Gophers vs West Virginia in Guaranteed Rate Bowl

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Feels like the old days getting passed over every year for the Alamo Bowl. PSU with a losing record in conference and Wisconsin and PU who Minnesota beat all getting placed higher. I thought the new conference placement process was supposed to prevent this crap. This is beyond disappointing.
 

Although certainly under very different circumstances (other than we had taken The Axe back then too), I think all thought we came out of the Detroit bowl vs GT in 2018 very well.

Not going but certainly watching and time to learn more about the Mountaineers.

I think we all knew after Illinois the big dreams were pretty much gone. We got The Axe so this extra game is gravy. Better luck next year but for now let's just win this one.

BTW, Gopher fans have a lot of experience being passed over for "better" bowls. It is what it is...but maybe Coach ends up not liking it too...and doing something about it.
 

I understand some games being played at "historic" baseball stadiums like Fenway but Chase field? Why?
 

gopherbadgerman said:
I think I’ll take the family. Never been to Arizona and weather should be great!
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JWG said:
PSU also lost to IL, Iowa, and OSU. We share 3 losses and they’re placed 4 bowls above in ” placement” order? BS.

We will go as we’re trying to end the stereotype on Gopher travel. Will probably be us and 3 others. Oh well.

Play angry.
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You guys are good fans. Thank you for repping the U. I'm bitter as f right now and you're making travel plans. Hats off to thee.
 

Getting hosed by B1G has nothing to do with Bowling Green or Illinois. Coyle and PJ need to be very frank and not spin this in any way. The conference disrespected the University of Minnesota in front of the entire college football world. I get positive PJ but he needs to light up the conference this time.
 


Placing myself in my 21-year-old self, if I had to pick from four no-name bowls during the winter in Las Vegas, Phoenix, Nashville or New York; I'd pick the first two. And yeah, I'm trying to rationalize things.
 

corcorangopher said:
Getting hosed by B1G has nothing to do with Bowling Green or Illinois. Coyle and PJ need to be very frank and not spin this in any way. The conference disrespected the University of Minnesota in front of the entire college football world. I get positive PJ but he needs to light up the conference this time.
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Now that we got that Kevin Warren guy from MN these things wont happen to us anymore…
 

corcorangopher said:
Getting hosed by B1G has nothing to do with Bowling Green or Illinois. Coyle and PJ need to be very frank and not spin this in any way. The conference disrespected the University of Minnesota in front of the entire college football world. I get positive PJ but he needs to light up the conference this time.
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Don't the bowls pick where teams go?
 












It’s hoodie weather in as in late December especially at night. Crappy bowl slot period.
 

U2Gopher said:
We have probably never had an easier path to the Rose Bowl than this year….and we blew it.
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How? Even if we were 11-2 with a big ten title game loss to Michigan Ohio state goes to rose bowl.
Our path to rose bowl this year was winning the big ten and we didn’t have that good of a team
 

MGGopher said:
Feels like the old days getting passed over every year for the Alamo Bowl. PSU with a losing record in conference and Wisconsin and PU who Minnesota beat all getting placed higher. I thought the new conference placement process was supposed to prevent this crap. This is beyond disappointing.
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We were placed in Arizona so the conference sells more tickets in Arizona and Nashville

simple as that. It wasn’t a Passover
 


corcorangopher said:
Getting hosed by B1G has nothing to do with Bowling Green or Illinois. Coyle and PJ need to be very frank and not spin this in any way. The conference disrespected the University of Minnesota in front of the entire college football world. I get positive PJ but he needs to light up the conference this time.
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You think the coach should publicly sell the football program as not on the same level as Purdue? You think that’s what is needed?
 

Good chance for a 9-4 final record. I’ll take it. The stadium choice is ridiculous, but they probably got a pretty good rate on it.

I’d have preferred a SEC team as a measuring stick but there’s always next year.
 

Some guy said:
How? Even if we were 11-2 with a big ten title game loss to Michigan Ohio state goes to rose bowl.
Our path to rose bowl this year was winning the big ten and we didn’t have that good of a team
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Injuries surely played a bit of a big role. Have your star RB all year and healthy WR's and this is as good as almost any other offense I can remember, including the 19 team.
 

I'm A Maroon 2! said:
Injuries surely played a bit of a big role. Have your star RB all year and healthy WR's and this is as good as almost any other offense I can remember, including the 19 team.
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Correct. Lost top 3 running backs for the year. And another in the top 6 quit team.
3 of top 4 wideouts missed multiple games.
 

Does this mean that the guy at the Star Tribune who projected the bowls, you know, the projections that proved that the paper has a Badger bias, has somehow entered into a bowl placement cabal and is in cahoots with the conferences, the bowls and God knows who else? How far does it go?
 



corcorangopher said:
Getting hosed by B1G has nothing to do with Bowling Green or Illinois. Coyle and PJ need to be very frank and not spin this in any way. The conference disrespected the University of Minnesota in front of the entire college football world. I get positive PJ but he needs to light up the conference this time.
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I can guarantee the “entire college football world” isn’t moved by this. It’s an unranked 8-4 team that finished second in its division within its conference. Beating Wisconsin carries about 5% of the national significance compared to that felt by the diehard fan base so it wasn’t going to move the needle significantly for bowl selection.
 


Press release from the U:

The University of Minnesota football team has accepted an invitation to compete in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl on Dec. 28, 2021, in Phoenix, Ariz. The Gophers, who went 8-4 in the regular season and 6-3 in the Big Ten, will face West Virginia from the Big 12. This will be the first-ever meeting between the Gophers and Mountaineers. West Virginia finished the season with a 6-6 record and was 4-5 in conference play.

The Guaranteed Rate Bowl will be the 22nd bowl game all-time for Minnesota and it will also be the third bowl game for the Gophers under head coach P.J. Fleck. Minnesota defeated Auburn in the 2020 Outback Bowl and Georgia Tech in the 2018 Quick Lane Bowl under Fleck’s leadership.

“It’s a tremendous honor to compete in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl against West Virginia,” said Fleck. “Our team is excited to head to Phoenix, which is one of the most beautiful places in the country, and we look forward to facing a very talented West Virginia team. They are extremely well-coached and this game will be a terrific challenge for us. We are thankful to Guaranteed Rate, Executive Director Mike Nealy, Chairman of the Board Patrick Barkley, the Fiesta Bowl Organization and all the Yellow Jackets for inviting us. We look forward to representing the state of Minnesota on Dec. 28 in sunny Phoenix.”

Minnesota is 31-15-1 all-time against teams from the Big 12 and last faced a Big 12 opponent in 2015 when it hosted TCU. Minnesota most recently played a Big 12 opponent in a bowl game in 2012 when the Gophers faced Texas Tech in the 2012 Meineke Car Care Bowl.

The Gophers, who have won four straight bowl games, will be playing in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl for the fourth time. Minnesota previously competed in the bowl game in 2009, 2008 and 2006 when it was known as the Insight Bowl.
 


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