MN Golden Gophers Football- Gophers Snubbed in EPSN's All-Big Ten Preseason List

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By DarkKnight5 at TDG

The ubiquitous Network has issued its well-researched compulsory pre-season All Big Ten team. This type of thing is easy to rip on due to its very nature: speculative prediction of future results based on past performance and assumptions about unknown and unforeseeable factors.Because it’s easy to rip on, I’m going to rip on it.

Minnesota does not feature a single player on the list, and the players on the Gophers’ roster apparently don’t even merit an "also-ran" mention on this list, a distinction shared by only Illinois and Purdue. That’s right, Maryland and Rutgers (RUTGERS!) both have players who merited mention, but our Gophers did not.

Meanwhile, Michigan State has seven players on this list due simply to the fact that they play for Michigan State. For instance, QB Connor Cook is on the list (in place of Braxton Miller’s injured shoulder), despite the fact that his career completion percentage is below 59%. An even better example is DB Trae Waynes after having only 50 tackles last year.

http://www.thedailygopher.com/2014/...psns-all-big-ten-mortell-williams-cobb-murray
 


Who would be a better choice than Connor Cook? It's a weird position to take with that one considering he's arguing the Gophers were 'snubbed'. The logic of that would indicate the writer feels Leidner would be a better choice. And to argue that Trae Waynes shouldn't be on the list as a cornerback because he didn't make a lot of tackles (not exactly priority number 1 for a CB) is also peculiar. And now we're bestowing there's an MSU bias? Do people just throw that into any/every article where it appears one team is being praised? I generally only hear that about OSU/Michigan but I guess when it's convenient for argument's sake why not throw MSU in their as well?

The writer also mentions that these lists are dumb because of their speculative nature but then his entire argument for Murray is framed around his huge upside. Then that Cobb should be mentioned because he COULD put up 1,500 yards. If he does, of course he'll get consideration so what's his point? I get the point on Funchess but the guy is listed as a TE. And not sure Maxx would be second on that list with Iowa and PSU both having tremendous TE talent as well.

It stinks no Gophers are on this list but I also think that our best players play positions that are deep in talent in this league, most notably TE, DE, secondary and RB.
 

It's all just bulletin board material....
 



Gophers were 8-4 last year regular season and 4-4 Big 10. Casual national sporting scene still thinks of Gophers as a 3-9 type team with 3-9 type talent. It will probably take sustained multi-year records of at least .500 in the B1G to overcome the lazy pre season pigeon hole many national writers currently slot our rodents into. Michigan State just won the Rose Bowl and nationally it seems people still refer more to Ohio State and Wisconsin. It takes a while.
 

I see 6-2 in the B!G. If it comes true, that will turn heads and change peoples minds.
 

Dean S said:
I see 6-2 in the B!G. If it comes true, that will turn heads and change peoples minds.
Click to expand...

With the ESPN talking bobble heads, how about if we turn their minds and change their heads?
 

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