Media attention deficit and the new playoff format

[Deleted_User]

I think Minnesota would be receiving greater media attention if there were no playoff. Even though we hit national television coverage (huge), we don't seem to be discussed on any particular site with any love. Our record is decent. We need to win our bowl game to get a little love down the road.

In Google searches, interest in the team has risen 227 percent since 2005. News articles have increased since 2008 by 18%, but are down from last year by 29%. Our record will be no lower than last year and we are in the hunt for the B!G Championship with 3 games to go. The absence of attention to this unusual position for the Gophers seems out of place.

Ohio State interest peaked in 2006 and is down 15% this year from that peak and down 6% from last year in searches. So, maybe the reason Minnesota is down relates to the interest by fans of the conference in general. In terms of internet searches, the B!G conference is down 27%. I don't have any data on the cause of this decline in the conference but I am very pleased that Minnesota football interest is moving against the trend line of the conference as a whole.

 

[GopherVictory]

Those are some cool and interesting stats. Where do you get them?

 

[upnorthkid]

I think Minnesota would be receiving greater media attention if there were no playoff. Even though we hit national television coverage (huge), we don't seem to be discussed on any particular site with any love. Our record is decent. We need to win our bowl game to get a little love down the road.

In Google searches, interest in the team has risen 227 percent since 2005. News articles have increased since 2008 by 18%, but are down from last year by 29%. Our record will be no lower than last year and we are in the hunt for the B!G Championship with 3 games to go. The absence of attention to this unusual position for the Gophers seems out of place.

Ohio State interest peaked in 2006 and is down 15% this year from that peak and down 6% from last year in searches. So, maybe the reason Minnesota is down relates to the interest by fans of the conference in general. In terms of internet searches, the B!G conference is down 27%. I don't have any data on the cause of this decline in the conference but I am very pleased that Minnesota football interest is moving against the trend line of the conference as a whole.

It's really a no brainer why article numbers are down this year compared to last year.

 

[Jeshurun]

It's really a no brainer why article numbers are down this year compared to last year.

Because Soupcan hasn't had the opportunity to gleefully attack Coach Kill for on-field seizures?

 

[upnorthkid]

Because Soupcan hasn't had the opportunity to gleefully attack Coach Kill for on-field seizures?

well yes there have been no seizures for Soupcan to capitalize on or for more respectable writers to comment in a tactful fashion. That would be my guess as to why articles are down pretty significantly

 

[MaxyJR1]

Well we're Nationally Televised in the 11am slot this week against top 10 OSU.

Other games are Clemson @ Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech at Duke.

Big Ten should get some love with Nebraska and Wisconsin also playing.

 

[Sports_Realist]

The big game Saturday is #1 Mississippi State at #5 Alabama at 2:30 on CBS. Every other game is going to get rolled over by the hype for this one. Nebraska-Wisconsin on ABC at 2:30 doesn't stand much of a chance in the ratings. At least with an 11:00 kickoff, our game with Ohio State will likely to get some additional viewers who will get to the TV early and wind up checking us out since we're on ABC which in most markets will be in very close proximity to CBS when people channel surf.

As for getting more attention in general, the Big Ten needs to come up and we need to rise with it. To the national media we are still a middling to lower end Big Ten team with no long term rep or tradition (to be blunt, our national titles and Big Ten titles were too long ago to mean anything to people outside of Minnesota). We are seen as a school that gets some nonconference cake walk wins, some conference wins over various lesser lights with the odd win over a legacy school, and goes 6-6 or 7-5 in the regular season en route to a minor bowl that draws 40,000 in a 65,000 seat stadium that is buried on Wednesday night on ESPN, or goes misses a bowl and talks of rebuilding. Right now we get the “look at the cute Gophers, they’re getting better, and Coach Kill is beating epilepsy” sort of patronizing pieces as opposed to getting credit for being on the rise. Last season and this season so far have seen giant steps taken towards overturning that preconceived notion, but until we regularly go 8-4, beat at least one legacy program per year, and make a New Year's appearance or two in Orlando, Tampa or Jacksonville (Pasadena and company are further off and maybe impossible), we're going to be viewed as having no clout and won't get the sort of media attention we really want. Some may disagree, but I haven’t seen much nationally or from non Big Ten school fans to say otherwise.

 

[Deleted_User]

The helmet schools get stories just for previously winning. We win currently and nothing penetrates the lock step nature of the sporting world.

 

[bottlebass]

Its very simple. Win some big games get some love and attention. Win 2 of the last 3 and make the title game and we get some attention. Win 1 of the last 3 and win our bowl and next year we will be talked about as a leader for the west division at the start of the season rather than being ranked 4 in the west at the start. Lose our last 3 even if we win our bowl none of this happens.

Honestly what have the Gophers done in the last 10 years to deserve any attention? That can and will change over the next 5 games (yes i said 5 and yes i know what that means).

 

[mnsportsgeek]

Its very simple. Win some big games get some love and attention. Win 2 of the last 3 and make the title game and we get some attention. Win 1 of the last 3 and win our bowl and next year we will be talked about as a leader for the west division at the start of the season rather than being ranked 4 in the west at the start. Lose our last 3 even if we win our bowl none of this happens.

Honestly what have the Gophers done in the last 10 years to deserve any attention? That can and will change over the next 5 games (yes i said 5 and yes i know what that means).

I was looking ahead to TCU in 2015 too.

 

[bottlebass]

I was looking ahead to TCU in 2015 too.

I guess I could have really gone overboard and said our next 6 games. I went conservative with 5. Probably should have added our next 5 games THIS season.