Iowa football: Are the Gophers actually a legitimate B1G West contender?

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Great Plains Gopher said:
South Dakota State is 6-1 and their game with ND State is College Game Day this week. They are regularly a national power in their division. Nebraska will beat Iowa, but Minnesota may not. The Gophers will have the most trouble with Penn St, Iowa and Wisconsin. Northwestern will not be a pushover, either - at home. But I expect the Gophers to win at least one of those games, plus Maryland, for an amazing 9-win season that can go to 10-3 with a bowl victory. No one expected that. If they beat Penn State or Wisconsin they will be the big story in football this year and PJ will be up for B10 and national coach-of-the-year honors.
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Actually, quite a few people right here, on this very board, predicted 9-3 or better. I was one of them.
 

The Gophers still need to prove themselves more to stop this kind of article.

There is a very realistic chance the Gophers finish 6-3 in conference, the same as Iowa, losing the head to head to them.
 

We already beat the best team on our schedule from pre-season rankings. That's Nebraska who was the Big Ten West favorite by many.

Nebraska could still finish 2nd I imagine if they beat Iowa and Wisky.

Best team we played might be Purdue however.
 


Anything is possible. If they can be 8-0 after Maryland, the Penn State game will be a defining moment. Penn State will be tough to beat, but not impossible. I can see the Gophers going 2-3 in the remaining games. An extra win or two will be a pleasant bonus. A Big Ten West title will be divine. It is not in the bag yet by far. Again, anything is possible.

Having the Gophers in the conversation for the Big Ten West title can only help future recruiting.
 


hungan1 said:
Anything is possible. If they can be 8-0 after Maryland, the Penn State game will be a defining moment. Penn State will be tough to beat, but not impossible. I can see the Gophers going 2-3 in the remaining games. An extra win or two will be a pleasant bonus. A Big Ten West title will be divine. It is not in the bag yet by far. Again, anything is possible.

Having the Gophers in the conversation for the Big Ten West title can only help future recruiting.
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there is also absolutely no reason they couldn't run the table either. PSU is not unbeatable (example: Michigan's massive comeback and needing a dropped ball in the end zone to avoid OT), Iowa is Iowa, WI just laid an egg vs Illinois. We'll find out if they want to be legends in the Twin Cities or not. They're halfway there.
 

Gophers haven't won in I-O-W-A C-I-T-Y since '99.

Not dissimilar to last win at Madison being in '93 until last year.

Minnesota is due. But must defeat the Terps first...
 

Iowa is 4-5 in their last 9 B1G games.

Northwestern is 4-5 also.

Wisconsin is 5-4.

Minnesota is 7-2.
 

RememberMurray said:
Iowa is 4-5 in their last 9 B1G games.

Northwestern is 4-5 also.

Wisconsin is 5-4.

Minnesota is 7-2.
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We should have beat Northwestern last year. We had a couple costly drops early.

Also, that Iowa loss we had last year... 48-31. Our Def Coord was Robb Smith then.
 



Goldteam said:
Going from memory here, but didn't Iowa win the west 5 or 6 years ago ago by playing a horseschit schedule?
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Yes. Their schedule was far weaker than ours in 2019. One huge difference between Iowa 2015 and MN 2019 (as it stands) is Iowa was very much unloved by SP+ finishing the 2015 season at 42nd despite going undefeated in the regular season. We all saw the comedy that ensued at the Rose Bowl culminating in the Stanford Band parading a giant cow around the field while playing the Farmers Only dating service theme (resulting in - IIRC - high level crying from Iowa to shut down the Stanford band). Truly a special season.

In summary, Iowa went undefeated but by perhaps the least impressive margin in history. The Gophers have a much tougher schedule and are very much adored by SP+ at 15th in the nation. Apples and Oranges.
 

RememberMurray said:
Is Minnesota a "legitimate" B1G West contender? Let's check the objective facts.

FACT ONE: Conference Record — Minnesota 4-0, Iowa 2-2.

Therefore, if Minnesota finishes 3-2 in the final 5 conference games, Iowa would have to go 5-0 to tie.

FACT TWO: Posted elsewhere, by another poster; quoted by me. B1G record, last nine games — Minnesota 7-2, Iowa 4-5.

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So, is Minnesota a "legitimate" B1G West contender? Maybe the better question might be: Is Iowa?
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+1
 

dalostpinoy said:
fair. articles like this will be put to rest once we play Penn State
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Well we are a long way from the 11/9 PSU game and the PSU BWI board is reeking of MIchigan level arrogance regarding the upcoming game. They are good again so the board is active and much of he negativity is now buried since Sunday, but you will see it soon.

They think they are blue bloods again, and we are Rutgers or Indiana. They have short memories, considering the 2016 Claeys team had them beat and pissed it away.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOJHRnEAzu0

That win might have saved Franklin's job.

The Penn State BWI posters give Minnesota no chance to win and give zero respect at Minnesota all as a program.

Last Sunday there were all sorts of negative references to Minnesota, apparently Penn State is now the big dog again.

This Texas thread is pretty mild, but we will see the arrogance return in a few days. There were references to MN all over the board after the Rutgers game, and none of them good, but they have moved on this weeks game, so buckle up and get ready.

https://bwi.forums.rivals.com/threads/how-is-texas-ranked-minnesota.250262/
 
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Face The Facts said:
We already beat the best team on our schedule from pre-season rankings. That's Nebraska who was the Big Ten West favorite by many.

Nebraska could still finish 2nd I imagine if they beat Iowa and Wisky.

Best team we played might be Purdue however.
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This post is makes a great point, the pre-season polls are garbage and should be ended. There should not be poll at all until week# 3 or 4.

Until these polls stop having an impact on anything, a win over a "top" team like Nebraska needs to be touted for the rest of the season, regardless of whether they are crap or not.,
 



This is the 20 year anniversary of a very important game...also in November...against a highly ranked and rated team.

The name Dan Nystrom comes to mind...

Fans of this same team noted this loss was the start of a decade long decline that certainly has turned...but who knows until this game is played who's on the way up versus who stalls?
 


Moved. Posted as a new thread: Looking at the Big Ten West race...

It deserves its own thread for conversation.
 
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Let Iowa not be worried about MN. Embrace these articles about how MN isn't actually that good. It will make our special season even more sweet.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk
 

The good thing about sports is everything gets answered on the field. Others can talk until they are blue in the face about our schedule, and we can do the same about our record. In a few weeks, we get to prove it against Penn State. When that happens, one of those groups has to shut up.
 


As others have pointed out the biggest issue with the OP is the way the question was worded. Is Minnesota a legitimate contender in the West? Not sure how any team that controls their own destiny with 5 games remaining can't be seen as a legit contender.

The better question would have been is Minnesota the favorite to win the West division? That question is legitimate and a strong case could be made that in spite of our current position we still shouldn't be viewed as the favorite.
 

2015 Iowa Schedule

Illinois State
@ Iowa State
Pittsburgh
North Texas
@ #19 Wisconsin
Illinois
@ #20 Northwestern
Maryland
@ Indiana
Minnesota
Purdue
@ Nebraska


That looks like a pretty "soft" schedule too with no Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan State or Michigan...Minnesota's 2019 schedule is probably more difficult considering they now have 9 conference games that includes Penn State. A road trip to Fresno is no easy task either. And South Dakota State is one of the top programs in FCS.

Minnesota just needs to find a way to win at Kinnick Stadium for the first time since 1999.
 

Iowa is in a 3 team race for the West title. Iowa is 2-2, but the losses are to East teams and they can easily run the table. That would put them in a tie with MN at 7-2 if we lose to PSU or WI. Iowa would win tie-breaker. Iowa and WI games are the games we have to win or it will come down to tie-breakers.
 

lmh839 said:
2015 Iowa Schedule

Illinois State
@ Iowa State
Pittsburgh
North Texas
@ #19 Wisconsin
Illinois
@ #20 Northwestern
Maryland
@ Indiana
Minnesota
Purdue
@ Nebraska


That looks like a pretty "soft" schedule too with no Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan State or Michigan...Minnesota's 2019 schedule is probably more difficult considering they now have 9 conference games that includes Penn State. A road trip to Fresno is no easy task either. And South Dakota State is one of the top programs in FCS.

Minnesota just needs to find a way to win at Kinnick Stadium for the first time since 1999.
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I really like how our team matches up against Iowa. By the time we get to the game I could see us being road favorites as well.
 

MNVCGUY said:
As others have pointed out the biggest issue with the OP is the way the question was worded. Is Minnesota a legitimate contender in the West? Not sure how any team that controls their own destiny with 5 games remaining can't be seen as a legit contender.

The better question would have been is Minnesota the favorite to win the West division? That question is legitimate and a strong case could be made that in spite of our current position we still shouldn't be viewed as the favorite.
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Yeah its more so this. If the issue is are we good or not due to who we've played then title it that way. We certainly are a contender for the west because we're 4-0. We can't control our schedule but we've beaten who we've played and as a result are a contender one way or another.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
Yes. Their schedule was far weaker than ours in 2019. One huge difference between Iowa 2015 and MN 2019 (as it stands) is Iowa was very much unloved by SP+ finishing the 2015 season at 42nd despite going undefeated in the regular season. We all saw the comedy that ensued at the Rose Bowl culminating in the Stanford Band parading a giant cow around the field while playing the Farmers Only dating service theme (resulting in - IIRC - high level crying from Iowa to shut down the Stanford band). Truly a special season.

In summary, Iowa went undefeated but by perhaps the least impressive margin in history. The Gophers have a much tougher schedule and are very much adored by SP+ at 15th in the nation. Apples and Oranges.
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My goodness, I forgot about the Stanford band thing and how hilarious it was. I will say, I've been in Cali for a year now and they don't advertise Farmer's Only Dating Service here. Not seen the commercial once...
 

Sparlimb said:
My goodness, I forgot about the Stanford band thing and how hilarious it was. I will say, I've been in Cali for a year now and they don't advertise Farmer's Only Dating Service here. Not seen the commercial once...
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I had never heard the story about the Stanford band. That is some funny stuff!
 


There was a great article on "The Daily Gopher" years ago on Iowa's view of their team -- basically using the metaphor of a guy with an old Cadillac car. At one time that car was great, it was best on the road. But each year it loses a bit of it's luster. It's the only car the guy's got and he can't get a new one, so he's going to take care of it the best he can. Iowa's a program on a downhill slide, but it's all Iowa fans have.
 

bleedsmaroonandgold said:
The good thing about sports is everything gets answered on the field. Others can talk until they are blue in the face about our schedule, and we can do the same about our record. In a few weeks, we get to prove it against Penn State. When that happens, one of those groups has to shut up.
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Are you new to the internet? :p
 

Livingat45north said:
There was a great article on "The Daily Gopher" years ago on Iowa's view of their team -- basically using the metaphor of a guy with an old Cadillac car. At one time that car was great, it was best on the road. But each year it loses a bit of it's luster. It's the only car the guy's got and he can't get a new one, so he's going to take care of it the best he can. Iowa's a program on a downhill slide, but it's all Iowa fans have.
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Iowa to me is a program that should win 7-8 games a year, on average, and once every 10-15 years have a year like 2015.
 

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