Chip: All is not lost because the Big Ten West is the definition of pedestrian, which is putting it kindly.

[BleedGopher]

per Chip:

All is not lost because the Big Ten West is the definition of pedestrian, which is putting it kindly. The loss, though, tamps down the giddiness surrounding a 4-0 start and showed that a veteran Gophers team praised for its maturity and moxie is quite capable of producing rain on a sunny day.

"That is not how we played in the last month," Fleck said.

Purdue isn't New Mexico State or Western Illinois, either. The competition jumped several notches, and the Gophers basically gift-wrapped a 13-point swing to the visitors.

Self-inflicted mistakes pile up as Gophers implode in first loss

Looking lost from the start, the Gophers were dominated at the line of scrimmage and couldn't match Purdue's execution.

www.startribune.com

Go Gophers!!

 

[RememberMurray]

Neither Illinois nor Purdue look "weak" or "pedestrian" to me. Minnesota will be back. Iowa gave Michigan a tough fight. Northwestern stayed with Penn State. Hell, even Nebraska beat Indiana.

I like Chip a lot, but this "West is weak" thing is way overstated, and the definition of conventional wisdom.

 

[bonin21]

Nah, the West is weak. And you have to take advantage of that at some point.

 

[RememberMurray]

Nah, the West is weak. And you have to take advantage of that at some point.

Well, it's hard to argue with the brilliant supporting case you put forth here. I mean, "Nah" is always "case closed" in any discussion, hands down.

 

[Governor Sibley]

We can win the West!

 

[WorkingMyTailOff]

Neither Illinois nor Purdue look "weak" or "pedestrian" to me. Minnesota will be back. Iowa gave Michigan a tough fight. Northwestern stayed with Penn State. Hell, even Nebraska beat Indiana.

I like Chip a lot, but this "West is weak" thing is way overstated, and the definition of conventional wisdom.

I agree. I think it's more balanced than ever with Illinois and Purdue elevating making it a 5 team race.

 

[Gophers_4life]

Nah, the West is weak. And you have to take advantage of that at some point.

Not sure about saying "the West is weak", that simply.

Am 100% sure about saying "this is the weakest the West has looked in, maybe ever".

 

[Gophers_4life]

I agree. I think it's more balanced than ever with Illinois and Purdue elevating making it a 5 team race.

"Balance" and "parity" means there are no great teams.

It doesn't mean everyone is great.


That is what I've come to understand about that.

 

[Some guy]

Neither Illinois nor Purdue look "weak" or "pedestrian" to me. Minnesota will be back. Iowa gave Michigan a tough fight. Northwestern stayed with Penn State. Hell, even Nebraska beat Indiana.

I like Chip a lot, but this "West is weak" thing is way overstated, and the definition of conventional wisdom.

Big ten west currently 3-4 against the east
Clearly terrible by comparison


I would argue he is correct in saying nobody is great.
He is clearly wrong saying everyone is weak.
Division could have 5-6 bowl teams.
Division could likely end up at .500 vs east or better if you look at matchups

 

[Some guy]

I agree. I think it's more balanced than ever with Illinois and Purdue elevating making it a 5 team race.

4 team race because Wisconsin sucks.

 

[Gophers_4life]

How crazy for Illinois, though. Hire Bert, and year 2 luck into one of easiest years to win the West since its creation.

 

[RememberMurray]

"Balance" and "parity" means there are no great teams.

It doesn't mean everyone is great.


That is what I've come to understand about that.

Nobody said all the West teams are great. That's not even in play here.

We're talking about the conventional wisdom that continually says the B1G West is "pedestrian" or "weak".

Illinois, Purdue, Minnesota: not weak. Not pedestrian.

 

[Some guy]

How crazy for Illinois, though. Hire Bert, and year 2 luck into one of easiest years to win the West since its creation.

There isn’t a favorite entering big ten play and if there was it is Mn, and Mn is down it’s top receiver and top running back.

 

[Gophers_4life]

There isn’t a favorite entering big ten play and if there was it is Mn, and Mn is down it’s top receiver and top running back.

All I know is that they went to Madison and kicked their ass. For whatever that is worth to you.

Maybe Wisconsin sucks this year. Hopefully so


On the other hand, they lost to Indiana ...

 

[Some guy]

All I know is that they went to Madison and kicked their ass. For whatever that is worth to you.

Maybe Wisconsin sucks there year. Hopefully so


On the other hand, they lost to Indiana ...

Indiana definitely sucks
Illinois beat 9 win Minnesota last year but failed to make a bowl.

Winning is hard.
Winning consistently is even harder.
We will see if Illinois can keep it up.


Let’s go hawks?!

 

[Iceland12]

Overall:

Illinois - 4-1
Purdue - 3-2
Northwestern - 1-4
Minnesota - 4-1
Iowa - 3-2
Nebraska - 2-3
Wisconsin - 2-3

That looks pretty pedestrian considering it includes their hand picked, Non-Conference games;

We've gone arguing whether the Gophers should accept a spot in the Playoffs or settle for the Rose Bowl.

The West still looks very winnable. Unless Ibrahim can't play in the next 8 games.

"First, Fleck overreacted to a slow start by going for it on fourth-and-1 from his own 29 in the first quarter. The Gophers sent in wildcat quarterback Cole Kramer, who got stuffed for no gain. Purdue turned that prime field position into a field goal for a 10-0 lead.

Fleck said he felt his team needed a jolt and that he supported the play call. I have been critical of Fleck's game management as being too cautious in the past, but this gamble felt too risky so early in the game, especially with star running back Mo Ibrahim sidelined by injury.

"It only cost us three points, but it's worth it," Fleck said. "I would do it again. We've got to be able to get fourth-and-1s."

The offense coughed away 10 points in the second quarter. Matthew Trickett hooked a 28-yard field goal attempt. Later, wide receiver Michael Brown-Stephens was open in the end zone but let an on-target pass bounce off his hands and into the arms of a Purdue defender.

Leaving points on the field against quality opponents is a recipe for losing.

"It was like we were uphill all day," Fleck said.

That was especially noticeable with the offensive line. Purdue's defensive front won that matchup decisively, which forced the Gophers to abandon their identity as a ball-control offense. Fleck admitted that Purdue "dominated the line of scrimmage..

"Fleck reminded his players afterward that their goals are still within grasp, but the path suddenly looks different. The Gophers have back-to-back road games after their bye, starting at Illinois, which demolished Wisconsin in Madison on Saturday. Then comes a trip to Penn State.

The Gophers deserved their first loss by how they played. Their response will tell us more about where this season is headed."

 

[GopherVotary]

Big ten west currently 3-4 against the east
Clearly terrible by comparison

3-5, actually. Since the 2014 East-West split, the West is 73-82 against the East. Of course, OSU skews the results, with their 20-2 record against West teams.

 

[Gophers_4life]

Guessing if you take out Rutgers, Maryland, and Indiana, those records suddenly look much worse for the West.

 

[Some guy]

3-5, actually. Since the 2014 East-West split, the West is 73-82 against the East. Of course, OSU skews the results, with their 20-2 record against West teams.

Don’t know which game I missed ?

 

[GopherVotary]

Don’t know which game I missed ?

PSU beat PU & NW, MI beat IA, OSU beat WI, and IU beat Illinois.

 

[Some guy]

PSU beat PU & NW, MI beat IA, OSU beat WI, and IU beat Illinois.

PSU vs Purdue (east 1-0)

Indiana vs Illinois (east 2-0) I think this is what I missed because Illinois had two games in week 1 of my app due to zero week game

Minnesota vs Michigan state (east 2-1)
Iowa vs Rutgers (2-2)
Ohio state vs Wisconsin (east 3-2)
Michigan vs Iowa (east 4-2)
Penn state vs Northwestern (east 5-2)
Indiana vs Nebraska (east 5-3)

 

[short ornery norwegian]

perception is reality.

the perception is that the East is better because the East has OSU and Michigan. PSU is good, but not (IMHO) on the same level as the big 2.

plus, some history -

in the B1G FB Championship game, the East team has defeated the West team 8 years in a row. That is every year since the B1G went to the East-West setup.

in the 3 years of Legends and Leaders, you had the following results:
2011: WI (current West) beat MSU (current East)
2012: WI beat Nebraska (both teams in current West)
2013: MSU beat OSU (both teams current East)

So in 11 years with divisions, only once has a "West" team defeated an "East" team to win a Conference Championship.

 

[Gopher 461]

Nobody said all the West teams are great. That's not even in play here.

We're talking about the conventional wisdom that continually says the B1G West is "pedestrian" or "weak".

Illinois, Purdue, Minnesota: not weak. Not pedestrian.

I'm being redundant but RemberMurray. Big 10 Football is more than 4* and 5* talent; it's about "between the ears". Who wants it more? What team is willing to beat the other team physically? Any West team can beat the others in the West on a given day, and they can win against an East opponent. It's college football.