BleedGopher
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The Gophers football team concludes the regular season Friday in a game that accounts for 8% of the schedule but feels tenfold in importance.
Any clash against a border rival carries extra significance, regardless of what has preceded it. Rivalry games are stitched deep into the fabric of college football, and the Gophers-Badgers battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe is the most-played rivalry at the FBS level.
Gaining ownership of the Axe for a calendar year is always a cool reward.
But this meeting is about perception too. The Gophers enter with a 6-5 record. The difference between 7-5 and 6-6 is sizable in terms of how this Gophers season will be viewed by the public.
Nobody is throwing a parade for a 7-5 season. But a .500 record cannot be sold as anything but a major letdown, given the outlook at the beginning of November and the opportunity that was within the Gophers’ grasp.
A loss would mean the Gophers finished with a three-game losing streak after once staring at the possibility of a prime Florida bowl game destination. It also would give them a 1-7 record over the past two Novembers.
The Gophers have faced the Badgers with far more at stake in coach P.J. Fleck’s tenure. A division title is not on the line, rather a chance to end a roller coaster season with some positivity.
“This is a really, really, really good 6-5 football team that we have,” Fleck said this week.
www.startribune.com
Go Gophers!!
The Gophers football team concludes the regular season Friday in a game that accounts for 8% of the schedule but feels tenfold in importance.
Any clash against a border rival carries extra significance, regardless of what has preceded it. Rivalry games are stitched deep into the fabric of college football, and the Gophers-Badgers battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe is the most-played rivalry at the FBS level.
Gaining ownership of the Axe for a calendar year is always a cool reward.
But this meeting is about perception too. The Gophers enter with a 6-5 record. The difference between 7-5 and 6-6 is sizable in terms of how this Gophers season will be viewed by the public.
Nobody is throwing a parade for a 7-5 season. But a .500 record cannot be sold as anything but a major letdown, given the outlook at the beginning of November and the opportunity that was within the Gophers’ grasp.
A loss would mean the Gophers finished with a three-game losing streak after once staring at the possibility of a prime Florida bowl game destination. It also would give them a 1-7 record over the past two Novembers.
The Gophers have faced the Badgers with far more at stake in coach P.J. Fleck’s tenure. A division title is not on the line, rather a chance to end a roller coaster season with some positivity.
“This is a really, really, really good 6-5 football team that we have,” Fleck said this week.
Scoggins: Gophers’ season of toss-up games will largely be defined by Wisconsin outcome
A loss would drop the Gophers’ record over the past two Novembers to 1-7, but a win would let them end a roller coaster regular season on a high note.
www.startribune.com
Go Gophers!!
