Why won't we get to 7-1?

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Sudsy Gopher

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I was going through the schedule with a friend earlier today and after taking a look game by game someone please convince me that we aren't going to start this year 7-1.

Northwestern: Just beat Wisconsin by 6 points at home, but only because Stave/McEvoy threw 4 INTs. And even after forcing four turnovers, NW only managed 20 points. One of their TD "drives" was 16 yards. Defensively, NW allowed 7.7 (!!!) yards per carry. Pound the rock all day, mix in a few simple play action passes, and we should be able to win the game.

Purdue: Lost to Central Michigan (who has since lost to Kansas and Toledo...) at home by TWENTY POINTS. With a pumped up crowd/team for Homecoming I would say this game is loser-proof, barring 4-5 TOs.

Illinois: Lost at home to the terrible Boilermaker team mentioned above. Starting QB out 4-6 weeks. 25 point underdogs this week to the Badgers. Like the Purdue game, I'd say this game is (almost) loser-proof.

So that put's us at 7-1 rolling into a home game vs. a down Iowa team. Two years in a row the Gophers have started 4-0, then had dreams crushed by losing to average Iowa teams. Stakes will be even bigger this year, but at home with four straight wins under the belt I think the Gophs can do it.

A 7-1 start has happened twice SINCE 1961 ('02 and '08, 1967 Big Ten champs started 6-2), and I think this is the year for it to happen again.

Someone convince me otherwise.
 

***Someone talk some sense into me: I can't seem to correctly title forum posts with out looking like a drunken idiot***
 


Since the Gopher Hole Police haven't yet stopped by to ring your neck i'll just chime in for them. Do not look past this weeks game. Take it one week at a time. Even though what you post here as a fan has no bearing on what the team will do on the field, you can't speculate, predict, or even talk about anything other than the next game.
 



Ummmmmmm

Sudsy Gopher said:
***Someone talk some sense into me: I can't seem to correctly title forum posts with out looking like a drunken idiot***
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Very curious why you stopped at 7 and 1? We beat Iowa and we are 8 and 1. That is better. So, please gather some sense and go all in at 8 and 1 or don't bring that weak stuff in here.

But I gotta tell ya...if we don't take care of jNW...it can't happen.
 

I think we need to stay focused on Northwestern.
 






Sudsy Gopher said:
I was going through the schedule with a friend earlier today and after taking a look game by game someone please convince me that we aren't going to start this year 7-1.

Northwestern: Just beat Wisconsin by 6 points at home, but only because Stave/McEvoy threw 4 INTs. And even after forcing four turnovers, NW only managed 20 points. One of their TD "drives" was 16 yards. Defensively, NW allowed 7.7 (!!!) yards per carry. Pound the rock all day, mix in a few simple play action passes, and we should be able to win the game.

Purdue: Lost to Central Michigan (who has since lost to Kansas and Toledo...) at home by TWENTY POINTS. With a pumped up crowd/team for Homecoming I would say this game is loser-proof, barring 4-5 TOs.

Illinois: Lost at home to the terrible Boilermaker team mentioned above. Starting QB out 4-6 weeks. 25 point underdogs this week to the Badgers. Like the Purdue game, I'd say this game is (almost) loser-proof.

So that put's us at 7-1 rolling into a home game vs. a down Iowa team. Two years in a row the Gophers have started 4-0, then had dreams crushed by losing to average Iowa teams. Stakes will be even bigger this year, but at home with four straight wins under the belt I think the Gophs can do it.

A 7-1 start has happened twice SINCE 1961 ('02 and '08, 1967 Big Ten champs started 6-2), and I think this is the year for it to happen again.

Someone convince me otherwise.
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The Gophers can and should be 7-1 at the end of this next stretch as all 3 games are very winnable. But as we have seen around the country there is a lot of parity in college football and pretty much anyone can beat anyone on a given weekend. We will be favored in all three and two of them are against bottom feeders in the Big Ten this season in Purdue and Illinois. The toughest one should be Saturday against Northwestern (probably our second toughest test of the season), if the Gophers win that one the odds of starting 7-1 go though the roof.

Looking at our schedule to date we are where we should be for a team that is hopefully moving in the right direction. We won the three creampuff non-conf games and lost of a very good TCU team on the road (no shame in that). Then we manhandled a bad Michigan squad at their place. If we play the way we are capable of we should be sitting at 7-1 heading into a key matchup with Iowa.
 

I think we can be 7-1 and even 8-1. Everything has to go well for us.

Having said that, I've been a Gopher fan for 40 years and I've learned one thing: you can never, ever, say "loser-proof" about any Gopher football game.
 

Why stop at 7-1? We should be 8-1 going into the final 3. However, we know that there is a lot of factors into that happening.

I'm not a fan of saying we lost to TCU or Wis lost to NW because of the interceptions/turnovers. The defense has something to do with that. Northwestern is the best team we will play in the next four games. They are on a impressive roll right now.
 



MaxyJR1 said:
Why stop at 7-1? We should be 8-1 going into the final 3. However, we know that there is a lot of factors into that happening.

I'm not a fan of saying we lost to TCU or Wis lost to NW because of the interceptions/turnovers. The defense has something to do with that. Northwestern is the best team we will play in the next four games. They are on a impressive roll right now.
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Exactly, I fail to see why people think we should just roll over Northwestern. They have been a good team most years for about 15-20 years now and even when they are having a down year, they knock off a good team here or there. After a slow start, they appear to be clicking. They are well coached and have some good athletes on both sides of the ball. I thought their D played a great game against Wisconsin, limiting Gordon to a few long runs (but none broken for TDs) and defending the pass well. I don't think we are in a position yet to feel that either our passing game or our running game are superior to Wisconsin's, even given their QB struggles. Saturday's game will be decided in the 4th quarter IMHO.
 

I love how Glen Mason was trying to get the rest of the crew to speculate on BTN Live on what happens if the Gophers run the table the rest of this year and the rest of the crew wouldn't even talk about it...one game at a time we need to prove the doubters wrong!!!
 


One brick at a time, Baby....
 

Those other teams have 80+ scholarship players too, a number of whom were recruited by us as well. We don't do anything dominant offensively meaning there's always a possibility that the offense could stall out and keep any opponent in a game which means 1 or 2 big plays can swing a game. Defense is excellent but if your offense isn't scoring or is turning the ball over one coverage breakdown or DB slipping or missed tackle can kill you.
 

Color me superstitious, but I don't like tempting fate. I honestly think the NW game is vitally important. A win in this game, and the Gophs do have the potential to go into the Iowa game at 7-1, with a (hopefully) fired-up fan base - but a loss to NW and all the nay-sayers will re-emerge.

I've seen too many times over the years where the Gophs were coming off a big win, and fell flat on their butts the next week. I will be biting my nails and swearing at the TV set all game - I don't care if the Gophs have a 20 pt lead in the 4th quarter - I don't relax until the game is over.
 


year of the gopher said:
Exactly, I fail to see why people think we should just roll over Northwestern. They have been a good team most years for about 15-20 years now and even when they are having a down year, they knock off a good team here or there. After a slow start, they appear to be clicking. They are well coached and have some good athletes on both sides of the ball. I thought their D played a great game against Wisconsin, limiting Gordon to a few long runs (but none broken for TDs) and defending the pass well. I don't think we are in a position yet to feel that either our passing game or our running game are superior to Wisconsin's, even given their QB struggles. Saturday's game will be decided in the 4th quarter IMHO.
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Agree with what has been said above and that it will be a close game, but we have two key factors going for us IMO: the strength of our run game and the fact that the game is at home. I don't forsee Limegrover/Kill departing too far from a gameplan centered on pounding the rock. We will put Leidner in a position to make simple decisions and design passing plays that center on one or two potential targets. And if we keep pounding the rock we should be able to wear down their defense and move the ball down the field.

And like has been mentioned in other threads, looks like there will be 50,000+ people there on Saturday (if not a sell-out). Assuming the game is close into the second half, which it should be, this will work in our favor and may be what pushes us over the top.

Barring 2-3 TOs (which is definitely possible) or a key injury I will be extremely disappointed with a loss and expect a victory Saturday.
 

I wish

McGopherFan said:
I was busy planning for a trip to Indy.
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Poking a bit of fun at myself. Trying to keep my mind off waiting to hear from my wife's surgeon about when she can have her surgery.
I'm too old, and she is too young for this crap.
 

Sudsy Gopher said:
***Someone talk some sense into me: I can't seem to correctly title forum posts with out looking like a drunken idiot***
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LOL; Sudsy Gopher can relate to that line of thinking after the ingestion of various things
 

McGopherFan said:
Poking a bit of fun at myself. Trying to keep my mind off waiting to hear from my wife's surgeon about when she can have her surgery.
I'm too old, and she is too young for this crap.
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My prayers are with you sir. Be strong!
 

Thank you!

She should be alert enough to cheer on the Gophers Saturday morning - recovering from her three bypass open heart surgery.

60's Guy said:
My prayers are with you sir. Be strong!
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short ornery norwegian said:
Color me superstitious, but I don't like tempting fate. I honestly think the NW game is vitally important. A win in this game, and the Gophs do have the potential to go into the Iowa game at 7-1, with a (hopefully) fired-up fan base - but a loss to NW and all the nay-sayers will re-emerge.

I've seen too many times over the years where the Gophs were coming off a big win, and fell flat on their butts the next week. I will be biting my nails and swearing at the TV set all game - I don't care if the Gophs have a 20 pt lead in the 4th quarter - I don't relax until the game is over.
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Yep. I like this approach. One game at a time.
 

Now I'm terrified. I literally just had that age-old Gopher-fan moment of being afraid of expectations, as it seems others are experiencing as well.

For about the 10th time this week I read something about how this game is the game of the week in the B1G, how the winner will be a contender, and it hit me that we've been in this situation many times before and seemingly never (or at the least, very rarely) have come out on top. Being a Gopher fan is a weird thing sometimes.
 

vagopher said:
I think we need to stay focused on Northwestern.
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Thank you for showing some connection to reality. If we beat NW, that kind of talk is at least reasonable, but this game is basically a push. Assuming we win is silly. I don't think znyone has beaten us more when the teams are even or we are better. Especially at home
 

I am waiting for #BrickbyBrick to come out today. I hear they are going to diagram how the College Game Day stage will be set up in front of Northrup for when the 8-1 Gophers play Ohio St.
 

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