Reusse column: Gophs' Huge Challenge to be Worst Ever

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Not worth clicking - here is the story in case any one cares:


The competition is fierce, yet I have considered "1983'' to be the easy answer when asked to name the worst Gophers football team of my memory (which dates to the mid-'50s).

That was the final team for Smoky Joe Salem, a popular ex-Gopher quarterback who lasted five years after being hired out of Northern Arizona as Cal Stoll's replacement.

Salem had enough success in his first three seasons that there was some optimism that he was going to be able to get it done. The highlight was a 35-31 victory over Ohio State on Nov. 7, 1981 at Memorial Stadium. Quarterback Mike Hohensee lit up the Buckeyes that afternoon.

The Gophers lost two close games after that - at Michigan State and home with Wisconsin - and finished 4-5 in the Big Ten and 6-5 overall.

The Ohio State victory left an impression with college football writers. Salem's Gophers opened the 1982 season with victories over Ohio, Purdue and Washington State, and that moved them to No. 19 in the national rankings.

The Metrodome was the new venue for the Gophers, and Illinois came to town on Oct. 2 for a Saturday night game that was nationally televised. There was a full house of 63,684, and the fans shrieked happily as the Gophers took a halftime lead.

Then, quarterback Tony Eason and his squadron of receivers - including tight end Tim Brewster - lit up the Gophers' defense for a 42-24 victory.

Remarkably, the Gophers followed that with seven more conference losses. Hohensee, the record-breaking passer, was a senior, and Salem was left to choose between two inexperienced quarterbacks - Greg Murphy and Brett Sadek - for 1983.

The Gophers opened with a 21-17 victory over Rice. The estimated crowd in mammoth Rice Stadium was 10,000.

A week later, Nebraska came into the Metrodome and put the infamous 84-13 beating on the Gophers. There were 62,687 in the arena, with 10s of thousands wearing Nebraska red.
The crowd was 41,839 a week later, when Purdue defeated the Gophers 32-20. And then came the onslaught:

Ohio State, 69-18; Indiana, 38-31; Wisconsin, 56-17; Northwestern, 19-8; Michigan State, 34-10; Illinois, 50-23; Michigan, 58-10; and finally Iowa, 61-10.

Northwestern was in the midst of an astounding run of futility. That loss occurred on Oct. 22, and afterwards, Salem announced he would resign at the end of the season.

When Salem left, the Gophers had lost 18 of 19, dating to the Illinois game in October 1982.

You look at those points allowed, and it's almost impossible to comprehend another Gophers' team that could compare when you're discussing futility.

Until now.

Remember, the 84-13 loss to Nebraska came against one of the most-explosive teams in college football history - the Cornhuskers of Turner Gill, Irving Fryar and Mike Rozier.

And Salem's Gophers did play Purdue within 12 points, when the Boilermakers had about the same standing in the bottom third of the Big Ten as they do today.

I'm not saying the 2011 Gophers make up as bad a team as the young men from 28 years past. What I am saying is that, halfway through the 12-game season, these Gophers have created a foundation that could challenge those poor lads from 1983

Salem's last team played Rice, Nebraska and nine conference games. Jerry Kill's first team had four non-conference games - Southern Cal, New Mexico State, Miami (Ohio) and North Dakota State - and eight Big Ten games.

Salem had one layup in Rice, and Kill had what was supposed to be three with New Mexico State, Miami and NDSU.

Certainly, losing two of those three is a greater achievement in non-conference ineptitude than losing 84-13 to Gill, Fryar and Rozier.

The start to the Big Ten schedule also has been more jaw-dropping. The 58-0 loss at Michigan was the worst ever for the Gophers in a conference game. And to be trailing 45-3 to a Purdue team (that actually lost to Rice) of low expectations was numbing to the maroon-and-gold souls of U of M hardcores.

The most-amazing stat was this: At the moment Purdue took a 31-0 lead, the Gophers had allowed 96 uninterrupted points.

The Gophers were off on Saturday. Starting next week, they are at home vs. Nebraska and Iowa, at Michigan State, home with Wisconsin, at Northwestern and home with Illinois.

I don't think Kill's first batch of Gophers can match 1983. They have a chance to play a substandard Iowa team close in two weeks, and also should be able to compete at Northwestern.

I would rate the 2011 Gophers just a tad worse than the '83 team at the moment. But forget 84-13; it was over the last six Big Ten games that the '83 Gophers really made their mark.

They were outscored 278-78 in those six finishing losses.

I don't think these Gophers can do that. They have a chance, though.

If Kill and his staff can get their athletes to put in the same effort as was displayed at Michigan and Purdue over the entire second half of the schedule, these Gophers could do it.

They could take away the crown as the worst Gophers' worst football team ever.

http://www.1500espn.com/blogs/gophs_huge_challenge_to_be_worstever

Go Gophers!!
 

Don't click, don't comment.

Another hail Mary attempt to generate clicks and discussion.

Just ignore this turd until he goes away. No clicks = no more Fatprick.
 

just becuase reusse wrote about it don't comment on it? there was already a thread indicating the same thing in this forum and many of the posters agreed this might be worst gopher team ever. reusse not writing about something that hasn't already been already been discussed on this board.

it is ok if GH'ers discuss but if a member of the local media should never mention such a thing, too funny.
 

It's a good article. People just don't want to believe that Jerry Kill is capable of coaching one of the worst teams in Gopher history, but he is more than capable of doing it after what we've seen so far. After a few more B10 games most of Gopherhole will come around.
 

How can one person be negative all the time. I listened to his radio show for a while the other day and it was more of the same. During that time slot on sports radio who is worse-reusse or common man?
 


tap said:
How can one person be negative all the time. I listened to his radio show for a while the other day and it was more of the same. During that time slot on sports radio who is worse-reusse or common man?
Click to expand...
A Gopher homer calls it being negative.

An unbiased observer calls it being realistic.
 



While I normally defend Reusse from the thin-skinned on Gopherhole, I do sometimes think he writes an article (especially a throw-away one on KSTP) just to poke gopherhole with a stick, make popcorn and come over here to read the reaction.

There's nothing inherently wrong with what he wrote, but this article could be written anytime in the past 4 or next 6 weeks.
 



Former Goofer said:
A Gopher homer calls it being negative.

An unbiased observer calls it being realistic.
Click to expand...


How is it that when Coach Kill says how bad this team is, he is being to negative, hurting the team, and destroying their confidence and when someone in the media says the same, they are just being realistic and telling it how it is?

NOT saying you are one of the member on GH that is against Coach Kill saying how bad this team is.
 

Former Goofer said:
It's a good article. People just don't want to believe that Jerry Kill is capable of coaching one of the worst teams in Gopher history, but he is more than capable of doing it after what we've seen so far. After a few more B10 games most of Gopherhole will come around.
Click to expand...

light yourself on fire then go play in traffic.
 

Imagine that, a negative Gopher article from Ruesse.
 




I don't click on anything from ESPN 1500, Reusse or any other negative Nancy's. Not worth might time.
 

The program and the administration were really bad during the brewball era that prexy b and badger joel macturi FORCED upon the Football Program. That brewster clown is gone now. prexy b limped out of the U of M just this past June. Unfortunately, badger joel macturi is still on the payroll and still reminds us of the HORRIBLE job he and prexy b did with the Football Program.

reusse is probably correct. This is going to be a very rough...tough...difficult season for the Gopher Football Program...Coach Kill, his staff and all of the players.

But, do you people know what? reusse can't hurt Coach Kill, his staff or the players. reusse can't hurt the U of M Football Program. That prexy b character and his "yes" agent, bjm, and the entire failed brewball experiment have already hurt the Football Program very badly.
Coach Kill and his staff are now evaluating the damage and are reporting same to the U of M's new Chief, prexy k. We don't know what prexy k will do with the information Coach Kill will provide him. Will he act on it in a positive, supportive and constructive manner by ditching the pathetic macturi and by bringing in a "FOOTBALL MAN" as the new AD? Or, will prexy k just kind of "sit there and think about things?"

At any rate, the rotund, old reusse will be the rotund, old reusse that we have always seen around here. How the hell can he do anything to hurt anything? He's ONLY a damn media dude/dudette, and media dudes/dudettes are dime a dozen whacked out, burned out, watered down, dead-ended peons for the syndicated/incorporated,advertising-driven, headed for bankruptcy accidents just waiting to happen media outlets and out-dated newsprint shops. They are literally ted baxters only they aren't as likablely pathetic. They are merely pathetic.

the rotund OLd reusee can't hurt the Gophers. prexy b, their boy brewster and bjm already hurt the Gophers. Things will begin to get better now under Coach Kill and his staff. The players will need to decide if they want to play, if they want to be students and if they want to fight back. The Coach and his staff will gradually be able to bring in players who want to do all three of those things.

But DON'T worry about reusse. He's harmless. IF he's so big and bad and good at what he does, why the hell did he spend his entire life at places like the pp, the strib and 1500 kstp in Minneapolis/St. Paul? No East Coast? No West Coast? No Houston? No Chicago? No LA? No New York? That boy reusse just never got BIG enough...good enough...rough enough...marketable enough. Go ahead and admit it...it's pathetic media material that makes you be even a more committed Gopher Football Fan...He never drove anyone away who didn't want to go away any way.

; 0 )

But, he sure can't hurt the Gophers after what prexy b, that brewball and badger joel macturi did to Gopher Football. Just settle in for the long-haul, take good care of your health and spit in his general direction when the big one smacks reusse down and just never give him another thought.

In the mean while...settle back, hang on to your season tickets and watch as Coach Kill builds us a football program.
 

Reusse's broken record....
 

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I guess no one paid attention to my instructions of "Don't click, don't comment".

The point isn't whether or not Reusse is right or wrong, or has the right to create an article like this. My point is that Reusse long ago stopped being a journalist and has now devolved into writing articles for the sole purpose of generating response. Not generating thought, discussion, or bringing light to something that the masses generally miss.

It is very similar to the formula that has been beaten to death on every sports broadcast on TV or radio. You know the bit...where someone puts out a point to discuss and person A takes one side, and person B takes the other. You can tell that neither one of them believes the point they are "defending", they are just not creative enough to think of another way to fill their time.

I used to read just about everything the Reusse wrote, but those days left me long ago. It's time for him to leave. Not because he forgot how to write well (he hasn't), not because he's negative (he can be, but he can also write inspiring columns). It's that his writing is now focused on one specific task, and journalistic integrity is not the goal. He's just trying to figure out how to fit into the new mold, and he fails.

If you've read Reusse long enough, you'll recall the nonstop columns he used to pen about the glory and great men of town team baseball in southwest Minnesota, and the great history, etc, etc, etc. Great stories? Sure they were. If you were from that part of the state, or knew those people. For someone living in the metro area, you were often left thinking "what the hell does this have to do with anyone outside of that local area, or what I'm interesting in reading in the state's most circulated paper's sports section?". This is the point where I knew he was too bored with sitting in post-game press conferences and interviewing and "digging" for a story. It was much easier for him to sit in his den and try to wax poetically. There is a place for that, and it's called writing a book.

If you click on his articles at 1500 or the Strib, he has been deemed to have earned his salary. And if you comment on their sites, you have only strengthened him in the eyes of the stakeholders of those businesses. You have proven him not only worthy of reading, but it affects you to the degree that you will participate. He will be identified as a valuable commodity to that business. If he is ignored in those mediums, the business side will deem him not worthy of the salary, and he will disappear into the ether.

I am of the opinion that Pat Reusse serves only his own agenda, which is diametrically opposed to his former life.

Do NOT occupy articles penned by Reusse. Let it wither on the vine. Let it die a forgettable death.
 

The type of "journalism" Reusse participates in will always be around whether he does it or some other $$ whore does (Barreiro). Every town across the country has a Reusse or twelve. IMO there's nothing wrong with firing back, not that any of our comments matter either way.
 

Everyone should know by now who the turkey of the year is going to be. Not that Kill deserves it, but because Reusse knows that it will generate him the most traffic, be it good or bad. I'm not sure if there is a Vikes message board as passionate as our Gopher board (it all depends if they even continue to play like garbage), but I'm sure Reusse reads us, and he knows how passionate our sheer dislike of him is. The problem is that a lot of us let him win by reacting.
 

I suppose they could be worse...

Lauded by SI to make the NLDS and end up with 99 losses!!! That does rival our 2011 Gopher football team in the category of ineptitude!

Unfortunately, people seem willing to forgive millionaire payrolls for such a lackluster performance than 18 yr old kids competing for an education. Do not understand it, but I guess it's the way it is?.?.?.?
 

There really isn't anything inherently wrong with the article and some of it is mildly interesting. However, it's just Fat Pat being Fat Pat, he is stating the obvious and he is just finding new ways to tell us the Gophers stink, a couple times of week. If he can't think of anything else to write about in town that had the Gopher basketball practices start, Vikes playing, Twins making roster moves, Gopher hockey sweeping UMD...I think it might just be time for him to eat himself into bed-riddency and let the bed sores take over.

But like I said, this article on it's own isn't that bad. It's just about a terrible Gopher team that we all thought was just going to be kind of bad. So it's been mildly disappointing this season (considering expectations). It's just easy for him and it makes him feel smart. Turning around a bad football program is about the most difficult thing to do in sports and if you always jump on the "they will continue to suck" bandwagon, you're going to be right more often than you are going to wrong, it's the nature of the sport. So i'm sure we'll see another 35-40 different ways for him to right about how bad farts smell.
 

I'm quite certain I never saw a single person predict that the Twins would make the NLDS. That would've indeed been quite a feat.

As for Fulda the Hutt, many people just don't get that it isn't what he writes, it's how he writes it. The same goes for a lot of other media members in this town. They quite often have valid points to make, but they can't help themselves from saying something "witty" or "clever" in the process. Sadly, Reusse is actually a brilliant writer when he chooses to be. Even more sadly, he's reduced himself to penning snark that is funny only in his own mind.
 

Unregistered User said:
Don't click, don't comment.

Another hail Mary attempt to generate clicks and discussion.

Just ignore this turd until he goes away. No clicks = no more Fatprick.
Click to expand...

This, this, a million times this. Just ignore him. Don't click. Don't post his articles here. Just ignore him.
 

go4gopher said:
I suppose they could be worse...

Lauded by SI to make the NLDS and end up with 99 losses!!! That does rival our 2011 Gopher football team in the category of ineptitude!

Unfortunately, people seem willing to forgive millionaire payrolls for such a lackluster performance than 18 yr old kids competing for an education. Do not understand it, but I guess it's the way it is?.?.?.?
Click to expand...
Even if the Twins had gone undefeated they wouldn't have made the NLDS.
 


This "article" wasl already written on the GopherHole. My apologies for forgetting which poster initially brought up 1983 in comparison to 2011, but this topic was covered extensively in a thread on this site a week or so ago. The only thing I don't like about Reusse's article is the timing of it...it feels like piling on. If this was written in the day or two after the Purdue game it would be one thing, but during the weekend of the bye? To me it's Reusse saying "Well, the Gophers can't embarass themselves and their fans this week, so I will do it for them in case someone has forgotten how bad they are and how dire the situation looks." We can disagree about what the future looks like with Jerry Kill, but I would guess the vast majority of people who would read an article on Gopher football at this point in this season are already painfully aware of how awful this season will be.
 

I intentionally haven't read Barreiro in years, but IMO he's the worst Minnesota has to offer regarding sports "journalism". Reusse is trying hard to overtake the crown though. Nothing, to me, is less "Minnesota" than these hacks. The national enquirer way they do their jobs is an embarrassment to all of us.

Of course they'll never go away. As long as there's money to be made bullying others they'll be around.
 

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