Just got back from Vegas, some national perspective on the Gophs

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Ole

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First of all, the chicken littles are getting a little old, I'm not even going to comment on the stupidity and short term vision of some of the crap spewed around here the last few days.

I was in Vegas last week, had a chance to talk with football fans from around the country, and I have got to say, they feel alot better about our program than many around here do.
A fan from Georgia talked about the great non conference matchups we have coming in, really wished more SEC teams would pickup BCS non conference games like his bulldogs have.
He had seen our new stadium and thought it looked great. Knew of Decker and loved the Cal game TD with the bloody chin. Said that he loved Big Ten football, because it's a different animal, playing in the cold, tough hardnosed running, tough defense. He said any SEC team that would play up in Big Ten country in November would get killed, including Florida, Georgia, LSU, and they all know it. That's coming from an SEC fan.
Talked with Michigan and Iowa fans, they were actually pretty complimentary of our coaches and program going forward, I think most Big Ten fans outside of the message board world actually think we are going to be an up and coming program. By the way, both feel that the dbag coach from Wisky is an absolute joke of a human being, the Iowa fan had some stories of his playing days and tales from campus that makes the Whaley and Tinsley incidents seem tame.

Finally I think some perspective is in order, everyone I talked football with had stories of struggles and down years, mediocre seasons, and tough losses even shouts to fire the coach, but also that those same teams broke through eventually. I think it's only a matter of time before we see the same here. Most of them did too.
 

I think that is fair. And, just as important... the vast majority of fans, pundits, etc. predicted last summer that a 6-6 or 7-5 season was the likely result. At this point, I think we are looking at... you guessed it... a 6-6 or 7-5 season. That hasn't changed since July. What has changed is all the calls for firing the coaches and benching the players. When I see this I can't help but ask myself "Just what has taken place this season to raise everyone's expectations sooooo high, that now the same end result that everyone was predicting before the season is now such a disaster?"
 

My view from the East...

the Bank hype, Victory Walks, G alum greats (Grant, Bell etc) back on campus, biggest locker in football pub, Deck All-Everything dreams, recruiting progress/successes, sold out stadium for the first time in decades, HC and player enthusiasm, local press/BTN expectations sometimes too upbeat, great national "big stage" TV exposure, general fan expectations far exceeding realistic pundit views...not too hard to understand the depressing letdown when the "Unrealistic Expectations Bubble" finally burst in Happy Valley.

Given all that hype, now it's Brew & Cos job to get the GGs back on track for a more realistic 6-6 or better yet, 7-5 finish (8-4 probably "Bubble Land"...but who knows with college fb?).
 

Ole said:
First of all, the chicken littles are getting a little old, I'm not even going to comment on the stupidity and short term vision of some of the crap spewed around here the last few days.

I was in Vegas last week, had a chance to talk with football fans from around the country, and I have got to say, they feel alot better about our program than many around here do.
A fan from Georgia talked about the great non conference matchups we have coming in, really wished more SEC teams would pickup BCS non conference games like his bulldogs have.
He had seen our new stadium and thought it looked great. Knew of Decker and loved the Cal game TD with the bloody chin. Said that he loved Big Ten football, because it's a different animal, playing in the cold, tough hardnosed running, tough defense. He said any SEC team that would play up in Big Ten country in November would get killed, including Florida, Georgia, LSU, and they all know it. That's coming from an SEC fan.
Talked with Michigan and Iowa fans, they were actually pretty complimentary of our coaches and program going forward, I think most Big Ten fans outside of the message board world actually think we are going to be an up and coming program. By the way, both feel that the dbag coach from Wisky is an absolute joke of a human being, the Iowa fan had some stories of his playing days and tales from campus that makes the Whaley and Tinsley incidents seem tame.

Finally I think some perspective is in order, everyone I talked football with had stories of struggles and down years, mediocre seasons, and tough losses even shouts to fire the coach, but also that those same teams broke through eventually. I think it's only a matter of time before we see the same here. Most of them did too.
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All good to hear.

On the note "... some perspective is in order,"; perspective is missing, or out shouted on every Message Board in the country!
 

I really got a kick out of the Georgia fan, he was sitting at a bar, watching the Cincy-Southern Florida game decked out in Georgia stuff, he said he does it every Thursday and Friday.
He really was a big college football fan in general and I thought his insight to the SEC mindset was interesting. He seriously said, if Florida/LSU/Georgia played anywhere in the Big Ten in November they'd be done, big time done. Kinda makes you wonder if National Championships were played in the elements Big Ten might have a better rep overall.
 


Ole said:
I really got a kick out of the Georgia fan, he was sitting at a bar, watching the Cincy-Southern Florida game decked out in Georgia stuff, he said he does it every Thursday and Friday.
He really was a big college football fan in general and I thought his insight to the SEC mindset was interesting. He seriously said, if Florida/LSU/Georgia played anywhere in the Big Ten in November they'd be done, big time done. Kinda makes you wonder if National Championships were played in the elements Big Ten might have a better rep overall.
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I've always been a strong believer in the idea that bowl location plays a definite role in making the Big 10 look worse than it is. I wouldn't go so far as to say Florida in OSU in November would be an obvious OSU win, but it would obviously help the Big Ten.

It also bugs me that USC gets a home game at the Rose Bowl, and other BCS locales are Florida and Louisana, which obviously favors the SEC team in the big bowls against teams from north of the Mason-Dixon.
That said, that's the nature of the beast. The press doesn't want to travel to Nebraska in January, and the NCAA doesn't want its biggest games played in Ann Arbor, South Bend or Madison. It's not fair, but if Big Ten teams were as good as Fla, Texas, USC, etc, they should still be winning more of these. Fact of the matter is, right now, the southern teams are a little better.
 

RedPoo said:
I've always been a strong believer in the idea that bowl location plays a definite role in making the Big 10 look worse than it is. I wouldn't go so far as to say Florida in OSU in November would be an obvious OSU win, but it would obviously help the Big Ten.

It also bugs me that USC gets a home game at the Rose Bowl, and other BCS locales are Florida and Louisana, which obviously favors the SEC team in the big bowls against teams from north of the Mason-Dixon.
That said, that's the nature of the beast. The press doesn't want to travel to Nebraska in January, and the NCAA doesn't want its biggest games played in Ann Arbor, South Bend or Madison. It's not fair, but if Big Ten teams were as good as Fla, Texas, USC, etc, they should still be winning more of these. Fact of the matter is, right now, the southern teams are a little better.
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When the BCS goes to a "Plus-Two" format the semi-finals should be played in rotating northern cities. But that's also why no one in SEC country wants a playoff. They know they will be playing in Big Ten/ Big East country in January.
 

Goldmember said:
When the BCS goes to a "Plus-Two" format the semi-finals should be played in rotating northern cities. But that's also why no one in SEC country wants a playoff. They know they will be playing in Big Ten/ Big East country in January.
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Eh...still not enough to convince me a playoff is good idea. I'm gonna stick with my current plan of falling into a ton of money, buying the Orange Bowl (if such a thing is possible) and moving it to the Big House.
 

The thing that struck me talking to the guy was that he said the SEC KNEW they couldn't compete in northern climates in Nov. For all the speed and athletes they have, he said there's just no way they can play against a smashmouth team in the cold. To be honest I kinda disagree, as I'm sure alot here would too, but he was really serious about it. He said he loves watching Big Ten ball, because of that, it's a different animal late in the year.

Another tidbit, the Michigan fans I talked to said there are rumors that Forcier can't throw a frozen football, and he's struggling to hold on to the ball in cold weather. Kinda interesting.
 



Ole said:
The thing that struck me talking to the guy was that he said the SEC KNEW they couldn't compete in northern climates in Nov. For all the speed and athletes they have, he said there's just no way they can play against a smashmouth team in the cold. To be honest I kinda disagree, as I'm sure alot here would too, but he was really serious about it. He said he loves watching Big Ten ball, because of that, it's a different animal late in the year.
QUOTE]

do you think florida or any warm weather team would've liked to go to camp randall after playing in nothing less than 60 degrees and then run into ron dayne when it's in the 30s or 40s?
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This is BS. Rookies go into Green Bay routinely and play just as well, and that's in Dec/Jan. This guy proved one thing, he has no idea what it's like to play football in 30 degree weather. With the exception of QB, it's really not a big deal. Once you get moving you don't feel the cold. Florida would still destroy us even in January at TCF.
 

Lets also keep in mind here that Ole was talking to ONE person. I very highly doubt that ALL of SEC country feels the same way as this one guy does...
 




just to clarify

Let me see if I have this right Ole. You talk to 1 guy in a bar in Vegas and he tells you what you already believe to be true, that the SEC is afraid to play Big 10 teams in cold weather. That they would be DONE as you/he put it. You embrace this persons opinion because it jibes with your own. Cool. Hope you enjoyed your drinks and camaraderie with him. But that is one persons opinion. If he had said that any SEC team would play any Big Ten team anywhere, anyday, would you have started a thread about that? Probably not. And just let me tell you, this one persons opinion, is absolutely non-indicative of the majority of SEC fans, players, coaches, and writers. To say that Alabama and their ferocious D would be done simply because the weather is 30 degrees is ridiculous. In fact, the whole thread is ridiculous.
 

Said that he loved Big Ten football, because it's a different animal, playing in the cold, tough hardnosed running, tough defense. He said any SEC team that would play up in Big Ten country in November would get killed, including Florida, Georgia, LSU, and they all know it.
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Reading this...He was just being nice. This is just Hooey!
 


I would love to think its true, and I believe that it would certainly help out a bit...

but the fact of the matter is that we probably wont ever find out:
- sec teams rarely if ever schedules games outside of the south(never after september)
- lets be honest, what Big Ten team will ever want to schedule an sec team in the middle of the conference slate?
 

StogieGopher said:
Let me see if I have this right Ole. You talk to 1 guy in a bar in Vegas and he tells you what you already believe to be true, that the SEC is afraid to play Big 10 teams in cold weather. That they would be DONE as you/he put it. You embrace this persons opinion because it jibes with your own. Cool. Hope you enjoyed your drinks and camaraderie with him. But that is one persons opinion. If he had said that any SEC team would play any Big Ten team anywhere, anyday, would you have started a thread about that? Probably not. And just let me tell you, this one persons opinion, is absolutely non-indicative of the majority of SEC fans, players, coaches, and writers. To say that Alabama and their ferocious D would be done simply because the weather is 30 degrees is ridiculous. In fact, the whole thread is ridiculous.
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Nice. Our team takes a turd and we all take the knives out on each other. Stay classy.

I actually appreciated the post. It's good to hear what other team's fans have to say about our program and conference. They could all be blowing sunshine up our arses. Who knows? That's why we've all been given critical judgment and the ability to accept se things and reject others as platitude. Either way, if you think it's crap, so be it. There's no reason to be a complete penis a out it.
 

While I don't think the weather would mean Ohio State or PSU would automatically whoop up on Florida or Alabama and I don't think SEC fans (other then your one friend) really believe that, there is no doubt that they get a huge advantage come Bowl Time by us always coming to thier stomping ground and never the other way around.

The reality is that the spread offense for example doesn't work well in winter-like conditions. Florida would indeed be at a significant disadvantage trying to run thier offense in Minnesota or Wisconsin in late November. It's one reason I'm glad we ditched the spread. But unfortunately it's irrelevant because it will never be tested. Florida hasn't played a non-conference game outside the deep south/mid atlantic in 20 years and that was at Syrcause, and they have no intention of doing so any time soon. I can't tell you the last time Alabama did either. At least Georgia has stuck thier neck out a little with Oklahoma State and Arizona Sate, but they're not venturing north either. And even if by some miracle OSU or Michigan could get one of the SEC wimps to play them, it would be in September.
 

Vegas is a great place to watch college football! I'm jealous! Thanks for sharing Ole.
 

howeda7 said:
While I don't think the weather would mean Ohio State or PSU would automatically whoop up on Florida or Alabama and I don't think SEC fans (other then your one friend) really believe that, there is no doubt that they get a huge advantage come Bowl Time by us always coming to thier stomping ground and never the other way around.

The reality is that the spread offense for example doesn't work well in winter-like conditions. Florida would indeed be at a significant disadvantage trying to run thier offense in Minnesota or Wisconsin in late November. It's one reason I'm glad we ditched the spread. But unfortunately it's irrelevant because it will never be tested. Florida hasn't played a non-conference game outside the deep south/mid atlantic in 20 years and that was at Syrcause, and they have no intention of doing so any time soon. I can't tell you the last time Alabama did either. At least Georgia has stuck thier neck out a little with Oklahoma State and Arizona Sate, but they're not venturing north either. And even if by some miracle OSU or Michigan could get one of the SEC wimps to play them, it would be in September.
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Missouri, BYU, Utah, Boise State, and Kansas that because all of them have to deal with winter-like conditions and seem to do just fine with the spread in those conditions.
 

"lets be honest, what Big Ten team will ever want to schedule an sec team in the middle of the conference slate?"

Tim Brewster would if he could. You have to admire that about him. The man loves to play in big football games.
 

As for Georgia not going to play up north, I have to correct you, just a little bit. It may not be the frozen tundra, but Georgia has road games coming up next year at Colorado and Oregon a couple years down the line. Georgia's relatively new AD and head coach Mark Rict have made a conscious effort to schedule this way. I heard Richt talk about it on the radio the other day in an interview. He and the new AD intend to schedule a top flight BCS team, a mid-level team, and a cupcake on future schedules as much as possible. Richt feels that games against top notch known programs gets Georgia more exposure around the country. The object of that exposure is to help recruiting, and keep in mind UGA is usually ranked top 5-10 in recruiting anyway. So far, the Georgia fans seem to like it and it has been pretty good for UGA. They swept Arizona State and split with Oklahoma Sate. They will also play Clemson and Louisville in a home and home and they will of course continue to play Georgia Tech out of conference.
 

I live in Vegas and...

there area lot of locals and tourists who know squat about football. But it is a nice place to watch football and you can often strike up friendly conversations with other fans while watching a dozen games simultaneously.
 

denguegopher said:
there area lot of locals and tourists who know squat about football. But it is a nice place to watch football and you can often strike up friendly conversations with other fans while watching a dozen games simultaneously.
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Geez guys, talk about stirring stuff up, I KNOW it was one guy, his opinion. I'm actually sure most SEC fans would still bet their teams come up north and whoop some. I'm just saying that he was really set on the point, and was trying to emphasize that most fans down there have a dirty little secret that they doubt their teams ability to compete in cold weather, might not be true, might be a exxcuse not to travel with their squad on a cold road trip, and as for his football knowhow, he was betting 100 on cincy/south florida, he said he watches college football all weekend(he knew alot about Big Ten ball too), and he had gone to every Georgia game since he could drive.

He also mentioned Georgia's tough non conference schedule, as a point of pride. I mentioned our tougher schedule, he already knew about USC and Texas.
 

hmmm

"and he had gone to every Georgia game since he could drive"

If he was in Vegas on Friday night, I'm guessing he missed the UGA-Vandy game in Nashville on Saturday. Someone is embellishing here. And there is no dirty little secret among SEC fans concerning cold weather games. They don't fear going to the cold and playing Big Ten teams. That sentiment simply doesn't exist. The pervading attitude among SEC fans is we'll play anyone, anywhere, anytime.
 

StogieGopher said:
"and he had gone to every Georgia game since he could drive"

If he was in Vegas on Friday night, I'm guessing he missed the UGA-Vandy game in Nashville on Saturday. Someone is embellishing here. And there is no dirty little secret among SEC fans concerning cold weather games. They don't fear going to the cold and playing Big Ten teams. That sentiment simply doesn't exist. The pervading attitude among SEC fans is we'll play anyone, anywhere, anytime.
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I watched the game with him on Thursday, he was heading back the next morning.
Alright, this was obviously one guy, who didn't let recent SEC dominance on the national scene cloud his overall perspective, maybe he was just down on the SEC since his squad has had a tough year so far, I dunno, it was fun to talk college football with a southern guy, believe it or not, I haven't met many of those up here, it was a new perspective. As for the anytime, anywhere deal that's exactly what he was trying to convince me of, that alot of that is big talk, and by the way, I didn't agree with him on it.
 

ummmmm ky and tenn are in the sec and trust me it is cold there in november too
 


Ole said:
Talked with Michigan and Iowa fans, they were actually pretty complimentary of our coaches and program going forward, I think most Big Ten fans outside of the message board world actually think we are going to be an up and coming program. By the way, both feel that the dbag coach from Wisky is an absolute joke of a human being, the Iowa fan had some stories of his playing days and tales from campus that makes the Whaley and Tinsley incidents seem tame.

.
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I was out in Reno last weekend. Was talking to a few fans from Arizona that used to live in Big Ten country and they were really complimentary of the Wisconsin program and the direction is has been going. Thought that the level of play over the last twenty years has been tremendous and they don't see it changing any time soon.

I also bumped into some people from North Carolina. Got around to talking about Punky and what windbag he is. Said the way he acted in town was a joke and they never thought he would become a head coach, let alone a winning head coach. Met someome from Denver that said the same thing. Windbag with no substance. Could never see him being successful as a head coach. Interesting what you hear when talking to fans around the country.
 

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