Minnesota

[OregonDucks]

Honest question.....why aren't the gophers ever competitive? Even if you go location, they are in Minneapolis and you got plenty of pro sports to occupy your time. Don't know why they are usually in the cellar of the B1G.

 

[BigAppleBadger]

Shitty program, didn't have an on campus stadium until a couple years ago, other teams in the B1G (not least Wisconsin) take most of their in-state recruits, etc.

Ask and they'll tell you all about their national championships 50+ years ago, though.

 

[OregonDucks]

Shitty program, didn't have an on campus stadium until a couple years ago, other teams in the B1G (not least Wisconsin) take most of their in-state recruits, etc.

Ask and they'll tell you all about their national championships 50+ years ago, though.

shitty program, yes, but don't really get it. Minnesota seems to have the same mindset as the other perennial B1G programs like Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio State, but yet, they haven't been contenders at all in 40 years. Doesn't really make sense, I guess that dome they played in was probably not beneficial, but youd think there was some potential in this program.

 

[Red_Alert]

Honest question.....why aren't the gophers ever competitive? Even if you go location, they are in Minneapolis and you got plenty of pro sports to occupy your time. Don't know why they are usually in the cellar of the B1G.

Coaching and they struggle to keep their top recruits at home.

 

[OregonDucks]

Coaching and they struggle to keep their top recruits at home.

who takes them? Wisconsin? Because of proximity? I would think a good coach would jump at the chance to take Minnesota because of the potential there.

 

[BOTSLAYER]

Weather.

 

[OregonDucks]

Weather.

cant be that big of an issue, look at Michigan/Wisconsin.

 

[Red_Alert]

who takes them? Wisconsin? Because of proximity? I would think a good coach would jump at the chance to take Minnesota because of the potential there.

They actually go anywhere and everywhere.

Nebraska's taken quit a few good players out of there.

 

[BigAppleBadger]

who takes them? Wisconsin? Because of proximity? I would think a good coach would jump at the chance to take Minnesota because of the potential there.

But those players would rather go to Madison... like any other student.

FYI, the states of Wisconsin and Minnesota have tuition reciprocity, meaning kids from each state pay in-state tuition going to the other school. The only catch is that there has go be the same number of kids from Wisconsin that attend U of Minnesota as vice versa. As a result, it is more difficult for a kid from Minnesota to get into Wisconsin than several Ivy League schools, because most kids in Minnesota would rather go to UW-Madison.

Minneapolis is supposed to be a nice city... in the summer. For the 8 1/2 months that classes are in session, it's mostly miserable. A kind of cold you don't know in Oregon, even at the top of Mt Hood.

 

[BigAppleBadger]

cant be that big of an issue, look at Michigan/Wisconsin.

Neither of which are as cold as Minneapolis. It's probably the coldest major college town in the country.

 

[WABLTY]

Minnesota gets COLD. Not "actually have all four seasons" cold or "snow is normal and we know how to drive in it" cold. Minnesota can get "You die if you stay outside" cold. You aren't going to get a lot of kids from Florida coming up there if they've got reasonable options elsewhere and the midwestern talent pool of kids willing to play in the cold is smaller and more competitive than in the past. They're also a bit further away.

Minnesota's administration didn't really support athletics to a significant level for a long time, too. Some of the powers that be in the school system seemed to feel that sports distracted from a university's true calling and set them adrift.

 

[WABLTY]

That being said, if someone ever got the ball rolling in Minnesota, they could probably be pretty respectable. They need a significant momentum changing event though.

 

[OregonDucks]

That being said, if someone ever got the ball rolling in Minnesota, they could probably be pretty respectable. They need a significant momentum changing event though.

Id imagine they could be pretty decent.

 

[BOTSLAYER]

cant be that big of an issue, look at Michigan/Wisconsin.

Wablty sums this up, their is cold and then there is minnesota.


Spring break in Minnesota...

That being said, if someone ever got the ball rolling in Minnesota, they could probably be pretty respectable. They need a significant momentum changing event though.

You guys were pretty good with Marion Barber iirc? I thought you guys had 2 really good backs at that time.

 

[john01992]

syracuse has by far worse weather than minny & they have had a decent program up until the 90s.

i think minnys problem was the lack of an on campus stadium. but the bigger issue IMO s the overall mentality of their program. they just dont care about the "success with honor" aspect aspect of cfb. i firmly believe that having disciplined players who are responsible leads to better athletic performance. believe it or not a lot of the stronger programs like michigan, alabama, notre dame, ohio state, georgia & penn state etc. either have high APR rates or high APR improvement in any given year.

with minn they usually have shitty APR rates, shitty arrest rates, recruits problem players that no one else wants. you just cant really build a successful program that way. sure there are some good programs who act sleezy and can build a solid program, but there are even more programs who act sleezy & suck at the same time. colorado & minn imo are two perfect examples of this.

 

[WABLTY]

Wablty sums this up, their is cold and then there is minnesota.


Spring break in Minnesota...




You guys were pretty good with Marion Barber iirc? I thought you guys had 2 really good backs at that time.

I'm not a MN fan, just live in the Twin Cities for work. But yes, they had a few moments under Glen Mason. There was a devastating 4th quarter against Michigan (and subsequent 1st quarter against Michigan State) that basically cost the Gophers a Rose Bowl trip about 10 years ago.

 

[Smart]

1. It's a commuter school. Who the hell wants to be a college football player at a commuter school where you aren't going to get much glory?

2. It sort of gets lost in the sporting landscape. There are also a lot of fans from other B1G schools in Minneapolis. It's not uncommon to see Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska take up 40% of the stadium. Other B1G schools can take up 20%.

3. MSP is a basketball market, not a football market. There are very few top football recruits, and when they exist, they often go to Catholic high schools which have less than perfect relationships with the University of Minnesota.

4. There's been enough losing that recruits can't expect to win there. It takes a Barry Alvarez type of coach to turn around a struggling program. They've had some solid coaches, particularly Glen Mason and Jerry Kill, but none of those guys are transcendent.

 

[BOTSLAYER]

syracuse has by far worse weather than minny & they have had a decent program up until the 90s.

i think minnys problem was the lack of an on campus stadium. but the bigger issue IMO s the overall mentality of their program. they just dont care about the "success with honor" aspect aspect of cfb. i firmly believe that having disciplined players who are responsible leads to better athletic performance. believe it or not a lot of the stronger programs like michigan, alabama, notre dame, ohio state, georgia & penn state etc. either have high APR rates or high APR improvement in any given year.

with minn they usually have shitty APR rates, shitty arrest rates, recruits problem players that no one else wants. you just cant really build a successful program that way. sure there are some good programs who act sleezy and can build a solid program, but there are even more programs who act sleezy & suck at the same time. colorado & minn imo are two perfect examples of this.

Was about to call BS but...

5 Worst Winter Weather Cities | Farmers' Almanac

LOL 1 and 2 (mas o menos)...but syracuse has much better location being in New York...not the middle of nowhere. New York, NY is just a car ride away, then Boston, Philly, DC are all just right there. Basically the set of Die Hard 4. Wisconsin is where Bartlby and Loki are banished to in the movie Dogma, this is your road trip option in Minnesota.

...and in Minnesota it is Milwakee.

 

[Used 2 B Hu]

1. It's a commuter school. Who the hell wants to be a college football player at a commuter school where you aren't going to get much glory?

2. It sort of gets lost in the sporting landscape. There are also a lot of fans from other B1G schools in Minneapolis. It's not uncommon to see Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska take up 40% of the stadium. Other B1G schools can take up 20%.

3. MSP is a basketball market, not a football market. There are very few top football recruits, and when they exist, they often go to Catholic high schools which have less than perfect relationships with the University of Minnesota.

4. There's been enough losing that recruits can't expect to win there. It takes a Barry Alvarez type of coach to turn around a struggling program. They've had some solid coaches, particularly Glen Mason and Jerry Kill, but none of those guys are transcendent.

As bad as they have been, for as long as they've been, they're still virtually tied with Wisconsin in terms of all-time win percentage, somewhere around the top 40 among all D-1-A/FBS teams. For a while they must have been way ahead of the Badgers, until Barry.

 

[BOTSLAYER]

up until the 60s