Let's not go crazy re. Gophers to National Playoffs

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PitinoFan said:
See, I knew you were sarcastically mocking all the talk of the dangerous Maryland team with that thread. Oh, well.


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Yes, I started that particular thread, and here is my opening post:

Maryland is incredibly talented, and unbelievably fast

... and they have lots and lots and lots of highly-rated recruits!

We have heard this stuff, over and over, for two years or more.

If we assume that narrative is all true, and we take into account the fact that the Gophers just utterly curb-stomped the Terps, I guess the best way to describe the Minnesota football squad must be...

A) ... hey, not too bad.

B) ... well, could be worse.

C) ... Ya. Can't complain.

http://www.forums.gopherhole.com/bo...-is-incredibly-talented-and-unbelievably-fast

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I was poking a little (gentle) fun at the people who kept repeating the mantra that Maryland was ultra-fast and uber-talented. Apparently, my attempt at humor went over the heads of some people.

Ah, well...

I did not send this from my iPhone, and I am not using Tapatalk
 
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OldBob53 said:
This is a very good Gophers team and Fleck has done a great job, but its best not to set expectations too high. There's a wide, wide gap between very good and elite. Alabama and Clemson are where other hopeful teams find their dreams up in smoke. Its possible the Gophers will win the West, but very unlikely they'd beat OSU and more unlikely still Alabama or Clemson.

Just a reminder, as some other posts are beginning to envision a trip to the playoffs. So its like they'll be disappointed if we only play on New Years Day. Get real.
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A guy could almost be happy today if he wasn't careful.
 

We're on a message board with two weeks in between games. We can discuss hypothetical situations even if they are unlikely.

Pull the stick out of your butt, enjoy the season/have a little fun for once, and try to avoid handing out bit-o-honey, almond joys, and tooth brushes on Halloween, oldnana.

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given the right set of circumstances, i could see the gophers beating any team left on the schedule. but i could see any team left on the schedule beating the gophers.

but, if the gophers went into the btc game undefeated, beating the buckeyes in what would be the biggest game in college football of the year to that point would take a miracle a la herb brooks.
 

BeerFueledFF said:
I'm never going to let me dreams be lowered just to match my expectations.

I do not expect to win the Big Ten or win a nattie, but you bet your ass I'm dreaming of it with the way this season has started.
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Ok, be prepared to see those dreams you hold so close go up in smoke.
 


OldBob53 said:
Ok, be prepared to see those dreams you hold so close go up in smoke.
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Thanks for the warning, and also for warning us about how dangerous Maryland was going to be with their injured players returning! Anything else we should be concerned about?


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OldBob53 said:
Ok, be prepared to see those dreams you hold so close go up in smoke.
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Team hasn't been 8-0 in 70 years or however many years it is and you're warning people about not getting their hopes up?

No one on this board is going to be crushed if the Gophers aren't in the CFP. Even speculating anyone would be crushed is ridiculous.
 

Can’t win the Powerball if you don’t have a ticket. We have a ticket, and the first three to four numbers match. I’m not spending the winnings yet, but I’m certainly dreaming about it.

Win the West, everything else is gravy. Lose the West, it was a fun until it wasn’t.
 

OldBob53 said:
Ok, be prepared to see those dreams you hold so close go up in smoke.
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I’m not certain why anyone should be concerned about that? Honestly, what is the consequence of hoping (dreaming) for a football team to accomplish something and then it not happening? It’s just a game dude - not life and death or really even important.


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OldBob53 said:
This is a very good Gophers team and Fleck has done a great job, but its best not to set expectations too high. There's a wide, wide gap between very good and elite. Alabama and Clemson are where other hopeful teams find their dreams up in smoke. Its possible the Gophers will win the West, but very unlikely they'd beat OSU and more unlikely still Alabama or Clemson.

Just a reminder, as some other posts are beginning to envision a trip to the playoffs. So its like they'll be disappointed if we only play on New Years Day. Get real.
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As a rebuttal:

 

OldBob53 said:
Ok, be prepared to see those dreams you hold so close go up in smoke.
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Spoken like a true fan. I guess you came here to:

1) troll;
2) blanket a positive forum with negativity;
3) maintain your own miserable existence by;
4) making sure everyone else is as miserable as you are.

I’m guessing 1 or the 3 and 4 exacta.

Either way, welcome to GH and welcome to the ignore list. Happy days.
 

highwayman said:
Spoken like a true fan. I guess you came here to:

1) troll;
2) blanket a positive forum with negativity;
3) maintain your own miserable existence by;
4) making sure everyone else is as miserable as you are.

I’m guessing 1 or the 3 and 4 exacta.

Either way, welcome to GH and welcome to the ignore list. Happy days.
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Just as dumb as telling people they shouldn’t hope for the best is labeling everyone who disagrees with you a “troll” and questioning their fan status.


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stocker08 said:
We're on a message board with two weeks in between games. We can discuss hypothetical situations even if they are unlikely.

Pull the stick out of your butt, enjoy the season/have a little fun for once, and try to avoid handing out bit-o-honey, almond joys, and tooth brushes on Halloween, oldnana.

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Yeah this is the first time since at least 2003 and really in my entire life as a Gopher fan where talking about Playoffs wouldn’t immediately get the Jim Mora reaction from any sane football fan

Let’s enjoy this while we can whether the spell breaks against Penn State or when it’s time to clean up after the parade in January.
 

If the Gophers made the playoffs, that would be amazing.

if they made it to the Conference Championship game, it would be a huge achievement.

at this point of the season, the only way this could turn out badly would be if the Gophers somehow lost the next four games. I do NOT expect that to happen.

My best guess - Gophs go 3-1 in last four games. Lose the conf title game to OSU. Win the Rose Bowl, and finish the season 12-2 and ranked in the top 10. Even if they wind up 11-3, that is still arguably the best season since the 1960 National Championship.

In short, what I'm saying - this season is already a success. Anything from here on out is gravy. And gravy is good. thick, lumpy gravy. poured over fresh, piping-hot biscuits. sorry, I have to go now. suddenly got hungry.
 

Bring back the Axe said:
This guy is onto something. I just hope they don't get blown out too badly by Penn St, and keep the Axe game respectable. Don't get your hopes up against Iowa either. It's good to keep an even keel, level head about this. Let's all be realistic. That's what being a fan is all about. We should all be dancing in the streets if they finish 9-3. And the bowl game will be gravy, win or lose (although it may be an SEC team, so lets be sensible about our expectations).
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This. With our schedule for November being considered one of toughest in the nation, 9-3 is not out of the question. Then, a bowl game vs. an SEC powerhouse (and small chance of winning) might dampen the mood. That's without the possibility of getting blown out of water in the bowl game where all heck might break loose.
 
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I'll get my hopes up and if they aren't met I won't get to down. Pessimists are always disappointed.

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Gophers could win any one of the four remaining games, but not all four. Wisconsin must beat Iowa, we must beat Wisconsin and one other team. That would put us in the Indianapolis meat grinder with Ohio State.
 

I certainly conisder myself to be a delusional fan but am I missing something here? Are we watching the same games? We are shredding teams apart. If these wins were us not covering the spread, or last second field goals, fluky plays (ok maybe the non con sure, but if you have any knowledge of football at all you can see our offense is completely different than those 3 games) then i could see some of the tempered expectations. But This is the same team that absolutely steamrolled wisconsin last year and GA Tech. The train is now steamrolling down the track. Every single game remaining on our schedule is winnable. This is not the "same old goofers".
 

OldBob53 said:
This is a very good Gophers team and Fleck has done a great job, but its best not to set expectations too high. There's a wide, wide gap between very good and elite. Alabama and Clemson are where other hopeful teams find their dreams up in smoke. Its possible the Gophers will win the West, but very unlikely they'd beat OSU and more unlikely still Alabama or Clemson.

Just a reminder, as some other posts are beginning to envision a trip to the playoffs. So its like they'll be disappointed if we only play on New Years Day. Get real.
Click to expand...

No kidding. At least on paper:

2019 247 Sports Composite Ranking:

Penn State:
Nat'l Rnk #10, 79 commits, 4 5*s, 46 4*s, 25 3*s, Avg 89.80, 857.34 Points.

Minnesota:
Nat'l Rnk #46, 85 commits, 0 5*s, 5 4*s, 74 3*s, Avg 84.52, 621.36 Points.

https://247sports.com/Season/2019-Football/CollegeTeamTalentComposite/
 

OldBob53 said:
This is a very good Gophers team and Fleck has done a great job, but its best not to set expectations too high. There's a wide, wide gap between very good and elite. Alabama and Clemson are where other hopeful teams find their dreams up in smoke. Its possible the Gophers will win the West, but very unlikely they'd beat OSU and more unlikely still Alabama or Clemson.

Just a reminder, as some other posts are beginning to envision a trip to the playoffs. So its like they'll be disappointed if we only play on New Years Day. Get real.
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I will gladly dream of playing in the CFB playoff. I’m not delusional. I have hope. Maybe you need to watch the movie “Shawshank Redemption”. I won’t be disappointed that we didn’t make it. I’ll still be happy we had an amazing season. If people don’t dream big, nobody would ever make it and settle because they were told they weren’t good enough.
 

t-docious said:
I certainly conisder myself to be a delusional fan but am I missing something here? Are we watching the same games? We are shredding teams apart. If these wins were us not covering the spread, or last second field goals, fluky plays (ok maybe the non con sure, but if you have any knowledge of football at all you can see our offense is completely different than those 3 games) then i could see some of the tempered expectations. But This is the same team that absolutely steamrolled wisconsin last year and GA Tech. The train is now steamrolling down the track. Every single game remaining on our schedule is winnable. This is not the "same old goofers".
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I’m in the same boat as you here, there are a lot of people saying Penn State is a totally different caliber team. On recruit star rankings? yeah not arguing there. Strength of schedule so far? Not arguing there. But like you’re saying, we’re dominating the games we’re supposed to dominate in since Big Ten play started. We’re beating teams by hefty margins, far beyond the projected point spreads. We’re doing what teams like Penn State, OSU, etc. would be doing to the same teams we’ve played in the Big Ten. Is the argument that while we beat Maryland 52-10, Ohio State would have beaten them 70-0? Like what is really disqualifying the Gophers from being seen as a true threat?


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You can talk about stats this year all you want and how the Gophers are "shredding" teams however, history is still not on the Gophers side.

They have not won in Iowa City since 1999. It doesn't matter how good or bad the Hawkeyes are, Minnesota has struggled in Iowa City for the last 20+ years. Even if Minnesota is ranked higher than Iowa going into that game, Iowa will still be favorite to win that game at home. I do feel better that it's not a night game at Kinnick, but its still one of the toughest places to play.

Same thing with Wisconsin, while Minnesota won in Madison last year, you know the Gophers are going to have a target on their backs this year and Wisconsin is going to want to win that axe back.

Northwestern always seems to be that pesky team that gives Minnesota troubles regardless of how good or bad Minnesota is. If Minnesota can play like they did at Purdue, then I like their chances against NW, however, NW is anything but a sure win.
 

lmh839 said:
You can talk about stats this year all you want and how the Gophers are "shredding" teams however, history is still not on the Gophers side.

They have not won in Iowa City since 1999. It doesn't matter how good or bad the Hawkeyes are, Minnesota has struggled in Iowa City for the last 20+ years. Even if Minnesota is ranked higher than Iowa going into that game, Iowa will still be favorite to win that game at home. I do feel better that it's not a night game at Kinnick, but its still one of the toughest places to play.

Same thing with Wisconsin, while Minnesota won in Madison last year, you know the Gophers are going to have a target on their backs this year and Wisconsin is going to want to win that axe back.

Northwestern always seems to be that pesky team that gives Minnesota troubles regardless of how good or bad Minnesota is. If Minnesota can play like they did at Purdue, then I like their chances against NW, however, NW is anything but a sure win.
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Well under Fleck, we’ve been seeing the “bad Gopher history” become just that. History. The pessimist is strong in you, I feel it. If you haven’t noticed we hadn’t beaten Wisconsin at Camp Randall since I was 3. But we did it to end the season last year. We haven’t been 8-0 since my grandma was born. But we are now. We haven’t been 5-0 in the conference since 1961. But we are now.

I’m not saying you’re wrong for being pessimistic, but maybe it’s time to start opening your mind up to the idea that we may have turned the corner.


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Being a pessimist is being disappointed in things that haven’t even happened yet and may not happen.
 

mjfelton15 said:
I’m in the same boat as you here, there are a lot of people saying Penn State is a totally different caliber team. On recruit star rankings? yeah not arguing there. Strength of schedule so far? Not arguing there. But like you’re saying, we’re dominating the games we’re supposed to dominate in since Big Ten play started. We’re beating teams by hefty margins, far beyond the projected point spreads. We’re doing what teams like Penn State, OSU, etc. would be doing to the same teams we’ve played in the Big Ten. Is the argument that while we beat Maryland 52-10, Ohio State would have beaten them 70-0? Like what is really disqualifying the Gophers from being seen as a true threat?


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I'm with yah. Same thing I've been preaching. Are people still clinging to those first three games? Would their outlook be different if we won comfortably in those games? Does anyone disagree that we've been improving EVERY SINGLE WEEK? How often does Minnesota get their second team in the game against a conference opponent?

Right now....OSU and PSU can be considered the top of the heap....with OSU being legitimate candidates for a #1 ranking. The Gophers are the only other team in the conference thrashing opponents like those two teams are. There is no good reason to assume anything until the dust settles on the 9th.

Just remember what PJ did with Western Michigan level talent. Nearly got a win over Wisconsin with them before we could....with far lesser talent.


PoockItInfor6 said:
Being a pessimist is being disappointed in things that haven’t even happened yet and may not happen.
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Well said. I'm like that for most things....definitely not for the Gophers. I'm the eternal optimist when it comes to the Gophers.

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Where have all these new posters come from to tell us not to be excited about the team? Strikes me as odd. Same person under different monikers?
 

hungan1 said:
No kidding. At least on paper:

2019 247 Sports Composite Ranking:

Penn State:
Nat'l Rnk #10, 79 commits, 4 5*s, 46 4*s, 25 3*s, Avg 89.80, 857.34 Points.

Minnesota:
Nat'l Rnk #46, 85 commits, 0 5*s, 5 4*s, 74 3*s, Avg 84.52, 621.36 Points.

https://247sports.com/Season/2019-Football/CollegeTeamTalentComposite/
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This is actually where the rubber meets the road. I get the sense that most people on this board don’t fully appreciate how important this is to becoming “elite.” The teams we have beaten to date don’t have this talent advantage over us.

The scary thing is that as big as a discrepancy exist between Minnesota and Penn St, there is almost equal discrepancy between Penn St and Alabama/OhSt, the truly elite.
 

stocker08 said:
There is no good reason to assume anything until the dust settles on the 9th.

Just remember what PJ did with Western Michigan level talent. Nearly got a win over Wisconsin with them before we could....with far lesser talent.

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There is a very good reason to assume that we are not on par with PSU or OhSt, the talent gap.

Purdue beat OhSt last year, but I didn’t see you list them at the top. Therefore, you inheritly recognize that a one off win doesn’t put you in the realm of the elite.

That being said, I love this team! I can’t wait for the game in two weeks. This season has been so much fun! It won’t lose its fun if we lose to PSU. If we beat PSU, it will be great, however I won’t be cheering “we want Bama,” under some delusion that our program is now on par with theirs.
 

Jeshurun said:
Where have all these new posters come from to tell us not to be excited about the team? Strikes me as odd. Same person under different monikers?
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Agreed. I'll add, this "we can't compete because of recruiting rankings" thing bores me. The game of getting a high recruiting ranking is it's own type of sport in many parts of the country, but not really here in the Upper Midwest. A player might as well be docked a couple stars by growing up in say Buffalo, MN instead of Dallas because the ranking services don't focus on this area (nor do the player's families). For example, we grow really good offensive lineman and linebacker types like ragweed in these parts, but they often don't have high recruiting rankings. Wisconsin and Iowa have sent a ton of lineman to the NFL that weren't ranked highly coming out of high school. A strong team in the Upper Midwest can be built with massive lineman from the region (who often won't be highly ranked but can be very good) and then mixed with talented skill positions, often from out of the region. That mix might not result in a top 10 recruiting ranking but who the hell cares if it works?

Wisconsin and Iowa have about the same number of players in the NFL as Penn State yet their recruiting rankings are often 20-30 spots lower. HS player rankings aren't everything.
 

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