“'I have had no contact regarding the position,' Brewster told Sports Headliners. 'I haven’t spoken to anybody. I have no interest in any other job besides the University of Minnesota.'
In answering questions about how the rumors may have started, Brewster said it wasn’t possible that anyone representing him officially or as a friend might have contacted Kansas officials without his knowledge."Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Brewster says he's got no interest in Kansas
Tim Brewster told David Shama, at Minnesota Sports Headliners:
Brewster to Kansas.... WHAT?!?!?!
The reports that Tim Brewster's name is in the proverbial hat to be the next football coach at Kansas started showing up on Tuesday, and my only response was... HUH?
There are so many things wrong with this that it's actually mind blowing.
First of all, why would Brewster leave Minnesota for Kansas?
Greener pastures? While Mark Mangino had some success at Kansas, it wasn't what you would call sustainable success. I don't know a lot about the Kansas program, but I just do not see where that job would be a more attractive job than Minnesota at this point. The only reason that Tim Brewster would look to go to a program like Kansas would be if he had determined that he couldn't build a winner at Minnesota. The question then becomes why he thinks he could build a program at Kansas.
But even before that happens, you have to ask, why would Kansas want Tim Brewster?
After a 7-1 start in 2008 Brewster's name was hot and was even tossed around to replace Fulmer at Tennessee. But the Gophers collapse late in the season put an end to that pretty quickly. After watching Brewster produce a 6-6 season at Minnesota, a 14-23 record over 3 seasons, and getting blown out by your own program at the 2008 Insight Bowl, what would possibly make Tim Brewster, at this point, an exciting prospect for Kansas?
And then, to make this story even stranger, there's the response from Joel Maturi...
Of course you can't. But THIS is your response to the rumors that your highest paid coach, the highest paid employee at your university (and if I'm not mistaken, the highest paid employee of the state of Minnesota), is possibly leaving? Really?!?!
Or is this all smoke and mirrors by Brewster's agent to get him a contract extension and Maturi is just calling his bluff? Perhaps Maturi is listening to the rumors and thinking, "Who else would want this guy right now? I haven't even decided if I do."
At the end of the day there probably isn't anything to the rumors, no matter where they came from. But Maturi's response to the situation is very interesting, and you have to wonder if there is something more to that part of the story.
There are so many things wrong with this that it's actually mind blowing.
Greener pastures? While Mark Mangino had some success at Kansas, it wasn't what you would call sustainable success. I don't know a lot about the Kansas program, but I just do not see where that job would be a more attractive job than Minnesota at this point. The only reason that Tim Brewster would look to go to a program like Kansas would be if he had determined that he couldn't build a winner at Minnesota. The question then becomes why he thinks he could build a program at Kansas.
But even before that happens, you have to ask, why would Kansas want Tim Brewster?
After a 7-1 start in 2008 Brewster's name was hot and was even tossed around to replace Fulmer at Tennessee. But the Gophers collapse late in the season put an end to that pretty quickly. After watching Brewster produce a 6-6 season at Minnesota, a 14-23 record over 3 seasons, and getting blown out by your own program at the 2008 Insight Bowl, what would possibly make Tim Brewster, at this point, an exciting prospect for Kansas?
And then, to make this story even stranger, there's the response from Joel Maturi...
"'There are rumors that he's going to Kansas, so I don't know,' Maturi said Tuesday. 'What can I say? So I can't guarantee it, no. I can't guarantee the decisions of other people.'"-- St Paul Pioneer Press
Of course you can't. But THIS is your response to the rumors that your highest paid coach, the highest paid employee at your university (and if I'm not mistaken, the highest paid employee of the state of Minnesota), is possibly leaving? Really?!?!"I chatted with (Brewster) about it very, very briefly. I told him I'm getting tired of all of these Kansas calls. That's kind of been my conversations with him." -- St Paul Pioneer PressAgain, your football coach is rumored to be in the running for the job at another university, and the response is to talk to him "very, very briefly"?!?!?! Might be a good time to sit down with your coach and have a heart to heart... but that's just me.
"'I don't think it's inappropriate, if the coach is doing what he thinks is in his best interest,' Maturi said from New York on Tuesday." -- Star TribuneBut clearly Maturi isn't willing to go out on a limb and say what he thinks is in the best interest of his football program. Why isn't Maturi saying that he doesn't want Brewster to go anywhere? Should we be reading into this?
Or is this all smoke and mirrors by Brewster's agent to get him a contract extension and Maturi is just calling his bluff? Perhaps Maturi is listening to the rumors and thinking, "Who else would want this guy right now? I haven't even decided if I do."
At the end of the day there probably isn't anything to the rumors, no matter where they came from. But Maturi's response to the situation is very interesting, and you have to wonder if there is something more to that part of the story.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Gophers Lose Two Recruits
First of all, happy blizzard day! Safe travels to you on your drive home work tonight, be it hours, days, or even weeks. I think we'd all secretly been missing a good blizzard, right? Right? No? Just checking.
Well the Gophers football team will be missing two pretty good recruits from its 2010 class, as the Strib's Kent Youngblood reports two players have decommitted from the Gophs. Defensive back Antoine Lewis of Illinois will be attending Purdue, and definitely could have helped our secondary depth, but even more devasting is the loss of four star HB Josh Huff from Texas, who will be going to TCU.
The GopherIllustrated article Youngblood references has a quote from Huff saying Brewster's contract situation "definitely played a factor." Really? You don't think it's perhaps because TCU head coach Gary Patterson is building a juggernaut down in Ft. Worth, or because Purdue head coach Danny Hope beat Ohio State with a solid offense and had a very good first season? I'm going to go ahead and bet that the Gopher's performance on the field, as well as those at TCU and Purdue, were the main reasons these two left, and not because they were worried that Brewster doesn't have a contract extension THREE YEARS INTO A FIVE YEAR DEAL despite doing absolutely nothing to deserve it. Oh sure, his recruiting has improved, but his teams haven't proven anything in the actual games to warrant an extension.
Brewster does not deserve a contract extension and should not get one unless he wins beats Wisconsin or Iowa next year AND gets us to eight regular season wins. That's what we hired him to do, and Four years into his time at Minnesota that's what should be possible now that he'll have recruited just about every player on his roster by 2010.
either Huff or Lewis truly are leaving for that reason, then that's too bad, but it's not worth giving Brew a cushy extension, because judging him by what his team has done on the field so far there's no possible justification for a raise and more job security. The man has next fall to prove his value to us as the head coach, and if recruits are scared off by that, so be it. Extending Brew just to coddle a few recruits would cutting off your nose to save your face. So what if you get a few more kids in your recruiting class but then continue to underwhelm and underperform on game days? You then still have to fire Brewster but are now locked into even more money, which is going to hurt Minnesota's chance to hire a replacement.
Brew's contract status should not change even if we beat Iowa State, and should not be addressed until the end of year four, which would be next fall at about this time. Recruits aren't staying away from Minnesota because of Brewster's contract, they're staying away because so far Brewster hasn't been able to put a decent product on the field.
Well the Gophers football team will be missing two pretty good recruits from its 2010 class, as the Strib's Kent Youngblood reports two players have decommitted from the Gophs. Defensive back Antoine Lewis of Illinois will be attending Purdue, and definitely could have helped our secondary depth, but even more devasting is the loss of four star HB Josh Huff from Texas, who will be going to TCU.
The GopherIllustrated article Youngblood references has a quote from Huff saying Brewster's contract situation "definitely played a factor." Really? You don't think it's perhaps because TCU head coach Gary Patterson is building a juggernaut down in Ft. Worth, or because Purdue head coach Danny Hope beat Ohio State with a solid offense and had a very good first season? I'm going to go ahead and bet that the Gopher's performance on the field, as well as those at TCU and Purdue, were the main reasons these two left, and not because they were worried that Brewster doesn't have a contract extension THREE YEARS INTO A FIVE YEAR DEAL despite doing absolutely nothing to deserve it. Oh sure, his recruiting has improved, but his teams haven't proven anything in the actual games to warrant an extension.
Brewster does not deserve a contract extension and should not get one unless he wins beats Wisconsin or Iowa next year AND gets us to eight regular season wins. That's what we hired him to do, and Four years into his time at Minnesota that's what should be possible now that he'll have recruited just about every player on his roster by 2010.
either Huff or Lewis truly are leaving for that reason, then that's too bad, but it's not worth giving Brew a cushy extension, because judging him by what his team has done on the field so far there's no possible justification for a raise and more job security. The man has next fall to prove his value to us as the head coach, and if recruits are scared off by that, so be it. Extending Brew just to coddle a few recruits would cutting off your nose to save your face. So what if you get a few more kids in your recruiting class but then continue to underwhelm and underperform on game days? You then still have to fire Brewster but are now locked into even more money, which is going to hurt Minnesota's chance to hire a replacement.
Brew's contract status should not change even if we beat Iowa State, and should not be addressed until the end of year four, which would be next fall at about this time. Recruits aren't staying away from Minnesota because of Brewster's contract, they're staying away because so far Brewster hasn't been able to put a decent product on the field.
Monday, December 7, 2009
The Monday Musings
Since Jer has already has an excellent post up on the Gophers going to the Insight to play Iowa State (seriously, each and every Gopher football fan should send Christmas cards to the Insight Bowl folks for taking Iowa State over Missouri. Tim Brewster should send flowers, chocolates, and Rolexes. Instead of playing a high-scoring team that could have blow us off the field, we instead get an almost carbon copy of the Gophs- good defense, and an offense even worse than ours. No really, they are. I didn't think there was a winnable bowl matchup available that didn't involve the word "Detroit", but I'm so thankful to be wrong. And so thankful to the Insight Bowl. THANK YOU!!!), I'll try and cover the rest of the goings-on (a word? probably not. But we'll go with it) from a busy college football weekend...
...I did say Alabama would beat Florida in the SEC title game, but I did not predict Bama QB Greg McElroy to have the game of his life and outplay some guy named Tim Tebow in the process. Kudos to Bama and their coaches for an excellent game plan, as they spread it out and threw early to keep the Gators off balance, then went to work with as good a 1-2 rushing combo as there is in the country in soon-to-be-Heisman winner Mark Ingram and bulldozing freshman Trent Richardson. Defensively, the Tide were so impressive slowing down the Urban Meyer spread, especially the run game. Because of Mt. Cody in the middle, the Gators were both unable and unwilling to run inside, and with SO much speed on the Bama D, Florida didn't have a hope in heck of getting yards going east and west.
...Bama was the clear winner of the battle of 1 vs 2, and they should just hand the BCS trophy the Nick Saban and the Tide right without even playing the next one. Stewart Mandel, like I'm sure everyone who watched both the SEC title game and Texas' lucky, sloppy, turnover ridden win over Nebraska, is expecting a Tide blowout win- and not just because of the two outcomes on Saturday. The stat that has me thinking Texas has no chance is this one from Mandel's weekly College Football Overtime column:
Bama's defense, of course, is as good or better than anything Texas has seen all season (well other than practice. Let's not forget the Horns' D is also ranked top 3 in the country), and if they struggled to move the ball on Nebraska, how the heck will they do it against Rolando McClain, Mt. Cody and the rest of the Alabama D? Mack Brown and the Texas coaching staff will certainly earn their paychecks in the next six weeks trying to figure out just how in the heck they're going to beat Alabama.
...Cincy had an improbable fourth quarter comeback to knock off Pitt and make a BCS game, but you have to wonder what chance they stand against Florida. Sure, Cincy's passing offense will be better than anything Florida has seen, but the Gators will also be by far the most physical team on both sides of the ball that the Bearcats have played all season. Plus, there's also the looming question of who will be coaching Cincinnati by then?
...Love the TCU/Boise game in the Fiesta Bowl considering that TCU vs. Florida wasn't possible because of the order of selection. One of the country's best offenses against on the country's best defenses should make for great theater.
...Unless you're a fan of one of the three or four ACC schools that got passed up, how can anyone be against the Gator Bowl selecting 6-6 Florida State to play West Virginia? I am infinitely more interested in watching Bobby Bowden's swan song against his old school than I would have been if Miami, Clemson, North Carolina, or anyone else from the ACC was in this game. We talk all the time about how bowls are about money, so why is anyone up in arms about the Gator making by far the best business decision available?
...Speaking of the ACC, think they're regretting the whole conference championship game idea? They staged a fantastic game that barely anyone saw, either in the stadium or on television. The game was on ESPN directly opposite the Texas/Nebraska tilt (I don't know about you, but I was watching the Big 12 title), and while the game drew more fans than the 27,000 who showed up last year, 42,000+ this year isn't exactly something to brag about. How long until this game is moved to the home field of the higher ranked team just to ensure a sell-out?
...For the Big Ten, Iowa got the bowl bid they deserved, and I think got the best matchup possible for a Big Ten win. Yep, Georgia Tech's offense is potent, but the one thing the Hawks do well is defense, and Tech's defense isn't exactly great. While I will continue to hate Iowa with every fiber of my being, for the sake of the conference Iowa needs to win this game.
...Don't know about you, but I was pretty shocked when I heard the Outback was taking Northwestern over Wisconsin. Perhaps all the Wildcat fans who don't show up for home games will make the trip all the way down to Florida, but I can't believe the Outback passed up the 30 or 40,000 Wisconsinites who would have packed up their beer, brats and cheese, and made the trek down there. And even for television ratings, I can't fathom how Northwestern is more appealing. Did you watch one Northwestern game all year besides when they played Minnesota and you HAD to watch? Me neither. It also hurts the conference as I think Wisconsin had a much better chance to beat Auburn than the Wildcats do. Then again, I thought BuckyBadger would beat Northwestern and the Wildcats would have a down year (remember when we beat them? Sigh...that was fun), so what do I know? Watch Pat Fitzgerald waltz down there and beat the Tigers.
...We have plenty of time to preview and muse about all the bowl games, so I'll finish with wondering whether the Big Ten can get a winning bowl record this year. Looking at the matchups, it's not going to be easy, and your Maroon and Gold HAVE to win because of some other mismatches.
Dec. 29th
Champs, Orlando- Wisconsin vs. Miami
Should be the most competitive non-BCS game, and a virtual toss-up right now.
Dec. 31st
Insight, Tempe- Minnesota vs. Iowa State
I like the Gophs here, but then again I'm biased. And I also still can't believe we drew Iowa St instead of A&M or Mizzou.
Jan 1st
Rose, Pasadena- Ohio State vs. Oregon
Hard not to like the Ducks in this one. Heck, it's hard not to love the Ducks in this one.
Outback, Tampa- Northwestern vs. Auburn
Auburn has to be favored here by at least a TD, right?
Capital One, Orlando- Penn St. vs LSU
Might be nice for the JoePa's to actually beat a ranked team. Couldn't come at a better time, either.
Jan 2nd
Alamo, San Antonio- Michigan St. vs Texas Tech
With the suspensions at Michigan State, and considering we threw for 416 on them when they had everybody playing, will the Red Raiders be the first team to throw for 1,000 yards in a single game?
Jan 5th
Orange, Miami- Iowa vs. Georgia Tech
Another toss-up of evenly matched, two loss teams. I'll favor Iowa with Stanzi back, but only because I have to.
...I did say Alabama would beat Florida in the SEC title game, but I did not predict Bama QB Greg McElroy to have the game of his life and outplay some guy named Tim Tebow in the process. Kudos to Bama and their coaches for an excellent game plan, as they spread it out and threw early to keep the Gators off balance, then went to work with as good a 1-2 rushing combo as there is in the country in soon-to-be-Heisman winner Mark Ingram and bulldozing freshman Trent Richardson. Defensively, the Tide were so impressive slowing down the Urban Meyer spread, especially the run game. Because of Mt. Cody in the middle, the Gators were both unable and unwilling to run inside, and with SO much speed on the Bama D, Florida didn't have a hope in heck of getting yards going east and west.
...Bama was the clear winner of the battle of 1 vs 2, and they should just hand the BCS trophy the Nick Saban and the Tide right without even playing the next one. Stewart Mandel, like I'm sure everyone who watched both the SEC title game and Texas' lucky, sloppy, turnover ridden win over Nebraska, is expecting a Tide blowout win- and not just because of the two outcomes on Saturday. The stat that has me thinking Texas has no chance is this one from Mandel's weekly College Football Overtime column:
Consider: In his three games against top 40 pass defenses this season (Colorado, Oklahoma and Nebraska), (Colt) McCoy has thrown for an average of 192 yards, with two touchdowns and five interceptions. (Overall: 270.2 yards, 27 TDs, 12 INTs). Alabama's pass defense ranks seventh nationally.
Bama's defense, of course, is as good or better than anything Texas has seen all season (well other than practice. Let's not forget the Horns' D is also ranked top 3 in the country), and if they struggled to move the ball on Nebraska, how the heck will they do it against Rolando McClain, Mt. Cody and the rest of the Alabama D? Mack Brown and the Texas coaching staff will certainly earn their paychecks in the next six weeks trying to figure out just how in the heck they're going to beat Alabama.
...Cincy had an improbable fourth quarter comeback to knock off Pitt and make a BCS game, but you have to wonder what chance they stand against Florida. Sure, Cincy's passing offense will be better than anything Florida has seen, but the Gators will also be by far the most physical team on both sides of the ball that the Bearcats have played all season. Plus, there's also the looming question of who will be coaching Cincinnati by then?
...Love the TCU/Boise game in the Fiesta Bowl considering that TCU vs. Florida wasn't possible because of the order of selection. One of the country's best offenses against on the country's best defenses should make for great theater.
...Unless you're a fan of one of the three or four ACC schools that got passed up, how can anyone be against the Gator Bowl selecting 6-6 Florida State to play West Virginia? I am infinitely more interested in watching Bobby Bowden's swan song against his old school than I would have been if Miami, Clemson, North Carolina, or anyone else from the ACC was in this game. We talk all the time about how bowls are about money, so why is anyone up in arms about the Gator making by far the best business decision available?
...Speaking of the ACC, think they're regretting the whole conference championship game idea? They staged a fantastic game that barely anyone saw, either in the stadium or on television. The game was on ESPN directly opposite the Texas/Nebraska tilt (I don't know about you, but I was watching the Big 12 title), and while the game drew more fans than the 27,000 who showed up last year, 42,000+ this year isn't exactly something to brag about. How long until this game is moved to the home field of the higher ranked team just to ensure a sell-out?
...For the Big Ten, Iowa got the bowl bid they deserved, and I think got the best matchup possible for a Big Ten win. Yep, Georgia Tech's offense is potent, but the one thing the Hawks do well is defense, and Tech's defense isn't exactly great. While I will continue to hate Iowa with every fiber of my being, for the sake of the conference Iowa needs to win this game.
...Don't know about you, but I was pretty shocked when I heard the Outback was taking Northwestern over Wisconsin. Perhaps all the Wildcat fans who don't show up for home games will make the trip all the way down to Florida, but I can't believe the Outback passed up the 30 or 40,000 Wisconsinites who would have packed up their beer, brats and cheese, and made the trek down there. And even for television ratings, I can't fathom how Northwestern is more appealing. Did you watch one Northwestern game all year besides when they played Minnesota and you HAD to watch? Me neither. It also hurts the conference as I think Wisconsin had a much better chance to beat Auburn than the Wildcats do. Then again, I thought BuckyBadger would beat Northwestern and the Wildcats would have a down year (remember when we beat them? Sigh...that was fun), so what do I know? Watch Pat Fitzgerald waltz down there and beat the Tigers.
...We have plenty of time to preview and muse about all the bowl games, so I'll finish with wondering whether the Big Ten can get a winning bowl record this year. Looking at the matchups, it's not going to be easy, and your Maroon and Gold HAVE to win because of some other mismatches.
Dec. 29th
Champs, Orlando- Wisconsin vs. Miami
Should be the most competitive non-BCS game, and a virtual toss-up right now.
Dec. 31st
Insight, Tempe- Minnesota vs. Iowa State
I like the Gophs here, but then again I'm biased. And I also still can't believe we drew Iowa St instead of A&M or Mizzou.
Jan 1st
Rose, Pasadena- Ohio State vs. Oregon
Hard not to like the Ducks in this one. Heck, it's hard not to love the Ducks in this one.
Outback, Tampa- Northwestern vs. Auburn
Auburn has to be favored here by at least a TD, right?
Capital One, Orlando- Penn St. vs LSU
Might be nice for the JoePa's to actually beat a ranked team. Couldn't come at a better time, either.
Jan 2nd
Alamo, San Antonio- Michigan St. vs Texas Tech
With the suspensions at Michigan State, and considering we threw for 416 on them when they had everybody playing, will the Red Raiders be the first team to throw for 1,000 yards in a single game?
Jan 5th
Orange, Miami- Iowa vs. Georgia Tech
Another toss-up of evenly matched, two loss teams. I'll favor Iowa with Stanzi back, but only because I have to.
Insight on the Insight Bowl (a pun you will likely hear 9,286 times over the next 24 days)
There's been plenty of sarcasm and negativity around these parts lately, as I'm sure you have noticed. Jeff and I tend to respond to it a bit differently. He writes about it, which is healthy. I, on the other hand, curl up in the fetal position on the floor with my thumb in my mouth, rocking back and forth while faintly humming the Minnesota rouser. It's not quite as healthy.
Last night our Golden Gophers were awarded for their efforts this season with a return trip to the Insight.com Bowl in sunny Tempe, Arizona on New Year's Eve to play the Cyclones of Iowa State. While you no doubt know exactly how we feel about this bowl if you are regular of this blog (and thank you again to all seven of you), I am here to talk silver lining.
Bowl eligibility is an important thing for a football program. It gives you an opportunity to play a program that you don't often get a chance to play, which gives the team a test outside of its conference. It gives you an opportunity to represent the Big Ten Conference on a national level. And perhaps most importantly for this Gopher team, it gives you another month of practices as a program that you desperately need if you are going to improve before next season.
The very good news for the Gophers is that Iowa State is a much better match-up for us than a team like Missouri or Texas Tech would have been. Iowa State is very similar to the Gophers in the sense that their strength is defense. Their offense (21.5 ppg) actually ranked worse than ours (21.6 ppg) this year in points scored/game.
Here are some links to get you started on prepping for the game:
Last night our Golden Gophers were awarded for their efforts this season with a return trip to the Insight.com Bowl in sunny Tempe, Arizona on New Year's Eve to play the Cyclones of Iowa State. While you no doubt know exactly how we feel about this bowl if you are regular of this blog (and thank you again to all seven of you), I am here to talk silver lining. Bowl eligibility is an important thing for a football program. It gives you an opportunity to play a program that you don't often get a chance to play, which gives the team a test outside of its conference. It gives you an opportunity to represent the Big Ten Conference on a national level. And perhaps most importantly for this Gopher team, it gives you another month of practices as a program that you desperately need if you are going to improve before next season.
The very good news for the Gophers is that Iowa State is a much better match-up for us than a team like Missouri or Texas Tech would have been. Iowa State is very similar to the Gophers in the sense that their strength is defense. Their offense (21.5 ppg) actually ranked worse than ours (21.6 ppg) this year in points scored/game.
Here are some links to get you started on prepping for the game:
*Official Insight Bowl website.
*ISU fans like the match-up too.(Make sure to check out the comments. Hawkeye fans are already spewing hatred for the Gophers and jumping on the Cyclones bandwagon.)
*Rittenberg gives his first take on the game.
*ESPN has a brief preview with some statistical side-by-sides.
*If you plan to head to Tempe for the game, Creative Charters already has packages available.
*Nick Tow-Arnett thinks his third trip to the Insight Bowl might be a charm.
*ISU hasn't been to a bowl game since 2005, and their fans appear to be more excited about this game than we are.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Welcome to Winter and the Last Regular Season Weekend
Greetings to you and a very happy Friday wherever you're reading from. I don't know about you, but this is always seems such a tough and long week coming off almost five days off from Thanksgiving and all the food and fun. Then again, with the current state of unemployment in this country with almost 25 million Americans out of work or under-employed, I suppose I should be thankful for a full-time job. I'm also thankful for the last regular season weekend of college football. It's sad that another college football season is almost over, but it should be a great Saturday of games. There's not much going with the Big Ten on the field, as Wisconsin and Illinois are the only two teams playing, but there's still plenty of intrigue around the conference and the country. On this cold, cold Friday (it was 16 degrees when I got in the car this morning) let's get to it!
- Adam Rittenberg has more details on the alleged Michigan State brawl, and let's just say things continue to sound worse and worse for the Spartans. A commenter provided this good link to a story from a Michigan paper that muses that this whole mess puts Sparty in danger of not only getting left out of the Alamo Bowl, but perhaps the Insight too. Although, I'm pretty sure the Insight HAS to take a Big Ten team if there is one eligble, and IF Minnesota were to get taken by the Alamo, MSU would be the only bowl eligble Big Ten left. The selection should come as late as Sunday night when the BCS bowls are announced, and it continues to sound as if the Alamo will wait as long as possible to make their decision.
- The two games involving Big Ten teams tomorrow are not exactly appointment viewing. At least not for me. Illinois hosts Fresno State at 11:30am on the Big Ten Network in what should be at least a competitive game. I like Illinois' chances of winning as Fresno's run defense is terrible, and about the only thing the Illini do well is run (well unless they're playing the Gophers, in which case they do everything well). The odds of Illinois winning are certainly higher than me watching this game, which is currently set a zero, zilch, and nada. Ditto the Wisconsin game, although I suppose it has more to do with the start time (10:30pm!!! on The Deuce) than mild interest. The Badgers should run all over the Warriors and run away with this game to earn them an Outback bowl bid. Then again, they should have done the same to Northwestern, and we know how that went.
- The most intrigue for the Big Ten this weekend is whether Iowa or Penn State will be going to a BCS game (it matters not whether Texas wins or loses. Boise will be the ones getting left out if Nebraska does the impossible, which they won't considering beating Texas with that offense-ranked like 97th or something terrible like that- IS indeed impossible, but I'm just saying). Based on how they've played Iowa deserves the bid, but as we know, this has absolutely nothing to do with how they've played. Both teams travel extremely well, but Penn State has more of a national name and following, and let's be honest, they're more fun to watch. Still, sounds like if the Fiesta has its choice (and when Texas wins they will), they'll take the Hawkeyes, probably against Boise, dropping Penn State to play LSU in what should be a dandy of a Capital One bowl.
- The BCS game we do know is set is the Rose Bowl, as Oregon locked up their first trip to Pasadena in 15 years by beating rival Oregon State 37-33 in the Civil War last night. While there's another game going on in Atlanta tomorrow that will receive a wee bit of a attention, I'm pretty sure the best game of the week was played between the Ducks and the Beavers. How will the high flying Ducks matchup against Ohio State? Nobody yet seems to love their chances, but considering how good Ohio State's defense has been, especially against the run, I think they can slow Oregon's powerful rushing offense. The key, as always, will be Terrelle Pryor and whether he's allowed (or allows himself) to scramble and run. If he's forced to be "PPP" (Pocket Passer Pryor) the Buckeyes will lose.
- Before everyone gets all caught up in the "Brian Kelly to Notre Dame" hoopla, doesn't he have to beat Pittsburgh first? I think the Panthers are overrated, but they've got a heck of a pass rush and a good running back in freshman of the year Dion Lewis, so they should give Kelly and his #5 Cincinnati Bearcats a game. But as good as the Bearcats offense has been, their defense has been almost that bad, and an upset is not out of the question. What would be in question then is if Kelly looks so good to Notre Dame if blows a pseudo conference title game and ends up in the Gator Bowl or worse instead of in a BCS bowl?
- For those that care about the most overrated award in sports, the Heisman race will be decided Saturday night. QB's Tim Tebow of Florida and Colt McCoy of Texas were the pre-season favorites, but less than ridiculous, gawdy seasons from both have put their hopes of winning the award in jeopardy. Personally I think even if Tebow has the game of his life against Alabama he still shouldn't win it, as he just has not had a monster statistical season. McCoy, on the other hand, can wrap the thing up with a monster game in their victory Saturday night over Nebraska. Although Ndamukong Suh (who deserves at least an invite to New York for the Heisman ceremony) is not going to make it easy on him.
- Oh, and finally, about that there game in Atlanta- while I think it'll be low scoring and will lack the excitement the Civil War had, I am still hoping/expecting a great game between #1 Florida and #2 Alabama. Tough to pick a winner but I'll try: both defenses rank in the top 3 in the country and both are allowing less than 11 points per game. No really, less than 11 points. That's pretty unreal. I like Florida's defense a little better than Bama's (although with the Gators losing star DE Carlos Dunlap with a case of Dumbassitis it could be a total tossup), but I like Bama's offense a little better for one reason: WR Julio Jones. He is absolutely the key to this game, as he is the only big-play receiver on either sideline. He played well in the Tide's loss to the Gators in this same game last year, and if Bama wants to score, Jones HAS to be a factor. As good as both running games are (and obviously both are really, really good), it's whoever throws the ball better who is going to win, and if Jones can have a big afternoon, I like Alabama in a low-scoring close game 20-17.
- Adam Rittenberg has more details on the alleged Michigan State brawl, and let's just say things continue to sound worse and worse for the Spartans. A commenter provided this good link to a story from a Michigan paper that muses that this whole mess puts Sparty in danger of not only getting left out of the Alamo Bowl, but perhaps the Insight too. Although, I'm pretty sure the Insight HAS to take a Big Ten team if there is one eligble, and IF Minnesota were to get taken by the Alamo, MSU would be the only bowl eligble Big Ten left. The selection should come as late as Sunday night when the BCS bowls are announced, and it continues to sound as if the Alamo will wait as long as possible to make their decision.
- The two games involving Big Ten teams tomorrow are not exactly appointment viewing. At least not for me. Illinois hosts Fresno State at 11:30am on the Big Ten Network in what should be at least a competitive game. I like Illinois' chances of winning as Fresno's run defense is terrible, and about the only thing the Illini do well is run (well unless they're playing the Gophers, in which case they do everything well). The odds of Illinois winning are certainly higher than me watching this game, which is currently set a zero, zilch, and nada. Ditto the Wisconsin game, although I suppose it has more to do with the start time (10:30pm!!! on The Deuce) than mild interest. The Badgers should run all over the Warriors and run away with this game to earn them an Outback bowl bid. Then again, they should have done the same to Northwestern, and we know how that went.
- The most intrigue for the Big Ten this weekend is whether Iowa or Penn State will be going to a BCS game (it matters not whether Texas wins or loses. Boise will be the ones getting left out if Nebraska does the impossible, which they won't considering beating Texas with that offense-ranked like 97th or something terrible like that- IS indeed impossible, but I'm just saying). Based on how they've played Iowa deserves the bid, but as we know, this has absolutely nothing to do with how they've played. Both teams travel extremely well, but Penn State has more of a national name and following, and let's be honest, they're more fun to watch. Still, sounds like if the Fiesta has its choice (and when Texas wins they will), they'll take the Hawkeyes, probably against Boise, dropping Penn State to play LSU in what should be a dandy of a Capital One bowl.
- The BCS game we do know is set is the Rose Bowl, as Oregon locked up their first trip to Pasadena in 15 years by beating rival Oregon State 37-33 in the Civil War last night. While there's another game going on in Atlanta tomorrow that will receive a wee bit of a attention, I'm pretty sure the best game of the week was played between the Ducks and the Beavers. How will the high flying Ducks matchup against Ohio State? Nobody yet seems to love their chances, but considering how good Ohio State's defense has been, especially against the run, I think they can slow Oregon's powerful rushing offense. The key, as always, will be Terrelle Pryor and whether he's allowed (or allows himself) to scramble and run. If he's forced to be "PPP" (Pocket Passer Pryor) the Buckeyes will lose.
- Before everyone gets all caught up in the "Brian Kelly to Notre Dame" hoopla, doesn't he have to beat Pittsburgh first? I think the Panthers are overrated, but they've got a heck of a pass rush and a good running back in freshman of the year Dion Lewis, so they should give Kelly and his #5 Cincinnati Bearcats a game. But as good as the Bearcats offense has been, their defense has been almost that bad, and an upset is not out of the question. What would be in question then is if Kelly looks so good to Notre Dame if blows a pseudo conference title game and ends up in the Gator Bowl or worse instead of in a BCS bowl?
- For those that care about the most overrated award in sports, the Heisman race will be decided Saturday night. QB's Tim Tebow of Florida and Colt McCoy of Texas were the pre-season favorites, but less than ridiculous, gawdy seasons from both have put their hopes of winning the award in jeopardy. Personally I think even if Tebow has the game of his life against Alabama he still shouldn't win it, as he just has not had a monster statistical season. McCoy, on the other hand, can wrap the thing up with a monster game in their victory Saturday night over Nebraska. Although Ndamukong Suh (who deserves at least an invite to New York for the Heisman ceremony) is not going to make it easy on him.
- Oh, and finally, about that there game in Atlanta- while I think it'll be low scoring and will lack the excitement the Civil War had, I am still hoping/expecting a great game between #1 Florida and #2 Alabama. Tough to pick a winner but I'll try: both defenses rank in the top 3 in the country and both are allowing less than 11 points per game. No really, less than 11 points. That's pretty unreal. I like Florida's defense a little better than Bama's (although with the Gators losing star DE Carlos Dunlap with a case of Dumbassitis it could be a total tossup), but I like Bama's offense a little better for one reason: WR Julio Jones. He is absolutely the key to this game, as he is the only big-play receiver on either sideline. He played well in the Tide's loss to the Gators in this same game last year, and if Bama wants to score, Jones HAS to be a factor. As good as both running games are (and obviously both are really, really good), it's whoever throws the ball better who is going to win, and if Jones can have a big afternoon, I like Alabama in a low-scoring close game 20-17.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Gophs Still in the Discussion for the Alamo Bowl
Jer emailed me this Strib link yesterday to a story about how the Alamo Bowl says the Gophers are still in consideration, along with Michigan State. At first, I laughed, as it sounded like PR BS to build suspense and get attention for their bowl, knowing full well they were taking Michigan State all along. But after reading about the alleged on-campus assault in East Lansing, and the very real possibility this whole thing gets uglier before it gets better, I'm no longer laughing at the Gophers redefining the phrase "backing into a bowl game."
Not that I'm complaining. The Alamo Bowl has been a mini-goal of mine and Jer for the Gophs for years, a prestigious bowl against a good Big 12 team that's not quite New Year's Day bowl quality, but in my mind is light years better than the Insight/Music City/Sun bowl variety we're used to seeing Minnesota go to. And obviously it's a wee bit better than the Little Caesar's Bowl in Detroit- although I think even a game in Fargo or Winnipeg would be better than Detroit. But that's just me.
Still, if the Gophers were to get selected to play in San Antonio, regardless of the reasons, I'd be more than happy to see it. But if there's any chance of it happening, the findings in the alleged assault are going to have to be enough to scare away bowl officials, because unfortunately the Gophs have done a great job of scaring away bowl suitors with their on-field play.
If you're judging these two teams by on-field results, and really by anything not associated with the alleged assault, it's tough to find a reason to choose Minnesota over Michigan State other than the fact we beat them in an exciting shootout. If that Gopher offense had shown up for any of the 11 other games, we'd have an argument for being selected, but MSU was much more consistent and exciting offensively, and had a better conference record. I'm also pretty sure the fans of the Green and White travel as well or better than we do. Put it all together, and it's tough to make an argument that the Alamo Bowl would make more money (which is, of course, what it's all about) by selecting the Gophers over the Spartans.
But then there's the whole post-team banquet scuffle. If you haven't heard, this little incident makes all of the Gopher football off-season incidents this year seem tame. "Allegedly" (I learned from my short time in broadcasting to always use this word when talking about legal matters that have not yet been resolved) at least 10 players on the Spartans team had a score to settle with some guys in a frat on campus. After their team banquet, they decided it'd be a super swell idea to don ski masks (because really, 10 massive guys on a college campus- with ski masks or not- couldn't possibly be mistaken for football players) and go over to the frat and rough up a few guys. Of course, not everyone decided to wear ski masks but they went anyway and that's when the alleged assault took place. According to one witness, as many as 15-20 football players were there, although the involvement of any of them is still being determined.
As Adam Rittenburg said in a post last night, no arrests have been made, but well just look at the evidence...
So while the school isn't calling them suspects, 10 players have admitted to being at the fight, the police have 10 suspects, and all 10 players present at the fight have been suspended (8) or booted off the team (2). Hmmmmm as Rittenburg said in an earlier post "you do the math."
I doubt this will be enough to keep the Alamo from inviting MSU, but if the official report comes out before the bowl announcement Sunday and the findings look bad, it's possible the folks in San Antonio could tag the Gophers instead of the Spartans. Still, the question comes down to would you rather have a team with some players who allegedly assaulted someone off the field, or a team with no national exposure whose offense on the field could quite possibly assault the eyes of all the viewers of their bowl game? Decisions, decisions.
Not that I'm complaining. The Alamo Bowl has been a mini-goal of mine and Jer for the Gophs for years, a prestigious bowl against a good Big 12 team that's not quite New Year's Day bowl quality, but in my mind is light years better than the Insight/Music City/Sun bowl variety we're used to seeing Minnesota go to. And obviously it's a wee bit better than the Little Caesar's Bowl in Detroit- although I think even a game in Fargo or Winnipeg would be better than Detroit. But that's just me.
Still, if the Gophers were to get selected to play in San Antonio, regardless of the reasons, I'd be more than happy to see it. But if there's any chance of it happening, the findings in the alleged assault are going to have to be enough to scare away bowl officials, because unfortunately the Gophs have done a great job of scaring away bowl suitors with their on-field play.
If you're judging these two teams by on-field results, and really by anything not associated with the alleged assault, it's tough to find a reason to choose Minnesota over Michigan State other than the fact we beat them in an exciting shootout. If that Gopher offense had shown up for any of the 11 other games, we'd have an argument for being selected, but MSU was much more consistent and exciting offensively, and had a better conference record. I'm also pretty sure the fans of the Green and White travel as well or better than we do. Put it all together, and it's tough to make an argument that the Alamo Bowl would make more money (which is, of course, what it's all about) by selecting the Gophers over the Spartans.
But then there's the whole post-team banquet scuffle. If you haven't heard, this little incident makes all of the Gopher football off-season incidents this year seem tame. "Allegedly" (I learned from my short time in broadcasting to always use this word when talking about legal matters that have not yet been resolved) at least 10 players on the Spartans team had a score to settle with some guys in a frat on campus. After their team banquet, they decided it'd be a super swell idea to don ski masks (because really, 10 massive guys on a college campus- with ski masks or not- couldn't possibly be mistaken for football players) and go over to the frat and rough up a few guys. Of course, not everyone decided to wear ski masks but they went anyway and that's when the alleged assault took place. According to one witness, as many as 15-20 football players were there, although the involvement of any of them is still being determined.
As Adam Rittenburg said in a post last night, no arrests have been made, but well just look at the evidence...
The Spartans dismissed two players and suspended eight others in the wake of a Nov. 22 fight at a residence hall. Michigan State police have identified 10 suspects -- the school isn't calling the players suspects, only confirming they were present during the fight -- and still are trying to identify five more.
So while the school isn't calling them suspects, 10 players have admitted to being at the fight, the police have 10 suspects, and all 10 players present at the fight have been suspended (8) or booted off the team (2). Hmmmmm as Rittenburg said in an earlier post "you do the math."
I doubt this will be enough to keep the Alamo from inviting MSU, but if the official report comes out before the bowl announcement Sunday and the findings look bad, it's possible the folks in San Antonio could tag the Gophers instead of the Spartans. Still, the question comes down to would you rather have a team with some players who allegedly assaulted someone off the field, or a team with no national exposure whose offense on the field could quite possibly assault the eyes of all the viewers of their bowl game? Decisions, decisions.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
My Two Cents on Brewster
I was one of the leading advocates for firing Coach Mason. I started FireGlenMason.blogspot.com (now defunct). I was ready to see him go, not because I thought he was a horrible coach, but because I didn't believe that he could take our program to any level higher than he had.
When Coach Brewster was hired, I was skeptical. I was pulling for a Bo Pellini type at the time. But the more I heard him talk, and talk about his aspirations for the Gopher Football program, I was on board. Clearly the proof needs to be shown on the field, but Coach Brewster was saying things that Glen Mason not only never said, but he would have laughed at the very notion of them.
Mason never believed that Minnesota could compete on a national level, both on the field and in recruiting. His attitude made it clear that he didn't think Minnesota had a chance to be anything better than a .500 team, give or take a game or two, each year. But Brewster came in saying that we could, and then in short order he actually put an effort behind his words... as Gopher fans it finally felt like we had somebody who thought we deserved, and could be, more than a cellar-dweller.
Tim Brewster has done some great things to move this program in the right direction. Recruiting is obviously much improved, and we are landing players that we might not have even pursued in the past. The attitude around the program seems much more "big time," for lack of a better term, and some around the nation have taken notice.
But there's a saying around my office that applies to Gopher football, and specifically to Tim Brewster...
Don't mistake activity for results.
Tim Brewster has said all of the right things. He's done all of the right things. And he's done his damnedest to get everyone else to realize it. His activity level has been very high, and the results of those individual activities have been positive.
However, at the end of the day, the only thing that matters is the total sum of the end results of those activities... wins and losses.
Tim Brewster's activities have not produced acceptable results.
Yet.
I certainly do not believe that Tim Brewster deserves to be fired. And I will even go as far as to say that even if the Gophers get blown out in their bowl game, he doesn't deserve to be fired. But I certainly do not believe that Tim Brewster deserves any kind of contract extension right now either.
Jeff hasn't advocated for the firing of Brewster, but he has said that if Maturi were to let Brewster go, that he would understand the decision, especially if it did come in the light of a blowout in the bowl game. But I still tend to believe that firing Brewster would be a rash decision, and I think that in light of where the program is at right now, year 4 is do or die time for Coach Brewster.
If you can't win (and by win I mean NO collapses, winning a rivalry game, a winning record in the conference, and a New Year's Day bowl game) in your 4th year, with your coaching staff, your recruits, in a new stadium and after having been given every chance to do so, then you should be shown the door.
Tim Brewster was brought to the University of Minnesota to bring the team to a better place, and if he can't accomplish anything more than the same mediocrity that his predecessor did, then he shouldn't be around anymore.
But that's next year. As for now, following the bowl game, I would love to see Joel Maturi release a statement like this...
"Tim Brewster has my full confidence heading into the 2010 Gopher Football season. Having said that, his job is absolutely on the line if there are not some major improvements ON THE FIELD in 2010. The University of Minnesota is no longer interested in fielding a football program that doesn't win at a very high level. I believed when I hired Tim Brewster that he was the right man to bring us to the next level of competition in the Big Ten, however, I am open to the fact that I may have been wrong. We intend to build a winner at the University of Minnesota, and if Tim Brewster is not the coach to build a winner, then we will pursue someone else who will following the 2010 season."
When Coach Brewster was hired, I was skeptical. I was pulling for a Bo Pellini type at the time. But the more I heard him talk, and talk about his aspirations for the Gopher Football program, I was on board. Clearly the proof needs to be shown on the field, but Coach Brewster was saying things that Glen Mason not only never said, but he would have laughed at the very notion of them.
Mason never believed that Minnesota could compete on a national level, both on the field and in recruiting. His attitude made it clear that he didn't think Minnesota had a chance to be anything better than a .500 team, give or take a game or two, each year. But Brewster came in saying that we could, and then in short order he actually put an effort behind his words... as Gopher fans it finally felt like we had somebody who thought we deserved, and could be, more than a cellar-dweller.
Tim Brewster has done some great things to move this program in the right direction. Recruiting is obviously much improved, and we are landing players that we might not have even pursued in the past. The attitude around the program seems much more "big time," for lack of a better term, and some around the nation have taken notice.
But there's a saying around my office that applies to Gopher football, and specifically to Tim Brewster...
Don't mistake activity for results.
Tim Brewster has said all of the right things. He's done all of the right things. And he's done his damnedest to get everyone else to realize it. His activity level has been very high, and the results of those individual activities have been positive.
However, at the end of the day, the only thing that matters is the total sum of the end results of those activities... wins and losses.
Tim Brewster's activities have not produced acceptable results.
Yet.
I certainly do not believe that Tim Brewster deserves to be fired. And I will even go as far as to say that even if the Gophers get blown out in their bowl game, he doesn't deserve to be fired. But I certainly do not believe that Tim Brewster deserves any kind of contract extension right now either.
Jeff hasn't advocated for the firing of Brewster, but he has said that if Maturi were to let Brewster go, that he would understand the decision, especially if it did come in the light of a blowout in the bowl game. But I still tend to believe that firing Brewster would be a rash decision, and I think that in light of where the program is at right now, year 4 is do or die time for Coach Brewster.
If you can't win (and by win I mean NO collapses, winning a rivalry game, a winning record in the conference, and a New Year's Day bowl game) in your 4th year, with your coaching staff, your recruits, in a new stadium and after having been given every chance to do so, then you should be shown the door.
Tim Brewster was brought to the University of Minnesota to bring the team to a better place, and if he can't accomplish anything more than the same mediocrity that his predecessor did, then he shouldn't be around anymore.
But that's next year. As for now, following the bowl game, I would love to see Joel Maturi release a statement like this...
"Tim Brewster has my full confidence heading into the 2010 Gopher Football season. Having said that, his job is absolutely on the line if there are not some major improvements ON THE FIELD in 2010. The University of Minnesota is no longer interested in fielding a football program that doesn't win at a very high level. I believed when I hired Tim Brewster that he was the right man to bring us to the next level of competition in the Big Ten, however, I am open to the fact that I may have been wrong. We intend to build a winner at the University of Minnesota, and if Tim Brewster is not the coach to build a winner, then we will pursue someone else who will following the 2010 season."
Brewster says the QB competition will be "wide open" come spring?
While reading Adam Rittenberg's blog this morning, I came across this question and answer from his mailblog:
So my question would be: did Brewster actually say this? And if so when, and where? I scoured the internet looking for confirmation, but about the only recent news I could find about Brewster is that his house is for sale (and has been since September) and that he has a home visit with Seantrel Henderson this week. Anyone out there read or hear Brewster actually say he'll do the logical thing and make his three year starting quarterback who stunk this year actually earn his job in the spring? Maybe the source is his realtor? Maybe he told Seantrel he actually believes in competition and makes people earn their jobs (if this is true, can we get some competition for offensive coordinator Jed Fisch, please?)? Or is this just wishful thinking from a desperate Gopher fan? If anybody has anything concrete, I'd love to hear it.
Will from St. Paul, Minn., writes: Hey Adam,Love your blog, I read it every day. I was just wondering now that even Tim Brewster said that the quarterback situation for next spring is wide open, what the odds that Moses Alipate will be included in the mix? There really has not been to much talk about it, but when you look at the recruting records Moses was actually rated higher than Marquis Gray. He fits into the pro style offense much better because of his drop back and pass capabilities.
Adam Rittenberg: Minnesota needs to evaluate all of its options at quarterback next year. Adam Weber clearly took a step back this fall, and while he should be given a chance to keep his job, there has to be a competition with Alipate included. I really thought we'd see more of MarQueis Gray during the regular season, but Gray, like Weber, might be struggling to grasp the complexities of the pro-style system. While both Weber and Gray might be better suited to the spread in the long run, Alipate, like you mentioned, was billed as a drop-back passer coming out of high school. He definitely deserves a shot.
So my question would be: did Brewster actually say this? And if so when, and where? I scoured the internet looking for confirmation, but about the only recent news I could find about Brewster is that his house is for sale (and has been since September) and that he has a home visit with Seantrel Henderson this week. Anyone out there read or hear Brewster actually say he'll do the logical thing and make his three year starting quarterback who stunk this year actually earn his job in the spring? Maybe the source is his realtor? Maybe he told Seantrel he actually believes in competition and makes people earn their jobs (if this is true, can we get some competition for offensive coordinator Jed Fisch, please?)? Or is this just wishful thinking from a desperate Gopher fan? If anybody has anything concrete, I'd love to hear it.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
What Should Be Expected at Minnesota
Not sure if you've heard, but Notre Dame fired their head football coach yesterday. Yes Charlie Weis, the man who when he came to South Bend loved to talk about how great he was as much as he loved a buffet table, was axed after a 6-6 season, his third straight without a winning record. The guy who couldn't talk enough when he got there about how things were going to change, wouldn't talk at all after the season ending loss- and fourth straight in 2009- to Stanford, as he escaped out the back door. Poor Charlie will now have to cry himself to sleep every night with his $30 million severance (or thereabouts), the result of which can be blamed on the Notre Dame Board of Directors, who saw fit to give Weis a 10 year extension eight games into his first season.
This job opening, as well as those at Louisville, Virginia, and an expected vacancy at Kansas, provide an interesting discussion at expectations versus reality. What is expected for a football program by the school and its supporters, and what is actually possible?
At Notre Dame, their alums and boosters would side with Pat Forde of ESPN.com, who believes all it will take is the right coach to return the program to its past glories and competing for a National Title every year. Many outside the program would agree with SI.com's Stewart Mandel, who calls the Fighting Irish job a death trap and believe the Irish need to face facts and accept their past glories are gone forever.
Which side is right? Which is wrong? As much as I love kicking Notre Dame while they're down, I think Forde is right- all it takes is the right coach. In this day and age pretty much anybody can be turned into a national power if they have the right coach and catch the right breaks. Little Boise State and their blue turf have been on the national radar for more than a decade thanks to coaches Dirk Koetter, Dan Hawkins and now Chris Petersen. TCU has risen to prominence thanks to Gary Patterson. Louisville, who never had much of a football tradition, kicked Steve Kragthorpe to the curb because former coach Bobby Patrino proved it could be done. Brian Kelly is the alleged front runner for the Notre Dame job because he's turned Cincinnati, who play in a dumpy 35,000 seat stadium and don't even have their own practice facility, into an almost overnight success story.
The fact it CAN be done almost anywhere is a blessing and a curse- just because it can be done obviously doesn't mean it WILL be done, as has been proven at so many other places. Like Notre Dame, Nebraska is still waiting for their return to glory, as are Miami, Florida State, Washington, and Texas A&M, to name a few. Closer to home in Big Ten country, we've seen and heard plenty about Michigan's struggles to get back to their place atop the conference standings. The folks in Ann Arbor make it seem like they've been in peril and termoil and their own version of college football purgatory for decades, when in fact it's been, what, two whole years?
Once you've had, as Nacho Libre would say, "a little taste of the glory", your expectations go through the roof, whether that's fair or not. Here at Minnesota, you'd have to REALLY broaden the definition of glory to say we've had even the smallest taste of it since the 1960's. Our Halycon Days are so far gone, there's few who still attend games who were actually alive to remember them. But does that stop us, as Gopher fans, from wanting more? Of course not. We ran Glen Mason out on a rail after he achieved, and sustained, the most success we had enjoyed in decades because we believed we deserved better than an all-offense, no-defense team team of six or seven wins and a trip to the Music City Bowl every year. Well, three years into the Tim Brewster Era and the results have been no-offense, some defense...with six or seven wins and a trip to the Insight Bowl every year. I, for one, don't seem to like this arrangement any better.
Is this fair? As a Gopher fan, am I insane to expect more? Mandel has laughed at Gopher fans a few times, saying essentially that we're the high school band geek who not only wants to be the star quarterback who dates the prom queen, but BELIEVES we're the star quarterback- and we're upset and frustrated because we can't figure out why it's not working out for us.
While I see his point, and I think EVERYBODY in college football could use a refresher in reality (good gracious Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel just won his fifth straight conference title, and yet after they lost to Purdue midway through the season, there were fans who honest to goodness believed it was time for a change. Les Miles down at LSU is 51-14 in five seasons, including a national title and conference title in 2006, and has won all four bowl games he's played in. But because the Bayou Bengals lost five games last year, and three this season- with two coming to the top two teams in the country- Tiger fans are also grumbling about their head coach), I do not think myself, or any Gopher fan, are crazy for not just wanting more, but for believing we can do better than this.
The question then is how much better? How much should be expected from the head coach of the Gophers? Where should we expect this program to be compared to where, in reality, it can be? I am of the belief that eight of the 11 teams in the Big Ten have a glass ceiling- no matter how well the eight of us recruit and play, we can never achieve and sustain the success that is possible at Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State. Those are traditionally three of the top 14 programs in the entire country- wait, you want the others? Fine. The top five in some order are Florida, Texas, USC, Ohio State and Meechigan. The next nine in some order are Oklahoma, LSU, Tennessee, Alabama, Penn State, Florida State, Notre Dame, Georgia and Nebraska. Virginia Tech would probably be 15, but a distant 15th, as whenever Frank Beamer finally decides to leave or retire, the Hokies could fade back to obscurity faster than Beamer brought them to prominence.
ANYWAY, this is an argument I'll be happy to have in the off-season when there's nothing to talk about, but for now the point is that when they have the right coach those 14 programs can achieve greater success and sustained success than anybody else because of some combination of money, facilties, fan following, tradition and recruiting base. As much as I love the Gophers, our days of being perennial national title contenders died back in the 50's and 60's. We just don't have, and never will have, the resources and the recruiting base to compete with the Buckeyes, Wolverines, and Nittany Lions when they've got everything going.
And you know what? I'm ok with that. What I want, and what I believe, is that we can duplicate the success of our two most hated rivals- Iowa and Wisconsin. I'll wait for our friends in those two fine states to stop laughing before I continue...done yet?...no?...a little longer?...I'm going to grab some more coffee...ok we could be days before they're done mocking us, and that's fine- they've earned it. But it doesn't change my belief that their success is achievable for Minnesota.
Both of these programs look at success as at least eight wins and a New Years Day Bowl Game. That's the floor. They expect, and have achieved in some seasons, double digit win totals and a shot at going to the Rose Bowl or a BCS Bowl. While they would love a national title and Big Ten title every year, they're not calling for their coach to be fired when it doesn't happen, and instead seem to expect and accept that a season between 8-10 wins, and anything better is truly a special year.
Iowa has been successful for just about ever, and like Nebraska, I'm not sure how it started, but it happened and they kept it. Rural state, few good recruits, and no good recruiting states close to them, yet they started a tradition way back when and through good coaching, good facilties, and an incredibly loyal fanbase, have sustained a place where kids want to play college football.
The parallels at Wisconsin, however, are much closer to ours. Like us, Sconnie had big-time success in the first half of the 20th Century, only to see their program descend to the bottom of the Big Ten. Wisconsin's dark times began after their Big Ten title in 1962, as they would struggle for almost 20 years before they found mediocrity with three straight seven win seasons from 1981-84. But it wasn't until some guy named Barry Alvarez was hired as head coach in 1990 that things really turned around- well actually, it wasn't until four years into Alvarez's tenure that they turned around. As we as Gopher fans know all too well, after three losing seasons, in 1994 Alvarez led the Badgers to a Big Ten title and Rose Bowl win over UCLA. In his next 12 seasons, Alvarez guided Sconnie to two more Big Ten titles and eleven bowls, including two more Rose Bowl victories. By the time he retired in 2005 to become athletic director, Alvarez had gotten a much needed stadium renovation and expansion done to Camp Randall, and the good people of Wisconsin were bleeding red and white almost as much as green and gold. Assuming the Badgers blow out Hawaii this weekend, it'll be yet another nine win regular season, and with so much talent returning in 2010, coach Bret Bielma could have them back in Pasadena as soon as next season.
It has worked and continues to work in those two rural states with poor recruiting areas, and it could just as easily work here too. We finally have a good stadium, the U is a great place to go to school, and the Twin Cities are one of the most underrated metropolitan areas in the country to live in. Sure it snows and the winters are long and cold, but it's no different than Iowa, Wisconsin, or Nebraska. All we need now is to win. Maybe I'm as crazy as fans at Notre Dame, Louisville, or anywhere (and maybe everywhere) else where expectations seem to exceed reality, but I believe we can be a perennial nine game winner and chase conference titles and Rose Bowl berths just like at Iowa and Wisconsin.
I have my doubts whether Brewster is that guy, but I believe, and will continue to believe until it happens (or the day I die, whichever comes first), that it can happen at Minnesota. All we need is the right coach.
This job opening, as well as those at Louisville, Virginia, and an expected vacancy at Kansas, provide an interesting discussion at expectations versus reality. What is expected for a football program by the school and its supporters, and what is actually possible?
At Notre Dame, their alums and boosters would side with Pat Forde of ESPN.com, who believes all it will take is the right coach to return the program to its past glories and competing for a National Title every year. Many outside the program would agree with SI.com's Stewart Mandel, who calls the Fighting Irish job a death trap and believe the Irish need to face facts and accept their past glories are gone forever.
Which side is right? Which is wrong? As much as I love kicking Notre Dame while they're down, I think Forde is right- all it takes is the right coach. In this day and age pretty much anybody can be turned into a national power if they have the right coach and catch the right breaks. Little Boise State and their blue turf have been on the national radar for more than a decade thanks to coaches Dirk Koetter, Dan Hawkins and now Chris Petersen. TCU has risen to prominence thanks to Gary Patterson. Louisville, who never had much of a football tradition, kicked Steve Kragthorpe to the curb because former coach Bobby Patrino proved it could be done. Brian Kelly is the alleged front runner for the Notre Dame job because he's turned Cincinnati, who play in a dumpy 35,000 seat stadium and don't even have their own practice facility, into an almost overnight success story.
The fact it CAN be done almost anywhere is a blessing and a curse- just because it can be done obviously doesn't mean it WILL be done, as has been proven at so many other places. Like Notre Dame, Nebraska is still waiting for their return to glory, as are Miami, Florida State, Washington, and Texas A&M, to name a few. Closer to home in Big Ten country, we've seen and heard plenty about Michigan's struggles to get back to their place atop the conference standings. The folks in Ann Arbor make it seem like they've been in peril and termoil and their own version of college football purgatory for decades, when in fact it's been, what, two whole years?
Once you've had, as Nacho Libre would say, "a little taste of the glory", your expectations go through the roof, whether that's fair or not. Here at Minnesota, you'd have to REALLY broaden the definition of glory to say we've had even the smallest taste of it since the 1960's. Our Halycon Days are so far gone, there's few who still attend games who were actually alive to remember them. But does that stop us, as Gopher fans, from wanting more? Of course not. We ran Glen Mason out on a rail after he achieved, and sustained, the most success we had enjoyed in decades because we believed we deserved better than an all-offense, no-defense team team of six or seven wins and a trip to the Music City Bowl every year. Well, three years into the Tim Brewster Era and the results have been no-offense, some defense...with six or seven wins and a trip to the Insight Bowl every year. I, for one, don't seem to like this arrangement any better.
Is this fair? As a Gopher fan, am I insane to expect more? Mandel has laughed at Gopher fans a few times, saying essentially that we're the high school band geek who not only wants to be the star quarterback who dates the prom queen, but BELIEVES we're the star quarterback- and we're upset and frustrated because we can't figure out why it's not working out for us.
While I see his point, and I think EVERYBODY in college football could use a refresher in reality (good gracious Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel just won his fifth straight conference title, and yet after they lost to Purdue midway through the season, there were fans who honest to goodness believed it was time for a change. Les Miles down at LSU is 51-14 in five seasons, including a national title and conference title in 2006, and has won all four bowl games he's played in. But because the Bayou Bengals lost five games last year, and three this season- with two coming to the top two teams in the country- Tiger fans are also grumbling about their head coach), I do not think myself, or any Gopher fan, are crazy for not just wanting more, but for believing we can do better than this.
The question then is how much better? How much should be expected from the head coach of the Gophers? Where should we expect this program to be compared to where, in reality, it can be? I am of the belief that eight of the 11 teams in the Big Ten have a glass ceiling- no matter how well the eight of us recruit and play, we can never achieve and sustain the success that is possible at Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State. Those are traditionally three of the top 14 programs in the entire country- wait, you want the others? Fine. The top five in some order are Florida, Texas, USC, Ohio State and Meechigan. The next nine in some order are Oklahoma, LSU, Tennessee, Alabama, Penn State, Florida State, Notre Dame, Georgia and Nebraska. Virginia Tech would probably be 15, but a distant 15th, as whenever Frank Beamer finally decides to leave or retire, the Hokies could fade back to obscurity faster than Beamer brought them to prominence.
ANYWAY, this is an argument I'll be happy to have in the off-season when there's nothing to talk about, but for now the point is that when they have the right coach those 14 programs can achieve greater success and sustained success than anybody else because of some combination of money, facilties, fan following, tradition and recruiting base. As much as I love the Gophers, our days of being perennial national title contenders died back in the 50's and 60's. We just don't have, and never will have, the resources and the recruiting base to compete with the Buckeyes, Wolverines, and Nittany Lions when they've got everything going.
And you know what? I'm ok with that. What I want, and what I believe, is that we can duplicate the success of our two most hated rivals- Iowa and Wisconsin. I'll wait for our friends in those two fine states to stop laughing before I continue...done yet?...no?...a little longer?...I'm going to grab some more coffee...ok we could be days before they're done mocking us, and that's fine- they've earned it. But it doesn't change my belief that their success is achievable for Minnesota.
Both of these programs look at success as at least eight wins and a New Years Day Bowl Game. That's the floor. They expect, and have achieved in some seasons, double digit win totals and a shot at going to the Rose Bowl or a BCS Bowl. While they would love a national title and Big Ten title every year, they're not calling for their coach to be fired when it doesn't happen, and instead seem to expect and accept that a season between 8-10 wins, and anything better is truly a special year.
Iowa has been successful for just about ever, and like Nebraska, I'm not sure how it started, but it happened and they kept it. Rural state, few good recruits, and no good recruiting states close to them, yet they started a tradition way back when and through good coaching, good facilties, and an incredibly loyal fanbase, have sustained a place where kids want to play college football.
The parallels at Wisconsin, however, are much closer to ours. Like us, Sconnie had big-time success in the first half of the 20th Century, only to see their program descend to the bottom of the Big Ten. Wisconsin's dark times began after their Big Ten title in 1962, as they would struggle for almost 20 years before they found mediocrity with three straight seven win seasons from 1981-84. But it wasn't until some guy named Barry Alvarez was hired as head coach in 1990 that things really turned around- well actually, it wasn't until four years into Alvarez's tenure that they turned around. As we as Gopher fans know all too well, after three losing seasons, in 1994 Alvarez led the Badgers to a Big Ten title and Rose Bowl win over UCLA. In his next 12 seasons, Alvarez guided Sconnie to two more Big Ten titles and eleven bowls, including two more Rose Bowl victories. By the time he retired in 2005 to become athletic director, Alvarez had gotten a much needed stadium renovation and expansion done to Camp Randall, and the good people of Wisconsin were bleeding red and white almost as much as green and gold. Assuming the Badgers blow out Hawaii this weekend, it'll be yet another nine win regular season, and with so much talent returning in 2010, coach Bret Bielma could have them back in Pasadena as soon as next season.
It has worked and continues to work in those two rural states with poor recruiting areas, and it could just as easily work here too. We finally have a good stadium, the U is a great place to go to school, and the Twin Cities are one of the most underrated metropolitan areas in the country to live in. Sure it snows and the winters are long and cold, but it's no different than Iowa, Wisconsin, or Nebraska. All we need now is to win. Maybe I'm as crazy as fans at Notre Dame, Louisville, or anywhere (and maybe everywhere) else where expectations seem to exceed reality, but I believe we can be a perennial nine game winner and chase conference titles and Rose Bowl berths just like at Iowa and Wisconsin.
I have my doubts whether Brewster is that guy, but I believe, and will continue to believe until it happens (or the day I die, whichever comes first), that it can happen at Minnesota. All we need is the right coach.
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