Playing SDSU, NDSU, and USD a good idea?

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GopherBeef

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As was alluded to in the article about the games with USC, we will be playing NDSU (2011), SDSU (2015), and USD (2010) as well for non-conference games in the future. I remember many posts and threads after last year's loss to NDSU saying that we should never play these types of schools again because we have nothing to gain and a lot to lose. At least the two games vs. NDSU helped fill up the dome and probably brought some extra $$, but that should not be a problem in TCF.

The question-do you think it is a good idea to play these FCS border-state schools? I am an SDSU grad in addition to a U of M grad, so I am excited to see the Jacks come to town next year.

However, I can also see that these games can be a trap because a lot of the kids who play for these schools are from Minnesota and probably think they could play for the U, leading to some added motivation and revenge on their part.

Thoughts?

Added note-interesting that UND is not among the additions. The U must be sticking with their pledge not to play teams with Indian mascots.
 

A good idea

They are decent teams that can give the Gophers a scare now and then, as we saw with NDSU. Plus lots of Minnesota kids play for these schools. Can't see playing USC instead of Washington State - after all, Iowa beat us at home, 55-0. Why open the year with a pasting that may keep us out of a good bowl later? We are a long way from being competitive with the likes of Southern Cal.
 

Those TCF bank stadium tickets for the NDSU game will be very valuable. We were easily able to fill up the dome with NDSU fans... suddenly there are 13k less seats available for them. I'd say one could recoup half the cost of their season ticket package by selling their tix to a Sioux fan.

Personally, I can't stand the D1AA games, but there's nothing that can be done about it. For selfish reasons I would rather we played more Illinois directional schools. It gives my high school friends a reason to come visit for a bad football game against their alma mater.

As for the USC thing:
"Why open the year with a pasting that may keep us out of a good bowl later?"

Just go to the USC game. It will be a higher profile game than our bowl game anyways. Looking at our 2010 schedule, I would say a bowl game is a stretch. Home games against USC, PSU, tOSU, and Iowa.... we are going to have to bring it.
 

I have no problem with the Gophers playing any of the local newly D-1 teams. It never hurts to devlop local rivalries, although its a long stretch to call any of them rivals at this point. More importantly, 97/100 times its going to be a win. As Brewster beefs up the N/C schedule you do need to have a few games where you are the heavy favorite. The motivation piece is a nice angle, but a Minnesota team with talent should beat a USD team with motivation. One more point is that these teams don't expect us to go there and play.

Finally, is that damn guy from SDSU with the cowbell dead yet. TCF Bank stadium will never be the same if that nut-case is let in.
 

Bad for tiebreaker?

Don't I-AA schools matter in a Rose Bowl tiebreaker? I seem to remember that if there's a tie, head to head matchup is looked at first, but if the 2 teams didn't play each other because of the unbalanced schedule, the team who played the LEAST number of I-AA schools then wins the tiebreaker. I don't feel like looking it up right now but if my memory is right, then we should never play I-AA schools if it has the potential to cost us a trip to the Rose Bowl.
 


jags1998 said:
Finally, is that damn guy from SDSU with the cowbell dead yet. TCF Bank stadium will never be the same if that nut-case is let in.
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Which damn guy? The cowbells are pretty common at SDSU football games. I think I know which guy you are talking about (Jerry Something?), and I think he is still around, although I have not been to a game in Brookings in quite a while. I would guess there will be many cowbells next year at TCF when SDSU comes to town.
 

I like it

I think its great to give those schools a shot at the U, especially
if it'll help fill TCF, which it will.

My only regret is that there is not an FCS school located in
Minnesota, be it St. Cloud, UMD, or MSU. THAT would be even
better as we could keep all the money in-state.

Still, border wars are terrific. Sure beats playing Nicholls State,
UC-Davis, or Wofford.

Remember also that Minnesota has a substantial history at playing
these schools. For decades before WWII, the ND and SD schools
were on the schedule virtually every season, and often multiple times
in the same season. We're just bringing back some traditional
opponents.
 

GopherBeef said:
Which damn guy? The cowbells are pretty common at SDSU football games. I think I know which guy you are talking about (Jerry Something?), and I think he is still around, although I have not been to a game in Brookings in quite a while. I would guess there will be many cowbells next year at TCF when SDSU comes to town.
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Yes - Jerry Something - that's the guy. I think he's like the richest guy in Brookings and just rings that cowbell for "fun" or something.
 

metrolax said:
I think its great to give those schools a shot at the U, especially
if it'll help fill TCF, which it will.
Click to expand...

If we need NDSU fans to fill TCF then we've got bigger issues.
 



Great Plains Gopher said:
They are decent teams that can give the Gophers a scare now and then, as we saw with NDSU. Plus lots of Minnesota kids play for these schools. Can't see playing USC instead of Washington State - after all, Iowa beat us at home, 55-0. Why open the year with a pasting that may keep us out of a good bowl later? We are a long way from being competitive with the likes of Southern Cal.
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wow! nice attitude. you this pessimistic and glass half-empty in your "everyday life" too?! must be fun. no wonder our program has been stuck in neutral for so long with fans of your "mind set".
 

GopherBeef said:
Which damn guy? The cowbells are pretty common at SDSU football games. I think I know which guy you are talking about (Jerry Something?), and I think he is still around, although I have not been to a game in Brookings in quite a while. I would guess there will be many cowbells next year at TCF when SDSU comes to town.
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sorry, but there aren't going to be extra tickets for any cow-tipping SDSU fans. they can shove their cow bells where the sun don't shine! gopher home field isn't the sterile metrodome any more folks.
 

metrolax said:
I think its great to give those schools a shot at the U, especially
if it'll help fill TCF, which it will.

My only regret is that there is not an FCS school located in
Minnesota, be it St. Cloud, UMD, or MSU. THAT would be even
better as we could keep all the money in-state.

Still, border wars are terrific. Sure beats playing Nicholls State,
UC-Davis, or Wofford.

Remember also that Minnesota has a substantial history at playing
these schools. For decades before WWII, the ND and SD schools
were on the schedule virtually every season, and often multiple times
in the same season. We're just bringing back some traditional
opponents.
Click to expand...


traditional opponents?! please! save for the perfect storm that was the 2007 season more like traditional "door mats".
 

metrolax said:
My only regret is that there is not an FCS school located in
Minnesota, be it St. Cloud, UMD, or MSU. THAT would be even
better as we could keep all the money in-state.
Click to expand...
I fail to see the logic in this. We aren't traveling to SD or ND, they are coming here. That means it is bringing in money - money that wouldn't be brought in if we played a hypothetical in-state school.
 



random question/thought. it would be interesting to know how many of the posters on this site who usually come down on the side that it is somehow a "good thing" and "beneficial to the U" to allow teams like NDSU, USD & SDSU to be on our non-conference schedule grew up in either no. dak/so. dak, went or have family who went to school there, grew up in far western minnesota or have some kind of family living in those two states/a spouse from there.

my personal impression is more often than not one of those four things are associated with those who feel that playing these non-conf games are somehow "great" for UM. let alone how it hampers their recruiting momentum and BCS standing, which should always be the first consideration.
 

GopherBeef said:
As was alluded to in the article about the games with USC, we will be playing NDSU (2011), SDSU (2015), and USD (2010) as well for non-conference games in the future. I remember many posts and threads after last year's loss to NDSU saying that we should never play these types of schools again because we have nothing to gain and a lot to lose. At least the two games vs. NDSU helped fill up the dome and probably brought some extra $$, but that should not be a problem in TCF.

The question-do you think it is a good idea to play these FCS border-state schools? I am an SDSU grad in addition to a U of M grad, so I am excited to see the Jacks come to town next year.

However, I can also see that these games can be a trap because a lot of the kids who play for these schools are from Minnesota and probably think they could play for the U, leading to some added motivation and revenge on their part.

Thoughts?

Added note-interesting that UND is not among the additions. The U must be sticking with their pledge not to play teams with Indian mascots.
Click to expand...

I think it's stupid to play teams that can't do anything for you. Then again, what fun! It's really what football is all about.
 

Bring 'em on

Okay, I'll bite. I'm slightly (I could be talked out of it) in favor of playing a SDSU or NDSU. I realize we're not going to steal too many recruits from them, but I think there have been a few players that have come out of these areas and went to Iowa, Nebraska, etc. Not many, but it brings me to another point: it could widen our fan base. Stake the upper Midwest as Gopher territory. Fans from those schools will be begging to come to TCF, where as some directional school in Louisiana won't be. Heck, even the casual Gopher fan would be more interested in seeing the Gophers roll over a neighboring University than one they can't find on a US map.

Edit for Bronko: I have no afiliation with the Dakota schools.
 

CarterAveKing said:
Okay, I'll bite. I'm slightly (I could be talked out of it) in favor of playing a SDSU or NDSU. I realize we're not going to steal too many recruits from them, but I think there have been a few players that have come out of these areas and went to Iowa, Nebraska, etc. Not many, but it brings me to another point: it could widen our fan base. Stake the upper Midwest as Gopher territory. Fans from those schools will be begging to come to TCF, where as some directional school in Louisiana won't be. Heck, even the casual Gopher fan would be more interested in seeing the Gophers roll over a neighboring University than one they can't find on a US map.

Edit for Bronko: I have no afiliation with the Dakota schools.
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Edit for CarterAveKing: i know you are kind of "joshing me", but please note that i said "more often than not" and did not say that it was 100% always the case with those in favor of playing these schools.

still don't agree though with scheduling them.
 

I actually think Maturi is playing these three schools to rub it in the face of the Sioux, since he has said we will only play them in hockey until they change their name :)

The Sioux open at Texas Tech next season.
 

MaxyJR1 said:
I actually think Maturi is playing these three schools to rub it in the face of the Sioux, since he has said we will only play them in hockey until they change their name :)

The Sioux open at Texas Tech next season.
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perhaps, but let's be honest. maturi has "far bigger fish to fry" than worrying about what north dakota of all schools thinks/does.
 

I'd rather not see the gophs play another non D1A school again myself.
 

You'd need a full glass of premium scotch neat, to think the Gophers will be ready for 'SC a year from now. Maybe four, five years down the road. Besides, I was there when we scored 13 to Nebraska's 84 - Nebraska being then the equivalent of what 'SC is now. We don't need that.
 

I hesitate to say this but...

12 game seasons can be tough. Playing a 1-AA (or whatever it's called now) team is almost like having a week off. And the reason I hesitate to say this is because we lost to NDSU and have played close games. But hopefully the talent level will have improved enough that 90% of the games will not only be wins, but blowouts.
 

TheDinkytowner said:
Don't I-AA schools matter in a Rose Bowl tiebreaker? I seem to remember that if there's a tie, head to head matchup is looked at first, but if the 2 teams didn't play each other because of the unbalanced schedule, the team who played the LEAST number of I-AA schools then wins the tiebreaker. I don't feel like looking it up right now but if my memory is right, then we should never play I-AA schools if it has the potential to cost us a trip to the Rose Bowl.
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This is correct, at least for last year. 8 or so weeks into last season when there were still many teams looking at a possible Rose Bowl berth Mich. St. had the upper hand in the tiebreaker with all their non head-to-head teams because they didn't play any FCS teams. In fact, it's better to LOSE to a FBS team than win a game against a FCS team because of this scenario. There is absolutely no reason to schedule a FCS team unless there is a change in the tiebreaker rules or there is an agreement by all the big ten schools to schedule the same amount of FBS/FCS schools each year.
 

While it would be nice to have a schedule just based on football needs, the reality is playing the local I-AA makes great sense from a business standpoint.

1 - We don't have to offer a return game. With an ungraded schedule, we are going to see more home and away deals giving us more 2-1 splits (home/away) vs 3-0 splits. These schools want to play us because they have alums/potential students/recruits in the area. They readily accept the fact that there will not be a return game.

2- Every team that comes has their expenses paid plus a guarantee fee. The expenses of bringing is a SD/ND school are very low - far lower than a Florida directional school, or something along those lines. Plus, the guarantee does not need to be very high as you are dealing with schools that have far lower budgets for athletics verse the small I-A schools that need to fund an entire athletic program from football/basketball revenues. These school demand big guarantees. (See Gopher basketball)

3- Ticket revenue was an issue in the dome, but is no longer a driving force. Still, it will be comforting to know that the entire visitor allotment (even though small) will always be sold.

It's a trade off. To make business sense, if we want USC, we are going to need to accept NDSU.
 

There are multiple reasons to schedule fcs schools, especially those in close proximity.

Financially, a flat payout of $100-250,000 helps both the visiting program and it allows the U to maximize the profits from a sellout. This will be particulaly true in a new stadium.

Prior to SDSU, NDSU, etc., going D-1, Minnesota was in all likelyhood a team of choice for fans in either of the Dakotas. Radio revenue probably stretches all the way into Montana. MN, IA and NE are still the closest "big" BCS schools.

While not producing the prodigious number of players that Texas, Cal or Florida put out, there is still talent in the area. Consider that Josh Heupel was a product of Aberdeen (IIRC). To be in the front row for recruiting that talent is a huge plus.

The U is still a few years away from worrying whether a game against an FSC school is going to cost them a spot in the national championship game. In the mean time, It's a good practice.
 

To me, it's a great idea. Hopefully it gives us a chance to play some depth, getting valuable experience for later. But mostly, I think it firmly establishes us as 'the' regional team for these areas. I think it makes us 'the' program to aspire to.

So for recruiting, costs, money, walk on program, and just plain fun, I like it.
 

Interesting discussion!

For the record Bronko, I have never hidden the fact on this board that I am a NDSU fan but that Minnesota is the FBS football team I follow and support. So, my comments are obviously slanted because of these affliations.

I like the MN/NDSU game, because it gets me to the MSP area on an additional trip. And as Mike on WCCO said after the 2007 game, games with teams like NDSU have an economic benefit to the downtown businesses, much more so than say a "Bowling Green" or a directional Illinois team.

As for the Rose Bowl tiebreaker, probably not an issue. Ohio State plays a FCS/IAA team every year, most B10 teams do (WI, IA, NW, etc), although Michigan State had a chance to make that tiebreaker work for them this year but couldn't quite get there.

So, since I am a Gopher fan (much to my son's chagrin) and if the game is played Sept 24 so it isn't the home opener, I would appreciate having fellow Gopher fans remember me if they can't make the game. Tickets at TCF will be scarce and hard to come by since NDSU only gets 2500.
 

Caravan Shaker said:
This is correct, at least for last year. 8 or so weeks into last season when there were still many teams looking at a possible Rose Bowl berth Mich. St. had the upper hand in the tiebreaker with all their non head-to-head teams because they didn't play any FCS teams. In fact, it's better to LOSE to a FBS team than win a game against a FCS team because of this scenario. There is absolutely no reason to schedule a FCS team unless there is a change in the tiebreaker rules or there is an agreement by all the big ten schools to schedule the same amount of FBS/FCS schools each year.
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Thank you for confirming my original post.

If we ever lose a Rose Bowl tiebreaker because of this, you can bet there will be hell to pay! In fact, the fan uproar will be such that we will never, ever play another a I-AA team again.
 

maybe I'm wrong about this, I haven't put a lot of thought into it, but if we are in a tie breaker for the rose bowl and we come up short for whatever reason, aren't we still January bowl bound? It's not like we're going to the motor city bowl or anything. I think we'll still be pretty happy about it.
 

Schnoodler said:
maybe I'm wrong about this, I haven't put a lot of thought into it, but if we are in a tie breaker for the rose bowl and we come up short for whatever reason, aren't we still January bowl bound? It's not like we're going to the motor city bowl or anything. I think we'll still be pretty happy about it.
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Are you serious? If we miss on a Rose Bowl trip, and the only reason is because we scheduled a I-AA team and another school didn't, Maturi will be lucky to keep his job.

If we come up short because the other school won the head to head matchup with us, that is a different story.
 

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