Kill's on the hot seat right now on his KFAN radio show if you want to tune in

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HopHead said:
I would argue that the average fan probably doesn't even know about this issue. I tailgate and sit with two good friends that I would say are "average fans". I bet I could send them an e-mail right now asking what they think about the whole UNC situations and they would reply with question marks.

Don't let the reaction of people that post on a fan forum or call in to a sports radio show taint your perception of what the "average fan" thinks.
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Ding!Ding!Ding! We have a winner! The only people that care about his entire UNC situation are fan forums and the media who have nothing better to talk about and want more ammo to hit The U with.
 

Running away from a bad team has been embarrassing enough. If we go out and lose to the horrendous team that we put on the schedule because we think they are a sure non-conference win, it will be downright humiliating.
 

GophersInIowa said:
These people generally still read the newspaper and listen to the radio. There are big sports fans out there that are average Gopher fans. They may not think it's as big of a deal as some of the die-hards but many will probably make note of it.
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They may make note, but they are not up in arms about it like the the media and this board in particular.
 

Arbogast said:
They may make note, but they are not up in arms about it like the the media and this board in particular.
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It's crap like this (PR situation on dropping UNC) that completely turns the average sports fan away from Gopher football.
 

gophmeister said:
Seriously. In another couple weeks it will be forgotten for the most part. Some people are behaving is if this is a fatal blow to the program. No one is cancelling their season tickets over this or giving up on the program. It's fodder for ridicule on local talk radio and that's about it.
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+1.
 


Arbogast said:
Ding!Ding!Ding! We have a winner! The only people that care about his entire UNC situation are fan forums and the media who have nothing better to talk about and want more ammo to hit The U with.
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If this board is representative of the fanbase, I would guess that at least some of the donors may also be questioning how their donations are being spent. The last thing this Department needs are donors closing their wallets.
 


dpodoll68 said:
Who did that? Certainly not Minnesota. Or are you talking about Texas and Navy cancelling on us?
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I consider a team that has gone 7 consecutive seasons without a winning conference record in a mediocre BCS conference a bad team. I have no problem characterizing UNC as a bad team.
 

Arbogast said:
They may make note, but they are not up in arms about it like the the media and this board in particular.
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I agree, but if you're on the fence about something it's little things that can make you decide one way or another.
 



Parski1 said:
I like Kill - but not sure I got his explanation on KFAN for dropping NC. According to him it's part of his "Plan". NC is not that big of a threat on the road to be that worried about a for sure loss.
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Though I am not the biggest fan of playing pushovers, playing time for players that may not get time otherwise makes perfect sense. Think of all of the players that have been needed this season due to injury. Better for them to have played pre-conference then to start right in a big conference game if one has a choice.
 

HouseOfHagen said:
It's crap like this (PR situation on dropping UNC) that completely turns the average sports fan away from Gopher football.
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This. The average fan watches the Gophers when they're on, but doesn't plan their weekend around them. The average fan knows that Wisconsin has had a better football program for 20 years, but doesn't understand why. The average fan sees that the U backed out against UNC, but doesn't know that Tenn. and Colorado also did that recently. All the average fan knows is what they hear on the radio or TV or read in the paper. And right now, all they're reading is that the U paid a hefty sum to get away from playing a quality opponent.
 

dpodoll68 said:
Who did that? Certainly not Minnesota. Or are you talking about Texas and Navy cancelling on us?
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DPO-

I have seen you beating this into the ground on several threads. How should we categorize North Carolina in your opinion? They have not won a conference title since 1980. Their best years recently were vacated due to violations. I agree with you that they are not a BAD team, but they are a middle of the road ACC team. Is medicore a more appropriate description? I agree that they have been better than Minnesota the past 7-8 years.

Mack Brown started building the program and since he left in 1997, they have been just average. I know they are #22 in the Sagarin ratings right now, but the sanctions and lack of scholarships will catch up to them soon enough. Please note I am including Butch Davis's wins that were technically vacated:


1998–00 Carl Torbush 3 17–18 .486
2001–06 John Bunting 6 27–45 .375
2007–10 Butch Davis 4 28–23
2011 Everett Withers (Interim) 1 7-5 .583
2012- Larry Fedora 1 5-2
 

bleedsmaroonandgold said:
I consider a team that has gone 7 consecutive seasons without a winning conference record in a mediocre BCS conference a bad team. I have no problem characterizing UNC as a bad team.
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yet their 5 year average for Sagarin predictor ratings is something like roughly 9 points higher than the Gophers. Sanctions or not you can't argue they have been better than us. So no, they did not dodge a lesser opponent.
 



Arbogast said:
yet their 5 year average for Sagarin predictor ratings is something like roughly 9 points higher than the Gophers. Sanctions or not you can't argue they have been better than us. So no, they did not dodge a lesser opponent.
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I didn't say we dodged a lesser opponent. I said we dodged a bad team.
 

That's true and while I don't disagree it's just being blown way out of proportion on this board by people who don't have a crystal ball and have no clue how this affects an average fan. My stance on backing out of the UNC series is I don't agree with it, I also don't worry about the things I can't control. I have no clue how to run a football program or an athletic department. I'll leave that up to Kill and Teague and enjoy the ride.
 

bleedsmaroonandgold said:
I didn't say we dodged a lesser opponent. I said we dodged a bad team.
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A bad team that is better than us, so we dodged a better team that could possibly beat us in NC later. I could see your point if we cancelled with someone who has been worse than us over the years but the perception of UNC on this board is off base.
 

mnsports1 said:
No, a PR nightmare is Clem's cheating, or players raping someone. This is an unpopular decision that some whine bags just cant seem to get over. If I donated a dollar to the U for everyone of your and beavers and lakes piss and moan this is the end of the world posts it probably would have come close to covering the cost.
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Should have probably specified it is a short term PR nightmare. A win would make people forget but if we keep losing this story will become the punch line for the season. Clearly it is not as big as the academic scandle that rocked basketball or other player related issues but this is a big deal from a perception standpoint.

I also think people are underselling the way this is going to play with the players on the squad. They won't quit on Kill but I would be willing to bet he lost some credibility with a lot of them in putting forth the idea that they are not good enough to compete with North Carolina. One thing athletes don't lack is confidence but their coach is displaying a definite lack of confidence in them.
 

I heard Kill's response to the NC cancellation on the show. I thought he did not handle it well. He babbled on and on and did not sound like the fighter that he professes to be. I just am not sure what he is so scared of. UNC is on their third coach in three years. He would get them at home during his 4th year. It could be a great opportunity to make a statement.
 

Just beat the Badgers so this will all go away and it will be happy Gopherhole again.
 

GopherGod said:
If this board is representative of the fanbase, I would guess that at least some of the donors may also be questioning how their donations are being spent. The last thing this Department needs are donors closing their wallets.
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I would be willing to bet this board really represents the hardcore fans who are going to be behind this team regardless of whether or not they play UNC, save for a few tards on here. Also I'm sure there are a few who are questioning it and that probably happens every year.
 


MNVCGUY said:
Should have probably specified it is a short term PR nightmare. A win would make people forget but if we keep losing this story will become the punch line for the season. Clearly it is not as big as the academic scandle that rocked basketball or other player related issues but this is a big deal from a perception standpoint.

I also think people are underselling the way this is going to play with the players on the squad. They won't quit on Kill but I would be willing to bet he lost some credibility with a lot of them in putting forth the idea that they are not good enough to compete with North Carolina. One thing athletes don't lack is confidence but their coach is displaying a definite lack of confidence in them.
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This is where it really hurts imo. The average fan already thinks the Gophers are a crap outfit. Now, unequivocally, both Kill and Teague have literally implied to the players that they are a crap outfit. And for those that think that the players are somehow going to rally and be stronger becaause of this, all I would say is that if you had spent any amount of time at all around college athletes, you would know there will at least be a few guys that will have lost respect for Kill. College athletes have egos and there's nothing worse for an ego than a coach telling his kids they aren't good enough to play a mediocre team from the ACC.
 

Vandy just announced through snail mail they are dropping their games against NW and OSU. The whole world is coming to an end. This is the worst thing to ever happen to college football. How could they do such a thing?
 

Stan The Caddy said:
DPO-

I have seen you beating this into the ground on several threads. How should we categorize North Carolina in your opinion? They have not won a conference title since 1980. Their best years recently were vacated due to violations. I agree with you that they are not a BAD team, but they are a middle of the road ACC team. Is medicore a more appropriate description? I agree that they have been better than Minnesota the past 7-8 years.

Mack Brown started building the program and since he left in 1997, they have been just average. I know they are #22 in the Sagarin ratings right now, but the sanctions and lack of scholarships will catch up to them soon enough. Please note I am including Butch Davis's wins that were technically vacated:


1998–00 Carl Torbush 3 17–18 .486
2001–06 John Bunting 6 27–45 .375
2007–10 Butch Davis 4 28–23
2011 Everett Withers (Interim) 1 7-5 .583
2012- Larry Fedora 1 5-2
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Over the past 10-15 years, I would call them average. This year, I would call them above average. Given the relative youth on their team (15 returning starters next year), they will likely be even better next year. They had a really good recruiter (Davis) who doesn't really know how to coach, and they've replaced him with a guy who has a reputation as a good coach. It's basically like us going from Brewster to Kill, except Fedora is getting to work with waaaaaay better athletes than Kill is. Davis criminally underperformed with the talent he had there, and if Fedora can get them to consistently play even close to their talent level, they will be a consistent Top 25 team. The guys who will be RS Srs/Srs/RS Jrs/Jrs next year (recruiting classes 2009, 2010, and 2011) come from classes ranked 9, 29, and 16 by Rivals.

The sanctions are a non-factor. This year and the next 2, they'll have 82 scholarships instead of 85. BFD.
 

dpodoll68 said:
Over the past 10-15 years, I would call them average. This year, I would call them above average. Given the relative youth on their team (15 returning starters next year), they will likely be even better next year. They had a really good recruiter (Davis) who doesn't really know how to coach, and they've replaced him with a guy who has a reputation as a good coach. It's basically like us going from Brewster to Kill, except Fedora is getting to work with waaaaaay better athletes than Kill is. Davis criminally underperformed with the talent he had there, and if Fedora can get them to consistently play even close to their talent level, they will be a consistent Top 25 team. The guys who will be RS Srs/Srs/RS Jrs/Jrs next year (recruiting classes 2009, 2010, and 2011) come from classes ranked 9, 29, and 16 by Rivals.

The sanctions are a non-factor. This year and the next 2, they'll have 82 scholarships instead of 85. BFD.
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Perfect. We agree then. I agree that they are not bad and you agree that they are average. I also agree on the Davis/Fedora analysis.
 


Stan The Caddy said:
Perfect. We agree then. I agree that they are not bad and you agree that they are average. I also agree on the Davis/Fedora analysis.
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No, I said that they are above average. Taken over the recent past, they're average. But we'd have been playing the 2013 UNC team, not the 2003 or even the 2008 UNC team.
 

Coach Kill's take on epilepsy and that e-mailer should be required listening for every Gophers fan. I find some of his "aw shucks" public persona as insincere, but that was great.
 

Gopherprof said:
Coach Kill's take on epilepsy and that e-mailer should be required listening for every Gophers fan. I find some of his "aw shucks" public persona as insincere, but that was great.
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Anybody that would call somebody suffering from epilepsy a freak is probably beyond reason or help. Having said that, good for Kill for standing up and telling that "human" off.
 

Gopherprof said:
It's not.
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I guess I should have said, representative of the donors. If you are donating money, I would venture you are likely more than a casual fan. The same way that gopherholers are more than casual fans. So is it fair to say that if more than a few gopherholers have issues with it, then more than a few donors may have issues as well? This athletic department is far from flush with cash and cannot afford to alienate donors on something like this.
 

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