SI: 10 College Football Teams Running on a Wheel of MediocrityDo they need a coaching change or just a bit more patience?

[StudentSectionMenace]

Per Pat Forde of SI: Minnesota (27) has been successful under seventh-year coach P.J. Fleck, going 47–30. The Gophers have had winning Big Ten records three times, they’re 4–0 in bowl games, and they’ve beaten rival Wisconsin twice in a row for the first time since 1993 and ’94. (Last time they’ve beaten the Badgers three in a row? ’85 to ’87.) The boat continues to be rowed.

Now here is the catch: The Big Ten West has never been more winnable, yet Minnesota can’t win it. A different school has won the past four division titles: Purdue, Iowa, Northwestern and Wisconsin. Minnesota tied for the West crown in 2019 but was blown out by the Badgers for a ticket to Indianapolis to play for the league title.

The current Gophers are 3–3 overall, 1–2 in conference play and brutal offensively. If they’re going to make a push to finally win the West, it has to start Saturday at Iowa, coming off an open date, in a game that will set the sport back to the turn of the century. The 20th century.

This is the last chance. Because divisions will be eliminated next year, and Minnesota’s chances of playing for a Big Ten title will get much longer.

https://www.si.com/college/2023/10/16/ten-teams-stuck-mediocrity-texas-am-nc-state

*edited to include link to the full story

 

[StudentSectionMenace]

Forde doesn't really offer anything that hasn't been said on this page 1000 times, but I always find it interesting to see what national writers think about the program

 

[Some guy]

The big ten west is a detriment to the perception of the gophers program. Because it creates a milestone that hasn’t been reached that causes people to ignore all the other milestones that have been reached.

If fleck produced the same results but the top two teams went to the championship game (the divisions existed for scheduling but not for determining championship game participants) and the following championship games occurred during his tenure:

2017 - Wisconsin vs Ohio State
2018 - Ohio State vs Michigan using CFP ranking to split 3 way NU/OSU/MI tie
2019 - Ohio state vs penn state based on CFP rankings to split the 3 way WI/MN/PSU
2020 - Ohio State vs Indiana (COVID)
2021 - Ohio state vs Michigan
2022 - Ohio state vs Michigan

People would feel better about 2021, and 2022. Instead of failing to win the west. The team won 8 games and had a winning big ten season.
2019 would be the year the team didn’t take advantage.

With the west. Every year is the year the team didn’t take advantage.

 

[MNVCGUY]

So assuming that was the whole bit about Minnesota he doesn't answer the question in terms of if the team needs a coaching change or more patience.

In my opinion that is the wrong question, the real question is whether being good but not great is acceptable in this current college football landscape?

Fleck is unlikely to be able to push Minnesota into the upper echelon of college football as things are structured right now. But I would contend that there is not a coach out there that could propel the program significantly higher than where it is at under Fleck.

The reality is that in the new look Big Ten the champion is going to come from the pool of Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, USC, Oregon and maybe Washington most years. Someone from the other 12 might sneak in from time to time but it will continue to be the elite programs in the conference that win it and with no divisions the likelihood is that 2 of those 6 will probably be meeting for the title most years.

For Minnesota to compete with the top programs (as things are right now) it will take an upgrade in the local talent base and a lot more money to buy and retain players. I don't really see those things happening anytime soon.

 

[Some guy]

So assuming that was the whole bit about Minnesota he doesn't answer the question in terms of if the team needs a coaching change or more patience.

In my opinion that is the wrong question, the real question is whether being good but not great is acceptable in this current college football landscape?

Fleck is unlikely to be able to push Minnesota into the upper echelon of college football as things are structured right now. But I would contend that there is not a coach out there that could propel the program significantly higher than where it is at under Fleck.

The reality is that in the new look Big Ten the champion is going to come from the pool of Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, USC, Oregon and maybe Washington most years. Someone from the other 12 might sneak in from time to time but it will continue to be the elite programs in the conference that win it and with no divisions the likelihood is that 2 of those 6 will probably be meeting for the title most years.

For Minnesota to compete with the top programs (as things are right now) it will take an upgrade in the local talent base and a lot more money to buy and retain players. I don't really see those things happening anytime soon.

I would agree with all of this.

Right now, no changes.

Although at some point it could grow stale in the future.

 

[Hates Monikers]

It's not clear to me how these teams were picked for this group. They include us along with Indiana, Cal, Boston College, among others. In terms of "wheel of mediocrity," our wheels are on a much better car than theirs; we don't belong with them. Or are they saying these are programs who are kind of stuck in their current predicament (regardless of where that is) and might consider a change, making this a warm-seat list? It seems like the latter to me. No reason to think Fleck is in trouble, though.

 

[Dakota2]

So assuming that was the whole bit about Minnesota he doesn't answer the question in terms of if the team needs a coaching change or more patience.

In my opinion that is the wrong question, the real question is whether being good but not great is acceptable in this current college football landscape?

Fleck is unlikely to be able to push Minnesota into the upper echelon of college football as things are structured right now. But I would contend that there is not a coach out there that could propel the program significantly higher than where it is at under Fleck.

The reality is that in the new look Big Ten the champion is going to come from the pool of Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, USC, Oregon and maybe Washington most years. Someone from the other 12 might sneak in from time to time but it will continue to be the elite programs in the conference that win it and with no divisions the likelihood is that 2 of those 6 will probably be meeting for the title most years.

For Minnesota to compete with the top programs (as things are right now) it will take an upgrade in the local talent base and a lot more money to buy and retain players. I don't really see those things happening anytime soon.

The local talent base is not going to change significantly. Recruiting has to improve where there is a lot of talent and where we already have had some success— Illinois, Florida, Georgia, Texas, and Pennsylvania.

 

[Jack jones]

The local talent base is not going to change significantly. Recruiting has to improve where there is a lot of talent and where we already have had some success— Illinois, Florida, Georgia, Texas, and Pennsylvania.

Recruiting WILL NOT increase WITHOUT more NIL money. No chance, no way!