Win with biggest impact on recruiting?

[upnorthkid]

With all the talk on recruiting and how Coach Kill is doing, I thought this was an interesting question. Simply, what team, if they beat this year, will give the biggest boost to Kill in attempting to recruit players? Personally I'm going to go with Michigan. Its at home and if they have recruits brought in for that game it could be huge for them to witness a moment like that. I also think it helps for the long term since Michigan is looked at a name-brand team in the Big Ten. What do you guys think?

 

[SelectionSunday]

I voted Wisconsin. By and large the Gophers aren't going to get kids Michigan State and Michigan are after. Don't think that's necessarily the case with Wisconsin. If the Gophers manage to make the series with Wisconsin competitive, perhaps they'll start getting some of those kids the Badgers have been getting for years, most notably the truly good ones within our own state.

 

[dpodoll68]

Wisconsin far and away #1, Iowa a distant #2 - the rest won't make any appreciable difference in recruiting.

 

[upnorthkid]

I voted Wisconsin. By and large the Gophers aren't going to get kids Michigan State and Michigan are after. Don't think that's necessarily the case with Wisconsin. If the Gophers manage to make the series with Wisconsin competitive, perhaps they'll start getting some of those kids the Badgers have been getting for years, most notably those within our own state.

The main reason I went with Michigan is simply for the sake of location. Since the Gophers play Michigan at home, I thought that it would have a more resonating impact since more recruits will be at the game for us, more fans excited, etc. If it were both games at home, I would go Wisconsin though so I do agree with the point you are making.

 

[Wouldn't You like to Know]

Wisconsin! Because of the immediate impact on recruiting. If we can somehow become as competitive as Wisconsin has been recently then I don't see any reason why we shouldn't be able to land a recruit or two that would have otherwise went to Michigan or Michigan State but as Dpo stated it won't make an appreciable difference. Obviously, to steal a recruit or two we will need to become consistently competitive over a number of years.

 

[scools12]

Wisconsin - this is the school (along with Iowa) that the U will be competing with the most often for recruits

 

[Killjoy]

I agree that for kids from this area beating Wisconsin would be more meaningful but I suspect that beating Michigan may be more meaningful for kids from Florida, Texas and other states outside the Midwest.

 

[dpodoll68]

I agree that for kids from this area beating Wisconsin would be more meaningful but I suspect that beating Michigan may be more meaningful for kids from Florida, Texas and other states outside the Midwest.

I frankly don't care all that much about what's most meaningful to the kids themselves. I care what's most meaningful to the program and its future. We can (and have and will again) out-recruit Wisconsin and Iowa, but we have almost never out-recruited Michigan (and likely never will again), probably not even when we were a national power in the 30s and 40s.

 

[everybody knows my name]

Who cares about the head-to-head recruiting battle? I'm more interested in coach Kill getting the recruits he wants than the recruits that Bert Bienema or Brady Hoke wants.

The question was which win would have the biggest impact on recruiting, and there's absolutely no doubt in my mind that beating Michigan is a bigger deal than beating Wisconsin. Michigan is a brand-name program and beating them this year would really signify something. Bringing the Little Brown Jug home would mean twice as much as the axe. It would signal to recruits that the future won't be like that past.

 

[dpodoll68]

Who cares about the head-to-head recruiting battle? I'm more interested in coach Kill getting the recruits he wants than the recruits that Bert Bienema or Brady Hoke wants.

The two are inexorably linked. The recruits(not all, but the overwhelming majority) that Kill truly wants (and that every coach wants) are the guys who are wanted by Brady Hoke and Urban Meyer. Kill cannot get the guys that he truly wants unless he's beating out Michigan and OSU (and similar schools) for them. We will never consistenly beat Michigan in head-to-head recruiting battles. We can, have, and will with both Iowa and Wisconsin.

It would signal to recruits that the future won't be like that past.

How does beating Wisconsin not do this? Wisconsin is actually our rival, something that Michigan hasn't honestly been for decades. We lead the head-to-head series with Wisconsin. Michigan has owned us, with the brief exception of when we were one of the best teams in the country.

 

[dpodoll68]

I don't think people truly appreciate how insignificant we have been for the most part in the Michigan/Minnesota "rivalry". If you remove 1934-1942 from the equation (when Gopher football was at its absolute apex and we were as good of a program as any college football program has ever been, and we beat Michigan 9 straight times), our series record against them is 15-71-3, including a truly pathetic 7-32-2 at home. It took a truly historic and legendary run to make it somewhat-less embarrassing (though still embarrassing nonetheless). Beating Wisconsin once is perhaps a harbinger that the tide in the rivalry is turning. Beating Michigan once is most likely a blip on the radar. Wisconsin crows and puffs their chest about beating us 8 straight times. Michigan once beat us 16 straight times and went 33-2 against us between 1968 and 2004.

 

[Wouldn't You like to Know]

I don't think people truly appreciate how insignificant we have been for the most part in the Michigan/Minnesota "rivalry". If you remove 1934-1942 from the equation (when Gopher football was at its absolute apex and we were as good of a program as any college football program has ever been, and we beat Michigan 9 straight times), our series record against them is 15-71-3, including a truly pathetic 7-32-2 at home. It took a truly historic and legendary run to make it somewhat-less embarrassing (though still embarrassing nonetheless). Beating Wisconsin once is perhaps a harbinger that the tide in the rivalry is turning. Beating Michigan once is most likely a blip on the radar. Wisconsin crows and puffs their chest about beating us 8 straight times. Michigan once beat us 16 straight times and went 33-2 against us between 1968 and 2004.

Nice Stat! God that is sad.

 

[mplsbadger]

I'd add that it depends at least in part on their records and what happens earlier in the season. If the Gophers beat an 11-0 MSU squad that is ranked #2 at the end of the season that would be on ESPN for a week. Now if they beat an 11-0 MSU after beating first Wisconsin then Michigan...

 

[GopherInPittsburgh]

I'd add that it depends at least in part on their records and what happens earlier in the season. If the Gophers beat an 11-0 MSU squad that is ranked #2 at the end of the season that would be on ESPN for a week. Now if they beat an 11-0 MSU after beating first Wisconsin then Michigan...

If that happened, I would do this...

 

[Purple Gator]

I think Michigan, however Wisconsin would be a great win to have.

 

[Off-GridTNgopher]

i voted mich.. just because they are the more elite program in the eyes ofmost people... however wisc is a close 2nd due tothe fact that they are our rival..

 

[everybody knows my name]

I don't think people truly appreciate how insignificant we have been for the most part in the Michigan/Minnesota "rivalry". If you remove 1934-1942 from the equation (when Gopher football was at its absolute apex and we were as good of a program as any college football program has ever been, and we beat Michigan 9 straight times), our series record against them is 15-71-3, including a truly pathetic 7-32-2 at home. It took a truly historic and legendary run to make it somewhat-less embarrassing (though still embarrassing nonetheless). Beating Wisconsin once is perhaps a harbinger that the tide in the rivalry is turning. Beating Michigan once is most likely a blip on the radar. Wisconsin crows and puffs their chest about beating us 8 straight times. Michigan once beat us 16 straight times and went 33-2 against us between 1968 and 2004.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm sure aware of how badly we've stunk against Michigan and for how long. That makes me hate Michigan even more.

BTW, and totally off topic, it always makes me smile when people make the argument that "if you take away the evidence that doesn't support my conclusion, my conclusion is much more convincing." I'm not sure that's really an effective debating technique.

 

[FreakyDeke]

I picked Michigan because they are in our division and a win against them helps our chances of winning the Legends and getting a rematch against Wisconsin in the BTCG. THEN we beat WI! Plus, Jug victories are very rare and Michigan is a bigger deal. It would pain me to have a winless decade against the skunks, though...

 

[denguegopher]

Had Ohio St been on our schedule I would have selected them, That 7-43 record against them is hideous. But I'll go with Michigan, hate them. I did not realize that we still have a winning record vs Nebraska and will for a few more years. http://www.gophersportsguides.com/page/show/358807-all-time-opponents

 

[SaintLouisGopher]

I voted Michigan. They are expected to do very well this year, I believe they are picked ahead of the other two by most experts. Also their brand recognition nationally is much better. A win over them would provide more shock value and create more buzz in the national media.

 

[RodentRampage]

I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm sure aware of how badly we've stunk against Michigan and for how long. That makes me hate Michigan even more.

BTW, and totally off topic, it always makes me smile when people make the argument that "if you take away the evidence that doesn't support my conclusion, my conclusion is much more convincing." I'm not sure that's really an effective debating technique.

It's not ingoring evidence that doesn't support the conclusion. Minnesota had a great run against Michigan in the 30's and 40's. But the events of 70 years ago doen't have much to do with today. The Gophers did well against Michigan in the 60's, but the Gophers have only beating Michigan 3 times since 1967. That's not ignoring evidence, it's putting it in context.

Back on topic, I think our non-conference schedule may impact recruiting the most. The Gophers need to show that they can beat teams they are supposed to. I think that will reestablish the confidence recruits have in the program.

 

[MrGopher]

I put the wisconsin game. Michigan would be huge, yes, but like others have said, we are more in direct competition for recruits with wisconsin than we are with Michigan.

I also want to just throw out there that a win in Iowa City could, sneakily be as valuable as a win over Michigan. Putting down Iowa for a third year, and on their turf, no less, would signal a meaningful momentum swing in the regional hierarchy: Iowa would definitely be on the downswing and we would definitely be on the ups.

A win in Madison, or home against Michigan would simply be seen as little Minnesota sniping a better team. Until we've proven to beat Iowa regularly, only then can we call any wins against wisky meaningful, in a long-term sense.

But still, we need to stop the bleeding when it comes to the wisconsin series - a win, even a sniped, contrived, downright lucky win would do wonders for the program.