2019 & 2020

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PMWinSTP said:
Fleck was not brought in to get to and maintain at the level that was established before him.

There's 9 regular season wins to be had next year. I expect Fleck & Co to find a way to those wins.
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You are right, he was brought in to take the program to a level that previous coaches here couldn't reach. But the fact that he hasn't gotten there in under 2 years doesn't mean he won't succeed. It takes time, Fleck is trying to make the program into more than an also ran in the Big Ten.

But in the end there is really no point trying to discuss it with you because you have already made up your mind about Fleck and even though you say you want the program to succeed nearly every post is dedicated to taking shots and bashing the current regime and anyone that choses to believe they will be successful over the long haul.

So for those of us that have faith in Fleck's ability to take the program to levels we haven't seen in decades all we can really do is trust he isn't the terrible coach that a handful of you have determined he is and wait to see how things turn out.

Maybe you, and the others who can't stand Fleck, will all get your wish and he will be sent packing in a few years. Only time will tell.
 


I don't consider myself a Fleckite. I find him annoying, but in end, I don't let that stuff bother me. I found Kill's "I'm just a simply country boy wanting to drive my pickup" tiresome as well, but I also loved Kill. In end it's all about results. I was hoping for better this year, I'll be honest, but changing coaches every few years will never lead to positive results. I have preached patience with Fleck, and I have confidence. Our offense needs to make a jump next year, and I think it will. Our defense needs to make a large jump, same jump our O made this year from last, and with that, I would expect 6-8 wins. I can handle 6 wins if we're competitive in most of our losses. Short of that, he's on the hot seat. Semantics, I would argue his chair is already warming up
 

salzie said:
I don't consider myself a Fleckite. I find him annoying, but in end, I don't let that stuff bother me. I found Kill's "I'm just a simply country boy wanting to drive my pickup" tiresome as well, but I also loved Kill. In end it's all about results. I was hoping for better this year, I'll be honest, but changing coaches every few years will never lead to positive results. I have preached patience with Fleck, and I have confidence. Our offense needs to make a jump next year, and I think it will. Our defense needs to make a large jump, same jump our O made this year from last, and with that, I would expect 6-8 wins. I can handle 6 wins if we're competitive in most of our losses. Short of that, he's on the hot seat. Semantics, I would argue his chair is already warming up
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Gotta give him more time. If he can keep recruiting and keep the players here he will move the team forward. If he isn't successful though the players will start losing faith in him and he won't be able to be successful at recruiting. You have to admit he still has a chance to break out and get this team moving forward in a big way the next couple years. They should be better on both sides of the ball, particularly on offense.
 

We need to win 7+ games next year. Crazy thing is that Fleck could have his best team in 2020, who knows, but the 2020 schedule also included BYU, Michigan and Michigan State.

Dino Babers went 4-8, 4-8, and now is 8-3. Hopefully next season the ball bounces our way and brings tons of excitement heading into 2020.

2020 Games of interest:

Minnesota: BYU, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State.
Iowa: Iowa St., Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State
Wisconsin: Michigan, Notre Dame, Maryland, Indiana
Nebraska: Cincinnati, Rutgers, Ohio State, Penn State
Purdue: Memphis Air Force, Boston College, Michigan, Indiana, Rutgers
Northwestern: Penn State, Maryland, Michigan State.
Illinois: UCONN, Indiana, Ohio State, Rutgers
 


MNVCGUY said:
You are right, he was brought in to take the program to a level that previous coaches here couldn't reach. But the fact that he hasn't gotten there in under 2 years doesn't mean he won't succeed. It takes time, Fleck is trying to make the program into more than an also ran in the Big Ten.

But in the end there is really no point trying to discuss it with you because you have already made up your mind about Fleck and even though you say you want the program to succeed nearly every post is dedicated to taking shots and bashing the current regime and anyone that choses to believe they will be successful over the long haul.

So for those of us that have faith in Fleck's ability to take the program to levels we haven't seen in decades all we can really do is trust he isn't the terrible coach that a handful of you have determined he is and wait to see how things turn out.

Maybe you, and the others who can't stand Fleck, will all get your wish and he will be sent packing in a few years. Only time will tell.
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I've said repeatedly that Fleck isn't going anywhere and will have at minimum four years to demonstrate whether he can elevate the program. That does not mean he should be immune to any criticism. I have also complemented him numerous times out here on GH like what I saw in the open practices, after the Purdue game and his 2018 recruiting class. I really like his offensive approach and have said as much multiple times...I just don't understand why he has not opened it up more.

I've never said he is a terrible coach, but he has not yet demonstrated that he can coach at this level. Things like clock management and wasting timeouts have been persistent throughout his 23 games here. Given the weekly polls grading his game coaching, there's more than a handful who are concerned though. I'm certainly one of them.
 

Ask the fans of Penn State, Michigan State, Nebraska, and Iowa how hard it is to maintain a high level of consistency in winning football games. Ohio State and Michigan are the gold standards (and Michigan has tarnished theirs a bit) and Wisconsin gets a nod here for their play. Myopic fans think their facilities, location, and life style are the best in the country. I wouldn't live in Tusaloosa, Athens or Clemson but apparently lots of kids do, kids with high skill levels playing the game of football. If Fleck starts winning 8 and 9 games a year consistently, put a statue of him on the campus. It will be a unbelievable accomplishment.
 

BroncoRedux said:
Ask the fans of Penn State, Michigan State, Nebraska, and Iowa how hard it is to maintain a high level of consistency in winning football games. Ohio State and Michigan are the gold standards (and Michigan has tarnished theirs a bit) and Wisconsin gets a nod here for their play. Myopic fans think their facilities, location, and life style are the best in the country. I wouldn't live in Tusaloosa, Athens or Clemson but apparently lots of kids do, kids with high skill levels playing the game of football. If Fleck starts winning 8 and 9 games a year consistently, put a statue of him on the campus. It will be a unbelievable accomplishment.
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This bar keeps getting lower. I though we made this hire hoping to leave the mediocrity of winning 8 or 9 games three years out of four behind us, and rise to new heights.
 

Hopefully him buying a house on Lake Minnetonka is a small sign that he wants to be here for awhile. He definitely needs to continue to grow from his failures like he holds the players. Hopefully he can out recruit others because I'm not sure he will out coach anyone without great talent and better defensive staff. The timeouts drive me nuts, but that seems to be part of babying the offense along. Hopefully as QB's grow they are able to take more control.
 



Coach Fleck has been pretty honest (perhaps to a fault) as far as how he thinks his plan will play out. I'll give him the time he says he needs, because God knows nothing else has worked for over 50 years.

And...I don't want to be content with 8-win seasons. I don't want us to be giddy with a 9-win season! I want 10, 11, 12-win seasons with a trip to Indianapolis every year!! I want Minnesota to be included in CFB playoff talk!!!....Now, get out there and fight! fight! fight!!!!!!
 

MaxyJR1 said:
Hopefully him buying a house on Lake Minnetonka is a small sign that he wants to be here for awhile. He definitely needs to continue to grow from his failures like he holds the players. Hopefully he can out recruit others because I'm not sure he will out coach anyone without great talent and better defensive staff. The timeouts drive me nuts, but that seems to be part of babying the offense along. Hopefully as QB's grow they are able to take more control.
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Gold Rush said it well in post #34. Success will sustain the recruiting level. Minnesota is not a place where going .500 or a little better will draw the interest of the talent level Fleck says he needs. The shine of his 13-1 season is almost gone, so something will need to replace that when it comes to recruiting.
 

PMWinSTP said:
I've said repeatedly that Fleck isn't going anywhere and will have at minimum four years to demonstrate whether he can elevate the program. That does not mean he should be immune to any criticism. I have also complemented him numerous times out here on GH like what I saw in the open practices, after the Purdue game and his 2018 recruiting class. I really like his offensive approach and have said as much multiple times...I just don't understand why he has not opened it up more.

I've never said he is a terrible coach, but he has not yet demonstrated that he can coach at this level. Things like clock management and wasting timeouts have been persistent throughout his 23 games here. Given the weekly polls grading his game coaching, there's more than a handful who are concerned though. I'm certainly one of them.
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Here's the deal with the time management thing. When you have a senior QB, it's their job to watch the play clock and get the play off or call timeout. We have freshmen QBs. So I think the coaching staff is being careful and taking this on themselves. I think you'll see it less going forward the next few years.
 

Sparlimb said:
Here's the deal with the time management thing. When you have a senior QB, it's their job to watch the play clock and get the play off or call timeout. We have freshmen QBs. So I think the coaching staff is being careful and taking this on themselves. I think you'll see it less going forward the next few years.
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Rarely do any QB's call timeouts anymore. The game at almost all levels is controlled the the play-calling coach. The coaches are waiting as long as possible to help get the right play in for the defense. Hopefully this improves with experience on all levels from players to coaches.
 



Sparlimb said:
Here's the deal with the time management thing. When you have a senior QB, it's their job to watch the play clock and get the play off or call timeout. We have freshmen QBs. So I think the coaching staff is being careful and taking this on themselves. I think you'll see it less going forward the next few years.
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Agree - it hasn't bothered me this year as we have 2 freshmen QBs. Next year would be a different story.
 

Sparlimb said:
Here's the deal with the time management thing. When you have a senior QB, it's their job to watch the play clock and get the play off or call timeout. We have freshmen QBs. So I think the coaching staff is being careful and taking this on themselves. I think you'll see it less going forward the next few years.
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It's happened on both sides of the ball. Burning a timeout coming out of a long TV timeout to start the 4th quarter is not on the QB.
 

John Galt said:
Agree. The schedule lines up well. We should return 9 starters on offense, plus get Rodney and Shannon back. The defense also returns 9 starters, and we should be able to add some pieces along the d-line.
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The schedule in 2019 lines up well?? The schedule looks pretty brutal to me.

SDSU - this is a top level program in FCS (I-AA), roughly comparable to NDSU, and will have guys on the roster eager to prove that they should've been recruited to the P5. They had a TE drafted recently and a great WR from Maple Grove too. Make no mistake, this will not be an easy win.
at Fresno - this program could win the MW this year and their only loss might end up being to us, and if Tedford stays they're just going to keep getting better. They're going to want revenge and it could be a very hot game too.
Georgia Southern - Sun Belt team, but also very tough. Nebraska lost at home early this year to Troy. It will be a similar level of competition to that. Will not be an easy win.

at Purdue - they're going to be out for revenge, on the road, won't be easy
Illinois
Nebraska - hope these two games we can get revenge for our absolutely embarrassing road losses this year
at Rutgers - would like to think this is a win, but they're still Big Ten and it's a road game
Maryland - similarly, would like to hope they will get revenge

Penn St
at Iowa
at NW
Wisconsin - brutal four games to end the season after the BYE week. Depending how the season has gone and where we're at with health, we could easily go 0-4 or 1-3 in this stretch.



This is not "lining up well" by any means. We have our work cut out for us. Losing Cashman on defense won't help, but yes we obviously return a ton of players.
 

Gophers_4life said:
The schedule in 2019 lines up well?? The schedule looks pretty brutal to me.

SDSU - this is a top level program in FCS (I-AA), roughly comparable to NDSU, and will have guys on the roster eager to prove that they should've been recruited to the P5. They had a TE drafted recently and a great WR from Maple Grove too. Make no mistake, this will not be an easy win.
at Fresno - this program could win the MW this year and their only loss might end up being to us, and if Tedford stays they're just going to keep getting better. They're going to want revenge and it could be a very hot game too.
Georgia Southern - Sun Belt team, but also very tough. Nebraska lost at home early this year to Troy. It will be a similar level of competition to that. Will not be an easy win.

at Purdue - they're going to be out for revenge, on the road, won't be easy
Illinois
Nebraska - hope these two games we can get revenge for our absolutely embarrassing road losses this year
at Rutgers - would like to think this is a win, but they're still Big Ten and it's a road game
Maryland - similarly, would like to hope they will get revenge

Penn St
at Iowa
at NW
Wisconsin - brutal four games to end the season after the BYE week. Depending how the season has gone and where we're at with health, we could easily go 0-4 or 1-3 in this stretch.



This is not "lining up well" by any means. We have our work cut out for us. Losing Cashman on defense won't help, but yes we obviously return a ton of players.
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Tamp, tamp tamp. Give me a break.
 

I calls em like I sees em.

What's the word for fake message board enthusiasm??
 

Gophers_4life said:
The schedule in 2019 lines up well?? The schedule looks pretty brutal to me.

SDSU - this is a top level program in FCS (I-AA), roughly comparable to NDSU, and will have guys on the roster eager to prove that they should've been recruited to the P5. They had a TE drafted recently and a great WR from Maple Grove too. Make no mistake, this will not be an easy win.
at Fresno - this program could win the MW this year and their only loss might end up being to us, and if Tedford stays they're just going to keep getting better. They're going to want revenge and it could be a very hot game too.
Georgia Southern - Sun Belt team, but also very tough. Nebraska lost at home early this year to Troy. It will be a similar level of competition to that. Will not be an easy win.

at Purdue - they're going to be out for revenge, on the road, won't be easy
Illinois
Nebraska - hope these two games we can get revenge for our absolutely embarrassing road losses this year
at Rutgers - would like to think this is a win, but they're still Big Ten and it's a road game
Maryland - similarly, would like to hope they will get revenge

Penn St
at Iowa
at NW
Wisconsin - brutal four games to end the season after the BYE week. Depending how the season has gone and where we're at with health, we could easily go 0-4 or 1-3 in this stretch.



This is not "lining up well" by any means. We have our work cut out for us. Losing Cashman on defense won't help, but yes we obviously return a ton of players.
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Agreed. 6-6 3-6 in B1G.
 

OddStack said:
Agreed. 6-6 3-6 in B1G.
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Right ... and the thing is, we could be 6-2 going into the BYE week, which would be probably 3-2 in the Big Ten or maybe even 4-1 (could see one of the non-conf games losing a close one, perhaps to Fresno on the road). And that would be seen on this board as packing our bags for Pasadena in 2020. Just hope they will compete hard and be in every one of those last four games, hopefully splitting at least.
 

PMWinSTP said:
Gold Rush said it well in post #34. Success will sustain the recruiting level. Minnesota is not a place where going .500 or a little better will draw the interest of the talent level Fleck says he needs. The shine of his 13-1 season is almost gone, so something will need to replace that when it comes to recruiting.
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Agreed. To improve the program, you need to show you can hit above your weight class with the players you've got, then you can persuade slightly better players to come, and over perform with them to convince even better ones. You cant do it the other way by sitting around hoping better players come so you win more games.
 


Gophers_4life said:
The schedule in 2019 lines up well?? The schedule looks pretty brutal to me.

SDSU - this is a top level program in FCS (I-AA), roughly comparable to NDSU, and will have guys on the roster eager to prove that they should've been recruited to the P5. They had a TE drafted recently and a great WR from Maple Grove too. Make no mistake, this will not be an easy win.
at Fresno - this program could win the MW this year and their only loss might end up being to us, and if Tedford stays they're just going to keep getting better. They're going to want revenge and it could be a very hot game too.
Georgia Southern - Sun Belt team, but also very tough. Nebraska lost at home early this year to Troy. It will be a similar level of competition to that. Will not be an easy win.

at Purdue - they're going to be out for revenge, on the road, won't be easy
Illinois
Nebraska - hope these two games we can get revenge for our absolutely embarrassing road losses this year
at Rutgers - would like to think this is a win, but they're still Big Ten and it's a road game
Maryland - similarly, would like to hope they will get revenge

Penn St
at Iowa
at NW
Wisconsin - brutal four games to end the season after the BYE week. Depending how the season has gone and where we're at with health, we could easily go 0-4 or 1-3 in this stretch.



This is not "lining up well" by any means. We have our work cut out for us. Losing Cashman on defense won't help, but yes we obviously return a ton of players.
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We play all six of the west division teams every year, so that's a wash when comparing years. 5 of our big ten games at home. Our crossovers are Rutgers,Maryland, and PSU, dodging OSU, MSU, and Michigan. No power competition out of conference, and one opponent from an easier subdivision. This is as favorable as our schedule is likely to get.
 

PMWinSTP said:
I've said repeatedly that Fleck isn't going anywhere and will have at minimum four years to demonstrate whether he can elevate the program. That does not mean he should be immune to any criticism. I have also complemented him numerous times out here on GH like what I saw in the open practices, after the Purdue game and his 2018 recruiting class. I really like his offensive approach and have said as much multiple times...I just don't understand why he has not opened it up more.

I've never said he is a terrible coach, but he has not yet demonstrated that he can coach at this level. Things like clock management and wasting timeouts have been persistent throughout his 23 games here. Given the weekly polls grading his game coaching, there's more than a handful who are concerned though. I'm certainly one of them.
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You are either with him 100% or you are against him. All in or you are out. We have no other choices.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Gophers_4life said:
at Fresno - this program could win the MW this year and <b>their only loss might end up being to us,</b> and if Tedford stays they're just going to keep getting better. They're going to want revenge and it could be a very hot game too.
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Leaving your praise of a I-AA and Sun Belt Team aside, I can tell you with 100% certainty that your bolded statement above is wrong.

What are you thinking 3-9?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

bleedsmaroonandgold said:
5 of our big ten games at home. Our crossovers are Rutgers,Maryland, and PSU, dodging OSU, MSU, and Michigan. No power competition out of conference, and one opponent from an easier subdivision. This is as favorable as our schedule is likely to get.
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This type of analysis is what you'd expect from Athlon, or the like, where some intern has a day to write blurbs for each of 130 FBS team's pre-season takes.

I did the actual, in-depth analysis, and I showed where your quick take fails miserably.


I'm not at all saying we're doomed. Not at all. Could still turn out to be an 8 win season, that we're starving for and would show hope. Just saying that, to say the 2019 schedule is "easy" is ridiculous.
 

Gophers_4life said:
The schedule in 2019 lines up well?? The schedule looks pretty brutal to me.

SDSU - this is a top level program in FCS (I-AA), roughly comparable to NDSU, and will have guys on the roster eager to prove that they should've been recruited to the P5. They had a TE drafted recently and a great WR from Maple Grove too. Make no mistake, this will not be an easy win.
at Fresno - this program could win the MW this year and their only loss might end up being to us, and if Tedford stays they're just going to keep getting better. They're going to want revenge and it could be a very hot game too.
Georgia Southern - Sun Belt team, but also very tough. Nebraska lost at home early this year to Troy. It will be a similar level of competition to that. Will not be an easy win.

at Purdue - they're going to be out for revenge, on the road, won't be easy
Illinois
Nebraska - hope these two games we can get revenge for our absolutely embarrassing road losses this year
at Rutgers - would like to think this is a win, but they're still Big Ten and it's a road game
Maryland - similarly, would like to hope they will get revenge

Penn St
at Iowa
at NW
Wisconsin - brutal four games to end the season after the BYE week. Depending how the season has gone and where we're at with health, we could easily go 0-4 or 1-3 in this stretch.



This is not "lining up well" by any means. We have our work cut out for us. Losing Cashman on defense won't help, but yes we obviously return a ton of players.
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If we are worried about losing to a FCS 1_AA school in Fleck's 3rd year we might as well drop out of the Big Ten. As someone else mention the cross over games are as favorable as they get so I will be extremely disappointed in anything less than 8 regular season wins. All we here about is we are young so I expect big things from all of the experience they are bringing next year
 

Spoofin said:
Leaving your praise of a I-AA and Sun Belt Team aside, I can tell you with 100% certainty that your bolded statement above is wrong.
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Yes sorry I was wrong, they lost AT Boise by 7. And will face them again in the MW championship game, or Utah St. So could end up being at Minnesota and at Boise being the only losses. You're right though, horrible team, G5 team, so that means they're about as good as high school team.

Spoofin said:
What are you thinking 3-9?
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Clearly what I've said proves that I'm predicting -7 wins and 19 losses for 2019. Good take on actually reading and comprehending what I wrote.
 

Gophers_4life said:
This type of analysis is what you'd expect from Athlon, or the like, where some intern has a day to write blurbs for each of 130 FBS team's pre-season takes.

I did the actual, in-depth analysis, and I showed where your quick take fails miserably.


I'm not at all saying we're doomed. Not at all. Could still turn out to be an 8 win season, that we're starving for and would show hope. Just saying that, to say the 2019 schedule is "easy" is ridiculous.
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Despite your in-depth analysis, if we are losing to SDSU or Georgia Southern next year, it's a disaster.

If we win under 8 games, it's disappointing.
If we win less than 7 games, it's problematic.
If we don't make a bowl, that seat should be pretty hot.

Next year we have an easy schedule. And yes, I've googled the opponents as well.
 

Maroon92 said:
If we are worried about losing to a FCS 1_AA school in Fleck's 3rd year we might as well drop out of the Big Ten.
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Horrible take from a casual Big Ten fan who knows nothing about college football at levels lower than the Big Ten.

You're right, to suggest that the Gophers could lose to teams like North Dakota St, South Dakota, and South Dakota St, is unbelievable.
 

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