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Spoofin

Spoofin

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I think we will win this weekend. If we do, I can already hear folks on GH saying why it isn't a signature win (bad NE D, Martinez not healthy, spec. team TDs don't "count", etc.). You all know the drill.

So - consider this a preemptive strike.... State your opinion now - would a win this weekend be a Signature Win?
 


It would be a signature win for this team, no doubt in my mind. Would it be a "program changer?" No, almost certainly not. But if we beat Nebraska, we would look back at this year and say it was a defining moment. Just like we look at 2005 and say winning at the Big House was a defining moment, or 2003 and beating the Badgers w/ Rhys.
 

It'd be a signature win for the Kill era no question about it. It'd be his first ranked team victory, it'd be his first win over one of the conference "helmet" schools, and it'd be in front of a home audience that would be there to witness it live and in person rather than just through the TV, which I think is important. It'd be tangible evidence that he's got something going here, that there's reason to think brighter days are still coming.

I hesitate to go to program changing levels, but really, if it leads to more, it could potentially lead to a program changing type of win. I mean, if we beat Nebraska, then suddenly IU & PSU look like winnable games, and if we were to pull that off, we're sitting at 8-2 (4-2) heading into a bye week, which then leads to a game against at home against Wisconsin? Even if we drop one of those two, can you imagine heading into that Wisconsin game even at 7-3, and possibly ranked at that point?

But I won't get too far ahead of myself haha, let's just get this one done, call it a signature win, and then go from there.
 

Absolutely a signature win.

Playing a team ranked in all three polls.

A team that has destroyed the two weakest Big Ten teams so far

A team that has won 16 straight against the Gophers.

A team that has not lost to the Gophers since 1960.

A team that delivered the most epic beatdown in program history in 1983...still used quite frequently as fodder for the local media regardless of in-season/out-of-season, night, day, etc.

A team that has won the last 12 meetings by a 528-86 margin (44.0 - 7.2)

Becoming bowl eligible against the team like that set against the backdrop of this board's meltdown after the Michigan game (Kill must go, Bring back Mase?, Limegrover's a p****, 0-8 here we come).

Not to mention a win would no doubt mean a pretty epic performance by the defense against the 10th best scoring offense in the nation....maybe a performance we'll talk about for years to come.

(Of course, I think Nebraska wins with relative ease.)
 


Yes, it would be a signature win. ... when's the last time the Gophers beat a team/program of Nebraska's ilk?

Not to mention, beat the Huskers and the possibility the Gophers play in the Pizza-Pizza Bowl decreases significantly. Getting bowl eligible Saturday (with still 4 games left) means the bar gets raised in terms of the Big Ten bowls they can legitimately aspire to.
 

Yes (with an asterisk).

* = unless Nebraska tanks the rest of the season (a la the 2005 Purdue team that was #11 when we beat them and then ended up stinking and undeserving of their ranking).
 

Yes no matter what Neb. does the rest of the way. We haven't taken it to Nebraska in the last 16 games = signature victory.
 

Wow, this would be an easy one for me to try and sit the fence on. Nebraska is down this year, no doubt - but given the stage/state of our program, and the fact that we're 'not supposed to beat Nebraska', it could be considered one. Still, I'll say that we'd need to at least beat a ranked Big Ten opponent, of division title calibur. Oh wait, technically that could still be Nebraska... hmm - you see the issue I have here?

But since Spoofin wanted us on record, I'll say 'YES' this would be a signature win. My reasoning is because at this point, we don't really know how good or bad Nebraska is (though it's suggested everywhere that they are down), but at this stage in the game they are a conference title contender. UCLA would appear to be the only good team they've played to day, and they got embarrassed. The Wyoming game was a bit of a scare, but they pulled it out. Everyone else, they've handled their business. So can I reserve the right to retract signature win status if Nebraska ends up 2-6 in conference?
 



Maximus - I was really enjoying your post until that last side note :).

The correct answer is that it would be a signature win. I think we pull it off too.

(Of course, I have been known to predict Gopher Wins quite regularly).
 

Spoofin said:
I think we will win this weekend. If we do, I can already hear folks on GH saying why it isn't a signature win (bad NE D, Martinez not healthy, spec. team TDs don't "count", etc.). You all know the drill.

So - consider this a preemptive strike.... State your opinion now - would a win this weekend be a Signature Win?
Click to expand...

Okay,

Take a look at how the National media is predicting the game. Then take a look at the the history of the rivalry over the last 50 years. Then look at the state of the two programs over the last 10 and 20 years. Then look at the polls,one or all of them. Look for Nebraska's name and then look and see if you can find Minnesota. See if you can find even any VOTES for Minnesota.

Now here are two definitions of a "Signature Win".

- A signature win propels a program to the next level.

- A signature win is any victory that has people talking about it well beyond the normal shelf life of seven days.

We won't know if the win propels the Gophers to the next level until the end of the year. Maybe not until the end of next year.

People will though, sure as hell, be talking about a Gopher win for more than a week!
 

It would be nice to beat a B1G team that isn't from Illinois for once. We have seemed to do that consistently the past few years.
 

My initial reaction is to say no, but after thinking about it and reading the posts so far, I think "yes." Beating a ranked team you haven't beaten in 53 years would seem to be a pretty significant achievement. I think NEB is "down" because Martinez has been out. If he was healthy, I think they're much better and probably ranked higher. If he plays this Saturday, I think it will be a huge win for the Gophers.
 



Yes, without a doubt. It still is Nebraska! When is the last time we actually BEAT Nebraska?! Regardless of how long the series is?! They have smoked us the last few times, and that's putting it lightly. So, of course if we win, it is a definite signature win.
 

Gopherdrummer said:
It would be nice to beat a B1G team that isn't from Illinois for once. We have seemed to do that consistently the past few years.
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We beat Purdue last year, their from Indiana. Iowa in 2011 & 2010. There's a couple.
 


Yes, this would be a signature win. While the Gophers have not played the Huskers every year it has been 53 years since the last win against them. And 59 years since we beat them in Minneapolis. They are a perennial conference challenger, they should be a BCS challenger, they are rated in the top 25. They are 5-1 and 2-0 in conference, they are on a 3 game winning streak. This would be a signature win, a huge step, and make us bowl eligible. You couldn't want it any other way.
 



Yes, this would meet the criteria that Iceland12 has laid out and I think it would go far to energize a skeptical but hungry fan base. I think a win over N on Saturday would bring the team to the same level of popularity it had during Mason's best years. There are so many local and national folks that would love to talk positively about the Gophers and what Jerry Kill & staff are accomplishing. I think a win over N on Saturday could solidify some key local recruits (Ragnow, Jones).

I think the Gophers can win if Nebraska's offensive and defensive fronts are less formidable than Iowa's.
 

Signature Win? Yes

Program changing win? No

Signature win and program changing win are thse two different things? I would say yes.

If the Gophers beat Nebraska I don't see people looking back at the win as the defining game when the program turned around.
 

scools12 said:
Signature Win? Yes

Program changing win? No

Signature win and program changing win are thse two different things? I would say yes.

If the Gophers beat Nebraska I don't see people looking back at the win as the defining game when the program turned around.
Click to expand...

Perhaps the best definition of a signature win:

-any victory that has people talking about it well beyond the normal shelf life of seven days.

A Gopher win would be a signature win IMO.
 

If Illinois counts as a signature win for Brewster, then Nebraska absolutely would be for Kill.
 

e.bigelow said:
We beat Purdue last year, their from Indiana. Iowa in 2011 & 2010. There's a couple.
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Correct. But we have beaten Illinois every year since 2010, and this year we beat NW. So that was the consistent pattern I was going for.
 

Yes, as beating Nebraska would get fringe supporters on board. I would guess the casual fans still think NU is coached by Tom Osborne.
 

If Iowa in '10 is a signature win; this is too. Is Nebraska playing "left handed" w/o Martinez? Yes, but they are still taking care of business and ranked even w/o Martinez. One week ago people were seeing 0-8 in B1G play. How can beating a top 25 team not be considered signature?

Yet, I agree with others. Signature wins cannot be defined until a whole body of work is played out. If Nebraska flames out.......
 

Since we've lost 16 straight to Nebraska I'd sure as heck say it would be a signature win.
 

I say Yes, if we beat Nebraska combined with beating NW for two B10 wins a row it will get people talking that this may not be the same old Gophers and would show that there is no mistake in the fact that we are getting better.

That plus the fact if we beat Nebraska I could see Ragnow seeing enough to justify committing and some recruits that have not been thinking of us to give us a second look.
 

Truth be told, it doesn't matter WHAT game or win that the fans think is a "signature win". It only matters what the players think.

If beating Northwestern last week, or beating Nebraska this week, builds their confidence and propels them to another couple wins this year and springboards them into a strong season next year, then it's a signature win. That's really all that matters.
 

I understand the thinking behind this thread, but it will mean absolutely nothing if we lose, which almost everyone expects us to do by double digits.
 

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