College Football Bowl Projections for 2021-22 (Quick Lane Bowl: Minnesota vs Toledo)

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a) That would be very disappointing.
b) Doesn't seem like they bothered to do any research whatsoever. Northwestern is bound to take a big step backwards this year.....and Nebraska? Wake me when they actually do something.
 

Oh man some fans would absolutely go bonkers.

Not sure I'd be super happy about it either but ... 2019 doesn't suddenly make you too good for the Quick Lane bowl ... if we want to be too good for the quick lane bowl, team needs win your way out of it for more than a year...
 

stocker08 said:
a) That would be very disappointing.
b) Doesn't seem like they bothered to do any research whatsoever. Northwestern is bound to take a big step backwards this year.....and Nebraska? Wake me when they actually do something.
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This is just throwing darts at a board off season filler crap. Bowl projections change rapidly as the season is going on, so trying to make any sort of accurate guess before a single game is played is just worthless.
 

Curiously, Athlon also picks the Gophers 3rd in the West, so the following would all jump the Gophers:

West #5 Nebraska (Guaranteed Rate vs K-State)
East #5 Maryland (Pinstripe vs Virginia)
West #4 Northwestern (Redbox vs Cal)
East #4 Michigan (Music City vs Tennessee)

It's July and we're already getting jumped by 3-4 teams in the bowl order?
 


fmlizard said:
Curiously, Athlon also picks the Gophers 3rd in the West, so the following would all jump the Gophers:

West #5 Nebraska (Guaranteed Rate vs K-State)
East #5 Maryland (Pinstripe vs Virginia)
West #4 Northwestern (Redbox vs Cal)
East #4 Michigan (Music City vs Tennessee)

It's July and we're already getting jumped by 3-4 teams in the bowl order?
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Yeah, I'd be pretty shocked to get jumped by either Northwestern or Maryland. I don't think either program travels very well for bowl games.
 

I don't know why pundits aren't climbing on board the Gopher train. What am I missing here?

1. A fifth-year QB who was magical two years ago
2. An offensive line that is talented, has future pros on it, and might be the most experienced in the nation
3. A defense that can't possibly be worse than last year, and just might take big strides forward
4. A kicker - an actual kicker! - who was the best special teamer in the MAC last year
5. One of the best RBs in the nation
6. An actual full offseason of practice with our offensive coordinator

I'm jacked up about this season. This absolutely feels like a 10-2 year to me. Am I high? Drunk? Delusional?
 

Urbandale said:
I don't know why pundits aren't climbing on board the Gopher train. What am I missing here?

1. A fifth-year QB who was magical two years ago
2. An offensive line that is talented, has future pros on it, and might be the most experienced in the nation
3. A defense that can't possibly be worse than last year, and just might take big strides forward
4. A kicker - an actual kicker! - who was the best special teamer in the MAC last year
5. One of the best RBs in the nation
6. An actual full offseason of practice with our offensive coordinator

I'm jacked up about this season. This absolutely feels like a 10-2 year to me. Am I high? Drunk? Delusional?
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I'm not disputing any of those things, and I am optimistic myself, but a lot of fan bases could list out things they are optimistic about right now. Remember the pundits are looking at everyone, not just us.
 

fmlizard said:
Curiously, Athlon also picks the Gophers 3rd in the West, so the following would all jump the Gophers:

West #5 Nebraska (Guaranteed Rate vs K-State)
East #5 Maryland (Pinstripe vs Virginia)
West #4 Northwestern (Redbox vs Cal)
East #4 Michigan (Music City vs Tennessee)

It's July and we're already getting jumped by 3-4 teams in the bowl order?
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Possibly different writers involved in both.

Urbandale said:
I don't know why pundits aren't climbing on board the Gopher train. What am I missing here?

1. A fifth-year QB who was magical two years ago
2. An offensive line that is talented, has future pros on it, and might be the most experienced in the nation
3. A defense that can't possibly be worse than last year, and just might take big strides forward
4. A kicker - an actual kicker! - who was the best special teamer in the MAC last year
5. One of the best RBs in the nation
6. An actual full offseason of practice with our offensive coordinator

I'm jacked up about this season. This absolutely feels like a 10-2 year to me. Am I high? Drunk? Delusional?
Click to expand...

I have high hopes for this season too.
 



MNVCGUY said:
This is just throwing darts at a board off season filler crap. Bowl projections change rapidly as the season is going on, so trying to make any sort of accurate guess before a single game is played is just worthless.
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It's kinda sorta rating the conference standings, so it's about as useful as any other preseason prediction. But, as fmlizard said, they're not following their own outlook on the division standings.
 

Urbandale said:
I don't know why pundits aren't climbing on board the Gopher train. What am I missing here?

1. A fifth-year QB who was magical two years ago
2. An offensive line that is talented, has future pros on it, and might be the most experienced in the nation
3. A defense that can't possibly be worse than last year, and just might take big strides forward
4. A kicker - an actual kicker! - who was the best special teamer in the MAC last year
5. One of the best RBs in the nation
6. An actual full offseason of practice with our offensive coordinator

I'm jacked up about this season. This absolutely feels like a 10-2 year to me. Am I high? Drunk? Delusional?
Click to expand...
The bottom line, bring in a title. Pundits are like flies on a dead horse. Raise enough stink, and they will come around.
 

i-see-broccoli.gif


I see dinks! They're everywhere!!
 

Athlon . . . . they’re nothing if not so utterly and completely predictable re: Gopher football. Their annual dirge - and it’s the same tune.
 



A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
Oh man some fans would absolutely go bonkers.

Not sure I'd be super happy about it either but ... 2019 doesn't suddenly make you too good for the Quick Lane bowl ... if we want to be too good for the quick lane bowl, team needs win your way out of it for more than a year...
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In the history of the gophers we have only been to the quick lane bowl twice despite all the doom and gloom about it every year
 


The bottom has been set. Anything better is a plus for the season...:p

Still, I've watched the GT game highlights a few times, including this...


Also for the record, stayed in touch with GT fans since the game and they are pretty much Gophers fans across the board at that site. There is a guy who's wife is a Bucky grad...sometimes hard to stomach...but they are rebuilding a few years behind us and hope this year is their 2019 as was for us.

Meanwhile looking for 2021 to be...errr...2021 for us...with 2019 as the foreshadowing...
 

GhostofBronko said:
The Quick Lane Bowl has only been played 6 times. Minnesota is the only team to have been more than once.
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It's cute what you tried to do there, but your attempted point is very misleading. The Motor City Bowl started in 2002 and then changed to the Little Caesars Bowl and then to the Quick Lane Bowl. The Big Ten has had a tie-in the whole time, but most years did not have a team who needed to go to Detroit. So while Minnesota played in it twice recently, a number of other schools have played in Detroit's bowl game - including Purdue.
 

GhostofBronko said:
The Quick Lane Bowl has only been played 6 times. Minnesota is the only team to have been more than once.
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The quick lane bowl is basically the same bowl as the little Caesar’s bowl and the motor city bowl.

feel free to pretend it isn’t if you so choose
 

🤣

🖕

That’s all I have to say to that prediction
 

Gophers1992 said:
Remember the pundits are looking at everyone, not just us.
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And therein lies the problem. When you're looking at "everybody," you're looking superficially.

So, here's what most of them will know. We were really good two years ago and not so good last year. Tanner Morgan was one of the best QBs in the nation two years ago but nothing special last year. Oh, and we have one of the biggest ground gaining running backs in the nation. But, we lost our two top receivers to the NFL in the last two years. Maybe some of them know that we have a veteran offensive line. They only have to look at the stats to know that we had a terrible defense for much of last year.

Here's what probably few of them know because they don't comb through the weeds:

We lost two out of the 7 games we played last year by missed kicks in overtime. We had no reliable kicker last year (and not a very good one the year before) but we recruited one of the very best in the nation as a transfer for this season. That's definitely going to help when we have stalled drives this year.

In addition to virtually our entire offensive line returning, we have two starters returning who missed last season. Tanner's protection should be much better this season.

The defense started out horrifically last season but improved significantly by the end of the year.

We have a linebacker who missed last year returning and one or two mature transfers at the position. We've also bolstered our defensive line that was pitiful in getting sacks and tackles for losses last season.

We've added more receivers to the team. Although none of them likely will be a Johnson or Bateman, our receiving corps should be better this year. Also, Daniel Jackson definitely improved during last season. In his first two games, he caught 3 passes. In his last two, he caught 7.
 

A lot of superficial pundits just go by recent history and, especailly, past program history. Minnesota "usually isn't that good", Nebraska "usually is good", ergo rate Nebraska higher than Minnesota.

Anyone who paid attention however to the way Gophs went into Lincoln and still beat the "Frost Warriors" with so many players out would not predict Nebraska being superior to Minnesota......
 

restovich said:
A lot of superficial pundits just go by recent history and, especailly, past program history. Minnesota "usually isn't that good", Nebraska "usually is good", ergo rate Nebraska higher than Minnesota.

Anyone who paid attention however to the way Gophs went into Lincoln and still beat the "Frost Warriors" with so many players out would not predict Nebraska being superior to Minnesota......
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Well said! However, I would say that any pundit who has the attitude that "Nebraska usually is good" has not updated that thinking by recent history. Nebraska has one winning season in the last 6 years.
 

If we do something we haven’t done for decades, beat Iowa and Wisconsin in the same season, we won’t be bound for the Quick Lane Bowl. This is an experienced team that, as of now, has a chance to beat both Iowa and Wisconsin, but there are so many variables, including psychological ones. Fingers crossed.
 

Urbandale said:
I don't know why pundits aren't climbing on board the Gopher train. What am I missing here?

1. A fifth-year QB who was magical two years ago
2. An offensive line that is talented, has future pros on it, and might be the most experienced in the nation
3. A defense that can't possibly be worse than last year, and just might take big strides forward
4. A kicker - an actual kicker! - who was the best special teamer in the MAC last year
5. One of the best RBs in the nation
6. An actual full offseason of practice with our offensive coordinator

I'm jacked up about this season. This absolutely feels like a 10-2 year to me. Am I high? Drunk? Delusional?
Click to expand...
You aren't gonna get a better chance to take advantage of Ohio State on the schedule. 5th Year QB versus 1st Start QB. At home. Just hope we aren't all on lockdown by September 1, so the fans can have a chance to affect the outcome.
 

BilldGopher said:
The bottom has been set. Anything better is a plus for the season...:p

Still, I've watched the GT game highlights a few times, including this...


Also for the record, stayed in touch with GT fans since the game and they are pretty much Gophers fans across the board at that site. There is a guy who's wife is a Bucky grad...sometimes hard to stomach...but they are rebuilding a few years behind us and hope this year is their 2019 as was for us.

Meanwhile looking for 2021 to be...errr...2021 for us...with 2019 as the foreshadowing...
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Cool. Other than my rack full of maroon and gold....I've got a couple Washington Huskies shirts....and then a small collection of GT stuff. The Yellow Jackets have always been my second rooting option. Running a triple-option in a power five was so interesting and cool. Paul Johnson was a great coach. Plus....one of my favorite football players of all time came from GT (Calvin Johnson).
 

Football is a constant zig-zag, 2018 was a zig, 2019 was a zag, 2020 was a zig year.

The Zig-Zag Man is seeing a Zag year in 2021. He seems to beam after the Spring Practices.

The Wise Man 2.jpg
 

BilldGopher said:
The bottom has been set. Anything better is a plus for the season...:p

Still, I've watched the GT game highlights a few times, including this...


Also for the record, stayed in touch with GT fans since the game and they are pretty much Gophers fans across the board at that site. There is a guy who's wife is a Bucky grad...sometimes hard to stomach...but they are rebuilding a few years behind us and hope this year is their 2019 as was for us.

Meanwhile looking for 2021 to be...errr...2021 for us...with 2019 as the foreshadowing...
Click to expand...
No. 93 with GT will remember that pounding that he got from Fa'alele for the rest of his life. He became a human whoopie cushion.
 

Would definitely attend any bowl game that isn’t in Detroit. And I like Detroit! Great food and breweries. But if I’m flying in December it better be mountains or beaches.
 

I'm pretty confident this team can do better than Quick Lane. But lots of variables could always change that.
 

GhostofBronko said:
The Quick Lane Bowl has only been played 6 times. Minnesota is the only team to have been more than once.
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Also the only team to win it twice! And sport two MVPs - Mitch Leidner and Mo Ibrahim.

It was sort of weird that the Gophers never attended the Motor City / Little Caesars versions of the bowl for almost 20 years in spite of flirting with it many times.
 

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