Brian Bennett says Gophers have a chance to pull off one big upset.

Donate To GopherHole
BleedGopher

BleedGopher

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 11, 2008
Messages
61,972
Reaction score
18,166
Points
113
per his ESPN chat:

Jeff (Mpls)
Should Gopher fans have any reason to believe this year will be different than all of the other years when we beat the non conference schools but always tanked in the Big 10? At least we're not back to the 1-11 years!

Brian Bennett
I like the toughness I've seen out of the Gophers. They're not going to be pushed around in the Big Ten. Of course, the schedule so far has been pretty weak, and eventually they're going to have to complete a forward pass. But this Minnesota team is clearly much improved in many areas. I think it has a chance to pull off one big upset.

http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/chat/_/id/48965/ncaa-fb-with-bennett

Go Gophers!!
 

How nice. Thanks Brian for the dog bone. Join me in huddling around to chew on it. Brian granted one upset!
 

Dienhart's Q&A:

You and your BTN buddies continue not to believe in Minnesota. The Gophers excel at not turning over the ball and limiting penalties. This is how you beat teams you are not supposed to beat. Couple this with a growing smash-mouth offense, and things are looking up. Go ahead,- keep underestimating Minnesota and keep spending time on the same teams like Michigan, Nebraska and Michigan State who all get way too much time on your network. – Mike S.

Hey, I like what Minnesota is doing. This team doesn’t beat itself, as you point out. That’s a sign of a well-coached squad. But, who have the Gophers beaten that they weren’t supposed to beat so far in 2013? No one. We will find out more in Big Ten play, beginning with Saturday’s visit from Iowa. I like what I see. Still, I think the offense needs more balance. And more big plays are needed on defense, too. That said, Jerry Kill has this program pointed up.

http://btn.com/2013/09/24/mailbag-will-kenny-guiton-have-an-nfl-career/

Go Gophers!!
 

Two very reserved answers. Neither said much more than "They could maybe win a few more games this year".
 

BleedGopher said:
Dienhart's Q&A:



Hey, I like what Minnesota is doing. This team doesn’t beat itself, as you point out. That’s a sign of a well-coached squad. But, who have the Gophers beaten that they weren’t supposed to beat so far in 2013? No one. We will find out more in Big Ten play, beginning with Saturday’s visit from Iowa. I like what I see. Still, I think the offense needs more balance. And more big plays are needed on defense, too. That said, Jerry Kill has this program pointed up.

http://btn.com/2013/09/24/mailbag-will-kenny-guiton-have-an-nfl-career/

Go Gophers!!
Click to expand...

Like what? Interceptions, tackles for loss, fumble recoveries, 4th down stops, sacks...
I'm not saying we are good yet on either side of the ball, but compared to the rest of the Big Ten and their schedule? Big plays? Maybe shut outs?
 


stocker08 said:
Two very reserved answers. Neither said much more than "They could maybe win a few more games this year".
Click to expand...

They are hedging their bet in that like last year the team is 4-0 and seems to have shown some signs of improvement but it is really tough to have any clue how the squad is going to hold up in the Big Ten based on who we have played to date.
 

Schnauzer said:
How nice. Thanks Brian for the dog bone. Join me in huddling around to chew on it. Brian granted one upset!
Click to expand...

But it's a big upset. He said so himself. Of course, he con't go out on a limb and call which one, just "a chance to pull off one big upset".

Damn...now that I typed his quote, he isn't even calling an upset, just a chance to pull one off. Gee, thanks for the hat-tip Brian.
 

This is a chance to pull one off and in my mind this is a must win. Not in that the season will be a loss if we don't, but a victory over a rival, after we lost to them last year, bringing home Floyd, and another B1G win for Kill would create a lot more momentum. Not only the rest of the season, but for rebuilding the program and recruiting.
 

Love my Gophers, but I don't see what they have said that could be construed as wrong/disrespectful. We are on the upswing, but still have a ways to go. Love the coaching staff, need more time to play consistently with the big boys.
 



These guys have nothing to gain by buying Minnesota stock at this point. I don't see why everyone gets worked up that the national and regional pundits aren't jumping on the MN bandwagon. We have a history of tanking at this point in the season.
 

ya know if Jerry beats the hawkeyes 40-14 we will begin hearing TX wants Jerry speak.
 

mggoph said:
Love my Gophers, but I don't see what they have said that could be construed as wrong/disrespectful. We are on the upswing, but still have a ways to go. Love the coaching staff, need more time to play consistently with the big boys.
Click to expand...

I agree for the most part, but the comment about needing to see more big plays on defense is confusing. Picks, sacks, scores have all been there.
 

Who have any Big Ten teams beaten that they shouldn't have beaten? How come we are the only ones to be pointed out that we haven't beaten a good team, I mean Wisconsin hasn't but they still get respect. This just shows everyone will continue to be non-believers for a couple of more years unless we can win somewhat consistently in conference play. Let this be the year that starts to change.
 



Schnauzer said:
How nice. Thanks Brian for the dog bone. Join me in huddling around to chew on it. Brian granted one upset!
Click to expand...

Now watch Bennett pick a blow out win for Iowa against us at home in his & Rittenberg's blog. He can be such a putts.
 



I don't think its an upset to beat Iowa. We are better. It will be an upset to beat Michigan!
 

Tony from Iowa City writes: In Monday's chat, you asked for suggestions on when was the last time the Iowa-Minnesota rivalry was this relevant. I would venture to say that the 2003 game would probably be your best bet. Both teams went 10-3, both won their bowl games, and both finished the season ranked in the top 25. Now that win went the way of the Hawkeyes, but I would bet if it had gone the other way, Minnesota would've gone to the Rose Bowl. Just a general observation.

Brian Bennett: Good call, Tony. Minnesota entered that game 9-2 and ranked No. 19, while Iowa was 7-3 and ranked No. 20. As an indication of how much times have changed in just 10 years, the Gophers beat Oregon in a bowl that year and the Hawkeyes defeated Florida. Not sure these two teams are quite as good as they were in 2003, but I'm still greatly looking forward to the Floyd game this weekend and think the winner will be in pretty good shape moving forward.

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/84768/big-ten-wednesday-mailbag-8

Go Gophers!!
 

3 or 4 B10 wins this year? That would mean 1 or 2 upsets. Every time these boys step on the field they gotta honestly believe deep down that they can win. I see a lot of discipline here and thats good for win one of the upsets (in solid and convincing fashion). Good coaching adjustments and a lucky bounce wins us the second. And don't fault me for this second one - every good coach who ever was claims they are lucky as hell. They just got take advantage of it. 8-4 Gophers? It could happen! Woo Hoo!!!
 


We are not as good as were were in 2003.

With a break here or there, we could've won the B10 that year.

We blew it.

Also: we got smoked at Iowa that year, despite having like 400 yards rushing. Larry fumbling on the one inch line didn't help.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom