Meineke Car Care Bowl vs. Texas Tech: Pregame Thread

Donate To GopherHole
Unregistered User said:
Ring that F%^&$ing Bell!

1478145217_aa27586203_o.gif
Click to expand...

HAHAHAHA!
 

http://espn.go.com/college-football...thing-need-know-season-bowls-college-football

Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas
Minnesota vs. Texas Tech, Dec. 28 (ESPN, 9 p.m. ET)

Why to watch: These teams produced one of the most thrilling bowl games in history, after Texas Tech rallied from a 31-point deficit in the third quarter to stun Minnesota 44-41 in overtime in the 2006 Insight Bowl.

Who to watch: Texas Tech quarterback Seth Doege is still putting up Air Raid-like statistics, throwing for 3,934 yards with 38 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He passed for 499 yards with six touchdowns in a 49-13 rout of West Virginia on Oct. 13.

Motivating factor for Minnesota: The Gophers are 6-6 and can finish with a winning campaign for the first time since 2008.

Motivating factor for Texas Tech: The Red Raiders can win a game for themselves, after coach Tommy Tuberville left on Saturday to become Cincinnati's new coach. Texas Tech is looking for its third coach in five seasons.

Pick: Texas Tech 38, Minnesota 20
 


per Pat Forde:

Texas Bowl (17), Dec. 28, Minnesota vs. Texas Tech

Who has momentum: Nobody. The Gophers have lost three of their last four, with the lone victory over 2-10 Illinois. The Red Raiders have lost four of their last five, with the lone victory over 1-11 Kansas, in overtime.

Who has motivation: At least Minnesota has a coach. Tommy Tuberville jilted Texas Tech last week, and offensive coordinator Neal Brown is leaving for the same job at Kentucky. And the Gophers are playing in their first bowl in three years.

Who has cooler helmets: In a battle of consonants, give the slight edge to the Gophers’ “M” over the Red Raiders “TT.”

Who wins: Texas Tech 41, Minnesota 27. Unless the Red Raiders implode due to coaching transition, they should win fairly easily. Better team, coming out of a stronger conference. The Gophers' offense has been anemic.

Gratuitous Gruden rumor: Red Raiders have an opening, and Gruden certainly would not be the first person to forsake oceanfront property in Tampa for the windswept charms of Lubbock. Oh, wait …

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ncaaf-...QDBHBzdGNhdANuY2FhZgRwdANzZWN0aW9ucw--;_ylv=3

Go Gophers!!
 




Surprised to see we've sold the same amount of tickets as MSU - figured they'd be a much bigger draw, but their fans must be just generally very disappointed with the way the season went.

Does anyone know how many we sold to Tempe 2006? Having gone to the Sun Bowl (03), Music City Bowl (04, 05) and Insight Bowl (06) I recall the Insight had probably the best Gopher crowd out of any of them.
 

Gopher07 said:
Surprised to see we've sold the same amount of tickets as MSU - figured they'd be a much bigger draw, but their fans must be just generally very disappointed with the way the season went.
Click to expand...

With apologies to Selection Sunday, Michigan State gets more credit than they deserve as far as their traveling fan base goes. They've traveled well for trips to Orlando - first in 2007 for the Champs Bowl, after a four-year bowl drought, and then in 2008 and 2010 for the Cap One Bowl. Trips to Tampa and San Antonio....not so much. From Bennett's blog one year ago today: "Sales have been a bit slow so far for the Spartans' game against Georgia in the Outback Bowl. The school has only sold about 6,000 of its 11,500 seats." Of course, the biggest injustice was in 2003, when Sparty was selected for the Alamo Bowl instead of the Gophers and brought nobody to a dud of a game against Nebraska, while the Gophers played a classic Sun Bowl against Oregon.

Gopher07 said:
Does anyone know how many we sold to Tempe 2006? Having gone to the Sun Bowl (03), Music City Bowl (04, 05) and Insight Bowl (06) I recall the Insight had probably the best Gopher crowd out of any of them.
Click to expand...

I've been to all of those games as well, and the '06 game was far and away the best Gophers contingent. I don't know what the official numbers were through the ticket office, since there were many snowbirds who bought tickets on the secondary market, or locally through the bowl itself.
 

Also at the 2006 Insight. Was at the pre-party when Mason took a shot at the Star Tribune. This was the duel in the sun tailgate party and Minnesota had twice as many fans at the party than TT.
I asked the bowl official at the party how many fans from Minnesota do you expect and she said 8-10 thousand and that they had sold a lot of tickets through the Insight Bowl to Minnesotan's in the area. All I can say is what I saw at the game and we had 2-3 sections filled on the upper and lower level. I will say this, it was one of the oldest crowds I've ever seen at a Gopher bowl game.
 



@ESPN_BigTen: Chatted w/ Jerry Kill. Said Gray healthier than he has been all season. Also, C Jon Christenson to return for bowl #gophers

Go Gophers!!
 



Fred from Spokane, Wash., writes: For programs on the rise, such as Minnesota, does it help the program to go to a bowl game and get blown out? Does a blow out help or hurt recruiting?

Adam Rittenberg: Fred, in Minnesota's case, the bowl game itself is secondary to the bowl practices. The fact Minnesota gets 15 extra practices is huge, especially with a true freshman (Philip Nelson) at the quarterback spot. It gives coach Jerry Kill and his staff more time to evaluate younger players who will play bigger roles in 2013. Although there are quite a few seniors on defense, the offense is very young for the most part, and that's the unit that must make significant strides for next season. Minnesota can sell the bowl appearance to recruits and the fact it doubled its wins total in Kill's second season. The outcome of the game itself, even if bad, shouldn't impact recruiting too much.

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/67939/big-ten-friday-mailblog-119

Go Gophers!!
 





Kingsbury introduced as new Texas Tech Coach.

The new Tech coach described why it was important for him to return to the school where he was a record-breaking quarterback under Mike Leach after earlier working with Kevin Sumlin at Houston and Texas A&M.

Kingsbury said that going to Houston “was a business decision. Going to that other university was a business decision.”

But returning back to Tech is different, Kingsbury said, explaining that returning to his old school is “personal.”

As for Tubberville:

And he even had a shot for his predecessor, Tommy Tuberville, who left the Red Raiders for Cincinnati.

During his press conference, Kingsbury turned to his new boss Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt and asked him if there was any way they could schedule Cincinnati for next season. :clap:



http://blog.chron.com/aggies/2012/1...s-tuberville-at-his-opening-press-conference/
 

per Nate Sandell:

Healing up

The Gophers' offensive line, which was ravaged by injuries all season, finally appears to be as healthy as it's going to get this season.

Center Jon Christenson is back at practice after an ankle sprained suffered Nov. 10th against Illinois hindered the redshirt freshman for the last two weeks of the regular season.

Redshirt junior left tackle Ed Olson is "moving around like he was at the beginning of the year," Kill said. Olson missed four games with lingering ankle troubles.

Injuries forced the Gophers to field six different starting lineups on the O-line, using eight starters. Right tackle Josh Campion and utility lineman Zac Epping were the only members of the line to start every game.

Notes

• It hasn't mattered that Texas Tech has undergone a startling coaching change in the last two weeks. The Red Raiders (7-5) remain 13-point favorites to hand the Gophers their fifth consecutive bowl loss.

Texas A&M offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury was hired on Dec. 12 as Texas Tech's new head coach in the wake of Tommy Tuberville sudden departure for Cincinnati. But offensive line coach Chris Thomsen is still slated to serve as interim head coach for the Car Care Bow.

• Freshman wide receiver Jamel Harbison has been cleared for straightforward running, Kill said, nearly four months after tearing his ACL in the Gophers' season opener at UNLV. Prior to the injury, Harbison was expected to be a main part of the receiver rotation. Harbison was granted redshirt status this season.

Fellow freshman Duke Anyanwu, out since August with a major knee injury, is gradually returning to practice. Though still limited, he has recently been allowed to participate in pass shell drills. The Gophers plan to have Anyanwu fully healthy when spring practice begins in March.

http://www.1500espn.com/sportswire/...geman_his_potential_pro_future_can_wait121712

Go Gophers!!
 


B1G bowl primer: Meineke Car Care Bowl/ESPN B1G Ten Blog By: Adam Rittenberg

Our snapshots of each bowl featuring a Big Ten team continue.

MEINEKE CAR CARE BOWL OF TEXAS

Minnesota (6-6) vs. Texas Tech (7-5)

Where: Houston, Reliant Stadium

When: Dec. 28, 9 p.m. ET (8 p.m. CT)

TV: ESPN

About Minnesota: The Gophers return to a bowl game for the first time since the 2009 season after doubling their wins total from 2011 in coach Jerry Kill's second year. Thanks to an improved defense, Minnesota surged to a 4-0 start before struggling in Big Ten play. Injuries forced Minnesota to use three different starting quarterbacks: senior MarQueis Gray, sophomore Max Shortell and freshman Philip Nelson, who lost his redshirt midway through the season and started the final six contests. The Gophers finished 11th nationally in pass defense and bolstered their pass rush behind senior end D.L. Wilhite and junior tackle Ra'Shede Hageman. Nelson showed some flashes of potential in a home victory against Purdue, but injuries piled up for the Gophers' offense, which scored just 54 points in the final four games.

About Texas Tech: Like Minnesota, the Red Raiders saw most of their gains in the first half of the season. They won their first four games and six of their first seven before dropping four of their final five. The poor finish combined with mounting criticism led to the somewhat surprising departure of coach Tommy Tuberville to Cincinnati following the regular season. Texas Tech acted quickly in naming rising star Kliff Kingsbury as head coach, although offensive line Chris Thomsen will coach the Red Raiders in the bowl. The passing tradition at Tech is alive and well as Seth Doege triggers the nation's No. 2 pass offense (361.9 yards per game), and the Red Raiders also rank in the top 20 nationally in both scoring and total offense. The defense performed well through the first half, shutting down then-Heisman Trophy favorite Geno Smith and West Virginia, but the unit struggled late, surrendering more than 50 points in four of the final six contests.

Key players, Minnesota: Gray is set to play his final game in a Gophers uniform, and as has been the case for much of his career, his position is somewhat of a mystery. Gray started at quarterback last season and opened this fall as the team's top signal-caller, but knee and ankle injuries forced him to wide receiver. The extended break before the bowl has allowed Gray to get healthy, and both he and Nelson are practicing at quarterback. Although running back Donnell Kirkwood has been good at times, Minnesota lacks offensive playmakers. Senior cornerback Michael Carter headlines the secondary after recording two interceptions and 14 pass breakups this fall. Wilhite tied for second in the Big Ten with 8.5 sacks.

Key players, Texas Tech: Doege ranks 14th nationally in pass efficiency (156.6 rating) and ninth in total offense (331.1 ypg), having eclipsed 300 pass yards in nine of 12 games with a 499-yard effort against West Virginia and a 476-yard performance against Kansas. He has two excellent targets in wide receivers Darrin Moore and Eric Ward, both of whom rank in the top 20 nationally in receptions and in the top 30 nationally in receiving yards. Junior defensive end Kerry Hyder triggers Texas Tech's pass rush with five sacks and 13.5 tackles for loss. Senior safety Cody Davis leads the unit in tackles (91) and interceptions (3), and ranks second in pass breakups (7).

Did you know: The teams' only previous meeting was a memorable one, as Texas Tech made a huge comeback to force overtime and eventually beat Minnesota in the 2006 Insight Bowl. The blown lead led to Minnesota's firing of longtime coach Glen Mason two days later. ... Texas Tech is bowl-eligible for the 19th time in the past 20 seasons. ... Minnesota will be looking for its first bowl win since the 2004 Music City Bowl, when it defeated Alabama 20-16. ... Minnesota is 5-9 all-time in bowls and has dropped four straight. ... Texas Tech makes its third appearance in what's now known as the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas. Texas Tech played in the inaugural game in 2000 (then named the galleryfurniture.com Bowl) at the Astrodome and again in 2003 (then named the EV1.net Houston Bowl) at Reliant Stadium. Texas Tech's last appearance resulted in a 38-14 win over Navy on Dec. 30, 2003.

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/68097/b1g-bowl-primer-meineke-car-care-bowl
 





@DarrenWolfson: As of 8 a.m. yesterday, the #Gophers have sold 2,500 tickets for their bowl game. They are responsible for 12,000.

Go Gophers!!
 

BleedGopher said:
@DarrenWolfson: As of 8 a.m. yesterday, the #Gophers have sold 2,500 tickets for their bowl game. They are responsible for 12,000.

Go Gophers!!
Click to expand...

I got my tix yesterday and couldn't be more disappointed with the crap seats. $75/tix and sitting between what looks like the 5 and 15-yard lines. I bought them with the idea that I'd be helping out the U but now regret the decision. Oh well, never again. Go to Houston Craigslist and you'll find much better and cheaper seats.
 

A.J. Barker one of Five Minnesota offensive players Red Raider fans should know

Five Minnesota offensive players Red Raider fans should know

(sigh)

MNGoldenGophers1 said:
I got my tix yesterday and couldn't be more disappointed with the crap seats. $75/tix and sitting between what looks like the 5 and 15-yard lines. I bought them with the idea that I'd be helping out the U but now regret the decision. Oh well, never again. Go to Houston Craigslist and you'll find much better and cheaper seats.
Click to expand...

That's weird. Mine are on the 25.
 


MNGoldenGophers1 said:
I got my tix yesterday and couldn't be more disappointed with the crap seats. $75/tix and sitting between what looks like the 5 and 15-yard lines. I bought them with the idea that I'd be helping out the U but now regret the decision. Oh well, never again. Go to Houston Craigslist and you'll find much better and cheaper seats.
Click to expand...

Just curious if you are a season ticket holder and/or a donor? Did you order before the priority deadline?

If you don't throw a bunch of $$$ at the U, don't expect the best seats. If you have season tickets, made donations, and ordered before the deadline and still are on the 5 yard line, then you have beef.
 


Omega015 said:
Just curious if you are a season ticket holder and/or a donor? Did you order before the priority deadline?

If you don't throw a bunch of $$$ at the U, don't expect the best seats. If you have season tickets, made donations, and ordered before the deadline and still are on the 5 yard line, then you have beef.
Click to expand...

Yes, yes and yes. I have 4-season tix, make the annual donation, and ordered in advance of the deadline. Furthermore, I purchased 12 away game tix for UNLV, Iowa, WI, and Nebraska through the U tix office this year. I guess I don't show enough love?!? (Maybe it was scalping those Illinois tix that did me in?) I realize the bowl itself and not the U controls most of what goes on with available seating but with only 2500 tix sold-to-date I have a hard time believing that this is the best they can do. If you look at all my posts on this site, I think you'll find that aside from my knowing next to nothing about most things in life I’m if nothing else an adherent Gopher football fan. I hate to say it, but this one thing has really soured me on the program. Perhaps I’ll get over it but at the moment, I’m ready to check out on the program.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom