BleedGopher
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per Nick:
Speaking with Big Ten Radio on Sirius XM, Dungy pointed to head coach PJ Fleck as a big reason why Minnesota can put together a magical couple of seasons like Clemson and rise to the top.
“I was so proud of those guys last year because as alums, we've been waiting for that for 25 years,” Dungy said. “We saw it happen at other places. We saw Northwestern go to the Rose Bowl. When I was playing, Northwestern was one of those circled wins that you always marked down. We're going to win that one. We might not win another game but were going to beat Northwestern. Suddenly they went to the Rose Bowl and Iowa was not a power franchise and they had a period of time where they were playing great football. It kind of revolved through and Minnesota never had that magical couple of years. I think coach Fleck has done a great job of getting it going. It can happen. I think that's the great thing about college football right now.
“Clemson, I visited with Dabo Swinney a lot. It was not a place where you say automatically, hey if I take this Clemson job, we’re going to be national championship contenders in three years. It wasn't looked at that way. The fact that it can happen at Clemson, the fact that it can happen at Minnesota, that makes college football great.”
2011 was the breakthrough for Swinney at Clemson. The team finished 10-4 and won the ACC, but lost in the Orange Bowl. From that season to present day, Swinney’s Tigers have won 10 or more games every season, including two national championships in three appearances over the last four seasons. Swinney’s squad under his watch was 4-3 in 2008, 9-5 in 2009 and 6-7 in 2019 before breaking through in 2011.
For Fleck, his third season in Minnesota last year was the breakthrough. The Gophers finished 11-2 and were tied for the Big Ten West title, but did not go to the conference title game based on tiebreakers. However, they were winners in the Outback Bowl.
Go Gophers!!
Speaking with Big Ten Radio on Sirius XM, Dungy pointed to head coach PJ Fleck as a big reason why Minnesota can put together a magical couple of seasons like Clemson and rise to the top.
“I was so proud of those guys last year because as alums, we've been waiting for that for 25 years,” Dungy said. “We saw it happen at other places. We saw Northwestern go to the Rose Bowl. When I was playing, Northwestern was one of those circled wins that you always marked down. We're going to win that one. We might not win another game but were going to beat Northwestern. Suddenly they went to the Rose Bowl and Iowa was not a power franchise and they had a period of time where they were playing great football. It kind of revolved through and Minnesota never had that magical couple of years. I think coach Fleck has done a great job of getting it going. It can happen. I think that's the great thing about college football right now.
“Clemson, I visited with Dabo Swinney a lot. It was not a place where you say automatically, hey if I take this Clemson job, we’re going to be national championship contenders in three years. It wasn't looked at that way. The fact that it can happen at Clemson, the fact that it can happen at Minnesota, that makes college football great.”
2011 was the breakthrough for Swinney at Clemson. The team finished 10-4 and won the ACC, but lost in the Orange Bowl. From that season to present day, Swinney’s Tigers have won 10 or more games every season, including two national championships in three appearances over the last four seasons. Swinney’s squad under his watch was 4-3 in 2008, 9-5 in 2009 and 6-7 in 2019 before breaking through in 2011.
For Fleck, his third season in Minnesota last year was the breakthrough. The Gophers finished 11-2 and were tied for the Big Ten West title, but did not go to the conference title game based on tiebreakers. However, they were winners in the Outback Bowl.
Go Gophers!!
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