What a season it has been for Gophers football. The Jug and Floyd are in DInkytown, a massive win at Nebraska and a 5-3 Big Ten record. To top it off, the Gophers will now play on January 1 for the first time since 1962 in the Citrus Bowl against Missouri!! William Hill Football odds will likely have Gophers as a 7-point or so underdog. GopherHole’s Alex Van Abbema was at the Bierman Football Complex tonight to get the reaction of Gopher players and coaches. Below is a recap of the media inquiries.
Theiren Cockran:
Feelings about bowl game:
Excitement, it feels good to finally be back in Florida, because you know, playing here in the Midwest. You don’t get too many opportunities to go back there at home in Florida. Me and a couple other teammates, I know we’re very happy to get back at home.
Citrus bowl: best case scenario for team?
I feel like it was the better decision for us, one of the better bowls for us. So I’m not mad at all.
What it means to play a New Years’ Bowl game:
It means a lot. I feel like family members are more together at New Years, so a lot of people are going to be staying at home and able to watch the game. It’ll be fun.
Playing SEC, getting chance to beat SEC team?
Oh yes, I feel that’s very fun. Just watching Missouri play yesterday, watching them play Alabama. I mean they’re a very competitive team so it’s also a good thing for the big ten, for us to be able to go out there and play an SEC team, and get that win. That would be huge for the Big Ten.
Cameron Botticelli:
Reaction to Citrus Bowl announcement:
I am humbled, I am surprised, I am excited. Christmas came early. You know, we’re going to go down and play down in Orlando Florida, in the beautiful weather, and play a quality opponent in Missouri. And I’m just excited to be a part of it all.
What does a New Years day game do for the program?
I think it’s huge in terms of exposure, you have 16, 17, 18 year olds all across the country sitting in their living rooms and watching Minnesota play meaningful football in January. I think it’s huge for our team.
On how he found out about the decision?
This past week was finals week for grad students, Donnell Kirkwood and I were finishing up a paper, and I actually got a text. So that’s how I figured it out. So again, just tremendously excited.
Feeling of unfinished business after Wisconsin game?
It’s terrific that we’ve been selected, that we’re going to a meaningful bowl game. And the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl is going to be a great experience for everybody. So we’re not going there to lose, we have a lot of hard work ahead of us, and we have to put in the preparation. So as much jubilation that there is about being selected, there’s still a lot of hard work to be had.
Jerry Kill:
What does he know now about Missouri?
I’ve known coach Pinkel for a long time actually, all the way back to when I was at Southern Illinois. I had a former player who works there now. So as far as knowing each other’s teams I don’t know that much and so forth. But we have a lot of time to get that done, but we know of how good a football team he has, so we have to do a lot of work. But we look forward to that.
Looks at Citrus Bowl as best case scenario?
I think we all know you want to play in January. We haven’t done that here for a long long time. And I think that we have so many alums down in Florida, and so forth. So they’ve been giving us a big push “Hey when are we going to get to Florida?” I don’t think there’s any question that it’s great timing, and it’s timed out great so I think everybody’s excited about it.
Important step for program playing in marquee bowl game, against SEC team?
We certainly talk about taking steps, and this is another step forward. Then we need to take advantage of that step. But it’s certainly another step forward in the program, and certainly helps us as you go recruit. All this helps our program, no question about that. And keeps us moving forward to where we need to go.
How much do you guys talk about winning a bowl game for the first time?
I think we talked about it again. We haven’t played as well as we liked to play, certainly last year. So I think we approached that as soon as we got back, and where we want to go with that. I think we all keep talking about moving forward, and we need to win a bowl game. And we’re playing the SEC team that went to the championship in Missouri, so it’s a great challenge for our program. But I think that we certainly want to win the game. I don’t think there’s any question about that.
Exposure from the game, sell hard to recruits fact that they’re playing in New Years Day game?
Oh absolutely, you sell kind of where our program’s at. But the biggest thing is the coverage that we’re getting from it, you know getting in the top 25, all those things. Everybody watches tv, social media, and all that does is help the program. Not only the football program, it helps our University, it helps our states.
On being named coach of the year:
First of all, being named coach of the year, that’s a team honor. And our players deserve that, and our coaches do. And I’m very appreciative but that awards a team award, and so the better your team does the more rewards you get. And winning solves a lot of problems. And the most important thing to being a good coach has nothing to do with the coach, it has to do with the players. So we’re fortunate enough to have good players to reach those achievements.