I worry less about Drake as I do supporting cast. OL, WRs ... I've been very skeptical of our WRs outside say one guy at a time, for a long time. Drake can even only do so much.
I feel what you're saying.
Floor and ceiling have definitely been raised under Fleck.
I don’t think it’s fair to expect a redshirt freshman QB in place for your “turn the corner” season. I have high expectations for Drake over the next four years, but I am surprised that so many people expect so much of him this year. For example, Tanner Morgan’s numbers as a redshirt freshman were mediocre and the team went 6-6, and that was a team with Ibrahim, Bateman, Johnson, Winfield, Howden, Cashman, and Coughlin.
Why not? Drake has had almost two years in the program. Pretty highly recruited. A pair and a spare behind him. He's ready. I think he will surprise a lot of folks.
It's his ninth season. He's beyond being a year or two away from a breakout. Let's get it done, Fleck.
I think I saw something where Fleck said this group of WRs from top to bottom was the best he's had in his time here. Hard to believe considering the TJ/ Bateman/ CrAB years, but maybe he knows something we don't...
Don't make me bring up Jerry's quote about WRs!
There isn't a breakout coming. There is the hope for more years like we had in 2019 or like what Indiana had last year but in this current landscape there isn't a ton of room for upward mobility for those solid programs like Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa who are good but not really positioned to truly compete on that same level as teams like Ohio State and others in that tier.
I keep trying to tell the casual fans of my generation that we've been much better this century than they realize. Brewster skews these numbers, unfortunately. But 1999 is really the dividing line between mediocrity and competitiveness.
I'm one of those guys that pisses off the "if we don't develop into a perrenial top 20 team in five years, fire the coach" people - I'm totally fine with hovering around the 8 win range, particularly when we play 9 conference games, and hoping for a breakout every handful of years. If we play competitive in the losses, particularly against the big name schools, and retain or bring home a trophy or two per year all while fielding a law abiding, studious team with players to look forward to seeing, I'll continue to be all in. Having hope for greatness coming into a season is way better than having hope for mediocrity at best.
Right there with you, don't get me wrong, would love to have a National Championship or bust program like Ohio State but that just isn't realistic with the way the college landscape is configured right now for places like Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin.....
I don’t think that anyone cares much about breaking through to compete for the national title. Years like ‘19 regularly would seem to be fine.
I would argue that PJ has only had one really good breakout year in almost a decade. Build him a statue is he does it every handful of years, or a bit less.
OL and lack of depth at DL and DB would be my concerns going into season
Conference records.
Assuming Oregon and OSU are in the loss column at 8-4, who are the other two losses if Gophs beat Iowa and Bucky?
My playful but half serious response would be Buffalo and Purdue! This team sleepwalks through at least one "can't miss" game per year which they occasionally lose
If we continue to win 8-9 in 75% of seasons we will eventually break through
Nebraska
