After 3 Weeks the West is Still Wide Open

[MNVCGUY]

Loss to North Carolina sucked.....no sugarcoating that.....and based on what we have seen so far it feels unlikely that we upset Ohio State or Michigan. But outside of that....the West is still very much in play as the rest of the teams on our schedule have looked anything but impressive.

Northwestern - This is a bad team, a loss to them next week would be extremely disappointing.
Iowa - their offense is still a mess and their defense doesn't feel as dominant as it has been
Michigan State - Coaching turmoil, not that good to begin with
Illinois - Looks to have taken a pretty major step back from last year
Purdue - Has looked very mediocre to this point
Wisconsin - Have not been impressed by the Badgers in any of their games to this point.

To win the West the Gophers will need to go 6-0 or maybe 5-1 against these teams to do it. Won't be easy (Big Ten never is) but it also isn't impossible as none of these teams look very good to this point in the season and all of them (us included) have some pretty big flaws or weaknesses.

So in spite of the loss yesterday, all is not lost, and the possibility for a nice season is still very much in play. If the coaches and players are able to fix the things that need fixing over the remainder of the season.

 

[goldengophers]

We should just sticky this thread so we can rinse and repeat weekly like last year.

 

[bleedsmaroonandgold]

Loss to North Carolina sucked.....no sugarcoating that.....and based on what we have seen so far it feels unlikely that we upset Ohio State or Michigan. But outside of that....the West is still very much in play as the rest of the teams on our schedule have looked anything but impressive.

Northwestern - This is a bad team, a loss to them next week would be extremely disappointing.
Iowa - their offense is still a mess and their defense doesn't feel as dominant as it has been
Michigan State - Coaching turmoil, not that good to begin with
Illinois - Looks to have taken a pretty major step back from last year
Purdue - Has looked very mediocre to this point
Wisconsin - Have not been impressed by the Badgers in any of their games to this point.

To win the West the Gophers will need to go 6-0 or maybe 5-1 against these teams to do it. Won't be easy (Big Ten never is) but it also isn't impossible as none of these teams look very good to this point in the season and all of them (us included) have some pretty big flaws or weaknesses.

So in spite of the loss yesterday, all is not lost, and the possibility for a nice season is still very much in play. If the coaches and players are able to fix the things that need fixing over the remainder of the season.

I think 5-1 would get us there so long as the 1 isn't against whatever team is on top of the rest of the West teams. My prediction is two teams finish atop the division at 6-3 with the head to head winner between them going to Indy.

 

[Some guy]

I don’t think 6-3 wins the division
That was rare last year. Someone will rise up and go 7-2

 

[MplsGopher]

If we go 6-0 vs those, we should win the West.


Wouldn't it just take the cake though that Iowa goes 3-0 vs their East teams and beats everyone in the West except us??? Can't make it up

 

[Xerxes_]

I think it's going to be Wisconsin or Minnesota. Gophers are more physical and have a best D in the division. Wisconsin has the best O. Gophers get them at home. Which unit can make the most strides the rest of the way? Gopher's O or Badgers D?

Iowa's top 3 offensive players are hurt. QB is playing but hobbled. #1 TE is out for the year and their #1 RB has a high ankle sprain. Their D is stringy but nowhere close to what it was last year.

Illinois could get better as the season goes along. BB won't let them fold but they don't look to have the players to be a factor. But I expect they could pull some wins to mess things up for the other 3.

 

[MplsGopher]

Yeah it seems after three weeks that Neb, ILL, and Pur are trending more towards being spoilers in the West this year.

 

[Dakota2]

I don’t think 6-3 wins the division
That was rare last year. Someone will rise up and go 7-2

This is more likely. Which means 6-0 in the Division and beat Sparty.

 

[Dakota2]

If we go 6-0 vs those, we should win the West.


Wouldn't it just take the cake though that Iowa goes 3-0 vs their East teams and beats everyone in the West except us??? Can't make it up

Iowa can’t beat PSU.

 

[upnorthkid]

west has been the goal the whole season with the rest being bonus. Looks more and more likely it's the same 3 that will be there in the end in Iowa, MN, WI as they usually are. B10 records (if played) and Cross overs listed as well. Don't look now, but we are still the only team who has won a game in the west and it was a divisional game.

1-3. MN (1-0; OSU, MI, MichSt), Iowa (PSU, Mich St, Rutgers, which is certainly no lock like the past), WI (Rutgers, OSU, IU)
Offense: WI looks to be the best but Mordecai will also lose them a game or two with how loose he is with the ball. Still not sold on their run game nor their OL. Iowa offense is anemic, as has been MN so far. Our OL seems to be progressing well. Don't know if Iowa has the ability to hit the next gear. MN does. That might be the make or break this year on who truly is best in the west
Defense: Iowa and MN look better than WI thus far, with WI taking a major step back on D so far. I'll be very very curious to see how WI does with Purdue this week and we'll learn a lot more about Iowa's defense this week against PSU

Pretty big gap

4. Illinois I guess (0-1, MD and IU remain). Their D looks to be improving. The offense is still an utter mess
5. Purdue (OSU, Mich, IU). they'll spoil someone's year but don't have enough to be the west winner and draw both OSU and Mich in the cross overs

smaller gap
6. NE (0-1, OSU, Mich, Mich St): defense looks somewhat competent. If the O plays complementary football and doesn't turn it over, they could spoil against a team that gives them a chance

moderate gap
7. NW (0-1, PSU, MD remain): this team is just bad. take away the 71 yards in garbage time vs Duke's backups and it's another day under 200 yards of offense. the D gave up almost 7 a rush. this team isn't good and will require someone to let them stay in the game to find another win versus a team that isn't named Howard.

 

[Xerxes_]

Yeah it seems after three weeks that Neb, ILL, and Pur are trending more towards being spoilers in the West this year.

I will say that the West is so bad that the only team I think has no chance is NW. All of these teams besides Minnesota & Nebraska have to still play each other. One of the mutts has to win each game. You never know who will be able to start stacking some wins.

 

[MplsGopher]

@Dakota2 wow. You're really trying to temp fate like that? Hope you're right!

Assuming PSU wins that game, then I think that should put the ball in our court to control our destiny. Sweep the West and beat MSU, then we control it with what we do.

 

[GopherWeatherGuy]

I will say that the West is so bad that the only team I think has no chance is NW. All of these teams besides Minnesota & Nebraska have to still play each other. One of the mutts has to win each game. You never know who will be able to start stacking some wins.

It will come down to Iowa or Minnesota. Wisconsin is terrible and so is Illinois.

 

[Go4]

appreciate the op each week, good stuff.

the big ten west is there for the taking once again. do we have the chops to grab it, that's the issue.

 

[MNVCGUY]

I will say that the West is so bad that the only team I think has no chance is NW. All of these teams besides Minnesota & Nebraska have to still play each other. One of the mutts has to win each game. You never know who will be able to start stacking some wins.

Lot can change over the course of the season but yeah, right now the West looks bad compared to the East. Someone will have to win the West but there isn't a clear cut favorite at the moment.

 

[RememberMurray]

B1G West main rivals QB comparison, so far this season:

Wisconsin:
Tanner Mordecai... 68 of 101 / 67.3% / 703 yds / 7.0 YA / 2 TD / 2 INT

Iowa:
Cade McNamara... 38 of 71 / 53.5% / 417 yds / 5.9 YA / 4 TD / 3 INT

Minnesota:
Athan Kaliakmanis... 45 of 88 / 51.1% / 446 yds / 5.1 YA / 1TD / 3 INT

 

[Some guy]

I honestly think the Nebraska win is huge, as they may end up being a factor.
If their new QB simply doesn’t turn the ball over they can beat anyone in the west.

 

[MGGopher]

Yup. In terms of the division, nothing has changed. Every team has major warts, so it'll be a matter of which team improves the most and wins the undoubtedly tight games that are to come. I don't think anyone but the biggest homer thought 2023 would be a "special" season for MN given the schedule and inexperience at a few positions, so while Saturday's loss was frustrating, it doesn't change the ultimate goal. I'm VERY concerned about the lack of identity and explosive plays on offense and the breakdowns in coverage on D, but this team will be in the thick of the West race even if they barely improve.

 

[Plato]

Most of the posters on this topic are wasting time in their day jobs because of their ability to accurately predict the future based on very limited data could make them instant millionaires at the casinos.

 

[#93fanclub]

Loss to North Carolina sucked.....no sugarcoating that.....and based on what we have seen so far it feels unlikely that we upset Ohio State or Michigan. But outside of that....the West is still very much in play as the rest of the teams on our schedule have looked anything but impressive.

Northwestern - This is a bad team, a loss to them next week would be extremely disappointing.
Iowa - their offense is still a mess and their defense doesn't feel as dominant as it has been
Michigan State - Coaching turmoil, not that good to begin with
Illinois - Looks to have taken a pretty major step back from last year
Purdue - Has looked very mediocre to this point
Wisconsin - Have not been impressed by the Badgers in any of their games to this point.

To win the West the Gophers will need to go 6-0 or maybe 5-1 against these teams to do it. Won't be easy (Big Ten never is) but it also isn't impossible as none of these teams look very good to this point in the season and all of them (us included) have some pretty big flaws or weaknesses.

So in spite of the loss yesterday, all is not lost, and the possibility for a nice season is still very much in play. If the coaches and players are able to fix the things that need fixing over the remainder of the season.

 

[#93fanclub]

Loss to North Carolina sucked.....no sugarcoating that.....and based on what we have seen so far it feels unlikely that we upset Ohio State or Michigan. But outside of that....the West is still very much in play as the rest of the teams on our schedule have looked anything but impressive.

Northwestern - This is a bad team, a loss to them next week would be extremely disappointing.
Iowa - their offense is still a mess and their defense doesn't feel as dominant as it has been
Michigan State - Coaching turmoil, not that good to begin with
Illinois - Looks to have taken a pretty major step back from last year
Purdue - Has looked very mediocre to this point
Wisconsin - Have not been impressed by the Badgers in any of their games to this point.

To win the West the Gophers will need to go 6-0 or maybe 5-1 against these teams to do it. Won't be easy (Big Ten never is) but it also isn't impossible as none of these teams look very good to this point in the season and all of them (us included) have some pretty big flaws or weaknesses.

So in spite of the loss yesterday, all is not lost, and the possibility for a nice season is still very much in play. If the coaches and players are able to fix the things that need fixing over the remainder of the season.

 

[#93fanclub]

 

[A_Slab_of_Bacon]

 

[MNVCGUY]

Most of the posters on this topic are wasting time in their day jobs because of their ability to accurately predict the future based on very limited data could make them instant millionaires at the casinos.

lol....Literally nobody in this thread is saying they know exactly how it is going to play out. Heck the whole premise of the thread is that the division is very wide open after 3 weeks.

 

[Xerxes_]

Most of the posters on this topic are wasting time in their day jobs because of their ability to accurately predict the future based on very limited data could make them instant millionaires at the casinos.

Wow this is pretty much the exact opposite of what everyone in this thread is saying.

 

[MplsGopher]

@MGGopher you can call it excuses by Fleck, but still fact that Maye is special. Some of those big plays were him scrambling and then throwing great passes on the run.

They had great passing and running, and their QB could run for the first down, AND he could throw well on the run. It's basically impossible to defend all four of those at once.

 

[Dakota2]

@Dakota2 wow. You're really trying to temp fate like that? Hope you're right!

Assuming PSU wins that game, then I think that should put the ball in our court to control our destiny. Sweep the West and beat MSU, then we control it with what we do.

That’s been the deal since January.

 

[Dakota2]

@MGGopher you can call it excuses by Fleck, but still fact that Maye is special. Some of those big plays were him scrambling and then throwing great passes on the run.

They had great passing and running, and their QB could run for the first down, AND he could throw well on the run. It's basically impossible to defend all four of those at once.

Maye’s greatest skill is ability to throw deep accurately while running under pressure. NC’s first TD was on third and 15 and we had him running for his life. Still dropped it over the top of fairly decent coverage.

 

[Some guy]

Maye’s greatest skill is ability to throw deep accurately while running under pressure. NC’s first TD was on third and 15 and we had him running for his life. Still dropped it over the top of fairly decent coverage.

It wasn’t fairly decent coverage though. It was literally a blown coverage

Deep quarter player got run by because he was looking at a tight end in someone else’s zone.
Maye still had to hit the throw but that was 100% a self inflicted wound

 

[upnorthkid]

It wasn’t fairly decent coverage though. It was literally a blown coverage

Deep quarter player got run by because he was looking at a tight end in someone else’s zone.
Maye still had to hit the throw but that was 100% a self inflicted wound

i think what he's saying is by the time the ball gets there, Gousby is there. It literally misses his arm by inches as he doesn't turn his head. thems the breaks though