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WolfontheProwl

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I have been talking a great deal about the Gopher season to a couple of my good friends. Both think the Gophers should have turned down the bowl bid because the team did not earn the trip. I am on a different argument because I think the bowl system has gotten old and needs to be changed in general because it doesn't mean much anymore. I think the Gophers would be crazy for not going. My question is this....What is better the Gophers go to a Bowl game and beat Central Michigan and finish the season 6-7 or the Gophers go 6-6 in the regular season and lose to a ANY TEAM and go 6-7.
 

6-6

WolfontheProwl said:
I have been talking a great deal about the Gopher season to a couple of my good friends. Both think the Gophers should have turned down the bowl bid because the team did not earn the trip. I am on a different argument because I think the bowl system has gotten old and needs to be changed in general because it doesn't mean much anymore. I think the Gophers would be crazy for not going. My question is this....What is better the Gophers go to a Bowl game and beat Central Michigan and finish the season 6-7 or the Gophers go 6-6 in the regular season and lose to a ANY TEAM and go 6-7.
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For this year, I would have rather gone 6-6 especially if the win was a Trophy game (Michigan, Iowa or Wisconsin). Any of the others would have been fine too and would have more marquee value then Cent Michigan.
 

WolfontheProwl said:
What is better the Gophers go to a Bowl game and beat Central Michigan and finish the season 6-7 or the Gophers go 6-6 in the regular season and lose to a ANY TEAM and go 6-7.
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We do not need an 8th straight bowl loss, so any win in a bowl game is a positive. That way people can stop talking about it for at least another 7 years.
 

WolfontheProwl said:
Both think the Gophers should have turned down the bowl bid because the team did not earn the trip.
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Your friends are under the silly misconception that bowl games are some type of reward for positive play.
 

I could care less. 6-7 is a bad season no matter how you look at it.
 


I will couch this in the softest way possible. Anyone who thinks the Gophers should have turned down the bowl bid is an idiot.

Sorry, I tried, but that is the best I can do.
 

Winnipegopher said:
I will couch this in the softest way possible. Anyone who thinks the Gophers should have turned down the bowl bid is an idiot.

Sorry, I tried, but that is the best I can do.
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Yep. End of discussion.
 


Going to the seniors and saying "naw...." seems pretty jerkish. Also you take every chance you can to help the team, even if it doesn't work out. Bowl game is more time with the players.

It's a trip for these kids, you take it, if your team does better in the coming years nobody will mention it again nobody will mention it.

If they do worse ... nobody will mention it.

So it doesn't matter.

Haters are going to do whatever either way.

Also I'm buying into the "they earned it academically" spin. I like that one.
 



WolfontheProwl said:
I have been talking a great deal about the Gopher season to a couple of my good friends. Both think the Gophers should have turned down the bowl bid because the team did not earn the trip. I am on a different argument because I think the bowl system has gotten old and needs to be changed in general because it doesn't mean much anymore. I think the Gophers would be crazy for not going. My question is this....What is better the Gophers go to a Bowl game and beat Central Michigan and finish the season 6-7 or the Gophers go 6-6 in the regular season and lose to a ANY TEAM and go 6-7.
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While neither scenario is great I think I would lean towards 6-6 regular season because that would have meant either beating TCU or another Big Ten team. Finishing 6-7 with a victory over CMU will mean half our wins will have come against the MAC.
 

Really, what is the difference in being 5-7, 6-6, 7-5? I wouldn't classify any of the records as a 'good season.' Obviously, if some of the wins are against Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, etc there may be a better taste in my mouth, but still wouldn't classify the season as a 'good season.'

We did not play an FCS team this year. One could argue if you take TCU off and replace them with directional school Missouri, Illinois, etc we would most likely have had six required wins. Does beating Eastern Illinois instead of losing to one of the top 15 teams in the country by six points mean we earned a trip to a bowl?

There are 80 bowl games. Is it too many? Yes it is, but we did not create 80 bowl games. Teams have to fill all the games. One could argue we earned our way by having strong enough grades and winning five games. Is it a reward? Call it whatever you want to call it.

Will I watch the game vs. Central Michigan? Of course. Was I far and away more excited for the Citrus Bowl last year? Heck yes. I would even say I am more excited for the playoffs or other 'big' bowl games than I am for the Quick Lane Bowl.
 

I would have taken the extra win over TCU, OSU, Michigan, or Iowa instead of a bowl

Not too many people are going to party over a win against Central Michigan
 

I would rather people realize the B1G requires us to accept the bid. There was no choice.
 



Some people are missing the point here. Wolf presented a choice between a 5-7 season with a WIN in the bowl game, or a 6-6 season with a LOSS in the bowl game. either way, the Gophers finish 6-7 - but under one scenario, they end the season with a victory. In the other scenario, they end the season with a loss.

I will take the win in the bowl game every day of the week and twice on Sunday. Even if it's a second-rate bowl game, it still counts as a win in a bowl game - something the Gophers have not done in a long time, and something the current Senior Class has never been able to experience.

I want to see the seniors walk off the field celebrating a victory in their final game wearing the Maroon and Gold. That, for me, trumps any other scenario which might have taken place during the regular season. The Gophers will have more chances to win trophy games. This year's senior class has only one more chance to win a bowl game. I say, give them that chance!
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Some people are missing the point here. Wolf presented a choice between a 5-7 season with a WIN in the bowl game, or a 6-6 season with a LOSS in the bowl game..
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If you insist, I'd take a 6-6 season with a regular season ending Gopher win over Wisconsin followed by a bowl game loss.

I think that would trump any Conference mandated bowl game win over a MAC team.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Some people are missing the point here. Wolf presented a choice between a 5-7 season with a WIN in the bowl game, or a 6-6 season with a LOSS in the bowl game. either way, the Gophers finish 6-7 - but under one scenario, they end the season with a victory. In the other scenario, they end the season with a loss.

I will take the win in the bowl game every day of the week and twice on Sunday. Even if it's a second-rate bowl game, it still counts as a win in a bowl game - something the Gophers have not done in a long time, and something the current Senior Class has never been able to experience.

I want to see the seniors walk off the field celebrating a victory in their final game wearing the Maroon and Gold. That, for me, trumps any other scenario which might have taken place during the regular season. The Gophers will have more chances to win trophy games. This year's senior class has only one more chance to win a bowl game. I say, give them that chance!
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I get the point of what you are saying about ending on a high note but I feel extremely confident saying that if given the choice every senior on the team would take a win in a trophy game over a win in a lower-tier bowl game. 40 years from now I can't picture their grandkids asking to hear the story about how they beat CMU in the Quick Lane bowl but had they had the opportunity to chop down those goalposts after beating Wisconsin you can bet they would love telling that story to the grandkids.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Some people are missing the point here. Wolf presented a choice between a 5-7 season with a WIN in the bowl game, or a 6-6 season with a LOSS in the bowl game. either way, the Gophers finish 6-7 - but under one scenario, they end the season with a victory. In the other scenario, they end the season with a loss.

I will take the win in the bowl game every day of the week and twice on Sunday. Even if it's a second-rate bowl game, it still counts as a win in a bowl game - something the Gophers have not done in a long time, and something the current Senior Class has never been able to experience.

I want to see the seniors walk off the field celebrating a victory in their final game wearing the Maroon and Gold. That, for me, trumps any other scenario which might have taken place during the regular season. The Gophers will have more chances to win trophy games. This year's senior class has only one more chance to win a bowl game. I say, give them that chance!
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Of course, winning a bowl game is better than losing it. But I don't understand the fascination some people on this board have with bowl wins. Kill received criticism from some for not winning a bowl game, for example. Now, I understand that a string of bowl losses isn't good and it will call into question a coach's ability to successfully use a month of game planning. And I'm tired of hearing we've lost xx bowl games in a row. I get that that part of it.

But it doesn't take into account reaching a better bowl game and playing better competition. I'd rather play on New Year's Day and lose than win five games, sneak into Detroit and win. One is a much better season than the other.

For the purposes of this thread, it's always better to win six games in the regular season rather than five.
 

Gophers played six teams in the final AP top 25 and should have won the Michigan game, plus they had one of the highest academic ratings in the nation, which opened the bowl game door. That's good enough for me. Never turn down a bowl, though this one may be a tough game to win.
 


Would you rather have the hiccups for the rest of your life or feel like you have to sneeze and not be able to for the rest of your life?
 

vagopher said:
It's about 15 more practices.
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It is also about money. There would be no bowls if it did not involve money. With the exception of the top 10 or 12 bowls that must be earned, the rest are what I call bar games. Bar games are games that fill up the TV's at bars. I think they could be called College football holiday series.
 

I would've rather gone 6-6 and suffered through another bowl loss, which likely would've been in San Francisco, a trip I was more than willing to make. But at this point, I'm done debating the worthiness of the Gophers going bowling. I'm more concerned about avoiding a 5-8 finish. CMU is no pushover.
 

Unregistered User said:
Would you rather have the hiccups for the rest of your life or feel like you have to sneeze and not be able to for the rest of your life?
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I am not sure, I had a kid in my CPA review course that had seemingly hiccups for the rest of his life. Neither one sounds pleasant.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

WolfontheProwl said:
What is better the Gophers go to a Bowl game and beat Central Michigan and finish the season 6-7 or the Gophers go 6-6 in the regular season and lose to a ANY TEAM and go 6-7.
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The bowl win option seems better to me because 1) this program hasn't won a bowl in some time and 2) winning the last game gives a more upbeat feeling at the end of the season. The football team had better than expected seasons in each of the last two years but those season ending bowl losses left a bit of a bad feeling.
 

The "Student" part of student athlete earned this bowl.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk
 

Hates Monikers said:
Of course, winning a bowl game is better than losing it. But I don't understand the fascination some people on this board have with bowl wins. Kill received criticism from some for not winning a bowl game, for example. Now, I understand that a string of bowl losses isn't good and it will call into question a coach's ability to successfully use a month of game planning. And I'm tired of hearing we've lost xx bowl games in a row. I get that that part of it.

For the purposes of this thread, it's always better to win six games in the regular season rather than five.
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It's a free country, and you're welcome to disagree, but I think there is real value in winning the final game of the season. If the final game happens to be a bowl game, even better. No one is claiming the Gophers had a great year, and no one is claiming that the Quick Lane bowl is some glorious event.
But, winning the final game of the season sends the team, coaches and boosters into the off-season on a high note (or at least a higher note than losing the last game of the season.) And bowl games, good or not-so-good, are on National TV. recruits and prospective recruits may be watching. If that next great RB or QB is out there watching, I would much rather have them watching a victory than watching a loss.

Again, we're talking about the final image of Gopher Football that people will carry into the off-season. Would you rather see players walking off the field, heads down after a loss - or see players running off the field, heads high and celebrating after a victory? That is my "fascination" with bowl wins.
 

Spoofin said:
I would rather people realize the B1G requires us to accept the bid. There was no choice.
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Is that accurate, it's weird, I'm not sure anyone knew what was going to happen because both Nebraska and MN where putting out "We will play in a bowl game!" messages like it was important to make sure someone knew that... but if they were required I'm not sure that would be needed.
 

Coolew01 said:
I am not sure, I had a kid in my CPA review course that had seemingly hiccups for the rest of his life. Neither one sounds pleasant.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Would you rather watch your parents have sex every night for the rest of your life or join in once to make it stop?
 

Unregistered User said:
Would you rather watch your parents have sex every night for the rest of your life or join in once to make it stop?
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Probably just start beating it in front of them proclaiming Touche~


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