prepare for disappointment

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I like the Gophers chances of going 7-5 or better this season with the team depth that they have developed barring significant injuries. PJ Fleck and company have really decent recruiting classes the last two years.

If they stay healthy, they have a good chance of winning winnable games. My feeling is that a two-game swing this coming season can make a difference between going to the B1G championship or not.

Keeping fingers crossed.
 

GophersInIowa said:
Not being disappointed in a 9-3 season that doesn't end up with a division championship doesn't mean you don't want/hope for championships. The next step is to be consistently good enough to where not winning the division is a disappointment.
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If we could get to that point with Nebraska, Iowa, Becky, and NU in our division, that would be awesome.
 

Spoofin said:
There really isn’t. Only rationalizations and justifications.

<b>You are what your record says you are. </b>But hey, what does Bill Parcells know about football?


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Yes and no. There's still different ways to get to the same record. Would we view last year differently if the Gophers had beaten Maryland, Nebraska, and Illinois but had lost to Purdue, Wisconsin, and Georgia Tech? I'd argue yes.
 

GophersInIowa said:
Yes and no. There's still different ways to get to the same record. Would we view last year differently if the Gophers had beaten Maryland, Nebraska, and Illinois but had lost to Purdue, Wisconsin, and Georgia Tech? I'd argue yes.
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I think it's fine if you base what success looks like on more than just wins and losses in year 2 but by year 3, wins and losses need to be the bottom line. Doesn't matter how you get them or who you beat, just win.
 

Based on the fact that there really was no rebuilding to do and with the elite recruiting classes we are supposed to have had, I will expect a better record be competitive every game we may loose. 7 and 5 would be a disappointment and anything less than that would certainly but PJ in what I would say a uncomfortable situation. For all the talk, hype and rowing, this crew needs to deliver a higher level of success this year.
 


There should be just one mega-thread for people to argue about expectations. Everyone has their own way of managing their emotions around this. I’m sort of a “wait and see” guy, myself. I’ll decide after the season whether or not I feel the season was a success.


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die hard gopher said:
I think it's fine if you base what success looks like on more than just wins and losses in year 2 but by year 3, wins and losses need to be the bottom line. Doesn't matter how you get them or who you beat, just win.
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I think that's fair. The only exception to that might be if there were a bunch of injuries, especially at QB.
 

KillmeNow said:
Bill Parcells is also a coach of a PRO team, not a college football program. Big difference. IMO
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As I said, still room for rationalizations and justifications.

Bottom Line for me: If we can’t match 2016’s record, this year, then we all should be disappointed. Clearly we all won’t be, but we all should be.


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Spoofin said:
As I said, still room for rationalizations and justifications.

Bottom Line for me: If we can’t match 2016’s record, this year, then we all should be disappointed. Clearly we all won’t be, but we all should be.


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I will be disappointed if the PJ Fleck era ends without us playing for a B1G title. I don't get too high or low on a specific season. If we miss a bowl game this year I will be very disappointed. 7-5 a little bit disappointed. 8-4 is success regardless of a bowl making it 9-4 or 8-5.
 



Pompous Elitist said:
We are killing it in head coach fitness level, energy level, catchphrases, and uniforms. One potential off field HA was avoided and the media were denied red meat before the bowl game. He even managed to quietly bludgeon a certain journalists professionalism - extremely impressive. Recruiting has ticked up, excitement is peaking. Academically all is well. Besides the catchphrases and some math issues at times I really like PJ and his style. He’s exciting. But, I suspect if the wins don’t come the other factors won’t amount to much.
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Ditto
 

Spoofin said:
As I said, still room for rationalizations and justifications.

Bottom Line for me: If we can’t match 2016’s record, this year, then we all should be disappointed. Clearly we all won’t be, but we all should be.
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Well said.
 

RememberMurray said:
Yes. Sports fans get "caught up" in the wins and losses thing. Maybe we should do away with standings based on wins and losses, and instead use some other metric...?

And, yes; this season (like all seasons) is looking difficult to predict in any precise way.

So the harsh reality is: my team may or may not win many games, and I have no reliable way to know, in advance, how they will perform.

Sigh. Nothing buy unsolvable problems, everywhere we look.

I think I need a new hobby...
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Heaven forbid if you have optimism in the off season. What were we thinking?
 

Spoofin said:
There really isn’t. Only rationalizations and justifications.

<b>You are what your record says you are. </b>But hey, what does Bill Parcells know about football?


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really? then there is no difference between the gophers and the yellow jackets in 2018 because they both finished 7-6? don't be daft.
 



i was trying to figure a way to articulate that 5 losses at the end of the season included the bowl game but the language eluded me. however, i think it is possible that 5 loses in the regular season could still be a victory depending on the context.
 
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This is a crazy season - five teams could win the West; the Gophers could play very well and still have a losing season, given Fresno State and the talent in the West (even the Jackrabbits could be tough). Anything could happen. If the Gophers win at home against Nebraska and Wisconsin I will be happy. Those wins plus four more would put us in a bowl. Anything beyond that is a gift from the football gods.
 




caliGopher said:
Ummmm, really? They look worse as time goes by, as does the Nebraska loss. Particularly the Illinois loss. Not because we lost, but the way we lost.

But that’s just me, maybe. Being blown out be teams like Illinois and Maryland doesn’t look good under any circumstances.


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Agree.
 

Let's try out some slogans:

Option One: Prepare For Disappointment!

Option Two: Do Not Be Afraid To Be A Legend!

Hmmmm...

I'm a life-long Minnesotan, but I kind of prefer Option Two.

Does that mean I have to move to another state?
 

PMWinSTP said:
Team some nine games in 2016. Not a rebuild.
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This is one area where you and I just fundamentally disagree.

In my mind, although 2016 we won games, the season was a black eye for our program, almost the whole season, and from what was good, there was almost nothing I'd call "impressive".

You view it as a benchmark of success.

The difference reflects back to what we each personally feel is important and that's probably why we disagree so much on this.
 

Face The Facts said:
This is one area where you and I just fundamentally disagree.

In my mind, although 2016 we won games, the season was a black eye for our program, almost the whole season, and from what was good, there was almost nothing I'd call "impressive".

You view it as a benchmark of success.

The difference reflects back to what we each personally feel is important and that's probably why we disagree so much on this.
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Complete BS.
 


PMWinSTP said:
Team some nine games in 2016. Not a rebuild.
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In 2017, they also didn’t have enough healthy O-linemen for the Spring game, had no good option at QB, had zero depth on the D-line, had very little talent at WR, etc. You know as well as anyone here they’re in a much better place in all of those areas.

As for 2016...that wasn’t a very talented team, so I’ll give Claeys full credit for managing 9 wins with that squad, even though none of the wins were really impressive, except for the bowl win (because of the circumstances). The team was unwatchable at times, but they managed to win games they were supposed to win.

Another thing to keep in mind is the West is much improved since 2016, particularly Northwestern.


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PitinoFan said:
In 2017, they also didn’t have enough healthy O-linemen for the Spring game, had no good option at QB, had zero depth on the D-line, had very little talent at WR, etc. You know as well as anyone here they’re in a much better place in all of those areas.

As for 2016...that wasn’t a very talented team, so I’ll give Claeys full credit for managing 9 wins with that squad, even though none of the wins were really impressive, except for the bowl win (because of the circumstances). The team was unwatchable at times, but they managed to win games they were supposed to win.

Another thing to keep in mind is the West is much improved since 2016, particularly Northwestern.


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Maybe it would be best to say that the cupboard wasn’t bare, but the roster had gotten to the point where it was severely mismanaged.
 

Jeshurun said:
Maybe it would be best to say that the cupboard wasn’t bare, but the roster had gotten to the point where it was severely mismanaged.
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The coaching staff was not a great recruiting staff. Our QB situation was a joke which is why we don't have a junior or senior QB running the team this year or last. 2016 was a good season and they had Mitch running the show as a senior. TC and crew were good coaches. Problem is you have to recruit and coach.
 

Jeshurun said:
Maybe it would be best to say that the cupboard wasn’t bare, but the roster had gotten to the point where it was severely mismanaged.
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That’s probably true.

I think the FG kicker is the only position we’re not in a better place than 2017 (or 2016 if I’m being honest). And who knows, one of those freshman kickers might end up being good.



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PitinoFan said:
That’s probably true.

I think the FG kicker is the only position we’re not in a better place than 2017 (or 2016 if I’m being honest). And who knows, one of those freshman kickers might end up being good.



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Yet we might be. Three IMO above average kickers. Possibility for just fine to great. We've had pretty darn good kickers since 2009, if you check the numbers and the facts. Almost no complaints there.
 

PMWinSTP said:
Complete BS.
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Per usual.

Top-28-joker-quotes-15.jpg
 

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