We beat Iowa 51-14 last year...

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Great Plains Gopher

Great Plains Gopher

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and this year, reasonably, they could go into the Nebraska game 11-0. Okay, they have an easier schedule, but did beat Pitt, Wisconsin at Madison, and Northwestern. Meanwhile, we are floundering. Where's the fairness?
 

You never know. We could very well go in there and upset them, stranger things have happened both good and bad, mostly bad to this program
 

Great Plains Gopher said:
and this year, reasonably, they could go into the Nebraska game 11-0. Okay, they have an easier schedule, but did beat Pitt, Wisconsin at Madison, and Northwestern. Meanwhile, we are floundering. Where's the fairness?
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This feels like a post simply trying to stir the pot/troll. If not, I will just say quit with the self-pity fest.
 

It's a fair question to ask. The Gophers dominated Iowa in every phase of the game last year, a game that lots of Gopher fans chalked up as a loss after the Gophers fell on their face at Illinois. Iowa lost a top-5 pick in the draft, and have lost their best defensive player in Ott and here they sit, perfect. They're having the season lots of Gopher fans thought they could have this year, myself included.
 

I don't know if the Gophers blowout Iowa last year if Maxx didn't make that insane one handed grab on 3rd down...which is still the best catch of his career. Had that been an incomplete pass, the Gophers punt only up 14-7.
 


GopherWeatherGuy said:
I don't know if the Gophers blowout Iowa last year if Maxx didn't make that insane one handed grab on 3rd down...which is still the best catch of his career. Had that been an incomplete pass, the Gophers punt only up 14-7.
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Dude, we won by 37.
Great catch. Wasn't worth 37 points.
 

Great Plains Gopher said:
and this year, reasonably, they could go into the Nebraska game 11-0. Okay, they have an easier schedule, but did beat Pitt, Wisconsin at Madison, and Northwestern. Meanwhile, we are floundering. Where's the fairness?
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The fairness is that Floyd is home in Minnesota
 

I don't get this "fairness" of which you speak. As Clint Eastwood famously stated "'Deserve's' got nothin' to do with it."
 

Stave trips over a lineman on the 1-yard line or else Wisconsin scores and very likely wins the game over Iowa
Koehn hits a 57-yard FG or else the Pitt game goes into OT
They were tied with Iowa State with under 3 mins left

The margin for error in college football is very small for most teams. Hate the cliche or not - most games come down to about 5-10 difference-making plays.
 



Spoofin said:
Dude, we won by 37.
Great catch. Wasn't worth 37 points.
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Like I said the Gophers would have had to punt, giving Iowa a chance to go down to score to make it 14-14. It would have been an entirely different game. Instead the Gophers go on to make it 21-7, and put the boot to Iowa's throat from there. Go back and watch the game, that catch was definitely a momentum shifter.

Either way it doesn't matter, the Gophers were better than Iowa last year...but I don't think they were really 37 points better than Iowa. That's just how one game went.
 

josh087 said:
Stave trips over a lineman on the 1-yard line or else Wisconsin scores and very likely wins the game over Iowa
Koehn hits a 57-yard FG or else the Pitt game goes into OT
They were tied with Iowa State with under 3 mins left

The margin for error in college football is very small for most teams. Hate the cliche or not - most games come down to about 5-10 difference-making plays.
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Very good points. Thanks.
 

supadupafly said:
This feels like a post simply trying to stir the pot/troll. If not, I will just say quit with the self-pity fest.
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Hell, I'm looking at that thinking this can be the Gophers next year. Season not what I expected, but I expect us to win at least one of the trophy games.
 

josh087 said:
Stave trips over a lineman on the 1-yard line or else Wisconsin scores and very likely wins the game over Iowa
Koehn hits a 57-yard FG or else the Pitt game goes into OT
They were tied with Iowa State with under 3 mins left

The margin for error in college football is very small for most teams. Hate the cliche or not - most games come down to about 5-10 difference-making plays.
Click to expand...

Very true. What's more, these three hog-eye wins were not nearly as impressive as our beat down victories put on major college football powerhouses CSU, KSU, and O-hi-o.
 



I don't know why some people have such a difficult time looking at injuries as a legitimate factor in how some seasons ebb and flow.

In 2012, Northwestern went 10-3 and were something like in the top 3 in the nation for least amount of games lost due to injury;
In the two seasons after that, leading up to this season, they went 5-7. Fitzgerald is suddenly an idiot?

Take a look at Iowa this year. They have lost almost ZERO starters from the beginning of the season. It MAKES a difference.

http://www.donbest.com/ncaaf/injuries/

OR:

http://www.statfox.com/cfb/injuries.asp

That, and like josh087 (good to hear from you, captain!) mentioned; the line between winning and losing is microscopic, often 2-4 plays per game that swing the needle one way or the other. The breaks always even themselves out, I'm not too worried about it.

But apparently to some, injuries are just an excuse.... Oh well....
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
I don't know why some people have such a difficult time looking at injuries as a legitimate factor in how some seasons ebb and flow.

In 2012, Northwestern went 10-3 and were something like in the top 3 in the nation for least amount of games lost due to injury;
In the two seasons after that, leading up to this season, they went 5-7. Fitzgerald is suddenly an idiot?

Take a look at Iowa this year. They have lost almost ZERO starters from the beginning of the season. It MAKES a difference.

http://www.donbest.com/ncaaf/injuries/

OR:

http://www.statfox.com/cfb/injuries.asp

That, and like josh087 (good to hear from you, captain!) mentioned; the line between winning and losing is microscopic, often 2-4 plays per game that swing the needle one way or the other. The breaks always even themselves out, I'm not too worried about it.

But apparently to some, injuries are just an excuse.... Oh well....
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I believe Iowa went in to the Northwestern game down their best defensive player, most productive WR, and both starting tackles. http://whotv.com/2015/10/13/no-17-h...-several-injuries-against-no-20-northwestern/

They then lost their RB during that game. I know their best defensive player (Ott) is out for the year.
 


GopherWeatherGuy said:
Like I said the Gophers would have had to punt, giving Iowa a chance to go down to score to make it 14-14. It would have been an entirely different game. Instead the Gophers go on to make it 21-7, and put the boot to Iowa's throat from there. Go back and watch the game, that catch was definitely a momentum shifter.

Either way it doesn't matter, the Gophers were better than Iowa last year...but I don't think they were really 37 points better than Iowa. That's just how one game went.
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Just in case Spoofin doesn't have time to go back and watch last year's Iowa game as you suggest, I did, and I actually watched it a few times since last season. My conclusion? He is right and you are either a delusional Iowa fan, or a self mutilator.

You are correct about two things: First, if Williams hadn't made that catch and the Gophers had punted, Iowa would have indeed had an opportunity to go down and score. But since I have rewatched the entire game, I can report Iowa actually had an opportunity to go down and score after several other possessions too... And they didn't (well, at least until garbage time anyway). I also agree the Gophers were not really 37 points better than Iowa last season. Really they were 44 points better. That garbage-time Iowa td still bugs me.

It was a beat down. A classic beat down. If you want to imagine Iowa being competitive in that game, you might as well do it with something more exciting than Williams failing to make a single third down catch. After all, it is possible the entire Gopher team could have caught salmonella from the team meal Friday night. It could have happened and if so, Iowa not only would have won, but I would argue they would have won easily.
 

Schnauzer said:
Just in case Spoofin doesn't have time to go back and watch last year's Iowa game as you suggest, I did, and I actually watched it a few times since last season. My conclusion? He is right and you are either a delusional Iowa fan, or a self mutilator.

You are correct about two things: First, if Williams hadn't made that catch and the Gophers had punted, Iowa would have indeed had an opportunity to go down and score. But since I have rewatched the entire game, I can report Iowa actually had an opportunity to go down and score after several other possessions too... And they didn't (well, at least until garbage time anyway). I also agree the Gophers were not really 37 points better than Iowa last season. Really they were 44 points better. That garbage-time Iowa td still bugs me.

It was a beat down. A classic beat down. If you want to imagine Iowa being competitive in that game, you might as well do it with something more exciting than Williams failing to make a single third down catch. After all, it is possible the entire Gopher team could have caught salmonella from the team meal Friday night. It could have happened and if so, Iowa not only would have won, but I would argue they would have won easily.
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Or maybe I'm just a bigger believer in momentum swings changing outcomes of college football games. I'll clear the air on one thing though, I'll become a self mutilator before I ever become an Iowa fan.
 

Last year, after Iowa's first drive, the Gophers dominated both lines of scrimmage. It could happen again this year and maybe this bye week will get the team back on track.
 

Schnauzer said:
Just in case Spoofin doesn't have time to go back and watch last year's Iowa game as you suggest, I did, and I actually watched it a few times since last season. My conclusion? He is right and you are either a delusional Iowa fan, or a self mutilator.

You are correct about two things: First, if Williams hadn't made that catch and the Gophers had punted, Iowa would have indeed had an opportunity to go down and score. But since I have rewatched the entire game, I can report Iowa actually had an opportunity to go down and score after several other possessions too... And they didn't (well, at least until garbage time anyway). I also agree the Gophers were not really 37 points better than Iowa last season. Really they were 44 points better. That garbage-time Iowa td still bugs me.

It was a beat down. A classic beat down. If you want to imagine Iowa being competitive in that game, you might as well do it with something more exciting than Williams failing to make a single third down catch. After all, it is possible the entire Gopher team could have caught salmonella from the team meal Friday night. It could have happened and if so, Iowa not only would have won, but I would argue they would have won easily.
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I also remember late in the game we got a tackle close to, if not in, Iowa's endzone. Looked like it might have been a safety had it been reviewed. Iowa's offense lined up pretty quickly afterward to get a play off. I don't remember if this was on the drive that led to their garbage time touchdown or not. Potentially 53-7 instead of 51-14?
 

Cayman said:
I also remember late in the game we got a tackle close to, if not in, Iowa's endzone. Looked like it might have been a safety had it been reviewed. Iowa's offense lined up pretty quickly afterward to get a play off. I don't remember if this was on the drive that led to their garbage time touchdown or not. Potentially 53-7 instead of 51-14?
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But if Maxx hadn't made that catch, Iowa may have won the game. Momentum!
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
Or maybe I'm just a bigger believer in momentum swings changing outcomes of college football games. I'll clear the air on one thing though, I'll become a self mutilator before I ever become an Iowa fan.
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What was the single play that stripped the Gophers of momentum and cost the game against Iowa in the last game in the dome, 2008?

You have me feeling a lot better about that game. If only...
 


Spoofin said:
But if Maxx hadn't made that catch, Iowa may have won the game. Momentum!
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I never said that, but whatever you want to make up.

That same Iowa team went on to win @Illinois by 16 the next week, you know the same place the Gophers lost before the Iowa game. But the Gophers were soooo much better than Iowa last year. Emotion/momentum plays a huge role in college football, that's what makes it fun. Iowa just had a bad game.

My whole point in even bringing it up relates back to what the OP was getting at. I think the talent level is pretty even across all of the teams in the west. Similar to the Iowa game last year, I don't think the Gophers are that much worse than Nebraska/Northwestern this year. With next year's schedule, the Gophers could be 'this year's Iowa'
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
I never said that, but whatever you want to make up.

That same Iowa team went on to win @Illinois by 16 the next week, you know the same place the Gophers lost before the Iowa game. But the Gophers were soooo much better than Iowa last year. Emotion/momentum plays a huge role in college football, that's what makes it fun. Iowa just had a bad game.

My whole point in even bringing it up relates back to what the OP was getting at. I think the talent level is pretty even across all of the teams in the west. Similar to the Iowa game last year, I don't think the Gophers are that much worse than Nebraska/Northwestern this year. With next year's schedule, the Gophers could be 'this year's Iowa'
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I am looking forward to ruining iowa's season this year. I will worry about next year, come next year. Ski-U-Mah! Floyd is staying in Minneapolis for another year.
 

Mental preparation and momentum are two huge factors in winning games.

GopherWeatherGuy said:
I never said that, but whatever you want to make up.

That same Iowa team went on to win @Illinois by 16 the next week, you know the same place the Gophers lost before the Iowa game. But the Gophers were soooo much better than Iowa last year. Emotion/momentum plays a huge role in college football, that's what makes it fun. Iowa just had a bad game.

My whole point in even bringing it up relates back to what the OP was getting at. I think the talent level is pretty even across all of the teams in the west. Similar to the Iowa game last year, I don't think the Gophers are that much worse than Nebraska/Northwestern this year. With next year's schedule, the Gophers could be 'this year's Iowa'
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If one team clearly has superior size and talent then that team isn't as dependent on momentum and metal preparation. But big plays are a huge factor in an even game going in or entering a game as an underdog. I'm with GWG..take this years NW game...their sideline attitude vs ours. Their mental outlook versus ours. Advantage clearly NW.. much bigger factor to me than them having more talent. Confidence is contagious as are big plays...each game is different no matter what team you are...again the more superior the talent the less of a factor but the Gophers don't have superior talent making momentum critical to controlling games...big plays are more than just the outcome of that one play.
 

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