The Purdue game is even more important than it might seem!

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RememberMurray

RememberMurray

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This upcoming game is more crucial than it might appear on the surface. To whit:

. In the B1G this weekend...

• We're playing Purdue, a division rival who went 9-4 last year and has a relatively easy remaining schedule.

• Other West rivals: Wisconsin hosts Illinois, Iowa entertains Michigan at Kinnick.

Conclusion: We'll learn a lot about the B1G West this weekend!

-------

Nationally, teams just above us in the Top 25...

• #20 Arkansas hosts #2 Alabama

• #18 Oklahoma travels to face TCU

• #17 Texas A&M travels to face Mike Leach's Mississippi State

• #16 Baylor hosts #9 Oklahoma State

• #15 Washington travels to face undefeated UCLA

• #14 Ole Miss hosts #7 Kentucky

Conclusion: The middle portion of the Top 25 is likely to be see a major amount of change after this weekend!

-------

Opportunity beckons, people!
 
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Rankings part doesn't really matter to me but the game against Purdue is huge in order to essentially eliminate them from the West race at the start of October.

If we lose we are still in the race, if they lose to us however they will have 2 conference losses and be down the head to head matchup with us. That would mean they would need us to lose 3 conference games or they would have to hope for some multi-team tie situation where they could somehow come out on top of the tiebreaker.

One of either Wisconsin or Illinois picks up conference loss #2 for sure. I will also be shocked if the Hawkeyes are able to beat either Michigan or Ohio State with their offense this season.

Said in another thread that if we are the team we think we are the magic number for us is 3 conference losses for the teams in the West. Or potentially 2 if one of the 2 is against us.

We may drop a game or two at some point but with the way we are playing I just don't see us losing 3 conference games unless things go completely sideways on us.
 

Yes, the importance in the B1G West race is pretty self-evident.

Concerning the national rankings, as others have pointed out national rankings may be idiotic/inaccurate early in the season but they are important later on as far as bowl selections are concerned. Also, recruiting can be helped immensely by a high profile nationally.

It is hard to make giant leaps in national rankings, especially for a team like Minnesota. That's why I'm excited to see an opportunity to climb in the rankings, even if it is early days.
 

RememberMurray said:
Yes, the importance in the B1G West race is pretty self-evident.

Concerning the national rankings, as others have pointed out national rankings may be idiotic/inaccurate early in the season but they are important later on as far as bowl selections are concerned. Also, recruiting can be helped immensely by a high profile nationally.

It is hard to make giant leaps in national rankings, especially for a team like Minnesota. That's why I'm excited to see an opportunity to climb in the rankings, even if it is early days.
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In theory it is hard to make big jumps up but the fact that we got into the top 25 already given our weak schedule says that we are being viewed differently and are getting peoples attention. Now that we are in the top 25 just need to keep winning and we will creep up higher and higher.
 

We are in a spot where the expectation now might be for MN to buzzsaw/flatten our next opponent each week outside of our game with Penn State. We don't need to just win, we need to control the game from start to end.
 




jonnyganas said:
We are in a spot where the expectation now might be for MN to buzzsaw/flatten our next opponent each week outside of our game with Penn State. We don't need to just win, we need to control the game from start to end.
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Although this appears to be true, it is also a trap. Just secure the win first. Be smart and methodical.
 

Winning would be huge for west odds. Losing wouldn’t be the end of the world but a giant missed opportunity


I’ll be hugely disappointed with a loss
 



RememberMurray said:
This upcoming game is more crucial than it might appear on the surface. To whit:

. In the B1G this weekend...

• We're playing Purdue, a division rival who went 9-4 last year and has a relatively easy remaining schedule.

• Other West rivals: Wisconsin hosts Illinois, Iowa entertains Michigan at Kinnick.

Conclusion: We'll learn a lot about the B1G West this weekend!

-------

Nationally, teams just above us in the Top 25...

• #20 Arkansas hosts #2 Alabama

• #18 Oklahoma travels to face TCU

• #17 Texas A&M travels to face Mike Leach's Mississippi State

• #16 Baylor hosts #9 Oklahoma State

• #15 Washington travels to face undefeated UCLA

• #14 Ole Miss hosts #7 Kentucky

Conclusion: The middle portion of the Top 25 is likely to be see a major amount of change after this weekend!

-------

Opportunity beckons, people!
Click to expand...

What no knocking?
 

A win will essentially eliminate Purdue from West contention (barring 3+ losses from us). The loser of Illinois/Wisconsin is also not looking too good with 2 losses, albeit they each still play us so they can recover but won’t control their destiny. Their margin of error will be gone and both still play Iowa and a challenging crossover games (more so for Illinois who still has Michigan).

Iowa likely picks up a loss but that won’t be too meaningful for them as they’ll still control their destiny.

In summary, it’s likely that only 3 teams (Iowa, Minnesota, and Illinois or Wisconsin) will have a reasonable path to winning the west after this week if we beat Purdue. If we lose, Purdue still has a reasonable path.
 

as you climb the ladder, each step becomes more difficult.

with increased national attention come more scrutiny.

A loss to Purdue would have at least some impact on the Gophers' chances of winning the West - but it would have a much bigger impact on how the Gophers are seen nationally. Back to the "same old Gophers" routine.

this is a huge game in terms of sending a message that this year's team is different. If the Gophs go out and put away Purdue they way they handled MSU, that message will be sent - and it will put more pressure on IA and WI to keep pace. make the pigs and the skunks sweat.
 

RememberMurray said:
Yes, the importance in the B1G West race is pretty self-evident.

Concerning the national rankings, as others have pointed out national rankings may be idiotic/inaccurate early in the season but they are important later on as far as bowl selections are concerned. Also, recruiting can be helped immensely by a high profile nationally.

It is hard to make giant leaps in national rankings, especially for a team like Minnesota. That's why I'm excited to see an opportunity to climb in the rankings, even if it is early days.
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I wish this were more true. Unfortunately, we likely need to finish 2 games better than Michigan to get to a better bowl, and at least game better than Iowa or Wisconsin to get to the bowl we deserve.
 




Bob_Loblaw said:
I wish this were more true. Unfortunately, we likely need to finish 2 games better than Michigan to get to a better bowl, and at least game better than Iowa or Wisconsin to get to the bowl we deserve.
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You're probably correct.

That being said, I know I shouldn't be counting any chickens at this point, but if the Gophers don't finish at least one game better than both Iowa and Wisconsin I'll be a little disappointed.

And Michigan... well, they still have to play Penn State and Ohio State, but other than those two games they'll probably run the table.
 

RememberMurray said:
You're probably correct.

That being said, I know I shouldn't be counting any chickens at this point, but if the Gophers don't finish at least one game better than both Iowa and Wisconsin I'll be a little disappointed.

And Michigan... well, they still have to play Penn State and Ohio State, but other than those two games they'll probably run the table.
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I agree with you, I think this is a really big game for our program. I just get so annoyed every bowl season.
 


Bob_Loblaw said:
I wish this were more true. Unfortunately, we likely need to finish 2 games better than Michigan to get to a better bowl, and at least game better than Iowa or Wisconsin to get to the bowl we deserve.
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It's better than it used to be (excluding last year) -- the bowl selection process has rules around not having the same teams in the same bowl games year after year, which is why we started going to Citrus and Outback, not Insight or Music City (though that one's better now).
 

Here's a nice piece from the Indy Star on Purdue's CBs and the challenges they have there.

Here's the link and the end paragraph...

www.indystar.com

Tracking Purdue's defense: Lack of depth at cornerback starting to show up

The Boilermakers face one of the Big Ten's most efficient quarterbacks Saturday in Minnesota's Tanner Morgan
www.indystar.com

LOOKING AHEAD​

The defense has been tested in three of the first four games and hasn’t allowed a lot of yards but given up an average of 31 points to Penn State, Syracuse and FAU. Can the Boilermakers keep the Gophers to that number? History says Minnesota will score at least 30 points in its home stadium since it's averaging 39.5 in the last six games against Purdue. That is a bad trend line. It likely won’t improve since the Gophers feature plenty of balance. They’re the only Big Ten team to rush for more than 1,000 yards in the first four games and are six yards short of 1,000 yards passing. The line will need to slow down running back Mohamed Ibrahim, who is averaging 141.8 yards, try to bring pressure against Morgan and deal with the RPO game. Improved play from the secondary is needed but the lack of depth is starting to show. Purdue needs a big game from its linebackers against the run and must produce takeaways to slow down Minnesota’s offense.
 

MNVCGUY said:
In theory it is hard to make big jumps up but the fact that we got into the top 25 already given our weak schedule says that we are being viewed differently and are getting peoples attention. Now that we are in the top 25 just need to keep winning and we will creep up higher and higher.
Click to expand...
yeah there's 8 weeks left in the year. Move up 1-2 slots a week and you'll be right there when you get to the B10 title game vs OSU or Michigan who will be in the top 5. The ranking won't be an issue if you win.
 

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