Tua is not having a good day, but yet they (Bama) are still innit.
Sky-U-Mah
I predicted three years ago when PJ Fleck left Kalamazoo that the Gophers would win a Big 10 Championship within 5 years. He is doing exactly what he did here at WMU. He is one of the best recruiters in college football and has the ability to motivate kids to play above their ability level. He is also an incredible promoter of the programs he is a part of. PJ gave Western Michigan a once in a lifetime season in 2016, and he is on track to do it again in Minneapolis. My guess is he will eventually leave for a bigger program but enjoy the ride while it lasts.
yeah, you're prediction is a pretty good one.
The last few weeks, the talks of him being lured to a more successful program have been happening in the media. That may happen, but he did just sign a 7-year contract last Tuesday, that includes a $10 million buyout.
http://www.startribune.com/gophers-p...ear/564514652/
He did the same thing at WMU. Signed a contract extension in 2015 that made him by far the highest paid coach in the MAC. If I remember right the contract was through 2021 or something like that. He was also offered a contract on a par with what the Gophers offered him after the 2016 season (rumor has it that Billionaire WMU alum Alec Gores was going to fund most of it), but decided to move on. I think PJ’s ultimate goal is to be with one of the traditional big college football programs. It would be great if he stays in Minnesota, but if he continues to have success, I wouldn’t bet on it.
Fleck may be the hotshot up and comer, but he almost lost that game against Penn State and probably should have. This is the first time I've seen him coach and I wasn't impressed because I saw some familiar things in the second half, which I'll get to later.
Here's how the 2nd half breaks down for MN:
1st Possession. 8 plays, 30 yards. 2Passes, 6Runs. Result: Punt.
2nd Poss: 1 play, 2 yards. 1R. Result: Fumble.
3rd Poss: 8 plays, 75 yards. 6P, 2R. Result: Touchdown.
4th Poss: 8 plays, 25 yards (15 from a PennSt penalty). 2P, 6R. Result: Punt.
5th Poss: 3 plays, -1 yard. 2R, 1Sack. Result: Punt.
For the 2nd half, they passed 10x and ran 17x. The only successful possession was their 3rd, when they passed 6x and only ran 2x. That means that for the other 4 possessions, they ran 15x but only passed 4x. Why?
Now, compare that to the 1st half, where they had 321 total yards offense. 240 of those yards were pass plays (10-12, 20 yds/att ), 81 yds running. Their longest run was 22 yds and they averaged 4.26 yds/run. If you subtract the 22, then the average falls to 3.27, which isn't good enough. Their only punt in the first half was on their third possession when they ran 6x and passed 2x, for a total of 27 measly yards.
For the game, Morgan went 18 of 20 for 339 yds, 3 TDs, and no interceptions. So why did they run the ball so much in the 2nd half?
Now, why here's why I wasn't impressed: it was reported that Fleck owes much of his coaching philosophy to Jim Tressel - and it showed. OSU fans were so glad when Tressel left because if he had the lead - and it didn't seem to matter by how much - he'd switch game plans and get all conservative, tossing out what had gotten him the lead in the first place. And some of those games he lost.
If Penn State's receiver, Dotson, had not stumbled and fallen on his way to the end zone near the end of the game, Minnesota would have lost. And, imo, they should have.
Don't get me wrong. I'm glad to see Minnesota doing well. The B1G West has pretty much sucked since they switched to East-West divisions. The only consistently good team has been Wisconsin. Iowa and Northwestern have both had winning seasons but their records are 44-22 and 41-24, respectively. Not impressive. But the East have been champions the last 5 seasons and most seasons since 2000 have been won by a team that's now in the East. So, I'm glad the Gophers are doing well.
I hope Minnesota meets OSU in the B1G Championship game. That'll be a humbling experience for Fleck.
So, how much is Kirk Ferentz overpaid? He's the 18th highest paid coach in the NCAA and his record since getting to Iowa is 152-101, giving him an overall percentage of .601. That's not great for $4.8 million a year. Glad to see Wisconsin beat them.
And Scott Frost at Nebraska is looking at a second straight losing season for $5 million a year. And he gave Purdue their third win of the season.
“From thirty feet away she looked like a lot of class. From ten feet away she looked like something made up to be seen from thirty feet away.” – Philip Marlowe
On a lighter note...
The top 62 percent of the vote landed among nine historic programs, each possessing a quality even more annoying than the next. They’ve all been playing football since pre-1900, so there are plenty of reasons to show disdain for all them.
Here are the most hated college football teams, and some reasons why we despise them:
— Alabama Crimson Tide: From recruiting to national championships to tug-of-war competitions, Nick Saban and the gang just keep on winning everything in sight.
— Ohio State Buckeyes: The Urban Meyer/Zach Smith debacle of 2018, plus Brutus the Buckeye is the most ridiculous mascot in all the land. I mean, it’s a nut with a face on it.
— Notre Dame Fighting Irish: They haven’t been relevant since Sean Astin starred as Rudy Ruettiger in that 1993 movie, yet they act like having Touchdown Jesus somehow makes them special.
— Penn State Nittany Lions: They hide in their little town deep in the middle of central Pennsylvania, and 80 percent of the population can’t tell you one thing that’s 10 miles outside the city limits.
— Michigan Wolverines: They have one national title since 1949 and act like because they have cool helmets, that makes them important. Plus, I think just about everybody hates head coach Jim Harbaugh and his khakis.
— USC Trojans: The pretty boys on the West Coast still won’t move on from Pete Carroll’s team in the 2000s. There’s not much to see in the Pac-12 these days, especially at USC.
— Texas Longhorns: Just because they carry the state’s name doesn’t make them important. The 1970s called, and they want their dynasty back.
— Oklahoma Sooners: Baker Mayfield. End of story.
— Nebraska Cornhuskers: Aside from those four years in the 1990s, what else have they done? Stop acting like you’re “on the rise” once again.
Teams like the Florida Gators won’t stop referencing Tim Tebow and the Auburn Tigers are just Alabama’s kid brother, but both were left off the list. Florida State’s 36-year bowl streak is over, Miami hasn’t reclaimed the success of the early 2000s, and schools like LSU, Tennessee and Oregon don’t really muster up that much anger. You can guarantee that all received more than a few votes, though.
I thought that was funny but I take exception to this: "plus Brutus the Buckeye is the most ridiculous mascot in all the land."
Hello? For big schools, these are ludicrous:
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Oregon State has got to be the worst, tho. I mean, "Beavers"?
And then there are these, some of which are hilarious: Top 10 Weirdest Mascots
Last edited by Hal...; 11-11-2019 at 01:36 PM.
“From thirty feet away she looked like a lot of class. From ten feet away she looked like something made up to be seen from thirty feet away.” – Philip Marlowe
I would agree that Fleck is not a great X’s and 0’s guy. His game management is not always the best, and I also agree that they could have easily lost that game with the way the 2nd half was coached. But as I mentioned before, with Fleck it is more about recruiting and motivation. From a pure talent standpoint, the Gophers current roster is probably not on the same level as the better teams in the Big 10, but Fleck’s talent is the ability to get his players to play at a level that exceeds what one would normally expect. I saw it happen here in Kalamazoo, and he appears to be doing the same thing in Minnesota. The Gophers have been underdogs for years, just like WMU was.
Fleck’s other major talent is recruiting. He has only had 2 years to recruit in Gopher land (along with the 10 players he took from WMU), but he is already building something that could be special. Time will tell, but he has the ability to get top rated high school prospects to come play for him. If anyone would have told me that anyone could get WMU to a level where they would go undefeated and end up in a New Years Day bowl game before Fleck came along, I would have said they were absolutely insane.
Regrading Ohio State. I am under no illusions that The Gophers are on the same level as Ohio State. I don’t think anyone in the Big 10 is going to stop the Buckeyes this year as they are the class of the conference by a wide margin. BTW are you aware that Fleck started his coaching career at Ohio State? He played college ball at NIU and played a couple of years in the NFL for the 49'ers. He started his coaching career as a grad assistant under Tressel, which is why he cites him as a mentor.
Last edited by SteveSly; 11-12-2019 at 03:12 AM.
“From thirty feet away she looked like a lot of class. From ten feet away she looked like something made up to be seen from thirty feet away.” – Philip Marlowe
Vegas has made the Buckeyes a 53 point favorite against Rutgers.
On the road.
Wasn't a dislocated hip the injury that ended Bo Jackson's career?
^ The report last night said doctors say he'll make a full recovery, but not this year.
Penn State is making a game of it. From 21-0 down, to 21-14.
yeah I was rooting for Penn State.
I would love to see Michigan beat Ohio State next week and of course I'll be hoping Minnesota wins what likely will be the Big Ten West championship against Wisconsin (assuming they beat Purdue today).
But with more Parody, supports the idea the 4-team playoff nonsense be changed and expanded.
I mean if Michigan were to win next week, whose to say they aren't the best team in the Big 10 right now? thus, they at least would have a shot if an actual 3-weeks-or-more-week playoff was set up.
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