Student section for numbers has been really dissapointing so far in hoops this year. Do you guys expect it to be full tonight?

55 at his best. Ok

I really think the reason this case is so bizarre. Is that I don't think this woman was raped, she was bullied into sex. This is roe versus wade type stuff. That's why the cops didn't pursue charges, she appeared to be good with it.

However, I think she is still being bullied by lawyers and others that have gotten involved. Her comments says it all to me. I'm glad it's over, this was not about getting anyone in trouble. She tells us all, she is accountable too to what happened and heart is not for these guys to get punished.

Now.....She has been bullied twice IMO. In that dorm and now by lawyers and the EEOC and her momma. I would love to hear her true wishes. Lawyers coach you up and will brainwash you into what Happened and what to say. This young lady suffers from a weak mental state and has been taken advantage of by many not just the players.

Anybody with an early sighting?

Moore is out tonight and Matt Leidner is expected to start, per Justin Gaard.

Weyler is also out on the offensive line.

Holy crap this game is going to blow past its time slot.

On morning of bowl game, Tracy Claeys surprises 91-year-old Gophers fans at breakfast
The Quarnstroms, who live in Marshall, Minn., flew to San Diego for their first bowl game. They were eating their eggs Tuesday at Joe's Crab Shack when a surprise guest arrived.

By Joe Christensen Star Tribune

DECEMBER 27, 2016 — 12:58PM

ELIZABETH FLORES, STAR TRIBUNE
Minnesota head football coach Tracy Claeys made a surprise appearance as he presented Warren and Ardella Quarnstrom with a football during a breakfast Tuesday in San Diego.



Warren and Ardella Quarnstrom, from Marshall, made their first trip to a bowl game this week and were surprised at breakfast Tuesday by Tracy Claeys, who gave them an autographed football. Warren and Ardella, both 91, have been married for more than 66 years. ELIZABETH FLORES • eflores@startribune.com


They were high school sweethearts who married on Nov. 23, 1950. For their honeymoon, they went to Madison, Wis., where they watched the Gophers lose to the Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium two days later.

They remained big Gophers fans, as Warren went on to practice law in Marshall, finally retiring in 2009 at age 83.

They have a son and daughter who both graduated from the University’s Carlson School of Management and a granddaughter who attends the University now.

In early December, when the Gophers received their bid to play in the Holiday Bowl against Washington State, two friends of the Quarnstroms, Lee and Norma Raske, suggested they all go to San Diego.


“We said, ‘Sure, let’s go,’ ” Ardella Quarnstrom said. “We like to travel.”

They’ll be at Qualcomm Stadium for Tuesday’s kickoff at 6 p.m. (Central time) and will have another day to enjoy San Diego before flying back to Minnesota on Thursday. So far, it’s been a good trip, they said.

“I didn’t mean to cause this much disturbance,” Warren said of all the attention they’ve received from fellow Gophers fans — and Claeys.

As fans left the restaurant, Bob Hughes, the Goal Line Club president, stood at the door, shaking hands.

“How about Tracy Claeys? Is that incredible?” Hughes said. “We’ve never had a coach quite like him. True Gophers fans love him.”






Joe.Christensen@StarTribune.com 612-673-7844 JoeCStrib

How many of you have signed the witch hunt to fire TC?

"The latest development came Monday when a petition signed by slightly more than 400 teachers, parents and University of Minnesota alumni called for Gophers head coach Tracy Claeys to be fired. By 7 p.m., the petition’s signatures had exceeded 690."

I'm beginning to "HATE" this Administration!

Shit canned today.

*Gopher related because he'll be on the next hot board

That report must be pretty damning

• Behind Enemy Lines: Washington State
• Facts & Figures: Minnesota vs. Washington State
• TGR Film Review: Washington State vs. Cal
• A look at the Cougars' top players
• Claeys talks DBs, Falk, and more
• Claeys talks Holiday Bowl
• Mike Leach weighs in on Minnesota
• Holiday Bowl offers intriguing contrast in offensive styles from Wazzu Watch
• Mike Leach interview after Friday practice from Wazzu Watch
• DC Alex Grinch post-Friday practice interview from Wazzu Watch

Also, read the Michigan State preview for tonight's Big Ten opener.

I'll run the Holiday Bowl game thread, and Connor will run the Michigan State game thread tonight.

Link: A look at the Cougars' top players

Link: Behind Enemy Lines: Washington State

COACH LEACH: I want to thank everybody and the Holiday Bowl for having us and the University of Minnesota and the fine football team that they bring.

Q. Coach, teams react differently to adversity. There have been bowl games where players have been suspended and they've rallied. Have you talked to your team at all about being weary of a team that is going through adversity?
COACH LEACH: No, we just worry about what we can do, just try to do the best that we can, be the best football team that we can, get the best work that we can and the best practices that we can. They're a great football team. The only thing we can control is ourselves so we're just worried about ourselves.

Q. Coach, you said a couple weeks ago that if players decided to boycott on your team you would cut 'em. Can you elaborate on that stance?
COACH LEACH: I would. I'm not going to elaborate on it because in this setting it's just all about me trying to contradict something that Minnesota did and that's up to Minnesota how they handled that situation, and ultimately if I have a boycott I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. That's essentially how I would handle it so you can elaborate from there. Any other questions?

Q. Coach, one football and one non-football question. Mitch Leidner, have you been able to see much from him? What challenges does he present?
COACH LEACH: Big strong, physical, team seems to rally around him, you know, because they've had a lot of close games and obviously him being the quarterback is key and instrumental in that team holding together and doing some good things at the end. The big thing that jumps out is how big and physical of a kid he is, especially at that position.

Q. Coach, when you were at Texas Tech you overcame troubles there. What have you been able to do with Tracy Claeys this week to bond or share your experiences in overcoming tough times?
COACH LEACH: Really the biggest thing is you see each other at these socials, some and not always as much as you would like. You know, if not know each other, know of each other, for sure. I think all coaches wish for the best for one another, you know. I think he's done such a fine job up there in Minnesota it's hard to not respect.

Q. Minnesota hasn't seen the air raid very often, but they have seen it with TCU and Texas Tech after you left. Have you studied how Coach Claeys and Sawvel have attacked those games?
COACH LEACH: We have more film nowadays than you know what to do with, but we haven't played a ton of teams with their style, either, so I think it goes both ways. Their conference, I remember one time they were actually a pretty wide-open conference, and now they're back to being what the Big Ten is known for. In our conference it's a little more open. The one thing that good teams do is they identify what they do best and they continue to do it over and over. All right. Thanks, I appreciate it.

On this board. All posts about the bowl game,depth chart for next year, ect......instead of the other topics the week or 2.

Link: Michigan State preview

Wonder Woman. The Flash. Or Aquaman?

George Michael did not have a very good Xmas...

Link: Claeys talks DBs, Falk, and more

COACH CLAEYS: Appreciate everybody being here. Representing the Big 10 University of Minnesota, we're excited about being here for our first bowl game since 1962 and getting a chance to represent the Big Ten. I would like to thank Ted, Mark and all the red coats. We have had a great experience, very well organized and happy to see the best that San Diego and the area has to offer. The kids have had a great experience and now we're looking forward to getting to the game and hopefully we can have a game that is as competitive and exciting as the Holiday Bowl is known to have in the past. We would like to congratulate Coach Leach, his staff and players for a great season that they have also had and looking forward to getting to the game.

Q. How has your team responded without their teammates on the road?
COACH CLAEYS: We have practiced well, so that hasn't been an issue. At the same time you want them to have fun and enjoy the things that are here. As a staff we just ask that when we're on football time, and those three or four hours a day, that they concentrate and do their best to prepare for the game and we have a tremendous amount of respect for Washington State and we know that we need to be prepared to play. They've done a good job of separating that from the trips that we have been able to do as a team.

Q. Coach, tell us about the defensive backs that will be starting in place of your suspended starters. How do you prepare them for a couple weeks of practice?
COACH CLAEYS: Every week, whether it's injuries or whatever it is you play the best kids that you have available and I think as coaches it's important that you ask kids to do what they can do and play to their strengths. The worst thing you can do is take the kids that are available and ask them to do something they're not very good at. You get a little younger and with the challenges comes opportunities for kids. They've done a great job of preparing and obviously the staff just keeps preaching that we're going to work to their strengths and if you're going to go down at least you're playing to kids' strength. The worst thing we could do is ask a bunch of kids to do something they're not capable of. We have enough kids, they've worked hard and prepared hard and I'm excited to see them play.

Q. How would you compare the health of your offensive line now to like the end of the Wisconsin game. How important will that be?
COACH CLAEYS: That's the one place, obviously, when the season started that we were in real deep and we're basically in the same place that we were for the Wisconsin game. We've still got some people that are beat up one or two of them will be game time decisions on what happens, but at the same time usually you get three or four days to practice, so we have had ten days to practice and it allows Bart to work with different combinations, move kids around, so we have had plenty of time to the different groups that we may have to play with and it gives us a chance to move them around.

Q. Any shot on Jared?
COACH CLAEYS: That will be a game time decision, but it looks doubtful whether he will be back.

Q. How much did getting away from Minnesota help your team move on from the boycott and the things that happened in the past week in Minnesota?
COACH CLAEYS: I'm not for sure. All I know since we have been here they've done awfully good. They got on a plane, came out here, great area, the weather, even though some of them complain that are out here, the locals, it's been really nice for us and then when we left the Twin Cities. Like I say, they have done a great job in the meetings and in practice. They've really enjoyed the different experiences that have been provided to us.

Q. When you guys face passing offense you have had quite a bit of success with pressures. What have you seen from that unit? What's been most impressive about putting pressure on the quarterback this year for you guys?
COACH CLAEYS: If you look a lot of times, you know, the sacks do have a big impact on games, different times in games, but, you know, when you play a team that gets rid of the ball quick and gets the ball out and that's short and down the field. They do a good job of mixing it up. The screens, the draws, it's a challenge. We will just have to see how the game plays out and where the pressure part plays into it and where it goes.

Q. Kind of following up on that I was going to ask you about the offense, different from what you guys see on a regular basis and what has jumped out to you about that challenge?
COACH CLAEYS: Mike wasn't there with we played them a couple of years ago, we played Texas Tech and he does different things, but so far the speed, obviously the speed, that they work with and since he was in the Big 12 and how fast the Big 12 works is the one thing that we play spread offense and nothing huddle but that tempo is definitely different than what we've seen and the variety of plays obviously. A lot of the spread teams know how to, we see they're still a predominantly a run game. So that's what's neat about bowl games, you get to play people from different conferences that you usually wouldn't get to play and it's exciting to see how it all works out.

Q. Your senior receiver Drew Wolitarsky took a leadership role. Has that remained constant in San Diego? Talk about how important he is to the team.
COACH CLAEYS: All our seniors, they have done a great job. This is as close of a team as we have had. You go back to last summer and the positions and with different position groups the seniors did, so I'm proud of the fact that they worked on this since last summer, having a close football team. It's good to see them get rewarded with a great bowl like the Holiday Bowl.

Q. Coach, preparing for Luke Falk, what do you see from him? And is there anybody who he reminds you of?
COACH CLAEYS: Not many people complete over 70% of the footballs they throw. He's extremely accurate, knows where he's going with the ball, they do a great job of attacking the different space and the different zones. It will take a great effort, and part of that when it comes to it, is that hopefully they're having a little bit of an off day and whether that's through drops, or whatever, but it's hard to rely on him to be inaccurate because he's done such a good job all year long.

Q. I know the charters are coming in from Minnesota today and everything, but have fans pulled you aside? What are the things people are saying to you in terms of support for what the team has been through and all that this month?
COACH CLAEYS: They're excited about being here and excited about the team. Like I said, it's a good reward. We had opportunities to win more ball games and didn't. Just like every team in the country. Disappointed that we couldn't finish out a couple more of them, but at the same time this is a great bowl and they are excited to be here and come out to this area and they've been very supportive of all of us. Thanks.

Just wanted to say this before Sherm... Sure am glad we added Maryland to the B1G...

http://m.startribune.com/tarnished-u-football-needs-rah-rah-salesman/408172996/?section=sports

This would be quite the way for us to get the guy many of us wanted in the first place. Only in Minnesota.

I recently caught up with three-star Alabama LB Sterling Jones and he told me that Minnesota continues to keep in touch and a late offer might be coming his way. Jones was a guy that got a lot of interest early in the process but seems to be sort of searching for a place right now.

Here's a link to his profile.

Here's his film:

Login to view embedded media

Mitch ready to sling it...

@foggieguy has won the prestigious traveling Poster of the Year award for so many years in a row that you could be forgiven for imagining that it had been retired in his permanent possession. But no! The pride of St. Paul Campus can only retain the award for another year if his fellow posters determine his 2016 posts more worthy of this honor than the many other fiercely competitive and deserving posters.

So let's have a little fun here on The Gopher Report, by collecting nominations and voting for which poster is most-deserving of the prestigious and highly coveted 2016 Poster of the Year award.

To nominate a poster, post their alias (e.g., @Matt Jessen-Howard, @E.J. Stevens, etc.) in this thread by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, December 26th. You may nominate as many posters as you like in your post. I'll compile a list of the 9 posters with the most nominations (which I believe is the poll thread max for options,) and put them into a polling thread for voting (yes, once again you will be able to see who votes for who, and change your vote, to enhance shenanigans,) with the winner to be announced after 5:00 p.m. ln Saturday, December 31st.

Who is worthy of nomination? That's completely up to you. @bradt42 has often been the bridesmaid, but never the bride, but maybe this is his year. And @-TUNDRA- is probably worthy of recognition for his persistent dedication to his long-running T&A thread. Here's a listing of some other frequent posters, to get you started: @Viperman69, @Eff Cas, @Littlefinger, @AhliBobwa, @dubwa, @tnarum, @Harry Stamper, @gophernutt, @blackoliveguy7, @OPD77, @TedHested, @Full Measures, @TNesley, @rockgopher, @opie22, @umfb27, @wren121, @Sherman Hemsley, @Nine, @Slab Of Bacon, @tcfgophernation, @GoldenGopherRube, @Highway55, @dragon54, @Anticallihan, @Baldy1, @inspart, @koppco1, @Radiant1, @goldenfan, @Doc Arnold, @jeffpost, @JeffinSWM, @Tahyde, @stroke the post, @Belker23, @aerosk83, @DeuceSip23, @GopherJim, @mariucci94, @TrapGame!!, @mcclu186, @altendck, @bobnjoni, @cdietz007, @Calminnfan, @deep_six, @fogo49, @porkchop78, @die hard gopher, @keflavik, @jdoif0304, @cheddar wurst, @calton11, @DeuceSip23, @Korns03, @GopherMD, @homesite2, @timothynelson53.

Let the fun begin!

TC is actually fired on Wednesday. Will Coyle lose the players? They are already upset with the Administration over how things have been handled. If they truly believe in their coaches, this could be really damaging. Even if they bring in the guy that many of you think is the next Messiah, Fleck. If I were Coyle, I would wait until next season. But, I am not him, so we will see. They may want to make a political statement that they are changing the culture by cleaning house. Amazing how a series of bad decisions can tarnish the entirety. I mean decisions by players, coaches, admin.. No one comes out of this looking great. I do truly feel badly for the vast majority of players that make good decisons, go to class and represent the University with class. They are the ones forgotten in all of this mess. Curious to hear what others think.

There is a petition drive to get Claeys fired.

I am mobile, so can't link the story, but it's up on the Pioneer Press website.

Two conclusions from me: 400 signatures aren't very many, and there is a large part of the faculty and staff at the U that would prefer to see football fail and simply go away altogether.

They must be anti-due process, since that is at the core of the issue. What if their kids got in trouble? Would they want, at a minimum, due process?

please support your answer with facts or aggregated intelligence. I know these kids will play hard for each other, but how do they feel about him....the man.