Why Minnesota was smart to not accept bowl bids (music city canceled)

Donate To GopherHole
S

Some guy

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 1, 2014
Messages
22,579
Reaction score
11,805
Points
113
Iowa bowl game just got canceled. So Iowa players don’t see their families for the holidays for no reason, in the end.

unless you are New Years 6 or about 6-7 other bowls that are truly meaningful for programs, (like I’d argue the New Year’s Day bowls are really important to Indiana and northwestern) dumb to play this year. We will see how many more get canceled.
 

Probably true, but had Minnesota accepted a bid, they would have played Boise State yesterday in Phoenix. They likely would have gotten that game in, an extra week of practice, another game of experience for the young Gopher players on defense against a good, but beatable team. So, there would have been some benefit, I think.

But, choosing to go home and spend an extra week with family members you haven't seen in five months makes total sense, as well.
 

tjgopher said:
Probably true, but had Minnesota accepted a bid, they would have played Boise State yesterday in Phoenix. They likely would have gotten that game in, an extra week of practice, another game of experience for the young Gopher players on defense against a good, but beatable team. So, there would have been some benefit, I think.

But, choosing to go home and spend an extra week with family members you haven't seen in five months makes total sense, as well.
Click to expand...
In a situation like this year. This is absolutely the only route to go.
 

Totally the smart move since the game may never happen.
Everyone has the option to "extra practice" this year if they wanted it, but the Big Ten season went late enough as it is, so the difference in "extra practice" isn't that signficant.

Let the kids go home. Spring ball will be here soon enough.
 

The decision to skip the bowl game showed me once again how in tune PJ is with his team. It's been a trying year and was time to let the team spend some family time. In addition, it's not like there are seniors that are going to miss a bowl game in their final season, unless they choose not to come back.
 


Face The Facts said:
Totally the smart move since the game may never happen.
Everyone has the option to "extra practice" this year if they wanted it, but the Big Ten season went late enough as it is, so the difference in "extra practice" isn't that signficant.

Let the kids go home. Spring ball will be here soon enough.
Click to expand...
And gophers would’ve likely already played. Meaning the “extra practice” would’ve only been about 4-5 practices installing a game plan.
Not the usual 2-3 weeks of practice
 

college football this year was much more of a grind then any other year with covid. Players werent allowd to see their families or have a night on the town for 5+ months. Life is basically practice and online school. Not competing in a crappy bowl game is totally the right choice. Players need a break!
 

#2Gopher said:
In a situation like this year. This is absolutely the only route to go.
Click to expand...
So you would have been highly critical of Fleck had he decided to accept a bowl bid...
 

If the Gophers had gone 6-1 or 5-2, would anyone on this board be advocating to turn down a bowl bid - especially a high-profile bowl game?

Fleck may be genuine in his reasons for declining - but it is also a convenient way to just pack it in on a season that didn't live up to expectations.

I have covered high school teams that went 0-8 or 1-7 in the regular season, and they still wanted to keep playing, even if it meant getting drilled in the first round of the playoffs.

Granted, this year had unique circumstances, but when a team has a chance to compete and says "no, we don't want to play," that just seems wrong to me. personal opinion - I understand others may disagree.
 



short ornery norwegian said:
If the Gophers had gone 6-1 or 5-2, would anyone on this board be advocating to turn down a bowl bid - especially a high-profile bowl game?

Fleck may be genuine in his reasons for declining - but it is also a convenient way to just pack it in on a season that didn't live up to expectations.

I have covered high school teams that went 0-8 or 1-7 in the regular season, and they still wanted to keep playing, even if it meant getting drilled in the first round of the playoffs.

Granted, this year had unique circumstances, but when a team has a chance to compete and says "no, we don't want to play," that just seems wrong to me. personal opinion - I understand others may disagree.
Click to expand...
Here is a list of bowls the gophers should have been willing to play in this year:
New Years 6
 

short ornery norwegian said:
If the Gophers had gone 6-1 or 5-2, would anyone on this board be advocating to turn down a bowl bid - especially a high-profile bowl game?

Fleck may be genuine in his reasons for declining - but it is also a convenient way to just pack it in on a season that didn't live up to expectations.

I have covered high school teams that went 0-8 or 1-7 in the regular season, and they still wanted to keep playing, even if it meant getting drilled in the first round of the playoffs.

Granted, this year had unique circumstances, but when a team has a chance to compete and says "no, we don't want to play," that just seems wrong to me. personal opinion - I understand others may disagree.
Click to expand...


You have a point, Fleck may have made a different decision if the Gophers had more wins and a better bowl, but they didn't...and so he made a decision for the team he has, and the year they've had, and those decisions don't have to come to the same conclusion as in a hypothetical situation. Making these decisions with positive intention are part of why we pay him big bucks and have high expectations.
 

PMWinSTP said:
So you would have been highly critical of Fleck had he decided to accept a bowl bid...
Click to expand...
Based on the way the season played out for the Gophers, yes I would have been highly critical of Fleck had he decided to accept a bowl bid this year. Yeah fans would have liked a game. Wasn't fair to the players though being stuck in a room doing basically nothing while waiting for the game to happen. Players needed a big time break.
 

Texas bowl now canceled.

TCU AND ARKANSAS now kept their kids practicing through the holidays for no reason
 



The Wisconsin bowl game will be played. That would've been the bowl we would've gone to if he had beaten Wisconsin.

That said, I'm not certain Fleck would've accepted it anyway. And that's fine, for this bum season.
 


You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom