Would a win against Auburn be bigger than the Penn St. win?

Would a win against Auburn be bigger than the Penn St. win?

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I admit my bias based on geography. But living in SEC country, very few people in my social circle would know that we beat Penn State. If we beat Auburn, that would turn some heads. For that reason, I voted yes.
 

Considering the SEC is widely considered the most dominant conference, I think it would be bigger. I also think Auburn is really a top 5 team. They lost to LSU by 3 pts in Baton Rouge and they beat Alabama and Oregon.
 

fmlizard said:
From a brutal logic perspective, I guess. Maybe.

Emotionally it's not even close to true. A win vs. Auburn tomorrow and it's 8 months of us super psyched about the clear best season in most of our lives. Many new season tickets are sold. Our seniors last memory is super positive. The hype boat is rowing at Prefontaine Pace into 2020. Coaches can walk around the South and the Midwest on recruiting visits and beat their chests a bit about taking down mighty Auburn. The nationally maligned B1G West taking down the SEC West.

There's a fair chance 9-3 Minnesota (loss to GaSo) would have gotten this game anyway, and we would still be super hyped and have long forgotten that hiccup in September after going to 10-3 with a win over Auburn.
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If losing to Auburn tomorrow impacts the way you view next year, not sure what to tell you
Same with winning.

We are what we are
 


No but this is one of our top 4 biggest games of the year, maybe even top 3 along with PSU, Wisconsin and Iowa.

In fact I think you can argue this game is bigger than Iowa as it has more buildup, there are fewer other games going on at the time and more eyes on this game, and IMO beating a top 15 SEC team in Auburn would do more to change the national perception of the program than beating Iowa would have.
 


Auburn
National stage, good SEC team that beat AL, better for recruiting, no national commentators give MN a chance.
PSU win in the average sports fan's mind is a distant memory that the losses to IA and WI tainted.
 

No. The Penn State game was a launching pad for this team. Two undefeated teams with a lot of build-up leading to the game. Got us into the top-ten for the first time since....? Minnesota was given tons of love prior to....and after the game.

A lot of websites have the Outback Bowl ranked as one of the best games of the bowl season....but the focus has been on the bigger games. I've seen very little analysis on ESPN for the game....especially since the Rose Bowl and the Sugar Bowl are both today as well. Not to mention the Citrus Bowl at the same time.
 

The PSU game is in the past, we must be only concerned with our next opponent. Today, that is Auburn. A win against Auburn gives us national credibility in that many around the country aren't that impressed with PSU. Knock off a legit sec foe and hold our heads high!
 

Great win.
Maybe the second biggest win In my gopher watching.

second biggest win this year
 



No. The PSU win got us a top 10 ranking, got the casual MN sports fan paying attention and brought heaps of national and press. They mostly tuned out after the Wisconsin game. Beating Auburn will briefly get their attention again but it will be on to the Vikings by Sunday. It is the biggest Bowl win since the last Rose Bowl. Short of a Rose Bowl or CFP win, no Bowl game would outrank the PSU game.
 

It's 50-50 for me. We don't get to this game without the Penn State win, and I also think Penn State was a better team.

But this game had bigger visibility and will do more for recruiting in the south IMO.
 





die hard gopher said:
No but this is one of our top 4 biggest games of the year, maybe even top 3 along with PSU, Wisconsin and Iowa.

In fact I think you can argue this game is bigger than Iowa as it has more buildup, there are fewer other games going on at the time and more eyes on this game, and IMO beating a top 15 SEC team in Auburn would do more to change the national perception of the program than beating Iowa would have.
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This
 

I am on the Outback Bowl win.

Larger National Audience.
Auburn being as large of a fan base as Penn State.
Gophers put up 31 points on an Auburn defense that only allowed 23 points to LSU.
 

This will payout in recruiting dividends more than people realize.

that being said, the combination of the two wins is what is really remarkable. Let’s not pretend that we have to chose, since this season resulted in victories over both.

the season was not perfect, but it is Probably the best season in the last 60 years of Gopher football, if not the last 100.
 


mnsportsgeek said:
It's 50-50 for me. We don't get to this game without the Penn State win, and I also think Penn State was a better team.

But this game had bigger visibility and will do more for recruiting in the south IMO.
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I think the Penn State game was bigger because it was in the Big 10 and at home. Our fan base got to experience Big 10 college football and it was just a remarkably special day for me as a fan.

That said, I think Auburn is a better team. I have little doubt they would have been favored against Penn State if they played today.
 


I’m very excited about this win, but at the time, that PSU win was the biggest thing that could have happened to the program. This win is great for the program, but not at that level. The PSu win gave the team a full field of fans, created thousands more, added many to the bandwagon , gave us GameDay, gained national respect from the sports media, shut up naysayers, and was the program-changer that the Michigan game would have been in 2003. This Auburn win is great, but won’t have the same magnitude of impact.
 

Penn St. bigger but I'm revising it from 2.5 times bigger to 1.4X
 

A bigger win today as the guys dominated Auburn. Especially in the trenches. The PSU game was huge but I give the Auburn W the nod
 


GridironGus said:
As much as I wanted to be in Pasadena RIGHT NOW, beating Auburn is WAY BIGGER than beating Oregon would have been.
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Oh, come on now. The only thing that would be bigger for this program than winning the Rose Bowl is winning a National Championship.
 

There is an air of superiority giving the SEC mystique. I was at PSU and it was awesome, but I will always remember that we beat Auburn, a premier SEC team.
 

Auburn Victory. Means more to the program as it was a New Years day victory over a team everyone thought was superior. I was there in '77 when Gophers took done #1 Michigan 16-0, maybe the closest win to the PSU game. That was a huge victory for the program and sure we went to the HOF bowl against Maryland but was defeated. I don't remember the score but I think it was a close low scoring game.

Ski-U-Mah!
 

I'm giving the nod to PSU. Without the PSU win the Auburn match up doesn't happen. "Remember, remember, the 9th of November..."
 
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Yesterday, I voted for Penn State, and I still think that win was bigger because of the hype surrounding the game. However, to go to the heart of SEC country, on Jan 1, and dominate a very good Auburn team might have a greater effect on recruiting that part of the country.
 

My head says the PSU win is probably more important as far as the B1G is concerned.

But in terms of national perception, beating an SEC Team in a New Year's Day bowl game on National television - when a bigger percentage of football fans are tuned in - may be more important in the long run.

Before Auburn, people questioned whether the Gophers could play with one of those SEC power-houses. And the Gophers went out and answered that question.

The final memory people will have of Gopher FB for 8 months is watching them beat an SEC team. That matters - especially in certain key recruiting areas. If you are a hot-shot HS WR or RB, and you watched that game today, and the Gophers come recruiting, you're going to listen.

A win like this could see the Gophs move up to a top-25 recruiting class next year. That is the real goal if you want the Gophers to become a top-15 type team on a regular basis.
 

GopherBulldog said:
I admit my bias based on geography. But living in SEC country, very few people in my social circle would know that we beat Penn State. If we beat Auburn, that would turn some heads. For that reason, I voted yes.
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If the heads turned are attached to HS athletes and coaches, then this is a huge game. Hard not to be impressed and energized watching the Gophers in this game.
 

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