USC may be on the schedule

[maroonfive]

twice between 2010 and 2016. This tidbit is mentioned at the end of the article about Jedd Fisch on the Strib website.

Go Gophers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[mkAz]

I'm all for toughening up the schedule, but USC????? I don't know about that.

 

[Ski U Master]

I guess USC won't mind an annual BCS conference opponent win each year... Suicide for the Gophers, we aren't on their level yet.

 

[mnboiler]

ya unless the talent improves dramaticly and the coaching becomes much better no body wins on that one. USC would kick the gophers asses up and down the field all day. USC doesn't get challenged and the gopher are lucky not to get hurt. although it would be a big draw to TCF and mundo dollars for the athletics department.

edit i think USC was the best team last year, no contest. also you could talk me into saying they should have about 6 NC in about 7 years.

 

[GopherGod]

I'm all for toughening up the schedule, but USC????? I don't know about that.

How dare you question Coach Brewster, if all it takes is talent and Brewster is the guy then we should atleast be able to compete with them right, maybe not win but compete right.

 

[rugger14]

Where are the GI faithful?

Is it OK for the STRIB to steal "premium" information? I don't see anyone posting on the STRIB blog that they are stealing "premium" information...

 

[GoldenGo4Fan]

I'm all for toughening up the schedule, but USC????? I don't know about that.

You got to play with the best to become one of the best. I say bring it on! Who knows where we will be at when the games are actually played.

 

[DiehardGopher]

Sure, right now we might not be ready to play USC. However, recruits like to know that they are going to be playing against big time competition on a national television stage. In addition to all of that, it would provide a nice barometer for the progress of our program, and would also create a rose bowl each year we play them since they are the top team in the Pac-10 and are always there unless they are in the NC.

 

[oak_street1981]

So how does Oregon State manage to beat mighty

I'm all for toughening up the schedule, but USC????? I don't know about that.

USC?


I am sick of this crap; any BSC team playing Minnesota is a good thing.

I want to see

Washington

Pittsburgh

Kansas

any SEC team

UCLA

Nebraska

Oklahoma

Any other BCS team that will do a home and home

 

[Sotakid]

im all for playing them. what recruit doesnt wanna play against the best? we are showing we arent afraid of anyone. this could definately play out in our favor

 

[walleyedude]

Just think of recruiting a kid and asking him if he wants to play USC?

I would love this.

 

[Maverick]

Two one loss teams played for Nat'l champ this year

im all for playing them. what recruit doesnt wanna play against the best? we are showing we arent afraid of anyone. this could definately play out in our favor

No better way to get ready for the Big Ten than to play USC in non-conference. And I don't see a Nebraska type 83-0 ( 1983 score?) whitewashing coming any time soon. By the time we play USC, Minnesota's recruiting will be consistently top 20 and the Golden Gophers will compete with anyone....

Bring-em on! Let's play the game!

 

[magpie]

It's nice to see big schools willing to play us, but When OSU gets smacked around by USC these days, how are we going to prevent embarassment? I'd rather see more of Cal (who should be a great match-up during those years) and the likes first.

 

[RedPoo]

twice between 2010 and 2016. This tidbit is mentioned at the end of the article about Jedd Fisch on the Strib website.

Go Gophers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

...that should read "at least" twice between 2010 and 2016.

 

[NateDawgUM]

As long as it's a home and home series, it's absolutely a great idea. We might be killed, we might NOT get killed. We just might make it out with a win. Who knows how good USC will be 3, 4 or 5 years down the road?

It's great for recruiting, it's great for the fans and it sure gets us ready to play Ohio State more than the Florida Atlantic game does.

You all sound weak and scared.

 

[Omega015]

All I care about is the trip to SoCal. Bring on the road games in new and better locations.

 

[Inigo Montoya]

to all you dumba$$e$ who don't want to play USC

Me and Snoop Dog will be enjoying that sha-dizzle!

 

[Bayfieldgopher]

Brewster said he wants to schedule the big boys. Doesn't get much bigger than USC.
Here is the posted NC schedule to date.
09-Air Force, @Syracuse, Cal
10-@UNLV, Wash. ST
11-@WSU, Miami (o)
12-@Air Force, Colorado
13-UNLV, @ Cal
14-@Miami(o), Oregon State
15-@Oregon State

 

[TCF=UnitedWeStand]

not much better about college football than the USC song girls.

 

[Go Gophers Rah]

I am all for it (assuming we play a home and away). I think we have just as much a shot against USC as the average teams on their schedule (I don't think Stanford or Oregon State are better programs than ours).

Just imagine TCF Bank Stadium on a beautiful September day, the Golden Gophers versus the Men of Troy. They will bring their band (which they have brought to every away game for quite a while now). Awesome. I can't wait.

 

[runner616]

Lately USC been taking one game off per year (i.e. losing to someone they should have beaten, ala '08 Oregon State, '07 Stanford, '06 UCLA). Maybe we'll be the team that USC doesn't take seriously enough, and we pull out a surprise W. Getting a home-and-home match up would be key to this deal. It's a great deal for the players, fans, and recruits.

 

[gopherguy05]

Brewster said he wants to schedule the big boys. Doesn't get much bigger than USC.
Here is the posted NC schedule to date.
09-Air Force, @Syracuse, Cal
10-@UNLV, Wash. ST
11-@WSU, Miami (o)
12-@Air Force, Colorado
13-UNLV, @ Cal
14-@Miami(o), Oregon State
15-@Oregon State

They do need to make a few edits to that. There were several articles out earlier in the fall that the @ Air Force game in 2012 was off because Air Force wanted to make thier schedule"easier" and schedule more I-AA teams. I also remember reading that due to that the @ UNLV game was moved back to 2012 instead of 2010.

 

[tjgopher]

And, before we get too worked up about getting killed by USC, we should take into account that by the time we play them that Pete Carroll might be the head coach of the NFL's Los Angeles Vikings and USC could have slipped back into their Ted Tollner days of mediocrity.

 

[alpinegopher]

I believe that the UNLV game was moved back til 2012 also, no game at Air Force. That would make 2010 an option for MN(at USC) but USC is full already. Doubt MN wants to play 2 away NC games if they can help it.

2013 should be at Colorado and not Cal

 

[dbaldrich1]

This Is A Win/Win for The Gophers

I want to say that "I can't believe the people on this board who have been hammering away at Brew & Co for having such a patsy schedule, and who are now complaining at the possibility of having USC on the schedule", but honestly, I CAN believe it. For whatever reason, there is a vocal minority around this program who will complain no matter what. If we play NDSU, BGSU, and Cal our NC schedule is too weak to prep for the Big 10. If we play Air Force, Cal and USC, then we'll be killing ourselves with a NC schedule that is too tough.

Now, while it's possible to choose to be a nay-sayer IF we end up with a home-and-home with USC, there's really no downside for the Gophers doing this.

As some have already stated, the major pros are as follows:

- We can use the games as part of the recruiting package, telling kids they'll have a chance to play against one of the best teams in the country.

- We'll get a boat load of $$$ for the program.

- We'll get a test against one of the best football teams around prior to Big 10 play, which should help the team be better prepared for the conference schedule.

- Even if we lose BIG, losing to USC will likely hurt us less in BCS standings because of the jump they give us in strength of schedule.

- If we win the game... well, let's not get too far ahead of ourselves in saying what a win against USC would do. Suffice it to say that it would likely be a BIG win.

Here is the one major possible con:

- If we lose BIG (say 63-14), we could be "embarrassed".

My answer to that is, USC beats the tar out of most teams they play. Here are their 2008 results:
at Virginia W 52-7
No. 5 Ohio State W 35-3
at Oregon State L 27-21
No. 23 Oregon W 44-10
Arizona State W 28-0
at Washington State W 69-0
at Arizona W 17-10
Washington W 56-0
No. 21 California W 17-3
at Stanford W 45-23
Notre Dame W 38-3
at UCLA W 28-7
No. 8 Penn State* W 38-24

Average margin of victory over the 13 games was 29.5 points, including beating two top 10 by a total of 46 points. Oregon St. and Arizona were the only close games all year. If the Gophers replaced Virginia, Ohio St. or Notre Dame on that schedule and lost by the same scores, I wouldn't be embarrassed. USC is probably the premiere college football program in the country... losing to best is not something to be embarassed about.

I hope that Maturi and Brew can make this happen. I'd love to see the 2010 Gophers competing against USC. It would be a great game, and a great opportunity for the program.

Go Gophers!!!

 

[norman dale]

Re: USC being scheduled

Gopherillustrated.com reported late Tuesday evening that the Gophers were in negotiations with USC to add the Trojans to the Minnesota schedule in a home-and-home series. No deal has been finalized, the website said, but if finished it would add USC to the schedule twice between 2010 and 2016.

From today's Strib


Their track record for breaking news has been less than stellar.

 

[m1luby]

I'm surprised that both schools would agree to spoil that year's Rose Bowl by having the 2 squads lock horns twice in the same season.......

 

[Maximus]

From today's Strib


Their track record for breaking news has been less than stellar.

What do you mean? It would be awesome to see Lane Kiffin take on his mentor Pete Carroll....and to do it with Josh Heupel's offense. Fireworks.

 

[Monty519]

I love the idea of playing USC. I doubt it could be any worse than 55-0, so I say bring it on. Plus, whether even the most cynical of posters will admit it or not, this team is on the rise, and the talent coming in is better than it has been in forever. This team will have the horses to at the very least be competitive with the best teams in the nation in two or three years. Whether you believe Brewster is the coach to take us to that New Year's Day bowl type level or not, the TALENT will be there. If it comes to the point where we need to bring in a new coach because we're not accomplishing what we want, the TALENT will still be there to win.

 

[denguegopher]

Song Girls

Me and Snoop Dog will be enjoying that sha-dizzle!

Yes, I went to a BYU / USC game at the Coliseum a few years ago (Dominick Byrd's frosh year). I found myself trained on these chicks with my binocs for most of the game. Couldn't help myself.