there was a significant amount of optimism and hype around the 2019 team at least among fans here, not least because of the schedule. There was some über talent on that team. Bateman, etc. I could be wrong but I think there is maybe more cautious or more guarded optimism this year than in 2019 (when most of us expected a breakout season), and a tougher schedule to boot. But, it’s also a great opportunity for new or younger players and Fleck to make a statement. I like challenges and this schedule is strenuous but that is based only on recency bias and projection.. Anticipation building.
 

2019 was a very good year and should be our floor going forward. Fleck has the ability to do that. Going to take large amounts of NIL on this new college landscape with the portal, realignment, and NIL. We need to fill the stadium and finish it. Good Gophers do that.
 

I think this team has a chance to be better than 2019. But we may not see that in the wins/losses due to the schedule being so much tougher this year.

I'm optimistic as usual and I think we'll find out a lot about this team in 15 days.
 

Rockraven said:
2019 was a very good year and should be our floor going forward. Fleck has the ability to do that. Going to take large amounts of NIL on this new college landscape with the portal, realignment, and NIL. We need to fill the stadium and finish it. Good Gophers do that.
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Being ranked #10 in the country should be the floor? Ha
 

Rockraven said:
2019 was a very good year and should be our floor going forward. Fleck has the ability to do that. Going to take large amounts of NIL on this new college landscape with the portal, realignment, and NIL. We need to fill the stadium and finish it. Good Gophers do that.
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10-2 regular season (11-2 with bowl win) should be the FLOOR?? Come on man.

This is the sort if dumbass thinking Nebraska fans had that has set the program back a decade. 😂 8-10 wins should be our sweet spot most years and with stars aligning (injuries, good bounces, etc) for a superb season sprinkled in.
 

pharmacygopher said:
10-2 regular season (11-2 with bowl win) should be the FLOOR?? Come on man.

This is the sort if dumbass thinking Nebraska fans had that has set the program back a decade. 😂 8-10 wins should be our sweet spot most years and with stars aligning (injuries, good bounces, etc) for a superb season sprinkled in.
Click to expand...
Check out the serial posting on the Basketball Board if you really want to see it..
 

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