Do you expect a Bowl game next year?

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ruppertflywheel

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Was it Lou Holtz that said: " There is never a bad Bowl game" Like many of you during the Mason era I went too most of the Bowl games and we really enjoy them. Looking the non-conf/conf. schedule next year I've got to believe we can eek out 6 wins as the players will have their second year under coach Kill. The conf. road schedule is tough, but I still see a window of oppertunity here for 6 wins.
 


I can see a bowl game, but for that to happen I really think Kill will have to come up at least somewhat big with 2-3 JUCO defensive players. It's encouraging that they really don't lose a lot to graduation in terms of how MANY players depart, but the loss of Jacobs, Tinsley, and Royston (among others) will really be felt. One or two impact JUCO DB's and maybe even a DT would really help. It's almost vital.

Similarly, on offense, Bunders and Wynn may not be All-BT players but their loss will be felt up front as well. The O-Line will be YOUNG next year, yet again. No seniors, and Eddie Olsen may be the only Junior.

I think a bowl game is possible, but some things have to go right for that to happen.
 

Just so others don't have to look it up, here is the schedule:

Sep 01 @ UNLV
Sep 08 vs New Hampshire
Sep 15 vs Western Michigan
Sep 22 vs Syracuse
Sep 29 @ Iowa
Oct 13 vs Northwestern
Oct 20 @ Wisconsin
Oct 27 vs Purdue
Nov 03 vs Michigan
Nov 10 @ Illinois
Nov 17 @ Nebraska
Nov 24 vs Michigan State

I wouldn't be stunned if they were able to 6 wins, but realistically, I would say no. It all depends on those non-conference games.
 

Rodney's Open said:
Just so others don't have to look it up, here is the schedule:

Sep 01 @ UNLV
Sep 08 vs New Hampshire
Sep 15 vs Western Michigan
Sep 22 vs Syracuse
Sep 29 @ Iowa
Oct 13 vs Northwestern
Oct 20 @ Wisconsin
Oct 27 vs Purdue
Nov 03 vs Michigan
Nov 10 @ Illinois
Nov 17 @ Nebraska
Nov 24 vs Michigan State

I wouldn't be stunned if they were able to 6 wins, but realistically, I would say no. It all depends on those non-conference games.
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My thoughts on the 6 wins
UNLV
New Hampshire
Western Michigan
Syracuse
Northwestern
Purdue or Iowa ( Hawks lose many key players)
 


If we do a customary 4-0 non conference season, then yes, it's possible. If we can't manage to win those, then no chance.

What I've seen from this team coming down the stretch tells me 4-0 will be doable. I know the same thing was felt last season, but this time we have a stable regime, same offense, same defense, for the first time in about 5 years. Obviously that can only help.

With 4-0, then we need two B1G wins obviously. Potential wins there has to be Northwestern, Purdue, and MAYBE @ Illinois if Zook is fired and they're starting fresh or whatever. If I were to put waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too early projections on it, I'd guess 5-7, maybe 4-8 with a loss to like Syracuse or something next year just based on gut feeling basically.
 


As tihe Big Ten 2012 season goes...so will the chance of a bowl game go. It would take a 2 or 3 Big Ten win season to have a chance for a bowl game. That would most likely call for a large improvement over the 2011 Big Ten Season. The 2012 Big Ten season will define for us just exactly where our Football Program stands on a competetive basis.

Good luck and best wishes in the 2012 season to Coach Kill, his staff and all the players.

And, may we fans become MUCH better fans during this off-season...


HIRE a Football Man as the new AD at the U of M prexy k.

; 0 )
 

You would hope they could go 3-1 in non-conference games, but I also thought that and have been wrong the last 2 years.
 



I think that 6 wins are very doable, if we shore up the secondary, and find a reliable RB. I expect that the OL will be much better, remember it was their first year in the system. I think that the recievers will be ok and featured a little less as we rely more on the running game. The DL will be better with a lot of improvement at DE and the same or a small step back at DT. The LB's will be about the same so the real concern in in the defensive backfield. I think that Stoudermire getting a Medical wavier would help, but it's not by accident, that Shabazz and Stokes have Gopher offers.
 

imthewalrus said:
As tihe Big Ten 2012 season goes...so will the chance of a bowl game go. It would take a 2 or 3 Big Ten win season to have a chance for a bowl game. That would most likely call for a large improvement over the 2011 Big Ten Season. The 2012 Big Ten season will define for us just exactly where our Football Program stands on a competetive basis.

Good luck and best wishes in the 2012 season to Coach Kill, his staff and all the players.

And, may we fans become MUCH better fans during this off-season...


HIRE a Football Man as the new AD at the U of M prexy k.

; 0 )
Click to expand...

Agree on the AD. This will show the Prez isn't just giving us lip service.
 

i do not expect a bowl game until the 2013 season... we will be much more competitive in the b10 but, im expecting a 3-1 non confrence and a 2 win b10 season...
 

There is reason for hope. Its been a while since we have kept both the same offense and defensive philosophy more than 1 consecutive season. I would expect to go 3-1 or 4-0 in the non-conference schedule but the aura of the program makes me feel otherwise.
 



6 wins should be the program's expectation next year with that schedule. I think the media, and Kill for that matter, have really been trying to denigrate the current state of the program and the talent level in order to drastically lower the performance bar. It is patently ridiculous to say that the team I saw on Saturday does not have the physical size and speed to at least be competitive in the B1G.

Depth? Not this year, for sure, and experience is also lacking, but there was enough talent to beat NDSU, NMSU and at least be in the same ballpark as Purdue. The current team, with the right coaching and system, should have an expectation of .500 ball next year. As should any B1G program for that matter.
 

nexr year the wins I would expect to be somewhere between 3-5 and no bowl game. I would hope that in 2013 during year 3 of the Kill regime 6 wins can be a realistic goal.
 

If we don't win at least 4 next year it will be a huge disappointment. I would say I'd be pretty shocked with anything 7+
 

scools12 said:
nexr year the wins I would expect to be somewhere between 3-5 and no bowl game. I would hope that in 2013 during year 3 of the Kill regime 6 wins can be a realistic goal.
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That's been my thinking. Not really sure about next year, still unbelievably young across the board. To me, the schedule doesn't matter nearly as much as the youth/inexperience of the roster.

But from 2012 to 2013, they just don't lose hardly anything to graduation. The entire starting O-line from 2012 (and the next 5 or so for that matter) will be back; most of the defense that starts next year will be back in 2013.

2013 will be the first season in nearly a decade where the Gophers put a team on the field that is made up mostly of JR's and SR's. That's when I expect to really be able to tell what Kill and his staff are capable of doing at the U. That's the year they could surprise a lot of people. Ironically, if Gray takes most of the snaps at QB for the entire season next year, QB will be about the ONLY question mark for 2013. I'd rather have it that way than be starting 3 Freshmen on the O-line like they did on Saturday.
 


I like our chances of being Bowl eligible next year.

I told my father-in-law that on Saturday and he just laughed.

Our NC schedule makes us very capable of going 4-0 in.

If we can do that, I truly think we will become Bowl eligible somehow.
 


Year 2 of the 7 year rebuild

The Gopher team will win 2-4 games next year. Any other prediction is betting on the impossible. The team does not have the talent level or the discipline yet to improve very much. It is even possible that we will see no improvement at all.

Cue the boo birds.
 

There is no telling how good this team could be this year, but I would hope they can at least win 6 games. Marqueis will have another year to develop and it will be interesting to see the progression he makes having that time to develop strictly as a QB. We start the year @ UNLV, New Hampshire, Western Michigan, Syracuse, I think we can go 3-1. But I also thought that this year, I believe this team will improve under Kill and get those easy non confrence wins like theyre supposed to. The B1G season will be rough though, 4-4 would be impressive but probably 3-5.
 

Show me the money!

Oneoldgopher said:
The Gopher team will win 2-4 games next year. Any other prediction is betting on the impossible. The team does not have the talent level or the discipline yet to improve very much. It is even possible that we will see no improvement at all.

Cue the boo birds.
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You can believe anything you want but do you really mean it? If you do you should be willing to back it up with money. So let find out if you are just flapping your lips or if you’re really a man of your word. Since you stated above four wins is "betting the impossible" you should have no problem in giving me 10 to 1 odds that the Gophers won't five or more games. So let’s make it a thousand dollars against your ten thousand.

Since you always make rational statements here I can't see any reason why this should be a problem for you. I am sure given, your past record here, you were not just flapping your lips so let me know how you want to proceed with the bet.
 

Do you expect a Bowl game next year?

Yes.
 

Killjoy said:
You can believe anything you want but do you really mean it? If you do you should be willing to back it up with money. So let find out if you are just flapping your lips or if you’re really a man of your word. Since you stated above four wins is "betting the impossible" you should have no problem in giving me 10 to 1 odds that the Gophers won't five or more games. So let’s make it a thousand dollars against your ten thousand.

Since you always make rational statements here I can't see any reason why this should be a problem for you. I am sure given, your past record here, you were not just flapping your lips so let me know how you want to proceed with the bet.
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<<crickets>>
 

Bowl game

absolutely yes-- senior quarterback and the improvement expected of all of the young kids playing should get us to 6 wins.

If the coaching staff assumes we are not going to be a bowl game than Shortell or any other non-redshirt QB should be given a shot to get ready for 2013
 

I can see two possibilities for 2012.

#1 - Gophers win 5 games. Media (Reusse, Souhan, etc) starts ripping Kill to shreds - says he "can't win in the Big 10."

#2 - Gophers win 6+ games. Media says "Kill took advantage of weak schedule," and ridicules team for going to a "meaningless" bowl game.

Bonus possibility #3 - Wren blames entire season on Maturi. Calls other Gopher Hole posters "mobbers and bashers," and insinuates that it's our fault.
 

It should be close...

We will still be really thin, so it will largely depend upon how healthy we are.

If our OL, secondary (with Stoud), and RBs can stay healthy...we have a chance.
 

I would think the Gophs will win 4-6 games, improve, and MAYBE have a shot at a lower bowl. If they can win the 4 NC games then I think they have a shot. With Iowa, NW, and Purdue in 3 of the first 4 conference games with a winning streak there might be some confidence. If they dont win all 4 NC games, I dont think they have a shot.
 

I have a hard time seeing how the defense improves. Our 4 best defenders (Royston, Tinsley, Jacobs, Kirksey) are all gone. The pass rush should be better, but our secondary seems to be dependent on what JUCO players we land.

On offense, Gray and the O-line will definitely be better, but there are still questions in terms of who can be a consistent RB and receiving threat.
 

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