The importance of various games this year.

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Gopherhurrin

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Two weeks before the first game these are my opinions of how the various games stack up in importance as seen from this distance at this moment.:rolleyes:

1. A roughly three way tie for first by the three rivalry games in this order: Iowa, Wisconsin and Penn State. I do not think the importance of these games can be understated. They are why we play the game. To some degree all coaches are always on the hot seat and one or more of these games must surely be won, sooner rather than later. Iowa and PSU are at home and home games count more in the hearts of the fans.

2. Northwestern at home to start the Big Ten season. Nothing that is likely to happen in the NC will matter after this game. A win will be all good, a loss will suck a lot of hope out of many hearts. The key early game of the season. If we don't win this home game, which will we win?

3. Purdue, Illinois and MSU in a hat. All on the road, all meat and potato Big Ten games. How do we get to a good season without some wins in this group?

4. Ohio State. I don't think we are going to win this game and I don't think anyone else thinks we are going to win this game. Yes, we play the games to win, but a loss will not hurt as much as the above games.

5. NIU and South Dakota. Must wins, non conference games, but how do we get to a good season if we miss on these two home games? Mighty hard.

6. Middle Tennessee State. First game is important and we will learn a lot, but this is not a BT game and will not be either the end of the world nor a game that is a must win. Road games are hard to win, especially early.

7. Last is the USC game. To make a long story short, we are not ready for this game yet and are not going to win this game. Even if we do win the media will blame Kiffen, Carrol, the weather, the sanctions, George Bush, President Obama, etc long before we gain any credit or buzz. But, we are going to lose this game and no one will be surprised. IMHO, the season is in the above games. This game is just an interesting side show freak thing that will be part of the journey. No likely upside, no big downside.

Just my opinions. Go ahead and give yours.:blah::blah::drink:
 

From the team's perspective I'd say the most important is MTSU since that is who they should be preparing for. As a fan, I'd say it is a toss up between Iowa/Wisconsin since those are the biggest rivalries. Brew needs to win at least one of those two this year.
 

I agree in large part with your list but I think the various games mean different things to different people.

In my mind, the USC game means very little. In fact, I'm with you on the rivalry games. If Brew can't beat Iowa, Wisconsin, or Penn State this year, he may be gone.

However, I think a win in week 3 over a big name program like USC could mean HUGE things for this year's recruiting class. A win against the Trojans and losses against other programs could be forgiven by many recruits.
 

MTSU is a pretty big game. If the Gophers lose the opener the public and media are going to be clamoring for Brewster to be fired. It would be a constant story that would become a big distraction and could potentially derail the entire season. That first game is CRUCIAL. I could see it being the difference between a 6-7 win season and a 3 win season.
 

DarrenTheGreek said:
MTSU is a pretty big game. If the Gophers lose the opener the public and media are going to be clamoring for Brewster to be fired. It would be a constant story that would become a big distraction and could potentially derail the entire season. That first game is CRUCIAL. I could see it being the difference between a 6-7 win season and a 3 win season.
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Agreed in spades.
The MTSU game is huge to set the pace of the season, any loss against MTSU, SD, or NIU will get the trolls and critics drum beating.
The USC game is going to be a circus and will play out like one, we win, big time celebration for fans and the team, but much hand wringing by the media and nation, we lose no big deal.

My opinion:
Least important to most

11) USC- see above
10) NIU, a loss brings in negativity, other than that simply a run of the mill NC game
9,8,7) Road games against MSU, ILL, Purdue, should win games, losses stop any dream season, but no rivalries
6)NW- Homecoming, Big Ten opener at home, need to start out the conference season right
5)MTSU-Start out the season with a big win on national TV
4)PSU-A win would earn cred, trophy game if you call it that
3)OSU-Halloween night, crazy crowd, probably #1 team in the country at that point, big time chance for credibility and buzz
2)wisky- on the road, big rival, trophy game, chance to shut up stupid local living/working drunken badgerleeches
1)Iowee- At home, big rival, trophy game, chance to shut up stupid local living/working/mudsucking fat pigeons
 


Gophers4Life said:
From the team's perspective I'd say the most important is MTSU since that is who they should be preparing for. As a fan, I'd say it is a toss up between Iowa/Wisconsin since those are the biggest rivalries. Brew needs to win at least one of those two this year.
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Agreed completely. Brewster can't go through another season without winning a rivalry game, and I have to assume he realizes how much his job security is tied to that.

Does beating a team like USC offset those possible losses though? It would be a nice signature win.
 

This is college football.

Take the 3 rivalry games they are important after that its college football every game is important. I dont think it matters who you beat year in and year out(after rivalry games) but you have to win as many games as possible. This team has to find its way to a bowl game no matter how big, that means a .500 or better record which is not great but it would be better than what many are predicting.
 

Always we do want a big bowl game and total wins and losses doesn't really matter for that. We need to win Big Ten games to get to a January bowl game. I'll happily take any one BT win over any two NC wins.
 

Gopherhurrin said:
Always we do want a big bowl game and total wins and losses doesn't really matter for that. We need to win Big Ten games to get to a January bowl game. I'll happily take any one BT win over any two NC wins.
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Thanks Wren!
 



2010 Season

Likely wins:

SoDak
No. Illinois

Likely losses (in order of best chance for an upset)

USC
PSU
Iowa
OSU
@ Becky

Toss-ups (in order of best chance for a win)

NW
@ ILL
@ MTSU
@ Purdue
@ MSU

To get to 6 wins they need to go 3-2 in the toss-up games (at worst) and then spring an upset from the "likely losses".

My point? The USC game could in fact be HUGE in determining whether this team can go bowling.
 

Art Vandelay said:
Likely wins:

SoDak
No. Illinois

Likely losses (in order of best chance for an upset)

USC
PSU
Iowa
OSU
@ Becky

Toss-ups (in order of best chance for a win)

NW
@ ILL
@ MTSU
@ Purdue
@ MSU

To get to 6 wins they need to go 3-2 in the toss-up games (at worst) and then spring an upset from the "likely losses".

My point? The USC game could in fact be HUGE in determining whether this team can go bowling.
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Who logged in using Art's information. This post makes sense in a lot of ways.
 

Art's scenario suggests that our three Big Ten wins this season will be from his toss-up list. I would think a fourth win is far more likely to come off his toss up list over any chance of beating SC. But yes, every win is important.
 

I think the Iowa game is the most important. This is assuming we are having an average year with 4-5 wins which is what alot of people think will happen). If we get smoked in that game again and have 10,000 - 15,000 Iowa fans taking over our stadium there will be no momentum towards 2011. On the other hand if we beat Iowa everybody will be fired up for months and looking forward to September '11!
 



The only game that counts is MTSU! It's the only game we play next. It's THE game we must win to remain undefeated. It's THE game that if we lose will kill recruiting in it's tracks. It's THE game that can set the tone for the next game that on Sept 3, becomes the then most important game of the year!
 

I think these games will define how successfull the season is. The first three are must wins. The last two can really change the perception of the season.

1. MTSU
2. Northwestern
3. Purdue
4. Wisconsin
5. Iowa
 

The rivalry games are the most important. Since Iowa and Penn State are home games, these two will be defining for the Tim Brewster Era.
 

Since when is Penn State a rival? Just because someone created a trophy for the game doesn't make it a rivalry. Personally I dislike just about every team in the Big Ten more than Penn State. That's not how rivalries work.
 

Omega015 said:
Since when is Penn State a rival? Just because someone created a trophy for the game doesn't make it a rivalry. Personally I dislike just about every team in the Big Ten more than Penn State. That's not how rivalries work.
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While I agree that this "rivalry" is not traditional, A win over Joe Paterno (who will be possibly coaching for his 400th win at TCF Bank) and placing a trophy in the dusty case Tim Brewster built may secure him another season or two in Minnesota. At worst, it would give Timmy B something to hang his hat on in terms of "quality wins."
 

1. USC- A win over USC would be enormous for the program. It would be totally unexpected and a reason for many people who want the Gophers to be successful but are tired of all the losing to give them another shot. This will also likely be our biggest recruiting weeked, so winning that game would have long term ramifications.

2. Iowa/@Wisconsin- I simply can't sign off on year 5 of a Brewster tenure without a win in one of these games. It's absolutely ridiculous that he's 0-6 in these games. I put the Iowa game slightly ahead of the Wisconsin game, because it sets the tone for the next year. A win in the last home game of the year would help gain some momentum for the program.

3. Ohio State- Similar to the USC game, it would be a huge win for the program. Strangely, because they are a fellow conference member, I don't think the win would mean as much even though Ohio State is a better team than USC at this point.

4. Northwestern- Because of its location on the schedule, this is a crucial game. Lose at home to Northwestern early in the season and it will seem as if the seasons over. This reminds me of those early season games we used to play with Purdue under Mason. There was always hope before those games, but then we always lost and it clearly showed it would be another "wait til next year" season.

Games 6-10- The rest of the Big Ten games are all of equal importance to me: The 3 remaining road games are all winnable, but I would consider it an upset to win at Michigan State. The PSU game could be JoePa's last visit to Minnesota, would be nice to send him out with a loss

11. Northern Illinois- Must win, nothing else to be said.
12. South Dakota- Must get playing time for next years QB in the 2nd half of this game
 

But we are not going to win #1 and #3 so they do not mean much to me and, as I wrote in my comments, we would zero credit for beating USC. It would all fall under the "USC goofed up big time in picking Kiffen." If you make 1 and 3 most important, we will fail this year. To me, the key games will be the ones we must win.
 

I disagree with the idea that USC is not that important. It is hugely important. USC is USC, and a win over them would be huge for this program. Period. Plus the game is early in the season, and a win would make many more people a lot more excited about Gopher football for the rest of the year. It really doesn't matter how the national media portrays the game. They could blame the USC loss on anything but us outplaying them, and it really doesn't matter. It would be a huge story, and one that would put a big-time Minnesota victory at the forefront of national college football conversation. That would be a very good thing.

And really, how would a victory over Ohio State be covered in the media? As a Gopher triumph or Buckeye failure? Look at the OSU-Purdue game last year. Nobody was talking about how well Purdue played.

But I've gotta say, the MTSU game is becoming a lot more important to me, because now I want, more than ever, to absolutely crush, demolish, and embarrass MTSU just to spite a certain former dancing Raider.
 

GOTTA beat Wisconsin and Iowa. They are not the top 2 in the big 10. No excuses, HAVE to beat those 2 teams.

USC, Ohio State, Penn State can be 3 acceptable losses. but DO NOT LOSE to SCONI/IOWA!!
 

I agree. That victory bell trophy looks like something a HS kid made in wood shop. To put that game in the same category as UW or Iowa is absurd.

I hate to say it, but I agree with Art's rankings as well. I do differ with others in this thread that the USC game could be a season changer. Win, and we'll get a lot of love from the press, both national and local. There will also be a lot of recruits at that game. If we lose a close one, no big deal, but if we get a 1983 Nebraskaesque shellacking it could be another nail in Brewster's coffin.
 

jovs said:
I think these games will define how successfull the season is. The first three are must wins. The last two can really change the perception of the season.

1. MTSU
2. Northwestern
3. Purdue
4. Wisconsin
5. Iowa
Click to expand...

I agree....with the addition of USC to number 6.
 

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