BleedGopher
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2x Gopher All-American Bob Stein: "The condition of the football program is shameful"
per Shooter:
Bob Stein, who was a two-time All-American defensive end as well as a two-time academic All-American for the University of Minnesota, attended Saturday's humiliating 41-38 Gophers' loss to South Dakota at TCF Bank Stadium.
Stein, an attorney residing in Minnetonka, played for Murray Warmath, the only coach in Gophers history to take teams to Rose Bowls (1961-62).
"Murray's 97 now and was going to come to the game Saturday, but he had an upset stomach and wasn't feeling up to it," Stein said. "And I'm glad he didn't have to see that."
Stein, 62, who went on to play seven seasons in the NFL (including 1975 for the Minnesota Vikings), is a proud Minnesota alumnus. But he's had a tough time watching his alma mater play football.
"It's not just the (South Dakota loss), but the condition of the whole program, all things considered," he said. "The condition of the football program is shameful."
On Saturday, 18th-ranked Southern California will play the downtrodden Gophers at TCF Bank Stadium.
Forty-two years ago, in 1968, USC, featuring a running back named O.J. Simpson, played Stein's Gophers at Memorial Stadium, which stood just a block from Minnesota's new stadium. There were 60,820 spectators.
"It was a big deal," Stein said.
Simpson, a senior, would be named that year's Heisman Trophy winner. It was also Stein's senior season.
"It was the opening game that year," Stein said. "Both teams were ranked in the top 20 at that time. We lost 29-20, but it was a real tight game. We kind of had them on the ropes.
"Then, going into the fourth quarter, Simpson broke off like a 40-yard run and (later) ended up going in to score. That ended up being the winning drive of the game.
"We really felt, had we won that game, it would have been tremendous inertia going into the next game."
That next game was at Nebraska. The Cornhuskers won 17-14.
"We ended that season with a 6-4 record, (5-2 and tied for) third in the Big Ten," Stein said. "It was a disappointment."
Don't print that:
Among football coaching candidates Gophers athletics director Joel Maturi interviewed before hiring Tim Brewster was Lane Kiffin, a Bloomington Jefferson grad who ended up with the USC job.
Kiffin, who had been a USC assistant, went on to become head coach of the Oakland Raiders, then the University of Tennessee before leaving for USC.
Maturi said this morning he doesn't feel Kiffin took the rejection personally and doesn't expect retribution in Saturday's game.
The Trojans, who have won their last 10 games against Big Ten teams, are heavily favored.
"He (Kiffin) is an impressive young man, and he handled (being passed over) professionally," Maturi said. "He's a young guy who I knew would do well in the profession, and I think he will."
Maturi said he passed over Kiffin "because I obviously felt the other finalists we had at that time were better. Nothing against him being bad; it's just that you have to make decisions.
"I don't think it's a personal thing. He wants to win a football game. He left Tennessee to go to Southern California. You think he would have left Minnesota?"
As for Brewster, Maturi said he has no intention of replacing the embattled coach during the season.
"I've done it once in my career (firing Gophers men's basketball coach Dan Monson seven games into the 2006-07 season), and I don't anticipate doing it again," Maturi said.
Overheard:
Maturi on playing USC after losing to South Dakota: "We shocked the world last Saturday. Let's shock it again."
http://www.twincities.com/ci_16063675
Go Gophers!!
per Shooter:
Bob Stein, who was a two-time All-American defensive end as well as a two-time academic All-American for the University of Minnesota, attended Saturday's humiliating 41-38 Gophers' loss to South Dakota at TCF Bank Stadium.
Stein, an attorney residing in Minnetonka, played for Murray Warmath, the only coach in Gophers history to take teams to Rose Bowls (1961-62).
"Murray's 97 now and was going to come to the game Saturday, but he had an upset stomach and wasn't feeling up to it," Stein said. "And I'm glad he didn't have to see that."
Stein, 62, who went on to play seven seasons in the NFL (including 1975 for the Minnesota Vikings), is a proud Minnesota alumnus. But he's had a tough time watching his alma mater play football.
"It's not just the (South Dakota loss), but the condition of the whole program, all things considered," he said. "The condition of the football program is shameful."
On Saturday, 18th-ranked Southern California will play the downtrodden Gophers at TCF Bank Stadium.
Forty-two years ago, in 1968, USC, featuring a running back named O.J. Simpson, played Stein's Gophers at Memorial Stadium, which stood just a block from Minnesota's new stadium. There were 60,820 spectators.
"It was a big deal," Stein said.
Simpson, a senior, would be named that year's Heisman Trophy winner. It was also Stein's senior season.
"It was the opening game that year," Stein said. "Both teams were ranked in the top 20 at that time. We lost 29-20, but it was a real tight game. We kind of had them on the ropes.
"Then, going into the fourth quarter, Simpson broke off like a 40-yard run and (later) ended up going in to score. That ended up being the winning drive of the game.
"We really felt, had we won that game, it would have been tremendous inertia going into the next game."
That next game was at Nebraska. The Cornhuskers won 17-14.
"We ended that season with a 6-4 record, (5-2 and tied for) third in the Big Ten," Stein said. "It was a disappointment."
Don't print that:
Among football coaching candidates Gophers athletics director Joel Maturi interviewed before hiring Tim Brewster was Lane Kiffin, a Bloomington Jefferson grad who ended up with the USC job.
Kiffin, who had been a USC assistant, went on to become head coach of the Oakland Raiders, then the University of Tennessee before leaving for USC.
Maturi said this morning he doesn't feel Kiffin took the rejection personally and doesn't expect retribution in Saturday's game.
The Trojans, who have won their last 10 games against Big Ten teams, are heavily favored.
"He (Kiffin) is an impressive young man, and he handled (being passed over) professionally," Maturi said. "He's a young guy who I knew would do well in the profession, and I think he will."
Maturi said he passed over Kiffin "because I obviously felt the other finalists we had at that time were better. Nothing against him being bad; it's just that you have to make decisions.
"I don't think it's a personal thing. He wants to win a football game. He left Tennessee to go to Southern California. You think he would have left Minnesota?"
As for Brewster, Maturi said he has no intention of replacing the embattled coach during the season.
"I've done it once in my career (firing Gophers men's basketball coach Dan Monson seven games into the 2006-07 season), and I don't anticipate doing it again," Maturi said.
Overheard:
Maturi on playing USC after losing to South Dakota: "We shocked the world last Saturday. Let's shock it again."
http://www.twincities.com/ci_16063675
Go Gophers!!
