BleedGopher
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per Chad:
This is the dilemma Gopher fans are dealing with after the victory over the Badgers. Before Fleck arrived in 2017, the Badgers were in the middle of a 14-game winning streak over Minnesota. Fleck has gone 3-3 against Wisconsin but he also has failed to take the Gophers to a higher level.
Sure, there was the 11-win season in 2019 that was expected to be a springboard for Gopher football, but it wound up being a plateau – especially considering the opportunity the Gophers had this season.
Minnesota started 4-0 by thoroughly dominating New Mexico State, Western Illinois, Colorado and Michigan State by a combined score of 183-24. National analysts hopped on the bandwagon including FOX Sports' Joel Klatt, who dubbed the Gophers a candidate for the College Football Playoff.
The optimist will point at a recruiting class that at one point ranked in the top 10 nationally, but that group has since fallen to 45th and ninth in the Big Ten. With Ibrahim and NFL center prospect John Michael Schmitz departing, the Gophers' hopes for improvement look bleak – especially with Ohio State and Michigan on next year's schedule.
Other developments around the Big Ten will make the Gophers' path to a conference championship even harder. Wisconsin and Nebraska both made coaching upgrades last weekend with Luke Fickell and Matt Rhule while three-time Big Ten champion Brett Bielema isn't likely to let Illinois fade away.
This isn't just limited to 2023 as USC and UCLA will soon join the Big Ten. Lincoln Riley cracked the transfer portal wide open this past offseason, luring Heisman Trophy frontrunner Caleb Williams to play for the Trojans and handing top receiver prospect Jordan Addison a $1.4 million NIL deal with American Airlines to come to Los Angeles.
UCLA likely has the same means to pull off similar deals to load up for their transition to the Big Ten and unless the Gophers can find more recruits with a passion for Gushers, it could be hard for them to keep up.
There's more...
The landscape of college football will change dramatically with the shift to a 12-team playoff format and it could alter the way the Big Ten is set up.
The Big 12 did away with divisions when it reinstated its conference championship game in 2017 and had the two teams with the best record play for the title. The PAC-12 is in its first year of this format and the SEC recently announced it will scrap divisions with Oklahoma and Texas arriving in 2025.
With an automatic playoff berth given to the conference champions, the Big Ten could look at itself and decide it wouldn't want an eight-win Boilermaker team sneaking its way into the 12-team field. They could also benefit from the insane amount of cash that would roll in for a Michigan-Ohio State rematch as opposed to Saturday's Michigan-Purdue matchup where the Wolverines are favored by 16.5 points.
This creates a scenario where the Gophers would have to jump USC, UCLA, Michigan, Ohio State, or some other Big Ten power just to have a chance to play for a conference title – making this past season their best chance to win for the foreseeable future.
www.si.com
Go Gophers!!
This is the dilemma Gopher fans are dealing with after the victory over the Badgers. Before Fleck arrived in 2017, the Badgers were in the middle of a 14-game winning streak over Minnesota. Fleck has gone 3-3 against Wisconsin but he also has failed to take the Gophers to a higher level.
Sure, there was the 11-win season in 2019 that was expected to be a springboard for Gopher football, but it wound up being a plateau – especially considering the opportunity the Gophers had this season.
Minnesota started 4-0 by thoroughly dominating New Mexico State, Western Illinois, Colorado and Michigan State by a combined score of 183-24. National analysts hopped on the bandwagon including FOX Sports' Joel Klatt, who dubbed the Gophers a candidate for the College Football Playoff.
The optimist will point at a recruiting class that at one point ranked in the top 10 nationally, but that group has since fallen to 45th and ninth in the Big Ten. With Ibrahim and NFL center prospect John Michael Schmitz departing, the Gophers' hopes for improvement look bleak – especially with Ohio State and Michigan on next year's schedule.
Other developments around the Big Ten will make the Gophers' path to a conference championship even harder. Wisconsin and Nebraska both made coaching upgrades last weekend with Luke Fickell and Matt Rhule while three-time Big Ten champion Brett Bielema isn't likely to let Illinois fade away.
This isn't just limited to 2023 as USC and UCLA will soon join the Big Ten. Lincoln Riley cracked the transfer portal wide open this past offseason, luring Heisman Trophy frontrunner Caleb Williams to play for the Trojans and handing top receiver prospect Jordan Addison a $1.4 million NIL deal with American Airlines to come to Los Angeles.
UCLA likely has the same means to pull off similar deals to load up for their transition to the Big Ten and unless the Gophers can find more recruits with a passion for Gushers, it could be hard for them to keep up.
There's more...
The landscape of college football will change dramatically with the shift to a 12-team playoff format and it could alter the way the Big Ten is set up.
The Big 12 did away with divisions when it reinstated its conference championship game in 2017 and had the two teams with the best record play for the title. The PAC-12 is in its first year of this format and the SEC recently announced it will scrap divisions with Oklahoma and Texas arriving in 2025.
With an automatic playoff berth given to the conference champions, the Big Ten could look at itself and decide it wouldn't want an eight-win Boilermaker team sneaking its way into the 12-team field. They could also benefit from the insane amount of cash that would roll in for a Michigan-Ohio State rematch as opposed to Saturday's Michigan-Purdue matchup where the Wolverines are favored by 16.5 points.
This creates a scenario where the Gophers would have to jump USC, UCLA, Michigan, Ohio State, or some other Big Ten power just to have a chance to play for a conference title – making this past season their best chance to win for the foreseeable future.
Why the Gophers blowing shot to win Big Ten West is extra painful - Sports Illustrated Minnesota Sports, News, Analysis, and More
The failure to win the Big Ten West may have represented their best chance to win the conference in a long time.
www.si.com
Go Gophers!!
