everybody knows my name

I'm a big fan of B&B too, but I would never put "Beavis" on the front of my jersey. Maybe on the back. WTH, Kaden.

Predictions: put em in your pipe and smoke em. If Minnesota wins it'll be because the passing game and the running game both finally worked in the same game. And if Nebraska wins, it will be because _______________________. (finish the sentence for me)

Offhand my recollection is that Martin had some infraction last year where he missed a game last season and the first game this season (South Dakota State). But I could be mistaken. Anything else that he missed would be an injury.

Good guys on the DL - Coughlin is better than you give him credit for. Speed rush is his forte, and he's a big hitter with a good motor. Sam Renner is said to be a technician and his teammates respect the heck out of him. Boye Mafe is a physical specimen who is learning the ropes and could be great. Micah Dew Treadway is the Notre Dame transfer you mentioned, and he has contributed well. Taiyon Devers is a speed rusher and not much else, but when he succeeds it's highlight film material. Overall the defensive front is average, but the individual talent is very uneven. LBs are a Gophers strength. Kamal Martin, who as far as I recall has been suspended once in his career, is very, very good. Thomas Barber is another standout. He's the youngest brother in the famous Barber family, the most illustrious of whom is "Marion the Barbarian." Thomas Rush is a youngster that the coaching staff is high on. You will hear Braelen Oliver's name a few times in the broadcast. Sophomore Mariano Sori-Marin has played extensively this year but sometimes looks a little lost.

Exaggerated. Fleck said they had the AC on at the indoor facility and got the temp down to a frigid 55 degrees. For the record it's been 70-75 degrees in Minneapolis this week. These guys aren't suffering.

Oops, my bad. Well there's always Country Kitchen or Perkins. But seriously, what kind of place do you like?

We don't eat kids in Minnesota.

Make the most of it. You don't have to stay right next to the stadium to have a good time. Check out Matt's Bar, the 5-8 Club, Psycho Suzi's, Gasthof Zur Gemutlichkeit, or one of a thousand other great bars in the area.

The chair has to make the trip to Minnesota for the game. As long as it's traveling hundreds of miles, it might as well make an extended visit. We'll take good care of it.

Friendly and welcoming. People will generally be excited to see you, or politely indifferent. Very rare for anyone to have a negative experience. Otherwise, about 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and 1% argon, just like Nebraska.

Minnesota perspective here. Don't count on the Oline to do you any favors. It hasn't lived up to preseason expectations, but that's largely due to two young players learning on the job. I'm not sugar-coating the situation. The line has improved substantially in-season and played its best game so far against the Illini.

Lincoln wasn't incorrect. He also saw the need to replace McClellan, but he needed a viable replacement first. Even when he did fire McClellan, he suffered through fussy Halleck, luckless and overmatched Hooker, and disappointing Meade before finding an effective commander in US Grant. Believe me, you do not want Fighting Joe Hooker snapping the football.

This reminds me of Abraham Lincoln when he was urged to fire general McClellan during the Civil War. "Who would you have in his place?" he asked. His advisor replied, "Anyone." Lincoln responded "Well, you may be happy with anyone, but I must have someone."

Time to hit the free agent market and see who you can hire for the league minimum, right? But seriously, folks...congratulations on the win against Northwestern today. Minnesota's gonna slaughter Nebraska next Saturday!

Join the club. Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin...we all don't fit with the Rust Belt and East Coast schools. Nebraska is a great fit in the B1G West, and if Wisconsin and Iowa (and maybe even Minnesota) can thrive in the West, Nebraska can too.

Let me ask you a question. If Fleck can win at Minnesota, why would he leave? A B1G program, with all the budgetary freedom and earning potential that that implies. Flagship university with a student population of nearly 50,000 The only FBS school in a state of 6 million + With one of the newest and nicest stadiums in major college football and a nearly new "athletic village" representing huge investments in the football program in the last 15 years. I'm not asking as a pollyanna, because I know why one leaves one job for another. But I am suggesting that we reconsider what we think we know about the Minnesota HC job.

Tanner Morgan for Heisman!

Ego-free, ready to go: SMB's Kaden Johnson is unlikely top football recruit Everything about him screamed linebacker. It’s for that position that college recruiters have relentlessly chased after him. He carries the only four-star grade among the current crop of seniors. Of the 14 Division I offers, 13 are from Power Five schools. “It’s crazy to think I’m the No. 1 player in Minnesota,” Johnson says incredulously, without a shred of ego. “Of all the players out there, I’m No. 1. And think I’m, like, No. 9 in the nation at the outside linebacker position. That’s crazy.” The outlier offer not from a premier league? Yale, an indication that he’s more than just a good athlete. “Last year I had a 3.7,” Johnson recalled when asked about his grades. “Which is pretty good. They don’t play games here with academics. You’re going to need that education at the end of the day.” There is a wealth of Division I talent on the roster at SMB, which also includes athletes from St. Paul Academy and Blake. Besides Johnson, there’s Suggs and Lockett, Johnson’s best pals. Sophomore defensive back Trevon Howard. Three hundred-pound defensive lineman Kevyan Anderson. Running backs Sanjay Redd and Dewayne Givens, both flashy underclassmen. That doesn’t include defensive back Craig McDonald, who has committed to Iowa State but was declared ineligible for his senior season by the Minnesota State High School League because he repeated eighth grade and used up his eligibility before this year. All that football skill has generated tons of interest and recruiting speculation. The SMB sidelines are busy places during games, a traffic jam of reporters and bloggers. “It’s crazy,” Goodwin said. “You ever hear of a high school team having to issue sideline passes?” Johnson knows a great deal of the attention is directed toward him. He’s patient with the constant inquiries about his collegiate future and feels no pressure to make a choice. “It doesn’t bother me,” he said. “At the end of the day, I’ll go to the place that’s best for me.” The Gophers and Wisconsin have long been considered front-runners. Johnson said both are in the mix but he wants to explore his options. There are still campus visits to take and football worlds he wants to see. “Nebraska. Oregon State. I’ve been talking to Vanderbilt a little bit,” he said. “Tennessee. I like Tennessee football. Iowa State, which is cool. Michigan State. There are a lot of schools still in contact with me.” http://www.startribune.com/ego-free-and-ready-to-go-smb-s-kaden-johnson-is-unlikely-top-football-recruit/560195902/

Give him another season to learn and mature, and for the team to improve, to support his candidacy. This season was always too soon.

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Can't deny it, you're right. Aside from a few flashy moments, my Gophers looked bad last night. Like you guys, we are choosing to keep the faith and hope for the best. I hope that my boys justify this faith, because we need to be good to compete in an improved West.

I think you underestimate Fresno State. They went 12-2 last year, their coach is Jeff Tedford, and they had Minnesota as good as beat last year before this miracle play by Antoine Winfield Jr on the final play of the game.

Fanboy ekmn says we go 10-2 and win the West. Realistic ekmn says coming off a 6-6 regular season, we pick up two games and finish 8-4. I think that's conservative.

Good news / Bad news: Nebraska will beat Wisconsin and Iowa this year, but you will lose to Minnesota.

Evidently I've underestimated my team's tight ends group this year. I knew that Brevyn Spann-Ford was highly regarded, but our staff seems to think he's special. http://www.startribune.com/brevyn-spann-ford-emerges-as-potential-breakout-player-for-gophers/550222182/