Buck_Buchanan
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reasons why we don't respect you and why we aren't thrilled with playing youIt's true. MN fans giving ZERO respect to SU. Just like Top 20 WVU last year before the bowl game...until Syracuse annihilated them. Fear the Orange.
It's true. MN fans giving ZERO respect to SU. Just like Top 20 WVU last year before the bowl game...until Syracuse annihilated them. Fear the Orange.
Can't say I blame them for taking offense. Some of the things I've seen written by Gopher fans have been cringe-worthy. A decade ago, playing Syracuse in a bowl game would've been a huge deal. Two years ago, playing in any bowl game would've been a huge deal. The prevailing notion that Syracuse (and this bowl) is somehow beneath us is ludicrous. I'm confident Jerry will get the team more fired up for this game than the fans are.
Can't say I blame them for taking offense. Some of the things I've seen written by Gopher fans have been cringe-worthy. A decade ago, playing Syracuse in a bowl game would've been a huge deal. Two years ago, playing in any bowl game would've been a huge deal. The prevailing notion that Syracuse (and this bowl) is somehow beneath us is ludicrous. I'm confident Jerry will get the team more fired up for this game than the fans are.
I am not sure anyone said anything about predicting ticket sales or that the message board will predict the outcome. The statement simply pointed out that a very good and highly rated WVU team (and their fans) took Syracuse lightly last year and got blown out of the bowl game. If you want any indication of bowl game success, learn that Syracuse hase overachieved in bowl games, going 11-3 over their last 14 bowls...some good teams, some subpar teams...but to disrespect a team that is opposing you on the field in a recipe for disaster. Fine for the fans to continue the banter and spew their confidence. However, just do not be surprised if you get beaten as it is certainly far from being out of the realm of possibility.
ImperialOrange said:Meh. They won by 7 last year in a game where we beat ourselves and they've beaten nobody this year that should give them such a superiority complex. They are 8-4 with 4 cupcake wins and no major wins, we are 6-6 with 2 cupcake wins and no major wins. Its pretty much a toss up which makes them talking as if they were ohio state a bit perplexing.
The idea that what is said on a forum by some fans reflects the attitude of a team is one of the dumbest things I have ever heard.
reasons why we don't respect you and why we aren't thrilled with playing you
1. this is the third time in 5 years that we will play you, we wanted a team like Oregon State or Wazzu who isn't very good but we at least haven't played them in a very long time, we just played you guys last year and are getting stale
2. we won 8 games in a better conference, you won 6 games in a worse conference.
3. since we won 8 games we were possibly hoping for a BWW of gator bowl birth against a good SEC team or solid big 12 team but we won 2 more games this year yet we got stuck in the same bow as last year
4. we beat you last year by 7 and we are 2 wins better then last year, you are 2 losses worse then last year, we also beat you in 2009
5. we beat both Penn state and Northwestern, 2 teams that you lost to and you lost to NW by 21(although they were a lot better when you played them when they were healthy)
6. you're D is a bad matchup for our O
i think those are legit reasons for why we don't respect you and why we aren't that excited about playing you
I find it kinda odd that you actually believe what fans say on a message board will affect the game in any way. I guarantee Kill and the staff will not allow the team to take Syracuse lightly. WVU fans may have taken them lightly, but what proof do you have that the team did? Just because one team upsets another, doesn't mean the favorite didn't respect their opponent.
Again, I think you're taking it the wrong way. People are just mad because it isn't an exciting match up for us. We played you guys last year and we're going back to the same bowl in back to back years. We had one of the best years we've had in a long time, yet we're in the same type of bowl game against the same type of team as usual.
Last year, most on this board saw the Syracuse win as a big win for us.
5. Regarding our games against Penn State and Northwestern, those were when our current starting QB wasn't playing. The guy starting then (great guy by the way) has 2 TDs and 9 Picks. I'm sure this sounds like lots of excuses, but we feel that we are a different team now. Congrats on beating Penn State and Northwestern though. Definitely legit wins there. By the way, what the heck happened to Northwestern? They seemed like a legit top 15 team when we played them and then they lose 7 straight.
Coach Kill won't even let the kids think for a second they can overlook this team no matter what us fans think (I personally believe we should win).
I feel like I usually agree with you GophesInIowa but about not being excited for the bowl selection I disagree. Yes we are going back to the same bowl even though we had 2 more wins. But last year we shouldn't have gotten this bowl and only did because Ohio St and Penn St were ineligible. Getting this back to back is still a HUGE improvement from where we were just a couple years ago. Going into the last 2 games we all knew if we wanted a "better bowl" we needed to win 1 of these games. We didn't.. which is where my disappointment is because we had chances in those games. But I am not disappointed about getting back to this bowl game.
As a gopher fan I am excited that we have the chance to win this bowl game in a state where we do a lot of recruiting and where a lot of our players are from against a team in the conference with a possible national champion. This bowl game is just another brick. Win this game and keep the program moving in the right direction. And then next year we win another game or 2 and we get a better bowl.
Looking forward to cheering the Gophers on in a few weeks!
Syracuse fan here. Responses:
1. I can see your points here and they are valid. It's a bit disappointing because pretty much all the Syracuse fans that I spoke with were thrilled to be playing you guys. Sure beats playing North Texas or Buffalo.
2. Do you really think the B1G is a better conference? Objectively speaking, they are probably about even. And truth be told, you guys went 4-4 in the Big Ten. We went 4-4 in the ACC. The only difference is that you guys played 8 BCS teams and we played 10. If we replaced our two OOC BCS teams with cupcakes, we'd be a similar 8-4.
3. I agree with you here. You guys had a great year and it's unfortunate that the politics kept you from a bigger bowl against a bigger program.
4. You guys won by 7 last year sure, but I thought Syracuse actually outplayed you. Remember 1st and goal from the 1 where we turn the ball over. Two more turnovers within your 30 yard line too. You could make the argument for good defense sure, but a home game where a team spots your 4 turnovers and is playing without their 1st round draft pick left tackle, you beat by 7, is probably a closer game than many here seem to remember.
5. Regarding our games against Penn State and Northwestern, those were when our current starting QB wasn't playing. The guy starting then (great guy by the way) has 2 TDs and 9 Picks. I'm sure this sounds like lots of excuses, but we feel that we are a different team now. Congrats on beating Penn State and Northwestern though. Definitely legit wins there. By the way, what the heck happened to Northwestern? They seemed like a legit top 15 team when we played them and then they lose 7 straight.
6. You say that our D is a bad matchup for your offense; in what way? We are blitz heavy that like to stack the box against the run, while (recently at least) pressing up man coverage on the outside. Teams with burners for receivers got behind our corners. Those without, suffered. We have the longest streak in the nation without allowing a 100 yard rusher. We shut down the nation's #1 running back last week. You guys appear to be run dominant. What is the bad matchup here? Here are the national rankings (crude stats, I know):
Rush Offense:
Syracuse - 194 yards/game (38th)
Minnesota - 201 yards/game (33rd)
Pass Offense:
Syracuse - 182 yards/game (99th)
Minnesota - 142 yards/game (113th)
Rush Defense
Syracuse - 138 yards/game (24th)
Minnesota - 154 yards/game (48th)
Pass Defense
Syracuse - 230 yards/game (53rd)
Minnesota - 217 yards/game (34th)
Offense
Syracuse - 87th
Minnesota - 107th
Defense
Syracuse - 39th
Minnesota - 41st
Granted, a lot of those stats are circumstantial, but nothing I see there screams Minnesota in a blowout as so many are predicting.
That makes sense. When I say "not excited" or "disappointed", I think it is just all relative to where we felt we could have gone. We're excited to go to a bowl game, but we've known we were going for over a month now. I just think people got excited about the possibilities of playing in a more prestigious bowl against a better known program (again no disrespect to Syracuse, people could say the exact same thing about MN). When neither one happened, it was a downer.
I think as time passes and the game gets closer, fans will get more excited about the game.