You know, I think that Coach Kill is saying exactly what he is thinking....
and seeing about the current and present state of Golden Gopher Football. This is an absolute rebuild job. What the heck is wrong with that? I think that sounds like a pretty fair, honest and sincere evaluation of how we are, why we have been the way we have been and what the immediate future holds for us.
I don't care much about the non-conference games. The Gophers just very well could go 3-1 in the non-confrence portion of the schedule. Or maybe not quite that well. It's always hard to find much out in the ooc games. It will be the Big Ten portion of the schedule that will tell us exactly where this program deserves to be ranked in the Big Ten Conference. It will be the total number of Big Ten wins minus the total number of Big Ten losses that will show us where we are.
We are NOT like a military unit that has superior weapons and supply systems and all the advantages. In fact, our team in Big Ten play will be going up against bigger, faster, stronger, more experienced, more athletic teams with more big play capabilities and more shut-down defensive units.
I think Coach KIll realizes that very well. I don't think some of our fans "get that" at all. You would think they would have learned by now, but, I fear they have not.
Forget about the WWII talk. Those big old battles where you have the chance to train hard and go in and win it all just don't seem to happen any more. It's hit and run...here and there...win by hanging on and keeping the battle going one year...three years...ten years. All this talk about giving 'em 6 months and then invading Ohio Stadium or the Big House or even Camp in badger joel maturi land and taking it to them on their own turf...taking no prisoners...just doesn't cut it for the first year of The Kill Tenure here at Minnesota...maybe even longer. Even defending the home turf against some teams is going to be hard in 2011.
The old "basic training" analogy just doesn't cut it when you look at modern era warfare. Even with far superior weapons, supply systems, training, etc. you just don't go out and kick butt and take names and end it NOW. Why are the modern era "conflicts" usually not even called wars any more. WWII was a different animal than Korea...Viet Nam...Iraq...Afghanistan...and the next one and the one after that.
It's going to take us a LOT longer than 6 months of basic training to make a run for a Big Ten Title. It's going to take a while to "arrive" solidly in the middle to upper middle territory of the Big Ten, I fear. But, I like an honest coach who is truthful and actually does have a plan. It will certianly beat the past four seasons. Good luck Coach Kill. Some of us actually can take the truth and appreciate the truth. Just recruit character, teach them discipline, play sound, hard-nosed football and coach 'em up. Devise good game plans. Recruit players who actually do want to graduate and get a degree in addition to playing football and given some time, I think Gopher Football will be a good, solid brand of Big Ten Football that we can all be proud of and can enjoy cheering for.
But, 6 months of "basic training" just doesn't get the job done any longer. In fact, I don't think it ever did. Just look at the Murray Warmath history and the early years leading up to his NC. Wes Fessler left him a pretty darn good base, and he did well his first couple of years. Then it was TOUGH going...no 6 month basic stuff in 1958 and 1959. But, then there was a little piece of glory for a few years. IF the 6 months of basic was all there was to it...Murray would have won a lot more Big Ten Championships and Rose bowl games...and they never would have run him out of his job. Bierman either. This 6 month talk is just too much talk as far as I am concerned.
