Tom Powers: 'Better than a year ago' not good enough for Gophers football

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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per Powers:

Once again the program has been raised from total ruin to glorious mediocrity. Two years into Jerry Kill's tenure, the Gophers have shown the ability to handle a full plate of nonconference patsies and to sneak away with a couple of Big Ten victories. Perhaps as important, the league powerhouses aren't mauling them quite so savagely.

This is real progress. And last season's 6-6 record was rewarded with a trip to the Meineke Car Care Bowl. That was different, at least, than the usual trek to the Insight Bowl, which was becoming something of a second home to Gophers football.

Now comes the big question: Can the Gophers take the next step? Don't get crazy here. The next step doesn't represent any type of fantastic national success. In fact, we'll let Kill define the next step.

"I want to be better than we were a year ago," he said.

http://www.twincities.com/gophers/ci_23939694/tom-powers-better-than-year-ago-not-good
 

BleedGopher said:
per Powers:

Once again the program has been raised from total ruin to glorious mediocrity. Two years into Jerry Kill's tenure, the Gophers have shown the ability to handle a full plate of nonconference patsies and to sneak away with a couple of Big Ten victories. Perhaps as important, the league powerhouses aren't mauling them quite so savagely.

This is real progress. And last season's 6-6 record was rewarded with a trip to the Meineke Car Care Bowl. That was different, at least, than the usual trek to the Insight Bowl, which was becoming something of a second home to Gophers football.

Now comes the big question: Can the Gophers take the next step? Don't get crazy here. The next step doesn't represent any type of fantastic national success. In fact, we'll let Kill define the next step.

"I want to be better than we were a year ago," he said.

http://www.twincities.com/gophers/ci_23939694/tom-powers-better-than-year-ago-not-good
Click to expand...

What do we think of Tom Powers here at GopherHole?
 


Negative press like this doesn't help, but what may not be factored in, evaluating this year's results, is the much tougher schedule - this year and the next two. Having Nebraska on the schedule every year is something Minnesota would never have done, and for good reason. Then TCU is added. The Gophers could go 5-7 this year and 6-6 next year and be much better on the field, but the won/loss record wouldn't reflect it. Nevertheless, Powers and the others would be howling about "mediocrity."
 

Great Plains Gopher said:
Negative press like this doesn't help, but what may not be factored in, evaluating this year's results, is the much tougher schedule - this year and the next two. Having Nebraska on the schedule every year is something Minnesota would never have done, and for good reason. Then TCU is added. The Gophers could go 5-7 this year and 6-6 next year and be much better on the field, but the won/loss record wouldn't reflect it. Nevertheless, Powers and the others would be howling about "mediocrity."
Click to expand...

The B1G is a tough conference, but, at least we have our on campus stadium. And it is BEAUTIFUL!

; 0 )
 


It's not negative press. Read the whole article. All he says is we've sucked for the last 6 or 7 years and Kill has gotten us back to mediocre (aka .500 aka minor bowls). The question is can we make the next step.

Last sentence is "Will the finally crash through?" That's the same question the rest of us are asking...
 

BleedGopher said:
per Powers:

Once again the program has been raised from total ruin to glorious mediocrity. Two years into Jerry Kill's tenure, the Gophers have shown the ability to handle a full plate of nonconference patsies and to sneak away with a couple of Big Ten victories. Perhaps as important, the league powerhouses aren't mauling them quite so savagely.

This is real progress. And last season's 6-6 record was rewarded with a trip to the Meineke Car Care Bowl. That was different, at least, than the usual trek to the Insight Bowl, which was becoming something of a second home to Gophers football.

Now comes the big question: Can the Gophers take the next step? Don't get crazy here. The next step doesn't represent any type of fantastic national success. In fact, we'll let Kill define the next step.

"I want to be better than we were a year ago," he said.

http://www.twincities.com/gophers/ci_23939694/tom-powers-better-than-year-ago-not-good
Click to expand...

Blah Blah blah -same old sh--.
 

Just a pretty tired column that has been written about a thousand times before.

But did the person who wrote the headline even read the column? The headline is almost perfectly wrong.
 

Great Plains Gopher said:
Negative press like this doesn't help, but what may not be factored in, evaluating this year's results, is the much tougher schedule - this year and the next two. Having Nebraska on the schedule every year is something Minnesota would never have done, and for good reason. Then TCU is added. The Gophers could go 5-7 this year and 6-6 next year and be much better on the field, but the won/loss record wouldn't reflect it. Nevertheless, Powers and the others would be howling about "mediocrity."
Click to expand...

I get what you are trying to say however going 5-7 and 6-6 even if the product is improving some is the definition of "mediocrity". So they wouldn't be wrong.
 



How else do you upgrade a failed program for the last 4 or 5 decades Tom??

By getting better every year and trying to lay the foundation for a solid program. Mediocrity is a start.

Coach Kill has done it before. Let's see if he can get it done here.
 

they gophs past 40-45 yrs is a fb mystery. they never went IU,UW,NU awful....but just plodded along being mediocre. not bad enough to raze and not good enough to praise. strange program.
 

MrC said:
Just a pretty tired column that has been written about a thousand times before.

But did the person who wrote the headline even read the column? The headline is almost perfectly wrong.
Click to expand...

+1

That article was written fairly lazy. Little to no substance. I suppose I would be willing to say that it was mediocre.
 

Beating someone you're not supposed to is next step

To me the next step is beating someone you're not supposed to.

Gophers are now competitive enough where we should expect them to beat teams of their ilk (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Purdue), but can they knock off teams/programs that are clearly ahead of 'em in the B1G pecking order (Michigan, MSU, Nebraska, Northwestern, tOSU, Penn State, Wisconsin)?

When/if that occurs, the next steps usually start to fall in line. They need a "program-turning" win.
 



Probably been discussed a thousand times, and worthy of its own thread, but just what is success for the Gopher program? Per you? Per the local media? Per the fan base? Per the administration?

Occasional major bowl visits - 8 win seasons?
Occasional runs at the Big Ten title - once a decade?
Regular runs at the Big Ten Title - few times a decade?
Occasional runs at the National Title - in your lifetime?
Regular runs at the National Title - Whew!

Always thought the first step in attaining a goal was defining success?
 

Sparlimb said:
All he says is we've sucked for the last 6 or 7 years and Kill has gotten us back to mediocre (aka .500 aka minor bowls).
Click to expand...

I'm not going to read Powers' garbage, but if that's what he's saying, he's wrong. Kill at this point has achieved one more win than Brewster through 2 seasons. This last season was basically the same as seasons 2 and 3 of the Brewster tenure and the same as an average Mason season. Brewster actually won 3 Big Ten games both of those seasons, so I would question what exactly Kill has "gotten us back to".

More likely the "we've sucked for the last 6 or 7 years" is your own editorializing to fit your agenda.
 

MNVCGUY said:
I get what you are trying to say however going 5-7 and 6-6 even if the product is improving some is the definition of "mediocrity". So they wouldn't be wrong.
Click to expand...

I would not define the word mediocrity in a program that is continuing to improve? even if the pace is slow and is improving but the outcome is not what you like as long as there is improvment in which you can define then it is not mediocrity.

mediocrity is a program that settles for the same outcome without improvement.
 

The perception the local media continues to perpetuate is borderline funny, if so many general sports fans didn't read and believe it.
Powers probably can't name 5 players off the team right now. He probably hasn't been to one practice or even a game in the past 10 years.
His "writing" is just spewing his opinion up and adding a headline that will catch the eye.
People who go to games or watch them will know whether things are getting better or not after this season, regardless of the box score.
 

SelectionSunday said:
To me the next step is beating someone you're not supposed to.

Gophers are now competitive enough where we should expect them to beat teams of their ilk (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Purdue), but can they knock off teams/programs that are clearly ahead of 'em in the B1G pecking order (Michigan, MSU, Nebraska, Northwestern, tOSU, Penn State, Wisconsin)?

When/if that occurs, the next steps usually start to fall in line. They need a "program-turning" win.
Click to expand...

To me it starts with the non-conference schedule.

Two years ago we lost three of four.

Last year we won all four:
....3 OT to beat UNLV
....Beat Western Mich 28-23
...Yes we beat a decent Syracuse team and handily defeated New Hampshire.
BUT it is time to dominate the four non-conference games.
 

station19 said:
To me it starts with the non-conference schedule.

Two years ago we lost three of four.

Last year we won all four:
....3 OT to beat UNLV
....Beat Western Mich 28-23
...Yes we beat a decent Syracuse team and handily defeated New Hampshire.
BUT it is time to dominate the four non-conference games.
Click to expand...

What will happen if we dominate the four non-conference games? What will happen if we don't?

; 0 )
 

Ole said:
The perception the local media continues to perpetuate is borderline funny, if so many general sports fans didn't read and believe it.
Powers probably can't name 5 players off the team right now. He probably hasn't been to one practice or even a game in the past 10 years.
His "writing" is just spewing his opinion up and adding a headline that will catch the eye.
People who go to games or watch them will know whether things are getting better or not after this season, regardless of the box score.
Click to expand...

Why do you suppose the local media does that Ole?
 


SelectionSunday said:
To me the next step is beating someone you're not supposed to.

Gophers are now competitive enough where we should expect them to beat teams of their ilk (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Purdue), but can they knock off teams/programs that are clearly ahead of 'em in the B1G pecking order (Michigan, MSU, Nebraska, Northwestern, tOSU, Penn State, Wisconsin)?

When/if that occurs, the next steps usually start to fall in line. They need a "program-turning" win.
Click to expand...

So if the Gophers are now competitive enough to beat Illinois, et al of their ilk, since the Gophers play iowa and Indiana, we should expect to win at least two conference games? It will be very interesting to see which one of those teams "clearly ahead of the Gophers..." you think Coach Kill will make his "program-turning...signature win..." against?

; 0 )
 


DoubleB said:
I would not define the word mediocrity in a program that is continuing to improve? even if the pace is slow and is improving but the outcome is not what you like as long as there is improvment in which you can define then it is not mediocrity.

mediocrity is a program that settles for the same outcome without improvement.
Click to expand...

This column had all the earmarks of an editor saying "Their season opens Thursday. Write some thing about the Gophers!" Powers didn't come up with anything new. Some of what he wrote we've been reading here for awhile now, the rest we've read elsewhere or all know.

- Things were bad under Brewster, at least for 2 of his for years. the other two years were, record-wise virtually mirrors of Kill's last season.
- The team is improving.
- Will that improvement be enough once they get to the Big Ten season?

The angst then is over the word "mediocre"? 6-6 is by definition almost "mediocre" and "average" at best. 2-6 in the Big Ten is mediocre at best and no improvement over most of the last decade at least.

If you just want positive Gopher stories there's been a heck of a lot of them over the last couple of weeks.

Can't wait until Thursday night..
 

DoubleB said:
I would not define the word mediocrity in a program that is continuing to improve? even if the pace is slow and is improving but the outcome is not what you like as long as there is improvment in which you can define then it is not mediocrity.

mediocrity is a program that settles for the same outcome without improvement.
Click to expand...

Any team that consistently finishes below .500 in its conference is mediocre at best. That doesn't mean that team hasn't shown some improvement from year to year or that things can't be on an upswing but until a team starts winning more than 2-3 conference games a year it is just mediocre in the grand scheme of things.
 

DarrenTheGreek said:
Then we will have won 33.333333333% of our season schedule.
Click to expand...

Now THAT answer shows clearly and concisely exactly what that would be worth. Excellent work! THAT answer is a "cut above..." what one sometimes sees here on GopherHole...

; 0 )
 

imthewalrus said:
So if the Gophers are now competitive enough to beat Illinois, et al of their ilk, since the Gophers play iowa and Indiana, we should expect to win at least two conference games? It will be very interesting to see which one of those teams "clearly ahead of the Gophers..." you think Coach Kill will make his "program-turning...signature win..." against?

; 0 )
Click to expand...

Good questions. Yes, I expect the Gophers to beat Iowa and Indiana.

My best guess for a true program-turning win (this season) would be the Badgers at home. It would be pretty hard to find fault with beating a program that has appeared in back-to-back-to-back Rose Bowls.
 

As much as Brewster slit his own throat, the 1-11 season was far more on Mason than it was on Brewster imo.

Mason did a fantastic job of getting us relevant, but his heart wasn't in it by the end. There were no more MB3's, no Maroney's, no Gary Russel's, no Eslinger's, no Setterstrom's left when Brewster took over. Those Mason teams were behind us & the future did not look promising. That's why Mason had to scramble to find 7 (?) Jucos to play defense the next season. Once the coaching change happened all but 1 decomitted, leaving us with the worst talent on defense that I have ever seen on a Gopher roster. Then, to make matters worse 4 Mason recruits got busted for sexual assault & kicked off the team including our Captain/best player in DJ, plus 2 more projected starters in Massey/Daniels. Then another Mason recruit on defense Robert McField turned out to be wanted for bank robbery. Not saying Brewster was great, just that Buddy Ryan couldn't have made that defense work & imo Brew should have gotten something of a free pass that season.

So, in my mind it was Brewster trying to get us back to mediocre & he seemed to do that for a couple years before slipping backward the final year. The reason Brew was fired had far less to do with his coaching than it did with Brew the person & his inability to get along with Maturi et al. My .02
 

SelectionSunday said:
Good questions. Yes, I expect the Gophers to beat Iowa and Indiana.

My best guess for a true program-turning win (this season) would be the Badgers at home. It would be pretty hard to find fault with beating a program that has appeared in back-to-back-to-back-to-back Rose Bowls.
Click to expand...

I agree with SS's original quote: "To me the next step is beating someone you're not supposed to." I don't think it necessarily has to be a "program turning" win, but at some point you have to start climbing over some teams ahead of you in the pecking order based on your record, schedule be damned. This year I'd love to upset Wisconson, but wins over Penn State, MSU and Northwestern would be at least somewhat unexpected and would move the program forward, too.

Wins like these for programs on the way up are almost always unexpected before the season starts. Nobody expected Wisconsin and Northwestern to go to win their first championships in the 1990s. Not many predicted MSU in the conference championship game two years ago. And even if the climb is less grand, from 2-6 to 4-4 to 6-2, it will be due to wins you didn't predict during fall camp.

Most of the media -- and I'd say a majority of those here -- are saying, "Yeah, they might be better, but I look at that schedule and it's hard to see four wins." But that's always the way these things go. We may or may not make that move this year, but when it happens, it will be very difficult to see in August.
 


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