At this stage how many in-staters will get offers from Minnesota. I would say a range of 4 to 8.

What is the early word about BIG TEN quality 2017 players in the state of Ill and Michigan?

I would say that the 2017 group will be similar to the 2015 crop as far as few in-staters( 2 in 2015) and the class will really need guys from Ill (5 in 2015) and from Michigan(3 in 2015).

The future looks bright for the Gophers.....they have Leidner next year with Croft hopefully getting into some games to gain experience. The following year they will have Croft as a junior and Seth Green as either a sophomore or redshirt freshman competing for the starting quarterback position. The future looks bright with these quarterbacks leading the Gophers the next few years.

Got to thinking about how many of us actually got to watch a game at old Memorial Stadium. if you did, what year was your first time? Love the pic's buses down in the lower right corner. I was bused in during the 70s. Some tough years, but don't regret a moment there.

my trips to Memorial cemented my lifelong Golden Gopher love affair. Never too early, nor too late, to get the next generation Gopher fan to a stadium to start those new lifelong relationships.

Bradt wants to know.

And they were drawn into the dark side and posted here. I thought of this after looking at some of the names of the new members on the site like:

bpurr
whichwadehego
whohatesiowa
DishDean
and my favorite: Bonerland

Up by 3 with 3 minutes left

That’s one way to block a shot.

During an NHL game on Thursday, Edmonton Oilers center Matt Hendricks made the ultimate sacrifice for his team by taking a slapshot straight to the groin.

The impact was so devastating that it broke the athletic cup he was wearing (see photos below). “Id like to thank Bike & @RussellAthletic for saving my bacon tonight!” said Hendricks, a father of two, in a tweet showing the broken cup.

We’re sure any future children will thank them too.

Video Link (Have you ever heard of sympathetic pain?) Login to view embedded media



Id like to thank Bike & @RussellAthletic for saving my bacon tonight! #closecall

Within 1 score with 2 minutes left, on the road, vs. the #4 team in the country. Iowa starts 4 seniors and 1 junior.

Our freshmen all did well. Murphy 11 pts 6 reb. McBrayer 12 pts. Dorsey 9 pts. Gilbert 8 pts 4 reb.

Our sophomores both did well. Mason 14 pts 6 ast 1 to. Konate 5 pts 9 reb.

Combined shooting for our freshmen and sophomores: 44% (22-50).

Total turnovers: 9. 7 by the freshmen and sophomores.


Note: Iowa has the #81 ranked player in the 2016 class. MN has the #53 and #140 ranked players.

Now that the 2015 season is in the books, I think it's important to see how we fared statistically in the major categories in comparison with all of college football as well as in the conference.

Defense:
11th in the country and 4th in the conference in pass defense (179 yards per game)

61st in the country and 10th in the conference in rush defense (166 yards per game)

45th in the country and 9th in the conference in scoring defense (25 points per game)

24th in the country and 7th in the conference in total defense (345 yards per game)

106th in the country and 12th in the conference in red zone defense (89% score)

89th in the country and 11th in the conference in 3rd down defense (42% conversion)

84th in the country and 11th in the conference in sacks (22 total)

62nd in the country and 9th in the conference in tackles for loss (81 total)

78th in the country and 10th in the conference in interceptions (10 total)

96th in the country and 9th in the conference in fumbles forced (8 total)

A couple of things that really stand out to me is our sad red zone and third down defense. Turnovers is obviously another area where we didn't capitalize much on last season. Otherwise, our defense as a whole is top 25 which is very good and we'll need to stay in that territory if we want to win the Big Ten West. It's remarkable the job that Sawvel and Claeys have done with our defensive backfield, especially considering the lack of pressure we generate.

and you generally move on quickly.

I love tracy Claeys and am glad he is our new HC. However, I find myself forgetting that Kill is gone. I keep expecting to hear him when I tune into the sports huddle.

I've decided that the reason kill is lingering in my subconscious is because of all the positive things he did at Minnesota.

In my lifetime the students have never loved another coach the way they loved Kill. I think about Mitch running down the sideline with the Jerrysota flag raised.

Can you imagine the students doing that for brew or Mason or Pitino or Tubby?

Nope. The Killer built this thing brick by brick and I'll treasure the memory from here on.

Ski-U-Mah!

Coach Claeys should follow Zimmer's lead.....effectively act as defensive coordinator. Although George Edwards is listed as defensive coordinator, Coach Zimmer seems to be running the defense. It's been working out pretty well. Although Jay Sawvel is the newly-named defensive coordinator, Claeys should run the defense as Zimmer does.. No offense to Sawvel and Edwards, but they simply do not have the experience or the results that Zimmer and Claeys have accomplished. When Bill Walsh won all those championships as 49ers head coach, he was calling all the plays and running the offense...it worked well, better than well, it worked great. Coach Zimmer is doing a great job running the defense for the Vikes and Claeys should follow Zimmer's lead and continue to run the defense for the Gophers.

1 game suspension for shoving WI guy's head into the floor.

Maybe gives us a fighting chance this Thursday. We're going to pull an upset sooner or later.

I didn't know.

http://www.outsports.com/2016/2/10/...ity-minnesota-college-football-gay-coming-out

Neb offers Andries

Did the mandate come down from the coaches for the parents to cool it on the message boards? Nothing lately from AAD, the Senior Stelter and Mr. Moore?

I love their perspective.

I see Iowa already has 5 recruits for the 2017 class including a 4 star de out of Illinois. Looks like it pays to have a successful season even if an easy schedule helped.

knocks off #2 Maryland in Maryland. 7 straight wins. Almost all Midwestern 3 star recruits.

He sure would be great to have at some point if things don't work out for Pitino.

I thought I have heard that the U is his dream job, they beat Wichita St. Ending there 49 game I believe home winning streak today, also beating North Carolina and Iowa State this year.

Nobody wants to see Northern Iowa come tournament time.

Just me, but on the coaching aspect of it, and I know a lot of you don't watch the women play, I see greater improvement from the start of the year versus Pitino. She has been virtually going with a 4 guard offense because of her young post players. They run their sets and rotate the ball so much better than the men. Their defense is subject, but look at the scores in women's basketball. Defense isn't their forte with the exception of a few. I know it is a apple versus orange situation with one game being played above the rim and one below the rim. Still, I see the same mistakes over and over with the men. Especially the two upper class guys Buggs and Morris,and even in some cases King. On the young post players I've seen "consistent" improvement in Edwards and Barnes for the ladies. With the men, Gaston is virtually a non- contributor. Konate takes one step forward and then two steps backwards. Just thoughts on a Saturday morning.

Of course bit dangerous up here but you have to represent.

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On MSN today, projecting the 1st round.

#2 to Cleveland Wentz QB NDSU
8 from the BIG.
7 of those from OSU.

Go figure


http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/2016-nfl-mock-draft-round-one/ss-BBpfZ4o?ocid=U218DHP

How would you grade the 2016 class?

In my opinion, it's the best yet under Kill/Claeys. If all else were to hold constant with the program, bringing in this sort of class every year would make the program a serious Big Ten West contender and approach top 25 territory annually.

They missed on many, many guys down the stretch, but like I said, I still think this is the best class under Kill/Claeys. There were no significant reaches. I'll give it a solid B+.

Gaard had ten minutes plus with Zebrowski post-game that he played on his Gopher Sunday show on KFAN.

audio link...Zebrowski at 25 minute mark: http://www.kfan.com/media/podcast-g...hers/913-gopher-football-sunday-wjg-26346531/

some good stuff on rhythm, getting herky jerky, not running like they want in heavy packages, getting stuck in 3rd and longs, Mitch getting hit/hurried early, figuring out some of their twist and improving protection, getting run game going via zone read, narrowing down what they call, flat, quick throws, hitches, swings, corners, slants, hi-lo stuff, getting defense stuck in some packages via no huddle, missing wide open kid and not hanging his head and coming back with big drive, missing Donavahn Jones vs Illini last year, missing Melvin earlier on same route (Troop Hammer?) that KJ scored on, CSU pressing, redirecting or bumping off routes on Shede and Carter, kids figuring out they need to adjust routes when CSU was trying to reroute, man schemes they changed up inside and outside leverage in coverage, sometimes funneled to safety, taking it high, running by, slither by, Mitch reading number wrong on arm band causes a timeout out of a break, outside hitch, inside corner, flats, flipping it, Drew inside mismatches on linebackers, safeties, similar to what happened with Derek Engel, if we get those big tall young guys who can run-run on the outside, working with Weber, Weber working with Mitch

I love all you crazy bastards!

with several games yesterday.

Who wins the BPL? Chelsea or Arsenal? Does Man U sneak in or does a star develop and shine at City? Does Liverpool rise from the depths?

I say it will be the following top 4:
Chelsea
Arsenal
Man U
Liverpool

I see City imploding under heave pressure for Pellegrini.