BleedGopher
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 11, 2008
- Messages
- 62,299
- Reaction score
- 18,977
- Points
- 113
per Sid:
Nobody has covered Gophers football more than I have, and when I look back to the big victories in program history, I have to give coach P.J. Fleck credit: His 31-24 win over Auburn at the Outback Bowl on New Year’s Day is one of the most important in school history.
There have been other big wins, like beating No. 1 Michigan 16-0 in 1977 and winning at No. 2 Penn State in 1999, but there’s a difference with this victory.
It gave the Gophers 11 wins on the season, their most since the team went 13-0 in 1904, and it also gives them the kind of momentum they haven’t had since the 1960s.
While the Gophers were picked to finish sixth in the Big Ten West before this season, they likely will be favored to reach the Big Ten Championship Game next season.
The Gophers will finish this season with their highest Associated Press ranking since 1962 when they ended the year ranked No. 10.
“First and foremost you have to give a lot of credit to Auburn, one of the blue bloods of college football, one of the most traditional football programs in all of college football,” Fleck said in his news conference after the game. “[Auburn coach] Guz Malzahn is one of the best people and one of the best coaches in the country. I told him after the game it was an honor to coach against him.
“I remember when we got the matchup, I was so excited because it’s like, you get a chance to coach against one of the best people in college football. I have a lot of respect for him and his football team. That’s a heck of a football team that our team just beat.”
Fleck continued: “We used to be a blue blood back in the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s, and we talk about the word of the year is ‘restore,’ we want to restore that tradition. We haven’t won a championship yet in the Big Ten, but we stayed, we found a way to be resilient and we found a way to be a champion at the end of the year.”
www.startribune.com
Go Gophers!!
Nobody has covered Gophers football more than I have, and when I look back to the big victories in program history, I have to give coach P.J. Fleck credit: His 31-24 win over Auburn at the Outback Bowl on New Year’s Day is one of the most important in school history.
There have been other big wins, like beating No. 1 Michigan 16-0 in 1977 and winning at No. 2 Penn State in 1999, but there’s a difference with this victory.
It gave the Gophers 11 wins on the season, their most since the team went 13-0 in 1904, and it also gives them the kind of momentum they haven’t had since the 1960s.
While the Gophers were picked to finish sixth in the Big Ten West before this season, they likely will be favored to reach the Big Ten Championship Game next season.
The Gophers will finish this season with their highest Associated Press ranking since 1962 when they ended the year ranked No. 10.
“First and foremost you have to give a lot of credit to Auburn, one of the blue bloods of college football, one of the most traditional football programs in all of college football,” Fleck said in his news conference after the game. “[Auburn coach] Guz Malzahn is one of the best people and one of the best coaches in the country. I told him after the game it was an honor to coach against him.
“I remember when we got the matchup, I was so excited because it’s like, you get a chance to coach against one of the best people in college football. I have a lot of respect for him and his football team. That’s a heck of a football team that our team just beat.”
Fleck continued: “We used to be a blue blood back in the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s, and we talk about the word of the year is ‘restore,’ we want to restore that tradition. We haven’t won a championship yet in the Big Ten, but we stayed, we found a way to be resilient and we found a way to be a champion at the end of the year.”
Gophers' victory over Auburn ranks among program's best
Victory on the New Year's Day stage gives the team plenty of momentum heading forward.
www.startribune.com
Go Gophers!!