Eight months from now, the new season begins

[cncmin]

Eight months from now, the new season begins

With the schedule as:
2010 Gopher Schedule
Thu, Sep 02 Middle Tennessee State at Murfreesboro, Tenn
Sat, Sep 11 South Dakota TCF Bank Stadium
Sat, Sep 18 Southern California TCF Bank Stadium
Sat, Sep 25 Northern Illinois TCF Bank Stadium
Sat, Oct 02 Northwestern TCF Bank Stadium
Sat, Oct 09 Wisconsin at Madison, Wis.
Sat, Oct 16 Purdue at West Lafayette, Ind.
Sat, Oct 23 Penn State TCF Bank Stadium
Sat, Oct 30 Ohio State TCF Bank Stadium
Sat, Nov 06 Michigan State at East Lansing, Mich.
Sat, Nov 13 Illinois at Champaign, Ill.
Sat, Nov 27 Iowa TCF Bank Stadium

I would envision wins @ Middle Tenn. St., S. Dakota, N. Illinois, Northwestern, and hopefully 2 more wins from @Wisconsin, @Purdue, @MSU, @Illinois, Iowa. The biggest problem is our 3 toughest opponents are all at home (USC, PSU, OSU), which means that those almost-sure losses simply mean that Wisc, Purdue, MSU, and Illinois - plenty winnable games at home - are all away.

Therefore, I'd predict 6 wins prior to a bowl game, assuming we have a servicable quarterback. But the record is going to rely heavily on our quarterback play, and the game of football so often does. If the same Weber of '09 starts, we likely win none of those "middle" games, and could easily win only 4 or less games. In that case, Brewster will surely lose his job. If Weber can improve to be an average D-1 QB (asking to have him be average Big Ten QB is surely asking too much), then we should get 6 wins. If we get surprising, good QB play, we could win up to 9 games and get to a good bowl game. The chances of that? Not likely, unless Brew decides to open up competition in the spring and fall. Gray and Alipate need to be considered just as likely to win the starting job as Weber.

 

[RodentRampage]

Eight months... That's like saying "The coffee will be ready... in eight months..."

 

[Dr.Don]

Rodent, I can guarantee you that it will NOT take eight months for my beer to get cold. When it is 10 below up here, I can set a case outside and it is good and cold in less than an hour. I love my beer, especially when it is "COLD"!

 

[SelectionSunday]

It's a fantastic home schedule for Gopher season-ticket holders. A pair of BCS qualifiers (OSU, Iowa), another that traditionally plays on New Year's Day and likely will next season (USC), + a traditional powerhouse like Penn State. Brew and the Gophers will have plenty of opportunities to earn a signature win (or even 2) next season. Not an unreasonable expectation to get a signature win in Year 4, which Brew has none of to this point. Wisconsin (a rivalry game) on the road certainly would qualify as well.

 

[Art Vandelay]

They will be favored in only one B10 game - NU at home.

 

[nukedwedges]

It is a phenomenal schedule for the fans....unfortunately the natives are restless albeit always supportive.....The Brew Crew will need 6 wins with at least 1 maybe 2 wins over a top program or close rival to keep his job. It should be interesting......

 

[Schnoodler]

Once again I don't think Brewsters job status is going to be dependent on signature wins or his record. It's going to be on if the program has improved or not. It's quite possible we improve considerably and have a similar record or even slightly worse record. Maturi in that case is not going to fire Brewster to appease the media blowhards and the negative nellies.

 

[SelectionSunday]

"Maturi in that case is not going to fire Brewster to appease the media blowhards and the negative nellies."

Very true.

Nor is he going to keep him simply just to appease those who refuse to acknowledge the mere possibility there are signs that could be construed as very troubling (failure to beat Iowa and/or Wisconsin & November Big 10 record would top my list). Usually if a team/program is improving, eventually wouldn't you expect to see more wins late in the conference season?

 

[Schnoodler]

Dude as much as it pains me, those are two pretty good teams. We're not talking about Indiana and Purdue. Maturi knows this. He's not going to *&^!#*&^!#*&^!#*&^!#can a program because it can't upset a team. He will if we can't beat the teams we are better than. It's a building process every year he will judge Brewster on whether the program is moving forward towards a point where those teams will no longer be better than us. It's really that simple. It won't matter if we lose to them until we're better than them as a program, or if it becomes painfully obvious like with mason that we will not build a program to that level. It isn't basketball we only get twelve games a year and not 28.

 

[maxwellsmart]

I'm on board with this way of thinking, Schnoodler. Regarding QB, my guess, based on what I've seen in hockey, is that seniors receive an opportunity to hold their positions early, but lack of performance quickly opens the door for underclassmen who have shown well in practice. Bottom line is that, like it or not, a marginal senior is worth far less to the program than a marginal junior. If any QB prospect makes significant strides, then Weber will be thrown into the fight of life to hold on. That is the kind of competition that usually bodes well for fans.

 

[Schnoodler]

Cleary if Gray isn't starting next year it's because there is a deficiency he has we're not aware of. Just as you say Maxwell, a senior benefits by the bird in the hand thinking. But if he opens the door by poor performance, it won't save his starting spot.