fmlizard
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First of all, the postponement sucks for Gopher football. It sucks for all fans of the Big Ten, Pac 12, and the rest of college football. It stinks for the players who wanted to play and depend on a season to showcase their talents. It slows tremendous on-field momentum for the program. It's likely to leave a (temporary) financial crater in the athletic department.
The crucial thing is that it sucks for our rivals too. On balance, I think the Gophers may be the Big Ten team best positioned to be lifted by this situation. Here's why I think that:
1. Recruiting from Success - the Gophers enter this stoppage with their stock at its highest level in over 50 years. Of course, this boosts recruiting and chances of continued success. Minnesota was likely a regression candidate from 11-2 even with a strong follow-up season. The entire 2020 recruiting cycle and a good part of 2021 continues with Minnesota as the fast riser in the Big Ten. Our coaches get to focus on it 100% vs. other conferences. Meanwhile, bearish sentiment will linger in Lincoln, Evanston, Lansing, and most recently, Iowa City.
2. Early Declarations - It stinks that Bateman won't play as a Gopher again. Great player and best of luck to him. He is likely to be the only Gopher with this type of draft certainty and the team is unlikely to see many more draft-prep losses. Teams like Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Wisconsin, etc are much more likely to see elite draft prospects (Jr/Sr) sit out the spring, whether the NFL moves its draft back or not. That will temporarily level off the leaders and bring Minnesota even closer to the top.
3. Exposure - In a thinned Spring college football landscape, the Gophers may become a center-stage team. Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, USC, Oregon - they already are out front in a full season. Second tier, but competitive, teams like Minnesota are likely to rise a level to be weekly fixtures on major network TV.
4. Potential Financial Gain - by waiting until Spring there is a fair chance that the stands will be partially or totally full for games. That means the eventual football income for the 2020-21 academic year would be much greater than taking the "empty stands in the Fall" deal. TV ratings may also be absurdly high if the conference is one of the first "back to normal" sporting scenes in an otherwise slow time of the year. These factors may make the Big Ten financial winners in the end.
The crucial thing is that it sucks for our rivals too. On balance, I think the Gophers may be the Big Ten team best positioned to be lifted by this situation. Here's why I think that:
1. Recruiting from Success - the Gophers enter this stoppage with their stock at its highest level in over 50 years. Of course, this boosts recruiting and chances of continued success. Minnesota was likely a regression candidate from 11-2 even with a strong follow-up season. The entire 2020 recruiting cycle and a good part of 2021 continues with Minnesota as the fast riser in the Big Ten. Our coaches get to focus on it 100% vs. other conferences. Meanwhile, bearish sentiment will linger in Lincoln, Evanston, Lansing, and most recently, Iowa City.
2. Early Declarations - It stinks that Bateman won't play as a Gopher again. Great player and best of luck to him. He is likely to be the only Gopher with this type of draft certainty and the team is unlikely to see many more draft-prep losses. Teams like Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Wisconsin, etc are much more likely to see elite draft prospects (Jr/Sr) sit out the spring, whether the NFL moves its draft back or not. That will temporarily level off the leaders and bring Minnesota even closer to the top.
3. Exposure - In a thinned Spring college football landscape, the Gophers may become a center-stage team. Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, USC, Oregon - they already are out front in a full season. Second tier, but competitive, teams like Minnesota are likely to rise a level to be weekly fixtures on major network TV.
4. Potential Financial Gain - by waiting until Spring there is a fair chance that the stands will be partially or totally full for games. That means the eventual football income for the 2020-21 academic year would be much greater than taking the "empty stands in the Fall" deal. TV ratings may also be absurdly high if the conference is one of the first "back to normal" sporting scenes in an otherwise slow time of the year. These factors may make the Big Ten financial winners in the end.
