Saunders Posted May 3, 2022 Share Posted May 3, 2022 Quote Athlon: Minnesota Spring Preview The Minnesota Golden Gophers wrapped up the 2021 campaign with a 9-4 record, which included an 18-6 win over West Virginia in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl. It was a relatively successful season for head coach P.J. Fleck and his staff, and all signs point to continued improvement in 2022. Veteran leadership at quarterback combined with plenty of key experience up and down the roster have fans in the Twin Cities excited for what this Gopher team could do in the upcoming season. Fleck will use the spring session to fine-tune what looks like what could be one of the more formidable squads in the Big Ten West. https://athlonsports.com/college-football/minnesota-football-golden-gophers-2022-spring-preview Quote HuskerOnline: Minnesota 2022 Spring Preview "I'd probably put the over/under of wins maybe in the 8.5 range. I think they're going to do well this year. They have a lot of experience back on both sides of the ball. "I talked a lot about the guys they're missing up front on both sides of the ball, but there are a lot of skill guys back, and I think that's going to bode well for them. I think their safety duo of Tyler Nubin and Jordan Howden is probably going to be one of the best in the Big Ten. "They've got some guys on the edge and a lot of skill guys back. We didn't even mention Mo Ibrahim, who was the Big Ten Running Back of the Year in 2020. He's back this year. "So I would say that 8-9 range. I think it's really going to come down to the rivalry games for the Gophers. P.J. has beaten the Badgers and gotten the Axe two of the last four years, but he has never beaten the Hawkeyes. "That one really sticks with staff, with the state, with the players, with everybody, that they're 0-5 against the Hawkeyes. That was obviously a big reason why they didn't go to Indy last year. "So if they're able to split those games again, I think they'll be right in the mix and maybe have a shot to go to Indy again." https://nebraska.n.rivals.com/news/nebraska-opponent-spring-review-minnesota Quote CollegeFootballNews: Minnesota 2022 Preview Okay, Minnesota. We’re done with losing to the Bowling Greens of the world, right? Under PJ Fleck, the Gophers occasionally have this annoying habit of needing to work way too hard against mediocre non-conference teams. In the past they were able to win them all even when a a South Dakota State – not mediocre, just FCS – or a Fresno State or a Buffalo made things interesting. The Bowling Green loss shook that. So assuming the Gophers got the yips out of their system, the first part of the schedule works perfectly. They need time to gear back up and find the right groove among all the new defensive players and on the line, and that’s what New Mexico State and Western Illinois are for. There’s no Ohio State to start the season like this year or Michigan to kickoff 2020. That should be enough scrimmage time to handle a Colorado team that has to come to Minneapolis, and then it’s on with a trip to Michigan State to start the Big Ten season. Minnesota should be 3-0, and it should be able to take care of Northwestern and Rutgers in Huntington Bank. Purdue, at Illinois, at Nebraska – get two wins in that group and everything is great, but it’ll more likely be one. At Michigan State, at Penn State, at Wisconsin – all three of those lean heavily to the loss column, and as mentioned before, beating Iowa for this program is a problem. There’s no Ohio State or Michigan to face, but there will be loss Minnesota shouldn’t take – look out for Rutgers; really – and two wins it probably will end up stealing – at Nebraska? at Michigan State? Seven wins has to be a given at this point for the Gophers under Fleck. Eight would be good, nine would be fantastic. SET THE MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS REGULAR SEASON WIN TOTAL AT … 7.5 https://collegefootballnews.com/2022/06/minnesota-golden-gophers-preview-2022-season-prediction-breakdown-key-games-players/4 Offense, Defense Breakdown | Keys To The Season Minnesota Top 10 Players | Minnesota Schedule & Analysis More to come... 1 Quote Link to comment
Xmas32 Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 It's always been a bit funny to me that PJ Fleck is so high energy and 'rah rah rah' and his offense is so freaking boring. Talk about a personality mismatch. 1 Quote Link to comment
Treand3 Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 30 minutes ago, Xmas32 said: It's always been a bit funny to me that PJ Fleck is so high energy and 'rah rah rah' and his offense is so freaking boring. Talk about a personality mismatch. They do it to keep pace(and beat) with Wisconsin. Its smart in a sense that they can't recruit well enough to completely out athlete them but it goes back to what was said about being in the Big Ten west, the team that makes the least mistakes and can stop the run will be in great position to win the division. 1 Quote Link to comment
Husker in WI Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 37 minutes ago, Xmas32 said: It's always been a bit funny to me that PJ Fleck is so high energy and 'rah rah rah' and his offense is so freaking boring. Talk about a personality mismatch. 2 minutes ago, Treand3 said: They do it to keep pace(and beat) with Wisconsin. Its smart in a sense that they can't recruit well enough to completely out athlete them but it goes back to what was said about being in the Big Ten west, the team that makes the least mistakes and can stop the run will be in great position to win the division. It's so frustrating that it works too. They are still the only football team I have ever seen kneel the ball twice to take the game to half time. That is dedication to shortening the game and not making mistakes, and I hate it. 1 Quote Link to comment
Treand3 Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 4 minutes ago, Husker in WI said: It's so frustrating that it works too. They are still the only football team I have ever seen kneel the ball twice to take the game to half time. That is dedication to shortening the game and not making mistakes, and I hate it. I hear you. All the *ss whippings and Ls we've taken from them and other west teams, they've never done anything spectacular to do so. Either we were severely outcoached, underrecruited in critical spots (DL/OL/LB) or made backbreaking mistakes at the worst times(i.e. a game opening KO return for a TD). Because Nebraska doesn't want to conduct business like most of its west counterparts, which I'm personally ok with, they've been poor at being efficient offensively via playcalling or QB play to apply pressure on then for playing that way meaning they cant just sit on the ball. See Michigan vs Iowa in Indianapolis or OSU against Wisconsin most years. We just make it entirely easy for them to play the way they want and prefer. Quote Link to comment
Xmas32 Posted June 21, 2022 Share Posted June 21, 2022 16 hours ago, Treand3 said: They do it to keep pace(and beat) with Wisconsin. Its smart in a sense that they can't recruit well enough to completely out athlete them but it goes back to what was said about being in the Big Ten west, the team that makes the least mistakes and can stop the run will be in great position to win the division. Oh, yeah I totally follow you and understand why they do it. It's just you hear Fleck talk and figure his offense would be akin to the Mike Leach Air Raid stuff versus the '3 yards and a cloud of dust' thing they've got going on up in MN. 1 Quote Link to comment
Treand3 Posted June 21, 2022 Share Posted June 21, 2022 1 hour ago, Xmas32 said: Oh, yeah I totally follow you and understand why they do it. It's just you hear Fleck talk and figure his offense would be akin to the Mike Leach Air Raid stuff versus the '3 yards and a cloud of dust' thing they've got going on up in MN. He's really good at the persuasion and charisma. It's really helpful he's at Minnesota as well. I know he wants to operate on a more Ohio State approach (Use a more wide open offense) but being at Minnesota is also a reason why it will be difficult. 1 Quote Link to comment
Husker in WI Posted June 21, 2022 Share Posted June 21, 2022 1 hour ago, Treand3 said: He's really good at the persuasion and charisma. It's really helpful he's at Minnesota as well. I know he wants to operate on a more Ohio State approach (Use a more wide open offense) but being at Minnesota is also a reason why it will be difficult. Does he though? His two best teams (2016 Western Michigan and 2019 Minnesota) have averaged 27/25 pass attempts and 45/43 rushing attempts per game. Ohio State last year averaged 38 passes/32 rushes. Although that was a bit of a departure, they were a lot more run-heavy with Fields/Dobbins in the past. I can't fault Fleck because it works, but I don't think he has any intention of opening things up. 1 Quote Link to comment
Treand3 Posted June 21, 2022 Share Posted June 21, 2022 3 hours ago, Husker in WI said: Does he though? His two best teams (2016 Western Michigan and 2019 Minnesota) have averaged 27/25 pass attempts and 45/43 rushing attempts per game. Ohio State last year averaged 38 passes/32 rushes. Although that was a bit of a departure, they were a lot more run-heavy with Fields/Dobbins in the past. I can't fault Fleck because it works, but I don't think he has any intention of opening things up. You could be right but point isnt the quantifiable part you mentioned but the how. Yes OSU does a lot of damage on the ground but they overwhelm you vertically with superior talent and mutiple receiver sets, thats what i think he wants but he doesn’t quite have the personnel to do it. Whereas their biggest rival, Wisconsin, is limited in how they can attack vertically outside of the rare alpha receiver they get and their usual TE. He wants the ability to be mutiple which is what OSU is. What I will give you is that he invests heavily in the OL whether it's traditionally or in the portal and in big RBs. Quote Link to comment
admo Posted August 19, 2022 Share Posted August 19, 2022 Hey! Minnesota??? Fleck??? Pleaaassse.... Come row that boat in Lincoln, b!^@h! Huskers by 17 Next! 1 2 Quote Link to comment
everybody knows my name Posted September 7, 2022 Share Posted September 7, 2022 Really looking forward to this game. A win against Nebraska always look good on the resume, even in the 21st century. Quote Link to comment
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