ADVERTISEMENT

Minnesota in BCS bowl?

I wish Minnesota would lose every game left but I have to concede that they've recruited some great players and have found a way to turn average players like their quarterback into Stars. Right now they are who we want to be.
 
  • Like
Reactions: rmndcat
OSU will thump Fleck.
You mean thump Minnie. Fleck like him or not has in a very short time built a very good team. Minnie will most likely end its regular season undefeated. Even if they do lose to OSU they will be in a very good Bowl and have a season few teams ever have.
 
You mean thump Minnie. Fleck like him or not has in a very short time built a very good team. Minnie will most likely end its regular season undefeated. Even if they do lose to OSU they will be in a very good Bowl and have a season few teams ever have.
Yes indeed. I will bet they regress quite a bit next year despite being young. We’ll see.
 
I'm super annoyed by coaches like Fleck and Franklin, but they are effective. Fitz had that zeal one upon a time, I'm not entirely sure when he lost it...
 
You mean thump Minnie. Fleck like him or not has in a very short time built a very good team. Minnie will most likely end its regular season undefeated. Even if they do lose to OSU they will be in a very good Bowl and have a season few teams ever have.
They are benefiting from a down West just like we did, and in addition benefiting from a really light frontloaded OOC schedule where they got extremely lucky not to lose all 3. That said, they found ways to win. We found ways to lose close ones like Stanford, Nebraska, Purdue...
 
  • Like
Reactions: rmndcat and drewjin
You mean thump Minnie. Fleck like him or not has in a very short time built a very good team. Minnie will most likely end its regular season undefeated. Even if they do lose to OSU they will be in a very good Bowl and have a season few teams ever have.

I’d be surprised if they end up the year undefeated. And for the record, I am in a college confidence pool and did pick them today. They are a good team, but I have them losing next week at Iowa. Iowa is perfectly built to beat them and this will be the Gophers toughest road test by far.

If they get past next week, they definitely have a great shot. Can’t see us beating them and then they’d have it all set up at home against Wisconsin. I don’t like Fleck much, but credit where credit is due. He’s done a fantastic job.
 
They are benefiting from a down West just like we did, and in addition benefiting from a really light frontloaded OOC schedule where they got extremely lucky not to lose all 3. That said, they found ways to win. We found ways to lose close ones like Stanford, Nebraska, Purdue...
Penn State? And say what you want about their schedule, you still have to come out and win. Winning in the B1G is never a gimme.
 
Fleck is a very good coach and recruiter.
Recruiter, sure. I'm not sure he's any better of a coach than Fitzgerald. He just is a better evaluator of coaching and has no academic obstacles in recruiting. Lucky bastard.
 
Recruiter, sure. I'm not sure he's any better of a coach than Fitzgerald. He just is a better evaluator of coaching and has no academic obstacles in recruiting. Lucky bastard.
I am not comparing him to Fitz. There is nobody I would rather have for a Head Coach than Fitz. Fitz knows talent and how to pick it also and I like his staff very much. I do agree that the academics are a contributor, mostly because the academic load cuts into your sleep time. There were many days my son got less than 3 hrs sleep in a night before having to lift ahd practice. Hard to be your best when in a sleep deficit. Many schools have it easy for their players, especially during the season. Fitz does a great job of picking players who can handle the rigors of NU. You will never hear me ever say anything bad about Fitz, and I love Hanks too.
 
  • Like
Reactions: FightNorthwestern
Wouldn’t you say the same about NU?
NU is going to have it harder. Young men are not prepared for how hard the academics and football combined are at NU. It is a drain physically and mentally. My son had lots of football homework to learn ( Hanks defense isn't easy) and lots of school work, combined with hours of lifting, practice, and film.
 
Last edited:
NU is going to have it harder. Young men are not prepared for how hard the academics and football combined are at NU. It is a drain physically and mentally. My son had lots of football homework to learn ( Hanks defense isn't easy) and lots of school work, combined with hours of lifting, practice, and film.
Agreed! Plus,we don't have the jocks!
 
I’d be surprised if they end up the year undefeated. And for the record, I am in a college confidence pool and did pick them today. They are a good team, but I have them losing next week at Iowa. Iowa is perfectly built to beat them and this will be the Gophers toughest road test by far.

If they get past next week, they definitely have a great shot. Can’t see us beating them and then they’d have it all set up at home against Wisconsin. I don’t like Fleck much, but credit where credit is due. He’s done a fantastic job.
Iowa won't beat em! No run game!
 
Agreed! Plus,we don't have the jocks!
We did give up a very high number of athletic players to injury. My son ran legit 4.4 forties as linebacker and his speed would have greatly helped on defense. He was never healthy at NU. He tore his labrum 3 times in 4 years and spent a great deal of time recovering. You saw what speed does with Nate Hall. Vitale was lost to head injuries and would have made a difference at Superback. Larken was an NFL running back who would have made our offense much better. Skowronik wouid have helped a great deal also if was healthy this year. I don't think people realize what all we have lost. We lost some very good players that we just don't have the depth to replace. We have many players who are playing hurt this season. Players playing with torn labrums and other injuries that greatly hinder their ability to play. We have Quarterbacks who didn't study and learn the offense because they didn't think they would play. I don't care what talent you have, you have to understand the offense. I think that may be part of the reason for our offense being what it is. This year has had everything that could go wrong, go wrong. This isn't a coaching problem, it is a crap happens year. Also I feel we have too many players happy to be getting play time instead of being play makers.
 
Last edited:
We did give up a very high number of athletic players to injury. My son ran legit 4.4 forties as linebacker and his speed would have greatly helped on defense. He was never healthy at NU. He tore his labrum 3 times in 4 years and spent a great deal of time recovering. You saw what speed does with Nate Hall. Vitale was lost to head injuries and would have made a difference at Superback. Larken was an NFL running back who would have made our offense much better. Skowronik wouid have helped a great deal also if was healthy this year. I don't think people realize what all we have lost. We lost some very good players that we just don't have the depth to replace. We have many players who are playing hurt this season. Players playing with torn labrums and other injuries that greatly hinder their ability to play. We have Quarterbacks who didn't study and learn the offense because they didn't think they would play. I don't care what talent you have, you have to understand the offense. I think that may be part of the reason for our offense being what it is. This year has had everything that could go wrong, go wrong. This isn't a coaching problem, it is a crap happens year. Also I feel we have too many players happy to be getting play time instead of being play makers.
Then the Coaches should replace the players that aren’t trying to be playmakers. I would rather have a kid out there being aggressive and learning. From the outside, it seems we have a lot of nice guys on this years team. I wish we had a few more nasty SOB’s, but I only see a few playing with an edge.
 
Then the Coaches should replace the players that aren’t trying to be playmakers. I would rather have a kid out there being aggressive and learning. From the outside, it seems we have a lot of nice guys on this years team. I wish we had a few more nasty SOB’s, but I only see a few playing with an edge.
We just don't have depth to replace anyone. I promise you, Fitz loves kids with heart. I am sure he is doing his best to get players out there that will get us a win. Fitz has an extremely high IQ, and I don't know anyone who understands how to get the most out of a person than Fitz.
 
We did give up a very high number of athletic players to injury. My son ran legit 4.4 forties as linebacker and his speed would have greatly helped on defense. He was never healthy at NU. He tore his labrum 3 times in 4 years and spent a great deal of time recovering. You saw what speed does with Nate Hall. Vitale was lost to head injuries and would have made a difference at Superback. Larken was an NFL running back who would have made our offense much better. Skowronik wouid have helped a great deal also if was healthy this year. I don't think people realize what all we have lost. We lost some very good players that we just don't have the depth to replace. We have many players who are playing hurt this season. Players playing with torn labrums and other injuries that greatly hinder their ability to play. We have Quarterbacks who didn't study and learn the offense because they didn't think they would play. I don't care what talent you have, you have to understand the offense. I think that may be part of the reason for our offense being what it is. This year has had everything that could go wrong, go wrong. This isn't a coaching problem, it is a crap happens year. Also I feel we have too many players happy to be getting play time instead of being play makers.
Well said! That's why we go to Northwestern! I lettered at NU in 1981! That is 38 years ago. I dropped out of school that spring semester due to depression. I pulled a 3.0 gpa that year in economics and was quite miserable. Great school. More to life than the barbaric sports of football and wrestling. Sad to see that great WR from Michigan State died today at 38! Great athlete.
 
ADVERTISEMENT