What happens if...

[spermophilus]

This scenario is 100% possible as 5 of those 6 teams are nothing special. We could lose to any of them but if we play well we could also beat any of them outside of Ohio State.

-Iowa's offense is pathetic (lot of complaining about our offense but theirs is so much worse). Don't let their special teams or defense beat you (easier said then done some times)
-Michigan State is a mess
-Illinois is a mess
-Purdue is a mess
-Ohio State is very good and would take a perfect game with a lot of breaks to beat them
-Wisconsin is ok but is nothing special

Honestly the gap between the haves and have nots in the Big Ten this year is as extreme as it has been in a long time.

Michigan is the class of the conference and a legit National Title Contender
Ohio State and Penn State are really good
Maryland is Decent

Everyone else is very mediocre and anyone in this group can beat anyone else in this group. Just depends on which team shows up and makes the fewest mistakes.

Northwestern was one of the messiest of messes, when we went to Evanston. I am hoping your referenced scenario comes to pass, but honestly, we’re well into “messy” territory ourselves.

 

[MNVCGUY]

Northwestern was one of the messiest of messes, when we went to Evanston. I am hoping your referenced scenario comes to pass, but honestly, we’re well into “messy” territory ourselves.

Yep....we are right in the muck with the rest of them which is why I started with we could beat or lose to any of the 5 not named Ohio State.

Big Ten is always top heavy but this year the split between the top couple and the rest looks really extreme.

Whoever comes out on top of the West looks likely to get obliterated in the title game, most likely against Michigan.

 

[metrolax]

Bye week came along at just the right time. Still, for an obvious rebuilding year, I'd take 6-6 and a bowl win, but I think they'll get their legs under them somewhat.

 

[FanSinceTheFifties]

Most winning coach for the Gophers since I was born 53 years ago and he has grown the fan base and national attention with his RTB brand whether one likes it or not. He runs a good program with no scandals and he’s locking down our boarder with a good recruiting class coming in. He has earned the right to continue as coach through a rough season or two as far as I’m concerned.

And it's unlikely we can hire a better coach.

 

[Mr. 131]

The Flecktites will carry PJ Fleck on their shoulders to the College Football Hall of Fame and regardless of the first half of this season continue to believe he isn't the same coach that shit the bed against Northwestern, Purdue, and Bowling Green the past three years. Then spend the rest of the many long years ahead of us with PJ Fleck as our coach praying we crack the top half of the B1G.

Next year, 6 of the top ten teams in the country this week are in the B1G. If we were playing in the B1G East, we wouldn't remember the Fleck years anywhere near how Fleck keeps trying to spin his "accomplishments."

We played a real, live, top tier football team last night. For all of the people who have been convinced that PJ Fleck has changed anything in Minnesota, last night was a reminder that, nothing has changed. We played a real offense again this year, and our record against real offenses is.... 0-2, being outscored 83-23. The good news is we don't play another strong offense this year. tOSU is a good offense, but is not on par with Michigan or NC. They'll most likely hang between 30-50 points on us simply because we'll wear down in the second half.

I vote we play the games, but I for one hope we aren't "treated" to round two of the absolute whooping we were handed last night.

Regardless of our collective frustration, he is the winningest coach in decades. You may not like the current ceiling of the program, but there is no arguing with numbers.

This post doesn't mean I am happy or that I don't want more.

I am not one that thinks we can't get a better coach, we absolutely can. I am also not one that thinks PJ should be on a short leash yet. 90% of our fanbase isn't willing to accept NIL reality, we have an AD that seems unable to get corporate dollars, and we have a brand still reeling from decades of relegation. Fleck absolutely has a long ways to go, but you don't have to be a Fleckarian to acknowledge that the best big ten record in decades IS an accomplishment.

 

[Replacement Gopher]

Iowa (W), Michigan State (W), Illinois (W), Purdue (W), OSU (L), Wisconsin (W)????

Then I’ll eat crow and say I was wrong and he delivered a breakthrough year.

 

[MplsGopher]

Why would 8-4 be a breakthrough?

Other than the NW game, I think a lot of people had @UNC, Mich, and @OSU as losses, and we usually lose at least one to Wisc or Iowa.

Basically would be trading beating both Wisc and Iowa in the same year for one boneheaded loss.

 

[SeaBee_Gopher]

Six wins, seven would be great, given that AK was 4 of 14 for 17 yards, plus the 35 yard TD toss to Jackson, and two of his passes were pick sixes to Michigan. Year after year, the Gophers just can't get a decent, reliable passing game going.

Hey, shouldn't those two pick sixes count as completions, touchdowns and yardage for AK? How would his stats look then?