Our 5 remaining games are all very winnable

[Goldmember]

If this team rips off 5 wins and beats Kentucky or MS State in Nashville I’m going to have a lot of fun bumping the hell out of all these panty-pisser threads people have created in the last 24 hours.
Beware: your emotional flatulence may come back to haunt you.

 

[Bayfieldgopher]

MSU is a Big Ten team. A team that we destroyed. A team that beat Wisconsin. Seems that a lot of the naysayers ignore this.

True. So are PU, Illini and PSU. But going 0-3 says a lot.

The question is what happened after the MSU game??? Was PJ outcoached, did something take place with the "culture", is MSU inferior to the last three BIG opponents or did the other BIG coaches figure out the Gophers deficiencies and ways to beat us.

No matter how one looks at it, the Gophers are behind the 8 ball and must find a way to get back their swagger, confidence and play like a contender.

 

[Some guy]

Probably as much overreacting to the first 3 wins as the last 3 losses for sure. They could still have a decent season. The trophy games are always big. Illinois is just legit and that is probably throwing peoples opinions off because they normally are ass.

That’s true. But a team that lost to Indiana is not legit.
Illinois just happens to maybe be the least bad in the west

 

[dpodoll68]

If this team rips off 5 wins and beats Kentucky or MS State in Nashville I’m going to have a lot of fun bumping the hell out of all these panty-pisser threads people have created in the last 24 hours.
Beware: your emotional flatulence may come back to haunt you.

And you can do that while enjoying your lottery winnings and banging your supermodel girlfriend. Each of those things is as likely as your scenario.

 

[Panthadad2]

There is the talent on this team. It looks like coaching from here. Fleck needs more out of his staff.

Well, the receiver room past CrAB and headcase-Wright (both of which are out) are very underwhelming from a talent standpoint. The root of all the issues come back to this WR factor,

> with the next factor being a QB that can't make his own plays without good receivers (not counting AK who will eventually be good)

> then an O-line that's not cohesive enough to block all the crazy blitzes thrown at them cuz the opposing defenses know the receivers suck

> then a limited pass rush on D.

 

[Ewert86PC]

You aren’t feeling good about northwestern?
You should watch northwestern and feel better

I felt good about our chances against Northwestern in 1982 and we crapped our pants. It was part of a long string of underestimating Northwestern and losing. Northwestern is a perennial trap for the Gophers.

 

[Some guy]

I felt good about our chances against Northwestern in 1982 and we crapped our pants. It was part of a long string of underestimating Northwestern and losing. Northwestern is a perennial trap for the Gophers.

You need to stop living in the past. Holy hell
If you are actually worried about stuff from 1982 I don’t envy you

 

[Gophers_4life]

Well, the receiver room past CrAB and headcase-Wright (both of which are out) are very underwhelming from a talent standpoint. The root of all the issues come back to this WR factor,

> with the next factor being a QB that can't make his own plays without good receivers (not counting AK who will eventually be good)

> then an O-line that's not cohesive enough to block all the crazy blitzes thrown at them cuz the opposing defenses know the receivers suck

> then a limited pass rush on D.

Screens.

They eat blitzes. Go ahead, send the farm. Dink it over to Mo or BSF!

 

[Ewert86PC]

You need to stop living in the past. Holy hell
If you are actually worried about stuff from 1982 I don’t envy you

Living in the past or reminding you that there are precedents? Your looking so hard for positives that you can't see we've got nothing but weak changes, right now. The whole conservative play on offense is inverse to what this team can do. The fear of opening up the offense and throwing more just because the B1G Conference is a run and shorten the field is ridiculous.

We're going to have a spike in 3-and-outs if we stay the run-first course. Ther has to be less certainty of Mo getting 100 yards per game from here on out. We saw how AK hitting his passes opened up the run game against PSU. But the passing has to be the first, not second option on offense from here on out.

1982 Gophers hugged their predictable dogma right into Evanston where they got trapped by it. We have to break the cycle of loving our dogmatic philosophy so much that we would rather chalk up another loss, calling it a moral victory, than make changes that could result in a win.

 

[Panthadad2]

Screens.

They eat blitzes. Go ahead, send the farm. Dink it over to Mo or BSF!

We’ve seen multiple screens get blown up the past three games. Especially the tunnel screen. Teams are sitting on them. Granted, not much to Mo (when he’s been playing).

 

[Gophers_4life]

We’ve seen multiple screens get blown up the past three games. Especially the tunnel screen. Teams are sitting on them. Granted, not much to Mo (when he’s been playing).

You can't stop everything on defense. Not possible.

So, they're blitzing ... and sitting on the slants ... and sitting on the screens?

Something has to be open

 

[Live in the now]

That’s true. But a team that lost to Indiana is not legit.
Illinois just happens to maybe be the least bad in the west

That one was a head scratcher, but good teams do get upset all the time. I think Illinois is pretty good but to your point the west is really down. They are currently ranked 17 so that has to be considered

 

[Some guy]

You can't stop everything on defense. Not possible.

So, they're blitzing ... and sitting on the slants ... and sitting on the screens?

Something has to be open

Nothing has to be open if the OL and WR are losing 1 on 1 battles

 

[tpbeight]

There is the talent on this team. It looks like coaching from here. Fleck needs more out of his staff.

Where is the talent?

Mo - Really good.
Walley - Really good
T. Smith - Playing really well
BSF - Having a solid season
JMS - Elite at his position

That's all i've got. OL has underwhelmed. DL has underwhelmed. LB are average. Safety is weak. WR is weak. Do we even have a WR or RB to get excited about for next season? I think our DL will take a jump next year. Other than that...not sure what to be looking forward to.

 

[Gophers_4life]

Nothing has to be open if the OL and WR are losing 1 on 1 battles

I’m just talking “on paper” schematically, you can’t cover all things at once. But your point stands!

 

[Gophers_4life]

Where is the talent?

Mo - Really good.
Walley - Really good
T. Smith - Playing really well
BSF - Having a solid season
JMS - Elite at his position

That's all i've got. OL has underwhelmed. DL has underwhelmed. LB are average. Safety is weak. WR is weak. Do we even have a WR or RB to get excited about for next season? I think our DL will take a jump next year. Other than that...not sure what to be looking forward to.

Isn’t Trill Carter raved about?

But yeah that position, by itself, it’s hard to be a difference maker. Hard to get pass rush pressure right up the gut (double teamed) and in run game they can just run it away from him.

 

[DelawareGopher]

This thread title inspired me to try some optimism, so here we go:

-We seem to always have one fluky loss each year to a team that isn’t that good or is downright bad. Purdue seems to have been that game—awful dropped TD pass turned pick, missed kick (kicks?), other things not going our way, MO not playing. If we play that game again, I think we win.

-It seems the best two teams on the schedule are Illinois and Penn State. We had them on the road back-to-back. Tough draw in retrospect.

-None of the remaining teams we face are clearly better than us. And 3/5 are at home.

7-5 with a bowl win would be a disappointing but “ok” season. The Gophers were under .500 every year I was a student—including two 3-9 years—so it helps to keep that in perspective.

I’m hoping for at least 7-5, the Axe, Floyd, and an enjoyable bowl game.

 

[1983]

There is the talent on this team. It looks like coaching from here. Fleck needs more out of his staff.

Bingo, especially on defensive scheme.

 

[MGGopher]

Where is the talent?

Mo - Really good.
Walley - Really good
T. Smith - Playing really well
BSF - Having a solid season
JMS - Elite at his position

That's all i've got. OL has underwhelmed. DL has underwhelmed. LB are average. Safety is weak. WR is weak. Do we even have a WR or RB to get excited about for next season? I think our DL will take a jump next year. Other than that...not sure what to be looking forward to.

Nubin will almost certainly play in the NFL, so add him to the list and strike the Safety comment, but otherwise your sentiments are pretty accurate. WR group looks like one of the worst in the conference and there's apparently been a lot of recruiting misses on OL since they're relying on two very pedestrian grad transfers.

On the whole though, I'd argue the roster is far deeper and more talented than when Fleck took over. It's just not as talented as I was hoping for at this point or believed early in the season. Lot of football left to be played. Hope we get something to cheer about.

 

[DanvilleGopher]

IF the Gophers can regroup and win their last 5 games, it will be a successful season IMHO, even if they don't win the West. I'm still rowing....

It's truly awesome that you're still rowing the boat! Let me ask this, and I think we'll be able to have a more definitive answer by Sunday, are the players (which is where it matters) still rowing the boat?

 

[beavergopher]

We could also lose all five. Right now the offense on this team is a mess.

 

[MNVCGUY]

We could also lose all five. Right now the offense on this team is a mess.

Yep.....thankfully Rutgers offense is pretty messy as well though. So hopefully we are able to take care of business this weekend and get back on track heading into the final 4.

 

[RememberMurray]

That’s true. But a team that lost to Indiana is not legit.
Illinois just happens to maybe be the least bad in the west

Ohio State won the national championship in 2014. That Buckeye squad lost 35-21 to Virginia Tech — a team that finished 7-6, and a dismal 3-5 in the ACC.

Pointing to a single loss and claiming it makes a team 'not legit' is Barrierro-level overstatement.

 

[GridironGus]

It's truly awesome that you're still rowing the boat! Let me ask this, and I think we'll be able to have a more definitive answer by Sunday, are the players (which is where it matters) still rowing the boat?

That's what matters

 

[Some guy]

Ohio State won the national championship in 2014. That Buckeye squad lost 35-21 to Virginia Tech — a team that finished 7-6, and a dismal 3-5 in the ACC.

Pointing to a single loss and claiming it makes a team 'not legit' is Barrierro-level overstatement.

How about watching the Illinois Iowa game?
Or the Illinois Minnesota game?


Illinois isn’t a top 3 team in the east is my claim.
You don’t even disagree with me.

 

[RememberMurray]

Where is the talent?

Mo - Really good.
Walley - Really good
T. Smith - Playing really well
BSF - Having a solid season
JMS - Elite at his position

That's all i've got. OL has underwhelmed. DL has underwhelmed. LB are average. Safety is weak. WR is weak. Do we even have a WR or RB to get excited about for next season? I think our DL will take a jump next year. Other than that...not sure what to be looking forward to.

After the Gophers started 4-0 and completely dominated every opponent, I thought they were on the verge of a transcendent season. As it turns out, I was overreacting.

After our third straight loss, a complete butt-whipping in Happy Valley, I was in despair.

But then I remembered how quickly and sharply the team's fortunes had turned earlier, and just how wrong my first overreaction had turned out to be.

I think I'll see how the rest of this season plays out before I overreact once again. I resolve to avoid jumping to any more conclusions until I see how 2022 ends.

 

[RememberMurray]

How about watching the Illinois Iowa game?
Or the Illinois Minnesota game?


Illinois isn’t a top 3 team in the east is my claim.
You don’t even disagree with me.

I thought your claim was that they were "not legit".

I'll wait to see how it plays out before I agree or disagree with either claim.

 

[Some guy]

I thought your claim was that they were "not legit".

I'll wait to see how it plays out before I agree or disagree with either claim.

Not legit meaning they aren’t a legitimate conference title contender
Which they aren’t: you can wait and see that’s fine

 

[WriterGoph]

Not legit meaning they aren’t a legitimate conference title contender
Which they aren’t: you can wait and see that’s fine

I guess we will see how they do at Michigan. I think it's a one-score game

 

[Some guy]

I guess we will see how they do at Michigan. I think it's a one-score game

Lol