Geiger: The team finds itself with a significant amount of support who believe that the Gophers have a chance to row the boat to Pasadena

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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per Geiger:


The results of this season will say a lot about P.J. Fleck and the culture that he has firmly established in his Gopher football program. Since his first year as head coach in 2017, the team has seen sustained improvement but has never faced the pre-season expectation of being a nationally competitive team.

If Minnesota flounders this year, the state’s fanbase, already reeling from recent disappointments by the Timberwolves and Twins, will quickly fall back into their patented “here we go again” pessimism. However, should the Gophers rise to occasion and put together another strong run at a Big Ten Championship, Coach Fleck will find himself with an army of loyal fans that will back him no matter what happens in the years to come.

Some fans root for Minnesota because they were born in the state and like going to the games. Some root for the team just because they want to see the team prevail over rivals like Wisconsin and Iowa. But this year, the team finds itself with a significant amount of support from those like yours truly, who believe that the Gophers have a chance to row the boat all the way to Pasadena.

mnrepublic.com

2020 Gopher football preview

University of Minnesota students have worked hard to find any shred of a silver lining during a somber year, and they finally got one when the Big Ten announced that the fall football season would begin October 24th. After an 11-2 season in 2019 which culminated in an Outback Bowl victory over...
mnrepublic.com

Go Gophers!!
 

Good article. Nice to read some positive build up.
 

I'm all for optimism, but (assuming this doesn't change because of covid) the Rose Bowl is part of the college football playoffs this year. That means we would have to win the west over Wisconsin and company. Then we would have to beat Ohio State (or whoever represents the East) in the Big Ten Championship. And even then we probably wouldn't go unless we are undefeated. But hey, it's 2020 so I guess anything can happen!
 

BTChamp said:
Good article. Nice to read some positive build up.
Click to expand...
Ya but... I’m not saying we can’t win all our games but to suggest if we don’t it is disappointing is pretty silly.
We have a new offensive coordinator. This could improve things or submarine things...we don’t know what will happen.
We have two starting offensive linemen who are rumored to be sidelined. We don’t know what will happen.
We have one running back with any experience.
Our expected third wide receiver opted out. We don’t know who else may.
All of our leaders, our “stars” moved on on defense. We may or may not have
replacements.
It is a totally new set of circumstances for every team. There’s no guess how each team will respond to no non conference games. No traditional training camp. The fear of letting your team down by contracting Covid from who knows where. Lots and lots of unknowns...especially for a team with lots of new parts and new circumstances.
Pretty silly to suggest it’s Rose Bowl or bust. Those would be pretty short sighted fans.
Naturally, I hope we beat Michigan and continue to roll. But with all the circumstances there are more reasons than normal for a team to spiral.
 

Jimbo Slice said:
I'm all for optimism, but (assuming this doesn't change because of covid) the Rose Bowl is part of the college football playoffs this year. That means we would have to win the west over Wisconsin and company. Then we would have to beat Ohio State (or whoever represents the East) in the Big Ten Championship. And even then we probably wouldn't go unless we are undefeated. But hey, it's 2020 so I guess anything can happen!
Click to expand...
Yep. I assume the "road to Pasadena" notion still refers to the old sense of winning the Big Ten, for a lot of fans.
 




I'm going to be semi heartbroken and happy if they do.

I can't imagine them going and the fans not being able to go :(
 

It may not be this year. the Rose Bowl is a national semifinals game this year.
 



spackler said:
there are circumstances for every team. Why shouldn’t there be just as much of a possibility of a good year for the Gophers as any other team?
Click to expand...
Exactly, there should be optimism. But the idea the Gophers are a disappointment if they are not Rose Bowl team is the dumb part.
 

This season has the potential of being a crap shoot for teams depending on who and when they get hit by the virus. Won't be critical of the Gophers if they don't meet expectations making sure to use Covid as an excuse. However, if they do somehow win it all, it'll be crowing about being champions. No asterisk on the season.
 






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