Analytics love Gophs...Connelly #16, Sagarin #23, Massie #22

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swingman

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SP+ Week 14 Rankings​

TEAMRATINGOFFENSEDEFENSESPEC TMS
1. Georgia (12-0)35.337.2 (26)3.7 (1)1.7 (3)
2. Michigan (12-0)32.038.0 (21)7.6 (4)1.6 (10)
3. Ohio St. (11-1)31.145.1 (4)15.7 (16)1.7 (6)
4. Alabama (10-2)30.342.9 (8)14.2 (12)1.6 (12)
5. Tennessee (10-2)25.247.3 (1)22.6 (40)0.4 (53)
6. TCU (12-0)24.343.3 (7)20.2 (31)1.2 (23)
7. Texas (8-4)23.138.1 (20)15.6 (14)0.7 (40)
8. Penn St. (10-2)22.436.6 (28)13.9 (11)-0.3 (72)
9. Kansas St. (9-3)21.436.4 (29)15.7 (15)0.6 (43)
10. Utah (9-3)19.237.3 (25)17.3 (21)-0.8 (94)
11. USC (11-1)18.946.6 (2)26.3 (63)-1.4 (117)
12. Oregon (9-3)18.944.9 (5)26.5 (66)0.5 (49)
13. Clemson (10-2)17.634.9 (33)18.5 (26)1.2 (22)
14. Ole Miss (8-4)16.238.8 (17)23.7 (44)1.1 (32)
15. LSU (9-3)16.234.2 (37)17.6 (23)-0.5 (82)
16. Minnesota (8-4)16.023.5 (90)8.6 (5)1.1 (27)
17. Illinois (8-4)15.920.6 (98)5.5 (3)0.8 (37)
18. Washington (10-2)15.741.2 (12)25.5 (57)0.0 (65)
19. Oklahoma (6-6)15.440.8 (13)26.5 (65)1.0 (33)
20. Miss. St. (8-4)15.435.1 (32)19.9 (30)0.2 (61)
21. UCLA (9-3)15.045.7 (3)30.1 (83)-0.7 (87)
22. Oregon St. (9-3)14.333.3 (41)17.7 (24)-1.3 (115)
23. Florida St. (9-3)13.234.8 (34)20.4 (34)-1.3 (113)
24. Cincinnati (9-3)13.127.6 (62)16.1 (17)1.5 (13)
25. Kentucky (7-5)13.023.2 (92)9.9 (6)-0.3 (71)
26. S. Carolina (8-4)12.736.0 (31)25.2 (53)1.8 (1)
27. Iowa (7-5)12.716.0 (117)5.1 (2)1.7 (5)
28. Tulane (10-2)12.432.0 (47)19.7 (29)0.1 (62)
29. Arkansas (6-6)12.038.3 (19)26.3 (64)0.0 (66)
30. Baylor (6-6)11.737.6 (23)26.1 (61)0.2 (59)
31. Oklahoma St. (7-5)11.337.6 (24)27.9 (70)1.6 (11)
32. Maryland (7-5)11.233.8 (39)24.2 (45)1.7 (7)
33. S. Alabama (10-2)10.826.8 (66)17.4 (22)1.4 (18)
34. Florida (6-6)10.439.6 (15)29.5 (78)0.3 (56)
35. Notre Dame (8-4)10.330.5 (56)21.4 (36)1.1 (26)
36. UCF (9-3)10.331.1 (55)20.3 (32)-0.6 (86)
37. Wash. St. (7-5)9.525.1 (78)16.7 (19)1.1 (28)
38. Texas A&M (5-7)9.125.4 (76)16.6 (18)0.3 (55)
39. Louisville (7-5)9.027.0 (65)19.1 (28)1.1 (30)
40. Pittsburgh (8-4)8.632.8 (43)24.7 (50)0.5 (50)
41. Texas Tech (7-5)8.538.5 (18)30.5 (87)0.5 (47)
42. Wisconsin (6-6)8.325.7 (68)17.1 (20)-0.4 (79)
43. Wake Forest (7-5)8.243.3 (6)35.2 (105)0.0 (64)
44. Troy (10-2)8.117.7 (107)11.2 (8)1.5 (15)
45. Missouri (6-6)8.126.0 (67)18.3 (25)0.3 (54)
46. N. Carolina (9-3)7.841.7 (11)35.0 (104)1.1 (29)
47. Purdue (8-4)7.731.6 (50)22.4 (39)-1.5 (121)
 

SAGARIN__________
College Football 2022 through games of November 26 Saturday
RATING W L SCHEDL(RANK) VS top 10 | VS top 30 | PREDICTOR | GOLDEN_MEAN | RECENT
HOME ADVANTAGE=[ 1.77] [ 1.75] [ 1.85] [ 1.59]
1 Georgia A = 95.97 12 0 74.63( 32) 1 0 | 5 0 | 96.88 1 | 99.15 1 | 94.25 1 SEC-EAST
2 Ohio State A = 94.14 11 1 72.95( 44) 1 1 | 3 1 | 95.57 2 | 95.57 2 | 92.77 4 BIG TEN-EAST
3 Michigan A = 93.72 12 0 70.67( 56) 2 0 | 4 0 | 91.77 5 | 94.71 4 | 94.15 2 BIG TEN-EAST
4 Alabama A = 93.69 10 2 74.83( 28) 1 1 | 4 2 | 94.99 3 | 95.52 3 | 92.24 5 SEC-WEST
5 Tennessee A = 91.90 10 2 74.28( 37) 1 1 | 4 1 | 92.22 4 | 88.83 6 | 93.48 3 SEC-EAST
6 Penn State A = 89.73 10 2 73.13( 42) 0 2 | 1 2 | 88.81 7 | 88.37 7 | 90.81 6 BIG TEN-EAST
7 TCU A = 88.94 12 0 75.91( 21) 2 0 | 5 0 | 86.59 10 | 90.36 5 | 89.40 8 BIG 12
8 Texas A = 88.79 8 4 78.63( 3) 1 2 | 3 3 | 89.01 6 | 88.21 8 | 88.81 9 BIG 12
9 Utah A = 88.62 9 3 73.35( 41) 0 0 | 2 3 | 88.12 8 | 86.76 12 | 89.77 7 PAC-12 SOUTH
10 Kansas State A = 87.25 9 3 77.61( 9) 0 2 | 3 2 | 87.06 9 | 86.80 11 | 87.40 10 BIG 12
College Football 2022 through games of November 26 Saturday
RATING W L SCHEDL(RANK) VS top 10 | VS top 30 | PREDICTOR | GOLDEN_MEAN | RECENT
HOME ADVANTAGE=[ 1.77] [ 1.75] [ 1.85] [ 1.59]
11 Southern California A = 86.68 11 1 72.82( 46) 0 1 | 3 1 | 85.56 12 | 87.89 9 | 86.52 14 PAC-12 SOUTH
12 Oregon A = 86.55 9 3 75.14( 25) 1 1 | 2 3 | 85.91 11 | 86.19 13 | 86.90 11 PAC-12 NORTH
13 Clemson A = 84.91 10 2 70.87( 55) 0 0 | 1 1 | 84.82 13 | 86.91 10 | 83.92 18 ACC-ATLANTIC
14 Washington A = 84.86 10 2 70.53( 57) 0 0 | 2 1 | 82.58 19 | 83.40 16 | 86.86 12 PAC-12 NORTH
15 LSU A = 84.56 9 3 76.92( 13) 1 1 | 5 2 | 84.25 14 | 84.60 14 | 84.52 16 SEC-WEST
16 Florida State A = 84.45 9 3 71.79( 51) 0 0 | 2 1 | 82.85 17 | 81.73 20 | 86.84 13 ACC-ATLANTIC
17 Oregon State A = 84.36 9 3 74.99( 26) 0 1 | 1 3 | 82.65 18 | 82.73 18 | 86.08 15 PAC-12 NORTH
18 Notre Dame A = 83.82 8 4 72.27( 48) 0 1 | 1 2 | 82.57 20 | 84.12 15 | 84.16 17 I-A IND.
19 Oklahoma A = 82.75 6 6 77.04( 11) 0 3 | 0 5 | 83.70 15 | 83.01 17 | 82.02 20 BIG 12
20 Baylor A = 81.95 6 6 76.69( 15) 0 3 | 2 3 | 83.08 16 | 81.08 22 | 81.70 21 BIG 12
College Football 2022 through games of November 26 Saturday
RATING W L SCHEDL(RANK) VS top 10 | VS top 30 | PREDICTOR | GOLDEN_MEAN | RECENT
HOME ADVANTAGE=[ 1.77] [ 1.75] [ 1.85] [ 1.59]
21 Mississippi State A = 81.52 8 4 76.55( 17) 0 2 | 2 4 | 82.22 21 | 81.79 19 | 80.90 23 SEC-WEST
22 Illinois A = 80.72 8 4 71.40( 52) 0 1 | 2 1 | 80.55 24 | 77.76 34 | 82.37 19 BIG TEN-WEST
23 Minnesota A = 80.67 8 4 68.91( 67) 0 1 | 0 3 | 80.99 23 | 78.75 29 | 81.39 22 BIG TEN-WEST
24 Mississippi A = 80.57 8 4 74.01( 38) 0 1 | 1 4 | 82.03 22 | 81.29 21 | 79.42 29 SEC-WEST
25 UCLA A = 80.10 9 3 70.40( 58) 1 0 | 2 2 | 79.47 28 | 80.80 23 | 79.91 26 PAC-12 SOUTH
26 Florida A = 79.70 6 6 77.28( 10) 1 2 | 1 5 | 79.64 27 | 78.98 27 | 79.93 25 SEC-EAST
27 Iowa A = 79.61 7 5 74.58( 33) 0 2 | 1 3 | 79.15 31 | 79.61 25 | 79.68 27 BIG TEN-WEST
28 Texas Tech A = 79.50 7 5 77.70( 8) 1 2 | 2 3 | 78.71 32 | 77.51 36 | 80.85 24 BIG 12
29 Kentucky A = 79.05 7 5 74.45( 35) 0 2 | 2 3 | 78.17 35 | 79.16 26 | 79.28 30 SEC-EAST
30 Arkansas A = 79.01 6 6 75.77( 22) 0 1 | 1 3 | 77.77 36 | 78.95 28 | 79.52 28 SEC-WEST
College Football 2022 through games of November 26 Saturday
RATING W L SCHEDL(RANK) VS top 10 | VS top 30 | PREDICTOR | GOLDEN_MEAN | RECENT
HOME ADVANTAGE=[ 1.77] [ 1.75] [ 1.85] [ 1.59]
31 Louisville A = 78.89 7 5 73.53( 40) 0 0 | 0 3 | 80.06 25 | 78.30 30 | 78.47 31 ACC-ATLANTIC
32 Washington State A = 78.21 7 5 75.34( 24) 0 1 | 0 5 | 78.29 34 | 77.37 38 | 78.43 32 PAC-12 NORTH
33 Oklahoma State A = 77.96 7 5 76.50( 18) 1 2 | 3 3 | 79.19 30 | 80.57 24 | 76.12 40 BIG 12
34 Tulane A = 77.56 10 2 66.71( 73) 1 0 | 1 0 | 76.60 41 | 77.90 32 | 77.70 34 AAC
35 Wisconsin A = 77.50 6 6 73.63( 39) 0 1 | 0 4 | 79.28 29 | 77.48 37 | 76.55 38 BIG TEN-WEST
36 Pittsburgh A = 77.45 8 4 69.45( 63) 0 1 | 0 1 | 77.19 37 | 76.86 42 | 77.71 33 ACC-COASTAL
37 Boise State A = 76.46 9 3 62.69( 98) 0 0 | 0 1 | 75.53 47 | 75.25 48 | 77.40 35 MWC-MOUNTAIN
38 South Carolina A = 76.44 8 4 74.65( 31) 1 1 | 3 3 | 74.81 49 | 77.21 40 | 76.75 36 SEC-EAST
39 Texas A&M A = 76.44 5 7 74.40( 36) 0 1 | 2 4 | 76.30 43 | 76.62 44 | 76.24 39 SEC-WEST
40 Maryland A = 76.43 7 5 72.14( 49) 0 3 | 0 3 | 76.60 40 | 75.51 46 | 76.65 37 BIG TEN-EAST
College Football 2022 through games of November 26 Saturday
RATING W L SCHEDL(RANK) VS top 10 | VS top 30 | PREDICTOR | GOLDEN_MEAN | RECENT
HOME ADVANTAGE=[ 1.77] [ 1.75] [ 1.85] [ 1.59]
41 Iowa State A = 76.38 4 8 78.60( 5) 0 3 | 1 6 | 80.01 26 | 76.99 41 | 74.42 48 BIG 12
42 Purdue A = 76.30 8 4 72.97( 43) 0 1 | 2 2 | 76.99 38 | 77.22 39 | 75.38 42 BIG TEN-WEST
43 Cincinnati A = 76.27 9 3 66.25( 75) 0 0 | 0 1 | 76.75 39 | 77.91 31 | 75.13 45 AAC
44 Central Florida(UCF) A = 76.14 9 3 67.13( 72) 0 0 | 0 0 | 78.42 33 | 77.76 33 | 74.26 49 AAC
45 Wake Forest A = 76.02 7 5 70.38( 59) 0 0 | 1 1 | 76.21 44 | 76.71 43 | 75.44 41 ACC-ATLANTIC
46 Auburn A = 75.50 5 7 78.42( 6) 0 3 | 0 7 | 75.67 46 | 75.31 47 | 75.36 44 SEC-WEST
47 NC State A = 75.08 8 4 70.95( 53) 0 0 | 2 1 | 76.47 42 | 77.60 35 | 73.18 52 ACC-ATLANTIC
48 West Virginia A = 74.85 5 7 78.38( 7) 0 3 | 2 4 | 75.68 45 | 73.56 50 | 74.95 46 BIG 12
49 North Carolina A = 74.16 9 3 69.32( 66) 0 0 | 0 1 | 74.37 50 | 76.60 45 | 72.81 55 ACC-COASTAL
50 Duke A = 73.66 8 4 66.14( 76) 0 0 | 0 0 | 73.00 53 | 72.30 57 | 74.55 47 ACC-COASTAL
 



Massie:

TeamRecordΔRatPwrOffDefHFASoSSSFEWEL
Oklahoma St
Big 12		7-5
0.583		-421
8.07		20
67.16		24
62.11		30
32.29		2.2013
62.98		14
62.98		0.000.00
Minnesota
Big 10		8-4
0.667		+622
8.07		17
68.12		49
57.10		6
38.26		2.1254
56.95		54
56.95		0.000.00
Iowa
Big 10		7-5
0.583		-823
8.07		22
66.74		74
53.93		3
40.04		2.1424
61.49		25
61.49		0.000.00
Mississippi
Southeastern		8-4
0.667		-624
8.06		23
66.60		23
62.19		33
31.64		2.1829
60.44		31
60.44		0.000.00
Baylor
Big 12		6-6
0.500		-425
8.03		15
68.63		25
61.95		21
33.92		2.1511
63.72		12
63.72		0.000.00
Purdue
Big 10		8-4
0.667		+326
8.03		30
64.81		31
60.60		34
31.45		2.1731
60.38		24
61.76		0.200.80
Texas Tech
Big 12		7-5
0.583		-127
8.03		29
65.16		20
62.54		52
29.86		2.229
64.03		10
64.03		0.000.00
Illinois
Big 10		8-4
0.667		-128
8.02		28
65.16		60
55.25		9
37.15		2.0945
58.89		45
58.89		0.000.00
Tulane
American Athletic		10-2
0.833		+229
7.98		47
60.83		45
57.64		46
30.43		2.2967
53.84		68
54.41		0.500.50
UCLA
Pac 12		9-3
0.750		+830
7.93		39
63.13		11
64.24		79
26.12		2.1858
56.16		59
56.16		0.000.00
Kentucky
Southeastern		7-5
0.583		+931
7.93		31
64.40		67
54.65		10
36.99		2.1837
59.65		38
59.65		0.000.00
South Carolina
Southeastern		8-4
0.667		+532
7.93		44
61.73		35
58.90		51
30.06		2.2334
59.94		36
59.94		0.000.00
Florida
Southeastern		6-6
0.500		-333
7.90		26
65.95		21
62.31		41
30.87		2.2714
62.95		15
62.95		0.000.00
Cincinnati
American Athletic		9-3
0.750		-934
7.90		34
63.53		52
56.51		19
34.26		2.1973
52.63		73
52.63		0.000.00
UCF
American Athletic		9-3
0.750		+635
7.88		38
63.21		34
59.95		45
30.49		2.1969
53.67		67
54.45		0.500.50
Wisconsin
Big 10		6-6
0.500		36
7.88		19
67.29		40
58.51		13
36.02		2.2233
60.06		35
60.06		0.000.00
Maryland
Big 10		7-5
0.583		+537
7.86		40
62.88		36
58.69		36
31.42		2.2027
60.71		30
60.71		0.000.00
Louisville
Atlantic Coast		7-5
0.583		-538
7.84		36
63.50		43
57.85		24
32.88		2.2639
59.46		40
59.46		0.000.00
Iowa St
Big 12		4-8
0.333		-539
7.82		21
66.92		62
55.21		5
38.95		2.237
64.47		7
64.47		0.000.00
North Carolina
Atlantic Coast		9-3
0.750		-840
7.81		51
59.46		18
62.69		93
24.01		2.2461
55.46		57
56.43		0.310.69
 



Purdue with Indiana as a permanent rival is a nice deal.
 

swingman said:
Gophs would be favored vs North Carolina next week.
Click to expand...
As they should be. North Carolina lost to 5-7 Georgia tech and taken to the wire by 6-6 app State

That games a pick ‘em
 

Some guy said:
As they should be. North Carolina lost to 5-7 Georgia tech and taken to the wire by 6-6 app State

That games a pick ‘em
Click to expand...
Interesting how that translates into next year, since that's the road game most out here are interested in attending.
 




PMWinSTP said:
Interesting how that translates into next year, since that's the road game most out here are interested in attending.
Click to expand...
Will be interesting. I know very little about their team other than their scores and the fact that I don’t take it as an automatic loss like some. No ACC team other than maybe Clemson (and I’d argue not even them) is an automatic loss for an above average big ten team
 

I like how next season's schedule lays out for the Gophers.

1) Nebraska. Play a B1G West rival in the opener, at home. This gets the season off to a fun start.

2) Eastern Michigan (8-4 this season).

3) North Carolina. Playing a Top 25-level ACC team, on the road; cannot be called a 'cupcake' by even the dip-shitiest of dip-shits.

4,5) Northwestern, and Louisiana...

6) Let's play for The Jug, at The Bank, in a battle of 5-0 teams.

7) BYE — richly deserved.

8) Car caravan to IOWA CITY!
 
Last edited:

Some guy said:
Will be interesting. I know very little about their team other than their scores and the fact that I don’t take it as an automatic loss like some. No ACC team other than maybe Clemson (and I’d argue not even them) is an automatic loss for an above average big ten team
Click to expand...
Yeah, not impressed by them, and they are in a weak P5 division of a pretty weak conference.
 





A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
I would not have expected that.
Click to expand...
Favored I would be surprised but basically a pick ‘em between +2.5 and -2.5 seems pretty obvious to me

They were underdogs to 7-5 wake forest before losing to Georgia tech and NC State
 

Connelly, Massie, Sagarin = definitely, definitely, NOT dinks!
 

Taji34 said:
This Gopher Team is easily a top 25 team, we just underperformed at some key times and it ruined the perception.
Click to expand...
Statistical darlings. Top 25 teams, generally, but not always, beat someone with a winning record.

Our NC schedule put together a monster 7-28 record. Our stats from those three games make this team look a lot better than it really was.

We backed that up with 5 wins against teams with a record of 20-40 in Big Ten play.

A combined total of 27 - 68 for the teams we beat.

The only team we lost to that was a impressive team was Penn State (unless they played tOSU or Michigan). The other losses were to pedestrian Purdue and Iowa teams, and an Illinois team that was very good on Defense, but lost to Indiana, Purdue, Michigan State - ??? - and Michigan, their only "quality" loss.

This was a Gopher team that should have been better, but was also pedestrian at best. We'll see where we are in year seven of the PJ Fleck experience, but this team was not an upgrade from the Mason or Kill/Claeys years in terms of results - it's the same product with fancier packaging and a weak schedule. (rank of 67 in the FBS, 19 places weaker than 2021. the weakest schedule in the past 10 years)

We did, however, still beat Wisconsin, so that's in the plus column.
 

Carolina does have one hell of a quarterback, as Drake Maye will absolutely be playing on Sundays. He is top tier, and will be the best QB we'll have faced since I don't even know when. I'd have to really go back and think about that, but at any rate, he is very, very good, and that's reason enough for me to feel incredibly excited about that game.
 

caliGopher said:
Statistical darlings. Top 25 teams, generally, but not always, beat someone with a winning record.

Our NC schedule put together a monster 7-28 record. Our stats from those three games make this team look a lot better than it really was.

We backed that up with 5 wins against teams with a record of 20-40 in Big Ten play.

A combined total of 27 - 68 for the teams we beat.

The only team we lost to that was a impressive team was Penn State (unless they played tOSU or Michigan). The other losses were to pedestrian Purdue and Iowa teams, and an Illinois team that was very good on Defense, but lost to Indiana, Purdue, Michigan State - ??? - and Michigan, their only "quality" loss.

This was a Gopher team that should have been better, but was also pedestrian at best. We'll see where we are in year seven of the PJ Fleck experience, but this team was not an upgrade from the Mason or Kill/Claeys years in terms of results - it's the same product with fancier packaging and a weak schedule. (rank of 67 in the FBS, 19 places weaker than 2021. the weakest schedule in the past 10 years)
Click to expand...
Yet at the same time top 20
notre dame lost to Marshall
Top 10 TN got thumped by 8-4 South Carolina
#23 lost to 7-5 Houston and best win is against 6-6 north Texas



Top 25 isn’t an evaluation of a team it’s a comparison to 130 other teams.
The gophers are rightfully unranked. But they’re 2-4 plays away from being 10th. And had they made them…they’d still be pretty much the same team.
 

Some guy said:
Yet at the same time top 20
notre dame lost to Marshall
Top 10 TN got thumped by 8-4 South Carolina
#23 lost to 7-5 Houston and best win is against 6-6 north Texas



Top 25 isn’t an evaluation of a team it’s a comparison to 130 other teams.
The gophers are rightfully unranked. But they’re 2-4 plays away from being 10th. And had they made them…they’d still be pretty much the same team.
Click to expand...
ND beat NC, Clemson, and BYU
TN beat Alabama, LSU

Agree MN is 2-4 plays away from being 10-2, but also 2-4 plays away from being 6-6.
 

gopherbadgerman said:
ND beat NC, Clemson, and BYU
TN beat Alabama, LSU

Agree MN is 2-4 plays away from being 10-2, but also 2-4 plays away from being 6-6.
Click to expand...
Yup. That’s why they aren’t in the top 25
But people say you have to do “X” to be top 25 are flat out wrong

You just have to do more good things or fewer bad things than 105 teams. There is no objective criteria and what gets you in the top 25 in 2022 might get you top 15 in 2023 or top 30 in 2023
 

Some guy said:
Yup. That’s why they aren’t in the top 25
But people say you have to do “X” to be top 25 are flat out wrong

You just have to do more good things or fewer bad things than 105 teams. There is no objective criteria and what gets you in the top 25 in 2022 might get you top 15 in 2023 or top 30 in 2023
Click to expand...
Thats true. Wonder what is more important - who you beat or who beats you?
 

RememberMurray said:
I like how next season's schedule lays out for the Gophers.

1) Nebraska. Play a B1G West rival in the opener, at home. This gets the season off to a fun start.

2) Eastern Michigan (8-4 this season).

3) North Carolina. Playing a Top 25-level ACC team, on the road; cannot be called a 'cupcake' by even the dip-shitiest of dip-shits.

4,5) Northwestern, and Louisiana...

6) Let's play for The Jug, at The Bank, in a battle of 5-0 teams.

7) BYE — richly deserved.

8) Car caravan to IOWA CITY!
Click to expand...
In fact, we could lose to Mich and OSU and still have a good shot at the Big 10 west. If we win all of our other conference games (I know, tall task, but stay with me here), each west team only needs to drop one more game for use to have a tied conference record with us owning the tie breaker over all of the other Big Ten west teams...
 

gopherbadgerman said:
Thats true. Wonder what is more important - who you beat or who beats you?
Click to expand...
To me these three in some order

Are you power 5? If yes your number can be higher on the second question
How many losses do you have?
Who do you beat?
 

This underlines to some extent why some of us are a bit disappointed. There are more important things in the world so it's not worth getting overwrought about, but like several posters above pointed out, we underplayed our ability and a couple of plays here or there would have had us playing against Michigan this Saturday or maybe just staying home after the regular season.

I have a lot of respect for the people who do the deep dive into the stats, but football games--especially close football games--boil down to a handful of plays and the team that makes those plays wins the game. In the Purdue and Iowa games, Gophers lost the crucial plays.
 

The thing I find most impressive is the high ranking it gives the Gopher defense. Coming in at 8.6 - it does show some respect for the Gopher defense.

Our passing game should be looking up for next year but I would like to see someone step up at RB that will be able to pound the rock. I do not think it will be Potts going forward and if it is I sure hope he gets back to last year's form.
 

swelna said:
In fact, we could lose to Mich and OSU and still have a good shot at the Big 10 west. If we win all of our other conference games (I know, tall task, but stay with me here), each west team only needs to drop one more game for use to have a tied conference record with us owning the tie breaker over all of the other Big Ten west teams...
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Yes.

The reason I like how the schedule lays out is it allows the team to build meaningful momentum and gain real confidence as things gradually get more difficult. At the same time, there will be no three game stack of 'cupcake' opponents at the very beginning. Even if the KFAN acolytes on Gopher Hole consider Eastern Michigan and/or Louisiana to be creampuffs, those games are interspersed nicely with big games against Nebraska, North Carolina and Michigan. Best of all, this prelude builds up beautifully to a crescendo, with our undefeated Gopher team invading Iowa City for the biggest game of the year.

It will be a fun 2023 season.
 
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And this is why this season has been so disappointing. The team is good, we have the players on both sides of the ball. Heck, some of our losses we dominated statistically. Had they beaten Purdue and Iowa. Both games I though we were a much better team than, we would all be ramping up to play for the jug and a BT title and would be singing PJ's praises from the high hills, instead of some questioning if he should even be here anymore.

As it stands, we let a marginal Purdue team beat us on our homecoming and a bad Iowa team that really didn't do a thing to earn it, beat us at home.

MN sports I guess...
 

RememberMurray said:
Yes.

The reason I like how the schedule lays out is it allows the team to build meaningful momentum and gain real confidence as things gradually get more difficult. At the same time, there will be no three game stack of 'cupcake' opponents at the very beginning. Even if the KFAN acolytes on Gopher Hole consider Eastern Michigan and/or Louisiana to be creampuffs, those games are interspersed nicely with big games against Nebraska, North Carolina and Michigan. Best of all, this prelude builds up beautifully to a crescendo, with our undefeated Gopher team invading Iowa City for the biggest game of the year.

It will be a fun 2023 season.
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The Big ten west won't be any better next year than it was this year. Especially if Brown leaves Illinois(they will be right there I think). The way I look at it, unless they improve dramatically, Iowa, Wisconsin and Purdue are at best average. The rest of the teams in the west are guaranteed wins.
 

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