USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Preseason Poll (#4 Ohio State, #15 Wisconsin, #17 Indiana, #18 Iowa, #20 Penn State)

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Preseason polls are garbage and the coaches poll is pretty much garbage even in the season. I am just surprised we didn't get any votes at all. I would not have expected us to get many but figured we would get a few. We are very much flying under the radar right now which is perfect.

Fleck is very excited about this team and so am I. I think we are poised to have a big year along the lines of 2019 and maybe even better if everything breaks right.
 

PMWinSTP said:
Having Nebby and Technology together is the definition of oxymoron, right?
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Like Jumbo Shrimp.
Or Skinny Bielma. Well, he also qualifies as just a moron..............
 

"Coaches Poll" is always kind of funny to me because I'd wager a tidy sum that not a single coach actually fills out a ballot. The sports information directors do it for them.

But not a single, measly, 25th-place vote for the good guys? That's crazy. I'm taking the Gophers against the spread all season.
 

#2Gopher said:
Perhaps I spoke too soon on Sharma's comments on another thread. I can see where we may not make the top 25, but we didn't even make the next 35 spots. Is there a bookie somewhere where I'll take the Gophers finishing in the top 60 at the end of the year?
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For what it's worth (not much), that's not quite what this poll means. It's not that coaches collectively think that we are not in the top 60, just that none think we are in the top 25. We'd still not be receiving votes if every voter in the country had us at #26.

Extrapolating a top 25 ballot to further places makes some sense for about five, MAYBE ten places, but after that it is not really meaningful.
 


Doesn't matter. Week one against Ohio State will set our starting point for the year. Get blown out....we'll need four in a row to be in the top 25 mix. Play tough against OSU.....we'll get some recognition and it might only take three to reach top 25. Beat OSU and the Gophers immediately jump into the top 15.
 

stocker08 said:
Doesn't matter. Week one against Ohio State will set our starting point for the year. Get blown out....we'll need four in a row to be in the top 25 mix. Play tough against OSU.....we'll get some recognition and it might only take three to reach top 25. Beat OSU and the Gophers immediately jump into the top 15.
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That's it. If When the Gophs win or lose within 1 score, they will be considered tough. Like you say, they win the next 3, there will be ranking love.

I just have a feeling that OSU game will be that close and that will give recognition. Win or lose. Win obviously more, but a close loss is good also (as far as rankings go).
 

BTChamp said:
That's it. If When the Gophs win or lose within 1 score, they will be considered tough. Like you say, they win the next 3, there will be ranking love.

I just have a feeling that OSU game will be that close and that will give recognition. Win or lose. Win obviously more, but a close loss is good also (as far as rankings go).
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Yup. And I think a very good and experienced o-line is the key to keeping that game within reach. Let Mo do his thing and grind some yards. Put together some long scoring drives. See if we can't make a few big plays. Of course....if the defense looks like they did in the Michigan game.....it might not matter. OSU has enough high end players where they will make some stops on the Gophers offense. The Gophers defense will have to match that. But I think the offense will be able to limit the Buckeyes possessions to the point where it should be within striking distance in the fourth. At the very least.....I would expect the Gophers to keep it respectable.
 

Boomtime said:
Yep, unless you're a blueblood, you don't get a preseason ranking coming off a losing season.
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Yep. The pubs are not sold on PJ and what he has accomplished thus far.

Said that, neither am I.

Going into year 5, I would expect us to get some respect but its not there. Not even one vote. That's not what I expected when he was hired as he was labeled to be have a much higher ceiling than Kill & Co and better paid.

We all know that can change and I believe that we will be somewhere in the mix at seasons end. If not, PJ's program and culture needs to be seriously questioned.
 



Bayfieldgopher said:
Yep. The pubs are not sold on PJ and what he has accomplished thus far.

Said that, neither am I.

Going into year 5, I would expect us to get some respect but its not there. Not even one vote. That's not what I expected when he was hired as he was labeled to be have a much higher ceiling than Kill & Co and better paid.

We all know that can change and I believe that we will be somewhere in the mix at seasons end. If not, PJ's program and culture needs to be seriously questioned.
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He already has accomplished more than Kill and Co did.
So I get you’d rather be better. I’d rather us win national titles. But if you think kill and co had a higher ceiling you either weren’t watching or you aren’t smart
 

Bayfieldgopher said:
Yep. The pubs are not sold on PJ and what he has accomplished thus far.

Said that, neither am I.

Going into year 5, I would expect us to get some respect but its not there. Not even one vote. That's not what I expected when he was hired as he was labeled to be have a much higher ceiling than Kill & Co and better paid.

We all know that can change and I believe that we will be somewhere in the mix at seasons end. If not, PJ's program and culture needs to be seriously questioned.
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I respect Bayfield's doubts.

For Minnesota under Row the Boat...Year 4 (known as Year 5 by the outside world)...is a very important year.

Match or exceed 2019 and maybe something can be sustained for even greater achievement.

If not, well...we'll have to see. The Billd's are optimistic...but the season clock is ticking even with the covid non-season that was 2020.
 

Some guy said:
He already has accomplished more than Kill and Co did.
So I get you’d rather be better. I’d rather us win national titles. But if you think kill and co had a higher ceiling you either weren’t watching or you aren’t smart
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You need to check out your comprehensive ability there sonny as I never said Kill had a higher ceiling. But everyone knew the ceiling was raised the moment Fleck was hired.

PJ was brought in here to win, raise the program to a higher level and has been paid according to those expectations. Nothing less. I'm not satisfied with being shut out in a pre-season poll. It seems that you are.
 
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Bayfieldgopher said:
You need to check out your comprehensive ability there sonny as I never said Kill had a higher ceiling. But everyone knew the ceiling was raised the moment Fleck was hired.

PJ was brought in here to win, raise the program to a higher level and has been paid according to those expectations. Nothing less. I'm not satisfied with being shut out in a pre-season poll. It seems that you are.
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I fall in the camp of "Who cares about a preseason poll". I'd rather be shut out of them and have a good season than be highly regarded and have a poor season (do we know of any teams like that?).
 



Covid gave the Gophers a gut punch last season, it is not surprising that they are not on the radar in the preseason.

They will have to earn their way one game at a time starting with tOSU. They have a canopy to operate under with little pressure. Leave it to the great motivator and cheerleader P.J. Fleck.

Let's hope with the depth that they have that they stay healthy.

I believe in P.J. Fleck's optimism about this edition of the Gophers.
 
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BilldGopher said:
I respect Bayfield's doubts.

For Minnesota under Row the Boat...Year 4 (known as Year 5 by the outside world)...is a very important year.

Match or exceed 2019 and maybe something can be sustained for even greater achievement.

If not, well...we'll have to see. The Billd's are optimistic...but the season clock is ticking even with the covid non-season that was 2020.
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I don't think he needs to match 11-1, but we should be in the B1GW running
 


bfriedrichs10 said:
I fall in the camp of "Who cares about a preseason poll". I'd rather be shut out of them and have a good season than be highly regarded and have a poor season (do we know of any teams like that?).
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+1

If we are not receiving any votes in the last poll of the season, I'll be disappointed. I view the job of the coach to win games and ultimately championships, not to win recruiting rankings or preseason polls.
 

Bayfieldgopher said:
Yep. The pubs are not sold on PJ and what he has accomplished thus far.

Said that, neither am I.

Going into year 5, I would expect us to get some respect but its not there. Not even one vote. That's not what I expected when he was hired as he was labeled to be have a much higher ceiling than Kill & Co and better paid.

We all know that can change and I believe that we will be somewhere in the mix at seasons end. If not, PJ's program and culture needs to be seriously questioned.
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This post won't be received well by the Fleck apologists. Even though he's Mason level successful, thus far, he's a hero based a 2019 alone.

I think the PJ adoration is based more on hope than results.
 

Bayfieldgopher said:
You need to check out your comprehensive ability there sonny as I never said Kill had a higher ceiling. But everyone knew the ceiling was raised the moment Fleck was hired.

PJ was brought in here to win, raise the program to a higher level and has been paid according to those expectations. Nothing less. I'm not satisfied with being shut out in a pre-season poll. It seems that you are.
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You implied that you had the expectation Fleck had more upside than Kill and he is failing to prove that.


you’re right, I’m completely satisfied. I hope the team goes 3-4 every year, I wasn’t disappointed at all last year
 

Bayfieldgopher said:
Yep. The pubs are not sold on PJ and what he has accomplished thus far.

Said that, neither am I.

Going into year 5, I would expect us to get some respect but its not there. Not even one vote. That's not what I expected when he was hired as he was labeled to be have a much higher ceiling than Kill & Co and better paid.

We all know that can change and I believe that we will be somewhere in the mix at seasons end. If not, PJ's program and culture needs to be seriously questioned.
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I don't think it's a label, it's accurate. Kill's recruiting, or lack thereof, put a ceiling on the program. I loved seeing Damien Wilson, DeVondre Campbell, Eric Murray, BBC, etc come through the program but its not sustainable to have to find diamonds in the rough every year. Through recruiting alone Fleck allows us a greater ceiling, especially with the skill positions.
 

noamfromm said:
I don't think it's a label, it's accurate. Kill's recruiting, or lack thereof, put a ceiling on the program. I loved seeing Damien Wilson, DeVondre Campbell, Eric Murray, BBC, etc come through the program but its not sustainable to have to find diamonds in the rough every year. Through recruiting alone Fleck allows us a greater ceiling, especially with the skill positions.
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The proof is what we put on the field. Last year's D was not able to fill the gaps created by the departure and leadership of the Sr. group and the kicking game was the worse I've see in a long while. Plus the offense fell way short of its 2019 performance. These are all Fleck's guys. Please don't play the covid card as that affected all of CFB last season.

At this time, PJ has a lot to prove. Remember, we paid big bucks to get him and also to keep him. Is it not reasonable to expect something more than what we have seen in return?

Getting zero votes in pre-season polls is indicative of where the program is today. I know.............. its all about where you finish but few "experts" give the Gophers any respect from the get go. They don't see us at the same level as Wisky, Iowa, PSU, etc. and basically put us in the bottom 1/3 of the BIG. This is what? Year five of Fleck Ball? And that is our status.

Maybe the Gophers will finish 8-4 or maybe even 9-3 with a bit of luck. Then you could be correct that there is a greater ceiling with this team, the level of talent is really there and we can be considered in the top group of the BIG going forward. I sure hope so as that is what I expect at this time.
 

Bayfieldgopher said:
The proof is what we put on the field. Last year's D was not able to fill the gaps created by the departure and leadership of the Sr. group and the kicking game was the worse I've see in a long while. Plus the offense fell way short of its 2019 performance. These are all Fleck's guys. Please don't play the covid card as that affected all of CFB last season.

At this time, PJ has a lot to prove. Remember, we paid big bucks to get him and also to keep him. Is it not reasonable to expect something more than what we have seen in return?

Getting zero votes in pre-season polls is indicative of where the program is today. I know.............. its all about where you finish but few "experts" give the Gophers any respect from the get go. They don't see us at the same level as Wisky, Iowa, PSU, etc. and basically put us in the bottom 1/3 of the BIG. This is what? Year five of Fleck Ball? And that is our status.

Maybe the Gophers will finish 8-4 or maybe even 9-3 with a bit of luck. Then you could be correct that there is a greater ceiling with this team, the level of talent is really there and we can be considered in the top group of the BIG going forward. I sure hope so as that is what I expect at this time.
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This is cop out. COVID effected every team, yes, but not every team started in the same place. Across the board, teams that lost a lot of talent had a hard time in 2020. Teams that had new coaches had a hard time.

Saying COVID effected everyone and that's not an excuse is like saying a student late for class due to a blizzard causing their bus from Como to be cancelled has no excuse because the students who lived in Comstock also had to walk in the blizzard.

Yes, it is a fact both students dealt with a blizzard, but it is ignoring that fact that how the students get to class (walking a few blocks vs relying on a bus to travel far more than a few blocks in a reasonable time) means the blizzard effected one student FAR more than the other.

COVID was the same way, some teams (namely ones who lost little talent or coaches) faired far better than others (namely, those who lost a lot of starters and/coaches). The only exception being the Alabamas and OSUs of the world who have so much hoarded talent that the loss of starters or coaches don't effect them, but most teams are not in that position.
 

Bayfieldgopher said:
The proof is what we put on the field. Last year's D was not able to fill the gaps created by the departure and leadership of the Sr. group and the kicking game was the worse I've see in a long while. Plus the offense fell way short of its 2019 performance. These are all Fleck's guys. Please don't play the covid card as that affected all of CFB last season.

At this time, PJ has a lot to prove. Remember, we paid big bucks to get him and also to keep him. Is it not reasonable to expect something more than what we have seen in return?

Getting zero votes in pre-season polls is indicative of where the program is today. I know.............. its all about where you finish but few "experts" give the Gophers any respect from the get go. They don't see us at the same level as Wisky, Iowa, PSU, etc. and basically put us in the bottom 1/3 of the BIG. This is what? Year five of Fleck Ball? And that is our status.

Maybe the Gophers will finish 8-4 or maybe even 9-3 with a bit of luck. Then you could be correct that there is a greater ceiling with this team, the level of talent is really there and we can be considered in the top group of the BIG going forward. I sure hope so as that is what I expect at this time.
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Winning 8 or 9 names this year should not be considered proof that there is a great ceiling with this team. The greater ceiling is due to player acquisition alone. Fleck is brining in higher rated athletes than we have had before and for that alone he has raised the ceiling.


Regarding the bold: why is it your position that Fleck has to make continual progress every year and that we should always expect more in return. I sense you and others would have been the types to call for Alvarez's head 6 years in because -- it was what? Year six of Barry Ball? And that was your status -- Fleck inherited a team devoid of offensive skill talent (or devoid of an ability to use them appropriately), has won 11 games, and brought in highly touted recruits . . . but you want to be upset because we don't year in and year out run the B1G West?
 


noamfromm said:
I don't think it's a label, it's accurate. Kill's recruiting, or lack thereof, put a ceiling on the program. I loved seeing Damien Wilson, DeVondre Campbell, Eric Murray, BBC, etc come through the program but its not sustainable to have to find diamonds in the rough every year. Through recruiting alone Fleck allows us a greater ceiling, especially with the skill positions.
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Wisconsin did exactly that for years.
 

PMWinSTP said:
Wisconsin did exactly that for years.
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Eric Murray and BBC had no other offers and Damien Wilson had a dozen Sun Belt level offers. If those are the players that Wisconsin was sending to the league then I agree. I just don't know enough about their recruiting to say that they were getting kids "no one" else wanted.
 

noamfromm said:
Eric Murray and BBC had no other offers and Damien Wilson had a dozen Sun Belt level offers. If those are the players that Wisconsin was sending to the league then I agree. I just don't know enough about their recruiting to say that they were getting kids "no one" else wanted.
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Jim Leonard and JJ Watt were walk-ons. I believe Darrell Bevell was as well. Mark Tauscher, Joe Panos, Rick Wagner, Joe Schobert...There are many examples. Bevell did not go pro as a player, but the others listed did.
 


Bayfieldgopher said:
The proof is what we put on the field. Last year's D was not able to fill the gaps created by the departure and leadership of the Sr. group and the kicking game was the worse I've see in a long while. Plus the offense fell way short of its 2019 performance. These are all Fleck's guys. Please don't play the covid card as that affected all of CFB last season.

At this time, PJ has a lot to prove. Remember, we paid big bucks to get him and also to keep him. Is it not reasonable to expect something more than what we have seen in return?

Getting zero votes in pre-season polls is indicative of where the program is today. I know.............. its all about where you finish but few "experts" give the Gophers any respect from the get go. They don't see us at the same level as Wisky, Iowa, PSU, etc. and basically put us in the bottom 1/3 of the BIG. This is what? Year five of Fleck Ball? And that is our status.

Maybe the Gophers will finish 8-4 or maybe even 9-3 with a bit of luck. Then you could be correct that there is a greater ceiling with this team, the level of talent is really there and we can be considered in the top group of the BIG going forward. I sure hope so as that is what I expect at this time.
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It's Year 4! Year 0, Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, Year 4.

We got a few guys here auditioning to be Fleck's agent with the excuses.
 

Bayfield, Fleck made it clear on his famous chart that there will be zig-zagging. What we have talent-wise is what we've got. It looks a lot better on paper than it has been in a long while. The Gophers are on the upswing.

Relax and enjoy the anticipation and drama.
 

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