CBS' Bruce Feldman: I'm very skeptical the Gophers can take the next step

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BleedGopher

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per Feldman's Q&A:

From @RyanPecka: can Minnesota become a power in the big ten in the next couple years, or is this to tall of a task in modern college football?

I think Jerry Kill and his staff have done a really nice job there, but I'm very skeptical the Gophers can take the next step because it's such a big step. Keep in mind that Northwestern, for as well as Pat Fitzgerald has done, has yet to take that kind of step.

The trajectory in Kill's first three seasons looks good: from three wins to six to eight but can't this program expect to go that much higher? To be a "power" I think you're talking about being a consistent Top 12 team. Ohio State is that, and will probably remain that under Urban Meyer. Michigan's been struggling to get back near that. Same with Nebraska.

Iowa's has only had two seasons in the the past nine where it has finished in the Top 25, so I couldn't call them that either.

Wisconsin had three Top 10 finishes in Bret Bielema's seven seasons there. Would it be fair to call them a Big Ten power? Not sure I'd go quite that far. They Badgers have been very good, but a powerhouse? They only had one other season where they finished in the Top 20 in that stretch.

Point being, there a bunch of solid programs the Gophers would have to leapfrog to get where you're talking about going. There are some good pieces in place for 2014 with nine starters back on offense, led by standout RB David Cobb and seven back on D. But they'll miss difference-making DT Ra'Shede Hageman. I see a seven or eight win team here in 2014.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefoo...ailbag-retroactively-claiming-national-titles

Go Gophers!!
 

There's a huge middle ground between where we are now and being a "power" in the Big Ten, starting with finishing a season in the top 25 and beating Wisconsin, neither of which have we done since 2003.

If we could become anything even close to what Wisconsin is I'd be doing cartwheels. The proposition that anyone, anywhere, realistically expects us to be a "consistent top 12 team" is crazy.
 


Bruce Feldman is one of the best sports journalists today. He's not some hack.

But, again, if you read what he said there's nothing to get upset about. He's doesn't think we'll be a "consistent top 12 team" in the mold of Ohio State. Neither does anyone else on earth. It's a silly question.
 

Gopherprof said:
Bruce Feldman is one of the best sports journalists today. He's not some hack.

But, again, if you read what he said there's nothing to get upset about. He's doesn't think we'll be a "consistent top 12 team" in the mold of Ohio State. Neither does anyone else on earth. It's a silly question.
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I agree, this isn't a slight against the Gophers. To take this club to a consistent top 12, heck even top 20 team would be extremely difficult. Could we get to be a once in a while top 15 team? Maybe, but I don't think this school can recruit at a level high enough to maintain that type of ranking on an annual basis.
 


It depends on what step you're talking about. Every program in the conference except for Minnesota has taken the step of qualifying for the Rose Bowl since 1962. I'd settle for that step.
 

I just think this particular article is subpar because it would be silly to assume we are ready to be a consistent top 10 team when we barely cracked the top 25 once last season. There's a step or two between there and he just wants to imagine there isn't.
 

Bad Gopher said:
It depends on what step you're talking about. Every program in the conference except for Minnesota has taken the step of qualifying for the Rose Bowl since 1962. I'd settle for that step.
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This is also a good point, it depends on how you define being a "power" in the B1G. I'd be thrilled if we just made the CCG.
 

CentralGopher said:
I just think this particular article is subpar because it would be silly to assume we are ready to be a consistent top 10 team when we barely cracked the top 25 once last season. There's a step or two between there and he just wants to imagine there isn't.
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It's not an article; he's answering a question. His definition of "power" is different than mine, but by his definition I have no problem with his answer.

Why they decided to post this question I have no idea. Must have been a light mailbag.
 



To be a Big Ten power is to be a power in the Big Ten. It doesn't require being a consistent top-12 team, that would make the team a national superpower. But neither is really the next step.
 

I agree on his take. We are still a ways out from being a consistent threat to the power teams in the Big10. But Kill has shown improvement every year and we may just be 3-5 years away from being a team that the OSU, Michigan, MSU teams don't look forward to seeing on the schedule. As of now we are that team that wins most games we are expected to win, pulls out a surprise or two against some better teams in the division, and hangs with the big boys for about a half before getting blown out. I expect this upcoming season to remain the same with one big upset victory.
 

If the Gopher coaches and players had Feldman's attitude, why would they even get out of bed in the morning?

There's no ceiling. Challenges, yes, but no ceiling.
 

Tough to argue with what he wrote when you look at how he interpreted the question. But just because it would be a huge task for Minnesota to become a perrenial power, doesn't mean they couldn't have the occasional season where they win their division and challenge for a BCS bowl. There is no reason we can not be as successful as WI, IA, NW, etc.
 



Don't see anything wrong here. It's the problem with answering written questions. The guy may have been asking something entirely different. There's no question we can have an Iowa/Wisconsin/Northwestern level program. There simply isn't. But that's still not tOSU.
 

Isn't the "next step", consistently winning 8 games a year and taking a run at the Conference every 4-5 years?
 

Gopherprof said:
It's not an article; he's answering a question. His definition of "power" is different than mine, but by his definition I have no problem with his answer.

Why they decided to post this question I have no idea. Must have been a light mailbag.
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You're right. Silly question to ask. Must not get much mail.
 

One QB who proves to be big time and we can take a big step up. Not sure we have one on the horizon, but let's hope. A lot of the other pieces are taking shape, but in today's football world you can only do so much with middling QB play.
 

Based on his definition of "power", I don't disagree with his answer. Let's just keep focusing on the next step: win against Wisconsin and finish with a winning B1G record. After we do that, let's talk about finishing in the top 25. After we do that, let's talk about winning our division. After that, the conference. After that, winning the Rose Bowl. After that, qualifying for the 4 team playoff. After that, winning a semifinal. After that, winning a national title. One step at a time.
 

Gopher_Nutz said:
Isn't the "next step", consistently winning 8 games a year and taking a run at the Conference every 4-5 years?
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Not if you have really long legs. Consistently having winning seasons and getting to a NYD bowl game occasionally would be a step forward.
 

Was he one of all the writers that projected us at the bottom of the Legends? The bottom, not next to the bottom.

He projected 7 to 8 wins next year. We are a better team in '14 than we think or at least most of us. A little luck goes a long way when you are competitive.
 


The long-term future is bright.

Next year? I can't see more than 6 wins if Mitch is the QB for the entire season. Hopefully Steveler or McKinzy have taken the reigns by the start of the B1G season.
 


What will be a difference maker in the success of the Gophers is the development of the RS and the quality walk-ons. We will see better team depth as the program continues to develop.

IMHO, the Gophers will surprise a few teams in the B1G again and again. MN is no longer a cream puff.

We have a strong need in defense this year, and signing Campbell and James IMHO are huge. On offense Gentry & Holland are a good fit for the Gophers.

The larder is being stocked under Coach Kill. I like the way he continually improves special teams and overall team balance.

It will be an exciting fours years to see Jeff Jones (assuming he sticks and be a homer) and Berkeley Edwards in the same backfield. With the deep TE with Williams & Elmore and if our WR corps become a factor, we'll be sitting pretty good.
 

TCF=UnitedWeStand said:
You should look up their salaries when they were grad assistants.
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I'm missing your point. You asked why coaches should get out of bed in the morning if coaches know that they can't turn their program into an elite program.

There are millions of reasons for them to get out of bed, and many of those reasons are green. Not sure what grad assistants have to do with any of this.
 

I'd have to agree. The comment by Feldman is a red herring. The next step for our team is NOT Ohio State's level. The next step is consistently winning 6 games and making bowl games. We're not there yet. The next step after that is winning 8-10 games a year and going to some of the better bowls. The next step after that is being in the conference title conversation every year and occasionally making a BCS bowl (I suppose that would be OSU territory). So I argue we're a good 2 steps from having to worry about the step Feldman referred to.
 

In the next ten years under Kill, I would be happy with a top 30 program on a consistent basis.
 

I'd be happy if we can make a run at the league title every four or five years and to be competitive in the other years. Few programs can reload every year (e.g., OSU and Bama) and I don't think that it is realistic to think we can be one of them. Don't get me wrong, if Kill makes us national title contenders year in and year out, no one will be more excited than me but that's wishful thinking.

Go Gophers!
 

MZBKA said:
I'm missing your point. You asked why coaches should get out of bed in the morning if coaches know that they can't turn their program into an elite program.

There are millions of reasons for them to get out of bed, and many of those reasons are green. Not sure what grad assistants have to do with any of this.
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It has to do with them working their butts off when they were grad assistants and they weren't making $100Ks of dollars. My sense with this group is that they've felt they could win everywhere they've gone, that 6/7/8 wins consistently wasn't what they were trying to accomplish. They wanted to win conference titles and compete for championships. They didn't do it for the money, they did it because they believed in what they working towards. It seems you're proposing they're getting out of bed because they're getting paid all that money. Of course that's part of it, but if money was their primary motivation, I don't think this staff would be where they are today.

My whole point is, if this group thought 6/7/8 wins was good enough (yeah, I'll say it - like Mason did), then we should all be worried. I don't think they're satisfied with 8 wins. They want to win consistently, at a higher level, and that's not because they're getting paid, it's because they believe we can do better than pretty much everybody else does, just as they did when when they were making $500 a year plus room and board.
 

The Gophs need a transcendent QB to come close to reaching the next level. The current recruiting position can only bring the program so far IMO. We likely need to hit on a star QB and let the success that person brings put the program in another level nationally. Similar to RG3 and Baylor or Luck at Stanford. With our infrastructure, it's hard to to it any other way. Even those 2 schools are at a fragile point where they need more sustained success to stay at their current level and not make them shooting stars
 

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