Good list. Chuck Fletcher, Kaler, Board of Regents, NCAA enforcement, Coyle, Jerry Jones, Goodell, Rick Pittino etc.

Two surprises. Well, really one. Patrick had said that he wasn't gonna list Fleck after they beat Nebraska, and he worried in print that if Fleck did the impossible and beat the Badgers Saturday, he'd have to praise him for it.

The real surprise? He gave the Grand Turkey to himself.

http://www.startribune.com/patrick-reusse-s-2017-turkey-of-the-year-is/459472353/

Link: Sapp's relationship with commits is "a bond that can't be broken"

Link:

I spoke with John Veldhuis from the Wisconsin site to preview the Badgers before the game on Saturday. Check it out.

http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools.../auto_pdf/2017-18/misc_non_event/112517DC.pdf

QB: Croft, Rhoda, Morgan, Green
RB: Smith, McCrary
WR: Williams, Hmielewski
WR: Geary,. Hmielewski
WR: Howard, Reger
TE: Wozniak or Lingen
OT: Greene, Andries
OG: Wright, Oseland
C: Olson, Dovich
OG: Calhoun, Dovich
OT: Schlueter, Andries

DE: Umlor, DeLattiboudere
DT: Jackson, Moore
DT: Richardson, Stelter, Robinson
DE: Coughlin, Cashman
OLB: Martin, Waters
MLB: Barber, Poock
OLB: Celestin, Cashman
CB: Shenault, Harris
SS: McGhee, Handy-Holly
FS: Huff, Swenson
CB: Ayinde, Durr

K: Carpenter, Mack
P: Santoso, Herbers
KR: Smith
PR: Shenault
H: Herbers, Santoso
LS: Jordahl, Hansen

Link: Fleck previews Wisconsin

Hmmm.

PJ’s comments as the end of the season approaches: “Year One goes by pretty slow, but at the end of it you don’t remember much of it. We’ve gotten better, we’ve shown how well we can play, and how bad we can play, it about a matter of a seven days.”

Fleck believes that the game would have been a close game (against Northwestern) and said the first two drives showed that. However, when you give a team four turnovers in your own zone, points tend to add up in a hurry. “When you give a four turnovers inside your own zone, they don’t have to do much except move it 20 yards to get a touchdown. We didn’t make it very hard for them to beat us. You have to give them credit. When we say, ‘the ball is the program’ that’s what that means. You don’t even give yourself a chance to win those games.”

Coach said that at the end of the day, players have to make plays. “It’s not an excuse what age they are, but they have to learn to be the guy. It’s a learning experience having the ball hit off your chest and ball going thru your hands, we work on those all the time, but we have to fail and learn to grow.”

Response to that failure is what Coach is looking for from his players, bouncing back after last week’s poor performance. He also mentioned that it is tough when there isn’t enough depth so that if a player is failing, there isn’t many backups to put in behind them.

Tyler Johnson will be four to five weeks and will be back for spring practice. PJ wants him to master his craft and be a leader next year since there will be a lot of freshmen that play at receiver.

“We need more people that love football. That just love it. Where they eat, sleep, breathe football; they get good grades, they make all the right decisions off the field. We are recruiting towards that. We have some guys on our team like that, and we have to continue to develop that. It’s a tough mindset for 17 to 22-year-old youngsters.”

The team wants to send out the seniors with an elite experience playing against Wisconsin. PJ commented that it is one of the greatest rivalries in college football and they have a chance to shake things up in the college football playoff.

A lot of credit is given to the seniors of this team for going thru three different head coaches and cultures throughout their collegiate career. The coaches will be helping them get looks at the next level and Fleck wants a lot of guys drafted year after year at the University of Minnesota. “Anything successful we do going forward I am going to make sure this senior class is there for. I’ve made sure to tell them that.”

Coach Fleck is jumping on a plane after the team banquet on Sunday and going out recruiting.

Fleck did have high praise for Wisconsin’s stability and culture that they’ve established. Western Michigan played Wisconsin in the Cotton Bowl last year, so PJ does have familiarity with them. “That culture is 25-30 years in the making. There’s head coaches that have come and left there because they didn’t fit the culture. That is Barry Alvarez’s culture. I have a lot of respect for them.”

The first key to stopping Wisconsin is stopping the run. Last year at Western Michigan, PJ said they didn’t have the size/speed/strength to win the game but were able to keep it within a one score game. “That’s where we want to get to. It’s going to take a bit longer than everyone wants, but we’ve done so many things behind the scenes that people don’t know that you can see coming.”

Coach does feel that fans have the right to feel how they want to feel, and speak what the feel. He sees a lot of fans out in public, and he wants to hear it. He wants the fans to know that he has been through it before. “You haven’t hired a first-time head coach that’s never been through this, we took Western Michigan, in a similar situation, and took them beyond a place that they ever thought could happen. I know we’ll get there.”

The players wrote letters this week to parents/guardians telling them how thankful they are for them. The team also had the first annual Turkey Drive to deliver turkeys to less fortunate families. The players donated their own money for the drive. Players that aren’t from the area are going to coaches’ homes. Every player will be with somebody and somewhere for Thanksgiving, the coaches made sure of that.

As for now and the December 20th date, the coaches want every player to sign on that date, and said they are going to take a few more players.

There was a Twitter question regarding the status of Blaise Andries, PJ responded that he everyday he battled with pulling his redshirt, but that fans are going to be very excited that he’s going to be a freshman next year.

PJ joked that he would pay for the new goal post himself if the team wins on Saturday and fans tear it down.

Coaches do not look at stars when recruiting a kid, they look at all areas of an athlete: what they are like in the classroom, do they play other sports, adversity they’ve been through, etc.

Fleck points to the walk-on scholarship videos when recruiting a player as a walk-on that may have the chance to go to a Division II school. “Just to be a Gopher, a part of the only Division I school in the state of Minnesota. If a kid earns a scholarship, we’ve shown that we this is what it’ll look like.”

Year One has seen good wins, close losses, bad losses, close wins. The team has shown how good they can be in the future when they execute at a high level, add players with recruiting, and add strength in the weight program. “We’ll get there, I promise we’ll get there.”

Link: Which is the best Big Ten rivalry trophy?

Thanksgiving week means Rivalry Week in college football, and Rivalry Week means trophies.

The Big Ten in particular is known for its rivalry trophies, which are battled for as the season winds down–especially during the final week of the regular season. Some trophies are newer than others, but they all have some sort of back story that makes each one unique. With so many taking center stage this weekend, the only logical thing for the BTN.com team of Tom Dienhart and Alex Roux to do is choose which one they like best. So whether you’re meal prepping or waiting for that Thanksgiving food baby to pass, have fun reading, learning and disagreeing with the answers to this question:

Which is the best rivalry trophy in the Big Ten?

Dienhart: Floyd of Rosedale

There are a lot of things to like about the Big Ten: storied history, legendary programs and top rivalries. The league also has myriad iconic trophies. The Old Brass Spittoon (Indiana-Michigan State), Illibuck (Ohio State-Illinois), Paul Bunyan’s Axe (Wisconsin-Minnesota), the Old Oaken Bucket (Purdue-Indiana), The Cannon (Illinois-Purdue) and the Little Brown Jug (Minnesota-Michigan). But the best trophy of all is Floyd of Rosedale, given to the winner of the Iowa-Minnesota game.

I mean, it’s a bronzed pig, for crying out loud. How can it get any better than that?

Kitschy trophies are the best. And this is the kitschiest. It’s not some modern-day creation that lacks imagination and flare, like the Land of Lincoln Trophy that goes to the winner of the Illinois-Northwestern game or the Heroes Trophy that the winner of the Iowa-Nebraska game gets.

Both are lame. Floyd of Rosedale? Cool.

The bronzed bauble was introduced in 1935. Yes, at one time, Floyd was a real, live squealing pig. Later, Floyd was immortalized forever into a beautiful 98-pound piece of art suitable for any mantle.

The genesis of Floyd began with Minnesota Gov. Floyd B. Olson, for whom the trophy is named. He is the one who offered up the idea of the winner between Iowa-Minnesota taking home a prized hog to cool tensions between the schools.

And just like that, the greatest rivalry trophy in college sports was born.

Oink, oink.

Roux: Paul Bunyan’s Axe

Before laying out my reasoning for why Paul Bunyan’s Axe is the coolest rivalry trophy, I’ve got to ask: Why does Minnesota get a monopoly on all the best trophy games? Between the jug, the pig and the axe, Minnesota could have the coolest mantle in the Midwest. Maybe P.J. Fleck can get the Gophers to the point where they’re winning all three more often. But let’s focus on the Axe for now.

One thing the Axe has going for it is its size. Have you ever seen The Cannon that goes to the winner of Illinois/Purdue? It’s pretty underwhelming when a massive football player hoists such a puny thing. But there’s no such issue when the Gophers or Badgers haul that Axe around. With a six-foot long handle on which the final scores throughout the series are inscribed, the wooden trophy as a whole is monstrous. And since the series (currently tied at 59-59-8, and Wisconsin has never led!) lays claim to the most games played between two teams in any rivalry, anywhere, the size of the Axe is warranted.

The Axe is also the best because it really provides the only opportunity for grown men to run around brandishing a (fake) weapon without getting arrested. Unless you’re a lumberjack, swinging an axe around in public is generally frowned upon. But if you win the annual Wisconsin-Minnesota game, you can hoist it, swing it or–as was tradition until a brawl nearly broke out a few years back–use it to mock-chop down your defeated opponents’ goalposts. Is there anything that gets the juices flowing more than swinging a giant axe around after winning a football game? If there is, I’d like to hear it.

I could go on, but you get the idea. And for a pair of states as outdoorsy as Minnesota as Wisconsin, the Axe just fits.

Thanksgiving has become a minor holiday.. Stores decorate in Christmas stuff well before Thanksgiving and radio stations are playing Christmas music today... Unfortunately, Thanksgiving is now more like a 'Black Friday Eve' than a sacred holiday.. Manufacturers around here are running production and shipping/receiving today.. No vacation day because of holidays... It was never like that when I was a kid. I remember in elementary school that the month of November always had everything yellow, orange, and brown all over the construction paper calendars and what was decorated around the classroom.Leading up to Thanksgiving.. Pictures of pilgrims and turkeys all over... Dont even know if that is true, anymore.

Well, in my world, I feel giving thanks is very important... Thankfulness is a humble expression of the heart and to others. It is a good way to clean out the heart and get the focus off of self. Like many of you, I am thankful for so many things, at home with family and friends.. A warm place to live, Food in our stomachs. Clothes on our bodies. Indoor plumbing and cars that work. Jobs that we have to provide..Entertainment to enjoy at home. People to share all those things.. Another day to live and to hope for the best in life...Always a lot to be thankful for in our lives.

I am also thankful for all the on-line relationships we have at TGR... Great people who have the common desire to see Minnesota Gopher sports succeed.. THANK YOU for another great year of TGR and hope this next year is bigger and better than ever.

Are they televised?

Story from Star Tribune: http://www.startribune.com/gophers-...-for-bowl-but-five-could-be-enough/457099173/

Long story short: 78 bowl spots available. Currently, 59 bowl-eligible teams. Gophers among 21 teams with five wins.

The tiebreaker for five win teams is Academic Progress Rate (APR), where the Gophers rank tied for fourth with Duke and Vanderbilt, who are both 4-6. Those two win the tiebreaker, if all three finish with five wins. Both Duke and Vanderbilt are underdogs in their final two games. So, hope for Duke and Vanderbilt to lose both of their final two games and get in.

Or, of course, we just win one of our final two games

Alabama up 1 with 19 seconds left. Arlington has the ball .

"JELLY FAM" established a ton of hype and fame before he set foot on the Minnesota campus... After watching him play, I am convinced he has a lot of ability..... But I think he is pressing a little bit to validate all the hype.... I think he rushes his shots at times and the misses may affect his confidence on the court, a bit...

I think that coaches Ben Johnson and Kimani Young need to do some "head work" with this young man... Just in the sense of telling Isaiah to keep his confidence and "letting the game come to him" a bit more...Don't force the action... He has a very talented team around him so he does not have to be "THE MAN"... Just do his part to help this team to the next level.

I think Nate Mason can have a big part in this year's development of Isaiah as well... Nate is BY FAR a mentally stronger player than Washington AT THIS POINT... I am hoping that Nate pulls the young man aside and helps Isaiah understand that he has the talent but needs to be patient with his game, for the sake of the team. He has had a couple of rough shooting games up to this point.

Isaiah is going to be important to this team, by the end of the year but I think he is trying too hard to prove himself to the team and the fans. This is a great time to see the development of the young freshmen and their in-season development may be the difference as to how far we go in the tournament this year.

In case you haven't seen this, Mike Leach stops talking about the big game and gives a reporter advice about marriage planning. He is a nut, but good to have a little levity when we are all taking football so serious.

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As loathe as I am to do this because I think he does a great job of tooting his own horn, @opie was right about Richard Pitino. He stated after our disastrous second season under Pitino that we needed to be patient because he would recruit and coach us out of the hole we were in and “look at us now”. Gonna be a fun year boys.

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Good for Weber. I'm guessing it won't be for long, but might set him up for the future. ESPN said that UCLA was meeting with Chip Kelly about the HC position and it is between them and Florida.

http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/21480794/ucla-bruins-meet-chip-kelly-coaching-job

With it looking likely that NE is changing coaches, is there any interest from the Gophers in offering him??

Found out I get to go to Dublin in less than two weeks for business. Will only be there for a couple of nights. Any recommendations for things to do? Last time I was there was a blur but I recall going to the Jameson Distillery and Guinness Storehouse.

Cordell Tinch had football offers from UCF and Illinois State. He will be walking on for football while joining the track team at Minnesota. Minnesota is adding a very good athlete here. I will try to confirm the status of this commitment.

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Link: Myers hearing from Minnesota

Here at the Barn, check out E.J. and Matt's preview

My prediction is Gophers win by a lot.

Starting for Minnesota:

Nate Mason
Dupree McBrayer
Amir Cofffey
Jordan Murphy
Reggie Lynch

Starting for Alabama A&M:
Amari Goulbourne
Ariston Johnson
Artur Johnson
Evan Wiley
Mohamed Sherif

Hey Guys: Here is a quick look at new QB offer Matthew Baldwin. He has picked up several big offers over the last week, but in talking to him about them, it sounded to me as thought he was most enthusiastic about the Gophers. He's one of the best QB's in the state, and I would imagine he's not going to stick with his Colorado State commitment to the end.

Thanks for having a look: STORY LINK

on our coaching staff just a week after their best performance of the season.

Minnesota absolutely, unequivocally didn’t show up yesterday.

They came out flat. When they got punched in the mouth, they showed zero fight or pride. Nobody seemed particularly interested in playing.

Isn’t that cause for concern?
When’s the last time we saw a Gopher team flat out quit during a game? 2011?

Anybody else worried that the team as a whole emphatically decided to refrain from rowing the boat yesterday?

There are only 12 games each season. For Minnesota to quit so hard in a game SO CLOSE to the end of the year is downright bizarre and IMO, cause for real concern.

Say what you will about our talent level, this team has been competitive week in and week out for the past 4-5 years.

This team has not been competitive week in and week out this year.

There’s no excuse for the Gophers’ embarrassing lack of effort yesterday.

The considerable blame for such an abject failure falls squarely on PJ Fleck and the coaching staff.