Neal: With CFP expansion, P.J. Fleck and the Gophers should have loftier goals

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Per Neal:

If the 12-team College Football Playoff would have been in existence in 2019, the Gophers would have had a case to be in the bracket.

That team was 10-1 before dropping its final regular-season game to Wisconsin. That would not have helped their causes, but Gophers coach P.J. Fleck would have had a platform to stump for his squad in ways only he can stump.

The Gophers beat up Bo Nix — yes, the current NFL rookie quarterback — and the Auburn Tigers in the Outback Bowl that year to finish 11-2. It was by far Fleck’s best season here, and his only double-digit victory season in eight seasons on the job.

So, as we reach the meaty part of the bowl schedule and the CFP, it’s time to talk about expectations. This is about how the expansion of college football’s playoff should put heat on Fleck, whose Gophers face Virginia Tech on Friday in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in Charlotte, N.C.

With the 12-team playoff looming, it made the final two weeks of the regular season more meaningful. Syracuse beating Miami (Fla.) and Georgia rallying to beat Georgia Tech in six overtimes to avoid an upset was must-see sports viewing. Now the race to see who reaches the title game on Jan. 20 is on.

With more teams having a chance under the expanded playoff format, there’s no reason why the Gophers can’t be one of them every now and then.

www.startribune.com

Neal: With more teams having a chance under the expanded CFP format, there’s no reason why the Gophers can’t be one of them every now and then.

Entering the final week with 10 wins gets you in the CFP conversation ... why can't Fleck and the Gophers be a part of that talk?
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com

Go Gophers!!
 

Would MN have been considered, with two quality losses but no really high quality wins? I suppose it depends on the other competitors in the beauty pageant. Even with the struggles to end the season who knows what happens in a tourney with a little R&R time. Maybe they are competitive versus a different style team twith lesser defenses.
 

I think Indiana is the best template for the Gophers to crack the playoff field.

a good team playing an advantageous schedule.

with the current 18-team setup and no divisions, there will be unbalanced schedules. to make the playoffs, the Gophers will need to catch a season where the schedule has them avoiding some of the top teams in the league. Of course, you have to take advantage of the schedule - as Indiana did - by winning your games.

whether the CFP is 12 teams, 14 or 16 going forward, I think it's a safe bet that the B1G is going to have 3 or 4 teams in the field most years.

So = the Gophers need a good year with the right schedule in order to go (let's say) 10-2 and finish in the top 4 in the B1G. that can get them in the CFP. 11-1 would almost guarantee them a playoff berth, but 10-2 could do it.
 


Pompous Elitist said:
Would MN have been considered, with two quality losses but no really high quality wins? I suppose it depends on the other competitors in the beauty pageant. Even with the struggles to end the season who knows what happens in a tourney with a little R&R time. Maybe they are competitive versus a different style team twith lesser defenses.
Click to expand...
Would 10-2 with losses to Iowa and Michigan make the cut?

Wins over 9-3 Illinois.
Over a 10-2 Penn State.

We'd be sitting in 4th in conference behind Oregon, Indiana, and tOSU.

Probably a big discussion between Alabama and MN.

The Big Ten was aided by tOSU technically finishing 4th and having to take the three teams ahead of them.

Oregon and Indiana would have been in CCG.
 



short ornery norwegian said:
whether the CFP is 12 teams, 14 or 16 going forward, I think it's a safe bet that the B1G is going to have 3 or 4 teams in the field most years.

So = the Gophers need a good year with the right schedule in order to go (let's say) 10-2 and finish in the top 4 in the B1G. that can get them in the CFP. 11-1 would almost guarantee them a playoff berth, but 10-2 could do it.
Click to expand...
Several CFP future format proposals would have 4 Auto-Bids for the Big 10 Teams with in Play In Games if finishing in the Top 6.

1st Place vs 2nd Place for Big 1 Championship - Winner gets a Bye (Loser still IN)

6th Place at 3rd Place - Winner Gets IN
5th Place at 4th Place - Winner Gets IN
 


So because the best season we’ve had in decades would’ve made us a borderline playoff team, the expectation should be to make the playoff once in a while? As others mentioned it will still take the stars aligning with a favorable schedule, a talented team, and catching some breaks/good luck to break through at the stage the program is at. My expectations are to at least be able to imagine a scenario, where if everything goes right we might make the playoffs, at the beginning of most seasons.
 




Bad take. The Gophers' goals are lofty. Every year. The Gophers also, unfortunately, play in the real world.

In a 12-team playoff, with certain spots ceded to conference winners, it is likely that the most playoff teams from the B1G in any given year will be 4 (like this year). My personal feeling is that in the normal course of things--the default case--those 4 teams will be tOSU, Oregon, Penn State and Michigan.

Illinois, USC, Washington, Iowa, Minnesota, perhaps Indiana and the Badgers, will be leg-wrestling for that 4th playoff spot should one of the big four falter (like Michigan this year).

Good news is that if four non-Gopher B1G teams make the playoffs, the Gophers should play in a very good bowl if they simply win the games they should win--a tall task based on recent history. And, certainly, in any given year--with the right schedule, a top performance, and a weak SEC set of contenders--the Gophers could pull off "an Indiana." Tough to pull off an Indiana, year after year, though. B1G is just too tough.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
Would MN have been considered, with two quality losses but no really high quality wins? I suppose it depends on the other competitors in the beauty pageant. Even with the struggles to end the season who knows what happens in a tourney with a little R&R time. Maybe they are competitive versus a different style team twith lesser defenses.
Click to expand...
If I remember correctly the Wisconsin loss dropped us down to the late teens in the CFP rankings. I think we finished 10th in the polls after beating Auburn who probably would have gotten in over us despite having a worse record.
Guessing the top four seeds would have been
1) LSU
2) Ohio State
3) Clemson
4) Oklahoma

5 vs 12 would have been Oregon vs Memphis
6 vs 11 Georgia vs Utah
7 vs 10 Baylor vs Penn State
8 vs 9 Wisconsin vs Florida

The final CFP rankings had Auburn, Bama, Michigan, Iowa, Notre Dame all above us on Selection Sunday after conference championship week.
 
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Strongazzoffer said:
If I remember correctly the Wisconsin loss dropped us down to the late teens in the CFP rankings. I think we finished 8th after beating Auburn who probably would have gotten in over us despite having a worse record.
Click to expand...
Highest the Gophers got was 8th. There are no re-rankings after the Bowl Games.

collegefootballplayoff.com

Week-by-Week CFP Selection Committee Rankings: 2019

Week-by-Week CFP Selection Committee Rankings: 2019
collegefootballplayoff.com collegefootballplayoff.com
 




Title of the article is dumb. I am pretty sure that it IS one of PJ's goals to make the CFP. This article makes it sound like Fleck thinks... "Hey we went 7-5, and got a berth in the Mayo Bowl. We achieved what we set out to do! If we can do that every year, we'll be happy!" Dumb.

Neal is not a college football guy and his attempts at writing about it are generally very lazy... at best.
 


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