I want this for Minnesota football

[Gopherchase]

There have been ten coaches between Warmath and Fleck. Is it possible that the head coach is not the only reason for the program's status. In fact, it's better now than under any of those ten.

Bad administrators, hiring, bad or at best average coaches just an incredible string of incompetence versus anything systemic in my opinion. Look at the pathetic list of athletic directors we’ve had.

 

[Laker]

That’s not true.
Ohio state had Fickell and was a doormat and they went 12-0 the next year

Fickell was designated as an interim coach. Ohio State had sanctions with reduced recruiting and no bowls. Following year, urban Meyer, hall of fame coach with national championships. Meyer had a pipeline to Florida players plus traditional Ohio and Midwest players. Fleck isn’t blessed with either unfortunately.

 

[Some guy]

Fickell was designated as an interim coach. Ohio State had sanctions with reduced recruiting and no bowls. Following year, urban Meyer, hall of fame coach with national championships. Meyer had a pipeline to Florida players plus traditional Ohio and Midwest players. Fleck isn’t blessed with either unfortunately.

I know
I was taking a potshot at Fickell

 

[Some guy]

I think you missed the key word, perennial.

I know
I was taking a potshot at Fickell

 

[gopherbadgerman]

I think that it would be close though don’t you

Yes, not a big spread. But I do think gophers would be at least two or three point dogs at Penn State.

 

[Some guy]

Yes, not a big spread. But I do think gophers would be at least two or three point dogs at Penn State.

I think that’s true right now but with every passing weeks becomes less true.
Gophers probably 9 point dogs 3 weeks ago

 

[mngg11]

I agree with everything you said, but he had to win, and win big before some of those rich alumni started donating. Cuban has said he had never donated to IU athletics before being convinced to meet with Cig last
December.

"Shark Tank: College Football Edition"

 

[mngg11]

Wow. Yes, the lads at D-Day showed incredible bravery. The average age of the soldiers who participated that day was 22... so yes, very young. But they were certainly not mostly teenagers as you suggest. Since the minimum enlistment age was 18 during WW2, there were very, very few 17 year old kids there. But that aside, I still really hate it when people compare football, or any sport, to combat. It is nowhere near the same. Your logic is (I guess), since young people could storm the beach at Normandy successfully in 1944, then we should expect young people who put on a U of M football uniform to win the Big Ten in 2025. Okay then.

I expect a transition to "mumble mumble mumble pull themselves up by their bootstraps mumble mumble mumble gobless"

 

[mngolf]

In every facet of life, people point out the exceptions and act like it should be expected. If Cig was 10 years younger, EVERY D1 football school would be trying to hire him away from IU.

 

[PhillyGopher]

 

[caliGopher]

That’s not true.
Ohio state had Fickell and was a doormat and they went 12-0 the next year

Talk about taking something totally out of context.

But, OK.

And you may want to check the definition of a doormat. 6-6 and a Gator Bowl invitation is hardly doormat territory.

He did lose the Bowl game though. He's no PJ Fleck.

 

[Some guy]

Talk about taking something totally out of context.

But, OK.

And you may want to check the definition of a doormat. 6-6 and a Gator Bowl invitation is hardly doormat territory.

He did lose the Bowl game though. He's no PJ Fleck.

For the third time. I wasn’t serious lol

 

[btowngopher]

You're acting he brought 2019 LSU with him. These kids were from mighty James Madison.

Does it matter where they came from? Like 3-4 of them are/were All American type players. Plus the two QB transfers were fantastic as well.

 

[LeftofThaDial]

Does it matter where they came from? Like 3-4 of them are/were All American type players. Plus the two QB transfers were fantastic as well.

Of course it matters. Indiana had 3 All-Americans last year. All were recruited to JMU by Cig. 1 was recruited when JMU was still FCS, 2 were 0 star recruits coming out of HS. It shows that Cig and his staff are elite at evaluating talent, and then coaching it. With a bigger budget this year they were able to take it a level or 2 higher.

 

[btowngopher]

Of course it matters. Indiana had 3 All-Americans last year. All were recruited to JMU by Cig. 1 was recruited when JMU was still FCS, 2 were 0 star recruits coming out of HS. It shows that Cig and his staff are elite at evaluating talent, and then coaching it. With a bigger budget this year they were able to take it a level or 2 higher.

It doesn’t matter when discussing the impact they had for Indiana. Yes it reflects well on Cig that he recruited them in the first place, but that wasn’t the discussion, OP was downplaying how impactful the transfers were since they came from JMU. Obviously the new transfer rules have been super beneficial for the quick turnaround.

 

[GopherMenace]

I agree with everything you said, but he had to win, and win big before some of those rich alumni started donating. Cuban has said he had never donated to IU athletics before being convinced to meet with Cig last
December.

I think the yearly inexplicable bad loss is what really holds the program back. It hurts the national perception of the program and kills excitement in the casual fanbase. If I had money to seriously donate to NIL, those losses would give me pause. Because, if you routinely lay eggs against lesser talent now, then why would I believe that’s going to change in the future regardless of having more talent.

Cignatti has yet to have a bad loss at Indiana and blows teams out that he should blow out. That instills a lot of confidence in the fanbase and boosters.

 

[WindyCityGopher]

One of my fa

For those of you who might be interested, read Stephen Ambrose's DDay. That's what American exceptionalism is all about.

Go Gophers!

An exceptional book, one of my all-time favorites.

 

[Gophergrandpa]

He also basically brought an entire team with him. I'm not ripping the guy, he took advantage of the current landscape of college football, and good for him, and IU fans. I'll be very interested to see how it goes for them the next five years.

But he brought it from James Madison University … which would have gone undefeated in the B1G?

 

[PoockItInfor6]

20-17 in the 4th… looking like a good game!

 

[Goldmember]

I understand, but should I be satisfied with that? When does success become mediocrity? All I'm asking is that his now becomes better.

Ask Wisconsin.

 

[Ski-U-Ham]

Because, if you routinely lay eggs against lesser talent now, then why would I believe that’s going to change in the future regardless of having more talent.

Because you'd have more talent?

 

[btowngopher]

I think the yearly inexplicable bad loss is what really holds the program back. It hurts the national perception of the program and kills excitement in the casual fanbase. If I had money to seriously donate to NIL, those losses would give me pause. Because, if you routinely lay eggs against lesser talent now, then why would I believe that’s going to change in the future regardless of having more talent.

Cignatti has yet to have a bad loss at Indiana and blows teams out that he should blow out. That instills a lot of confidence in the fanbase and boosters.

The inexplicable bad loss thing is so overblown. Give Cig 9 years and I’m sure he’ll lose to some P4 teams that he’s “supposed” to beat too. Other than the Bowling Green game I’m not seeing those so called inexplicable bad losses every year.

 

[GopherMenace]

The inexplicable bad loss thing is so overblown. Give Cig 9 years and I’m sure he’ll lose to some P4 teams that he’s “supposed” to beat too. Other than the Bowling Green game I’m not seeing those so called inexplicable bad losses every year.

2021 Bowling Green, 2021 Illinois, 2022 Purdue, 2023 Northwestern, 2024 North Carolina, 2024 Rutgers, 2025 Cal, and I’d even argue this years blow out was an inexplicable bad loss due to how badly they got beat. Outside of that 2023 Northwestern game, because that season was a down year regardless, you win those games (which based off of talent I believe we should’ve won pretty easily) and the perception of the program is dramatically different.

 

[GopherMenace]

Because you'd have more talent?

Laying an egg = playing down to or below a team of lesser talent and losing. Any team is capable of doing this regardless of talent level.

 

[Ski-U-Ham]

Laying an egg = playing down to or below a team of lesser talent and losing. Any team is capable of doing this regardless of talent level.

Except for Indiana apparently?

I'm not sure if you're saying talent level doesn't matter... You said you would not donate money because we might have an inexplicable loss if you do, and then you go on to say any team could do that regardless of talent level.

If that's the case, it will save a lot of people on this site a lot of time complaining about losing recruiting battles or how our class ranks compared to other classes.

 

[GopherMenace]

Except for Indiana apparently?

I'm not sure if you're saying talent level doesn't matter... You said you would not donate money because we might have an inexplicable loss if you do, and then you go on to say any team could do that regardless of talent level.

If that's the case, it will save a lot of people on this site a lot of time complaining about losing recruiting battles or how our class ranks compared to other classes.

In my opinion, until Fleck has a season or two where his teams don’t come out miserably flat against a lesser opponent or get embarrassingly blown out by a team of similar talent. I think you’ll be extremely hard pressed to find a major booster who would be willing to take the team seriously enough to invest heavy capital. Frankly I don’t blame those boosters either. If his current teams falter against the Cals and Purdues of the world, then why would I trust that, even with more talent, they wouldn’t falter against the Iowas and Illinoises of the world and cost themselves at a shot at the playoffs? I am a Fleck fan, but I think this is the biggest thing he needs to work on to get over the hump.

I’m also sure Cignatti will have his share of ugly losses, but at the CURRENT moment he has zero. It’s pretty easy to sell the idea of competing for a National Title to boosters when the head coach has never lost to a team of similar or lesser talent during his tenure at the school.