The #12 ranked Gophers at 11-0 take on the 9-3 Badgers tonight at the Barn. The Gophers hold an 11 game winning streak
against Wisconsin; winning twice last year
91-65 in Minneapolis and 71-61 in Madison. The game will be on the BTN at 8:00 pm.

I think this will be the new uniform standard for the Gophers. They play better with this lid. You heard it here first.

In an effort to purge the demons of the Illinois game, I'm starting a thread for us all to list our favorite all-time movies. These are the movies that you can watch over and over again. These aren't necessarily the greatest movies of all-time (because that would just be going with the masses). These are YOUR favorite movies. You can list as many or as few as you like. No limit.

Here are mine (in no particular order):

Groundhog Day
Lord of the Rings trilogy
Die Hard
The Fifth Element
Saving Private Ryan
Inception
Gladiator
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Snatch
The Matrix
Jurassic Park
Back to the Future 1 & 2
Goodfellas
Pulp Fiction
The Usual Suspects
Shawshank Redemption
Caddyshack
Animal House
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
Casablanca
Aliens
Terminator 2
Braveheart
V for Vendetta
You've Got Mail
The Princess Bride
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
The Bourne Identity
Lion King
Christmas Vacation
Willow
Neverending Story
When Harry Met Sally

*DISCLAIMER* I reserve the right to add other movies later since I'm sure I forgot some of my other favorites.

Offense: 2018 we averaged 378.6 yards per game (before the bowl) for an FBS ranking of 85th. Certain elements of our game were highly ranked in FBS, such as our Yards per completion of 14.11, which ranked 16th. Truthfully, with the development of the O-line, the stable of backs, and the riches at wide receiver, I don't know how we don't improve our Total Offense ranking by at least 50 yards, which would have put us ranked at 45th this year. That doesn't even account for our Quarterback, who I expect will have improved numbers as well. Personally, I don't care who runs the offense, as long as they aren't gimping around (like Annexstad was allowed to do). Morgan proved his worth. Annexstad proved his worth. I expect the gunslinger, Clark to prove his worth. I'm excited about this position and hope the competition breeds greatness instead of turmoil! Truthfully, I expect us to improve by more than 50 yards per game, but I also know that Fleck does value ball control and isn't gonna go all-out up-tempo (although I expect it mixed in much more next year to keep opposing defenses from getting settled.

Defense: 2018 we averaged giving up 394.3 yards per game (before the bowl) for an FBS ranking of 65th. With Rossi being the new coordinator, hopefully we can see an improvement on those numbers. I'd like to think we saw the last of games where we give up multiple 50+ yard TD runs. I'd prefer to think of the games like Maryland, Nebraska and Illinois as anomalies, especially with how we performed against much different styled, high-powered offenses in Purdue and Georgia Tech at the end of the year. Despite Rossi taking the DC position by a firm grip, we have a talent infusion of redshirt and true freshman that will provide future greatness, but also occasional frustration. Because of these growing pains, I don't expect as much growth in the defensive numbers next year. However, I do expect some improvement. I'd like to think we can improve by 20 yards per game, which would have improved our 2018 Total Defense to 47th.

So, imagine a team that is ranked 45th in Total Offense and 47th in Total Defense...what record would a team have with those rankings? Clearly there are other elements to the game that factor into final record, such as Turnover Margin and play of the special teams. In 2018, our Turnover Margin ranked 101st in FBS. We turned it over 25 times, versus gaining 20 turnovers at -.42 per game (before the bowl). Not good! I truthfully believe many of the turnovers can be related to lack of cohesion on the O-Line to start the season as well as playing freshman quarterbacks. Knowing Fleck has the "ball is the program" mantra, I expect this to be flipped next year. Let's say we flip it to a +5 margin and get it to +.42 per game, we would jump from 101 to 32 this year. That may be unrealistic, but I expect less turnovers with a very experienced group on offense back next year. I also expect Rossi's style to be a tad more aggressive and lead to more turnovers. Having some stud linemen join the D will help create more turnovers too! As far as special teams, it's obvious Fleck values players that make special teams plays. Giving out scholarships to some of the best in the country will help solidify that area of the team. It may not be as great as 2018, but it won't be what holds us back either.

In summation, I expect BIG things in 2019. I truly feel a corner has been turned by Fleck and company, and hope for a 9 win year or better with the schedule laid out in front of us...

Week 1: South Dakota St.
Week 2: @ Fresno St.
Week 3: Georgia Southern
Week 4: @ Purdue
Week 5: Illinois
Week 6: Nebraska
Week 7: @ Rutgers
Week 8: Maryland
Week 9: Penn St
Week 10: @ Iowa
Week 11: @ Northwestern
Week 12: Wisconsin


I was gonna put my guesses for wins/losses behind each game and then I realized I would look like such an immense homer it would be silly. But, really, look at that schedule! We are NO LONGER afraid of Wisconsin. We crushed them. Purdue will be formidable, but they can be an enigma. Nebraska has Martinez that scares the hell out of me, but it's a home game. Penn St. no longer has Trace McSorley next year. Iowa at Kinnick might be the GAME OF THE YEAR. Northwestern will have to find a replacement for Thorson. The other teams on the schedule just don't scare me anymore.

Help me find a true lock for a loss? I don't see one.

Does that mean we go undefeated? Unlikely. But really gentlemen...there is a lot to look forward to next year!

Expect BIG THINGS!

It is appropriate that Minnesota's contest with Mount St. Mary's this Sunday will be the final game of the 2018 calendar year. Not only is this a transition game that will end one year and begin another, it will also transition the Gophers from its non-conference schedule to Big Ten play.

The Mount (3-9) will be Minnesota's (10-2) last game before they move on to league play against arch-rival Wisconsin next Thursday.

The Mountaineers come to Williams Arena having won three games in a row. They began the season on a nine game losing streak, but have won its last three contests against Wilson (74-59), American (56-55), and St. Mary's of Maryland (83-44).

They have played an aggressive schedule thus far. They have losses to North Carolina State, Marshall, Maryland, and St. John's. There are also some common opponents that they share with the Gophers. They lost to North Carolina A&T by a score of 74-60, and also lost 92-77 to Minnesota's fellow Big Ten member, Maryland, that they will play later in the year.

This is one of the youngest teams in the country. There are no upperclassmen on the roster, no savvy vets to fall back on in pressure situations The entire roster is made up of freshmen and sophomores. The starting lineup in Mount St. Mary's last game was comprised of three freshmen, a redshirt freshman, and a sophomore. There are a total of nine freshmen on the roster.

The Mount is not a juggernaut offensively. They rank in the lowest sixth in the country in almost every statistical category.

They average just 68.6 points on the season. which ranks 295th in the country. They convert 40.5 percent of their shots which is good only for 316th out of 351 teams. 24 of their 59 field goal attempts per game are 3-pointer, and that part of their game is woeful as well. A 28.5 percent conversion rate puts them 325th. They get to the line right at 20 times per game and make 67.5 percent.

The Mountaineers average 11.7 offensive rebounds per game and dish out just 11.2 assists compared to 15 turnovers.

They will run a lot of five out in hopes of spreading the floor to let Jalen Gibbs work. At times, they will play a post who will come out to set an early ball-screen for Gibbs. That is used to allow him to try to get to the rim. There isn't a lot of screening action out of these looks. They just try to spread the floor. A three guard, two post alignment is also used depending on the lineup.

Defensively, Mount St. Mary's isn''t much better than they are on the other end. They give up 77.4 points per game or 293rd place. That is not a good place to be, but it gets worse. In their nine losses the average goes up to 85.7 points per game.

Opponents are shooting 46.7 percent overall and 36.4 percent from behind the arc. They also average 36.3 rebounds per game.

The Mount will go to several defensive looks mostly out of necessity. They simply are looking for one that works. Look for a combination on man-to-man, 2-3 zone, and a 1-1-3 which is basically the same as a 2-3 except the top two guards are in a tandem. The back guard will take the first pass to the wing, while the top guard slides back to the foul line.

Jalen Gibbs leads the team in scoring at 16.1 points per game. The 6-foot-3 sophomore shoots 45.5 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from 3-point territory. He is a 66 percent foul shooter. Gibbs is second on the team in rebounding at 6.2 per game.

Vado Moore comes off the bench, but he is the second leading scorer on the team, and the only other player besides Gibbs who averages in double figures. The 6-foot-0 freshman averages 10.9 points per game. He shoots 36.9 percent from the field and 30.6 percent from deep. Moore is an 82.9 percent foul shooter.

Omar Habwe also did not start the last game, but is third on the team in scoring at 8.8 points. The 6-foot-6 sophomore can play inside and out. Just over four of his seven field goal attempts are 3-pointers where he is shooting only 26 percent. He is just 32.1 percent from the field overall. Habwe is 79.6 percent from the foul line and also averages 4.7 rebounds.

Malik Jefferson is a 6-foot-9 freshman, and is the team's leading post scorer at 7.6 points. He is the team's leading rebounder at 7.5. Jefferson shoots 52.6 percent from the field, and all of them have been inside the arc. He has not attempted a 3-pointer at all on the year. When he is fouled he only makes 45 percent of his shots from the foul line.

Dee Barnes is the team's leading 3-point shooter. Over half of the field goal attempts by the 6-foot-4 freshman have been from deep where he is making 38.9 percent of his tries. On the season he makes 45 percent of his shots and averages 7.4 points per game. Surprisingly, although he is the best outside shooter on the team, he only makes 30.8 percent of his foul shots.

Nana Opoku is another starting inside player. The 6-foot-8 redshirt freshman averages 6.9 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. He shoots 43 percent from the field and will step out for a 3-pointer, but only makes 22 percent of those.

At 5-foot-8, Damian Chang Qui may be the smallest player Minnesota will see this season. The 5-foot-8 freshman averages 4.7 points per game and leads the team in assists at 2.6. He is not a strong perimeter shooter though, only making 20.8 percent of his long balls.

Collin Nnamane rounds out the players who have received notable time. The 6-foot-8 freshman averages 2.8 points and 3.1 rebounds. He is strictly a back to basket player in the low post.

Minnesota is listed as a 24.5 point favorite.

Life is a platform. What one does with that platform defines many things .

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Now that the Buttger's won ( pissing me off along the way ).
I asked myself these questions.

1) how many wins will the BIG really finish with in bowl games.

A. so I went back to @DWG In NE Thread to see how we voted as a group.

Minnesota. 92% of us voted for
Wisconsin. 66%
Purdue. 22%
Michigan. 88%
Mich. St. 29%
NW. 29%
Iowa. 22%
Penn St. 100%
Ohio St. 96%


2) if the BIG does do real well. How can they say that there is not an issue with the
current system and is not seriously flawed.

but is MI the most overrated team in B1G this year? We get caught up in the khaki love affair?

Don’t see the purdont meltdown as even being as bad as MI is looking with tOSU and UF?

Ps Kyle is likely screaming in delight watching FL bitch slap MI.

Holy crap!

Yes, the OL deserves a ton of credit. Yes, Mo broke tackle after tackle. That said, the WRs blocking these last few games has been A+. We all want to see them make catches and they want to as well, but the blocking they have been doing has been huge when it comes to the success we are having.

Well done WRs !!!

Here are three really good interviews from Trackwrestling.com, first Gable discusses how his season has gone, and what to expect next! Besides being a super elite wrestler and tough guy, Gable is well-spoken...a very sharp young man! Then Sean Russell talks about how well his transfer to MN has gone. Then, Mitch McKee talks about how his move up to 141 has gone really well! Very good stuff, elite content!!!

All three guys and the team are wrestling in the South Beach Duals tomorrow and Sunday. Tomorrow vs. Lehigh at 10am and vs NC at 12pm, Sunday vs Kent State at 10am and vs. Utah Valley at 12pm.

Live streaming is available on Trackwrestling.com ($19.95 for all weekend matches). And if you want individual match results, I'll be tweeting @Unlimited424 . I'll also be tweeting match results from The Midlands tournament at NW, where we have eight young Gopher studs going up against some tough competition. I'll be posting daily results in the other two threads on these events. It's going to be a fun weekend!!!

Here's the Gable interview, followed by Russell and McKee:

Gable Steveson on his early weeks in college wrestling


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Sean Russell has made a smooth transition to Minnesota

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Mitch McKee is flourishing at 141 pounds

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Has this bowl victory improve our chances on Jan. 5th in regards to landing

DEMARIYON
HOUSTON

and/or

Kristian Williams

I know it doesn't hurt our chances

Sorry if I missed it in the game threads, but what was the deal with all the guys missing on D, esp on the DL ... lots of bowl practice injuries, or more suspensions than just Martin? (and maybe Cashman, hard to say for sure) As far as I could tell, we were missing:

Cashman
Martin
Gibson
Devers
Teague
OJ Smith

We were crazy thin at DL, forced to play Umlor and Hickox meaningful snaps in the 2nd half after it appeared Gary Moore got banged up. Maybe the initial speculation/rumor/report of "4 to 6 players" was accurate?

Also strange that Otomeo barely played on D, and as far as I could tell, Oliver, Sori-Marin, and Rush didn't play any LB. PJ was talking those guys up for the last 2 weeks. Nice to see Ahanotu get in at the end though.

With the strong bowl win and 2 of the last 3 games won as well, will Williams honor his commitment and sign with MN in February

Old article - SIAP, very interesting nonetheless.

https://www.footballstudyhall.com/2...ollege-football-recruiting-prospects-by-state

Gopher/Georgia Tech Quick Lane Bowl was the 5th most watched game. 2.66 million watched/streamed the game. More than double the 1.06 million that watched the Gopher/Badger game last month.

Most watched Bowl so far was the WI/Miami Pinstripe Bowl at 3.790 million.

Oh that South Dakota State vs. NorthDakota State game? Near the bottom at 846,000.

They've got the rest of this past season at the link also. For instance only 395,000 watched the Fresno State/Gopher game, 335K watched that Friday night game against Indy and 534K for the Purdue game. Couldn't find any other Gopher games.

http://www.sportsmediawatch.com/college-football-tv-ratings/

31-7 Washington State, with 3:46 left in game, at Boulder.

Great article from Bill Connelly on SB Nation.

https://www.sbnation.com/college-fo...ota-gophers-2018-georgia-tech-quick-lane-bowl

Would have liked to see what we could have done against Auburn. Purdue is down 21-0 in the first quarter.

I’ve assumed all year that Rodney and Shannon would be 1/2 and Mo would be odd man out. Now I’m not sure - he’s earned carries.

So... what do you do?

Offense:

Pass Block:

Run Block:

Morgan Passing Direction and Pressure:


Mo Ibrahim Rushing:

Defense:

Will these be available as they were for other games this year? Interested to see how the OL graded out especially.

PJ Fleck:

• Really proud of our players. It's been a year that's been full of teaching moments. It hasn't always been easy for them. I told them in the locker room they learned life lessons. Don't quit, keep your oar in the water and you'll be successful, just a matter of time.
• Our practices to prepare for the triple option were not easy. Ciarrocca and Rossi deserve a lot of credit.
• Curtis Dunlap played really well for his first start. Line, tight ends, and wideouts all finished their blocks. The wideouts blocked extremely well.
• Mo Ibrahim is king of the toos. He plays the right way more than anyone I've met. He was the hammer the entire game. Really proud of him. Last year he never missed one rep on the scout team. You're not going to find a better person off the field, and that's with all due respect to our players.
• We studied the leader Henry Ford this year. What he did was perfect the assembly line and mass produce cars. He studied that. Everyone will have to be able to do their job, just like an assembly line. If that's boring, that's good -- boring is good. Our players tackled well, they did their job, they communicated well. Our coaches communicated well and chose the right packages.

Mo Ibrahim:

• Just need to keep changing my best. Focus on doing me and not what others were saying. (Was asked about Georgia Tech players with all due respect, Ibrahim wasn't like the running backs from Georgia and Clemson. The GT players consistently blamed their own execution for their run defense.)
• Before the game, I had to get 64 yards to get to 1000, and Jared Weyler tapped me on the shoulder and told me I was going to get 200.
• Rodney Smith and Shannon Brooks have helped prepare me, in addition to Coach Burns.
• If you don't do the right things, you're not going to travel, you're not going to play. (Asked about Kamal Martin)
• Haven't thought about senioritis or complancency at all for the future. Not the way our culture works. People will change your best and pass you. Just because Mo is a sophomore and Tyler is a junior doesn't mean anything. You need to earn it. This team will earn it, I promise you. We'll just continue to get better in all four areas of your life every day. Some teams respond to failing really well, but when you have success is the hardest -- it's hard to build on that sustainability. I believe our guys can handle that.
• What's the expectation? To be better tomorrow than we were today. That's what we've always said and what it always will be. If you hear otherwise, come see me.

Tyler Johnson:

• I'm not done yet. Need to keep changing my best.
• Got to see my high school coach and some players before the game. Means a lot to see them and show my face to them and do the things I'm doing for my city. Just told them that nothing comes easy and to keep working.

Thomas Barber:

• Scout team prepared us really well. We felt very prepared, so during the game we just needed to be disciplined. The game slowed down a lot faster than we thought. It was just like practice.
• I'm not going to lie, those first couple bowl practices, I was like "woah, what are we doing" with our defense.
• When I visited as a recruit, Jacob and Julian Huff were my hopes. Means a lot to see Julian step up big in these last two games. Jacob's just Jacob; he made his mark on this program.

Tanner Morgan:

• We talk about HOW a lot in our program. How you do things matters. Mo attacks, that's all he does. He has the HOW. He's an animal, I don't know how else to describe him. In practice every single rep he plays hard. I love him to death.
• I told Jacob Herbers before the game, "I love you to death, but you're not playing today." He told me after the game "I guess you were right."
• I think people don't realize how difficult it is to do what the defense just did. You're installing a completely different defense in 10+ practices.

The bowl game with Georgia Tech and Minnesota will be re-shown tonight at midnight, 11 central on ESPNU.. For the night owls of the world, the game will be reshown with minimum to no ads from 3 am EST to 4:30 am EST on ESPN or ESPN 2, I think.