** 2019 Opponent Previews : Minnesota (Game 7) **

[Saunders]

CollegeFootballNews: 5 Things You Need To Know About Minnesota & Season Prediction

If Northwestern could pull off a Big Ten West title last year, why can’t Minnesota do it? It didn’t take a perfect storm for the Wildcats to get to the Big Ten Championship, but it required a whole lot of breaks, starting with a down West with Nebraska not there yet, Iowa just above-average, and Wisconsin going bye-bye once Alex Hornibrook got hurt. Nebraska has to come to Minnesota, and so does Wisconsin. The Iowa and Northwestern games are tough, but there’s no Ohio State, Michigan, or Michigan State to deal with from the East, and the Penn State game is at home after getting a week off to prepare. So understanding that this might be way low if the Gophers can win at Fresno State early on and get by Purdue on the road in the Big Ten opener …

https://collegefootballnews.com/2019/05/minnesota-football-preview-prediction-players-2019

Athlon: #40 Minnesota Golden Gophers Preview And Prediction

After his Gophers won three of their final four games last year, coach P.J. Fleck welcomed heightened expectations entering his third season at Minnesota. "People think we're going to be good; some people don't think we are going to be good," Fleck said during spring practice in March. "I'm going to err on everybody thinking we're going to be good, so we're going to train our players: Here's what's coming." The Gophers welcome the pressure after going 7–6 in 2018 with one of the youngest teams in the nation. Minnesota returns the majority of its production from a year ago — 90 percent on offense and 66 on defense.

https://athlonsports.com/college-football/minnesota-football-golden-gophers-prediction-preview-2019

The Athletic: Minnesota has P.J. Fleck’s framework in place and a chance to rise in Big Ten West

The bus pulled up to the TCO Performance Center, and out came a ball of controlled energy — complete with a long-sleeved Vikings shirt and a choreographed “Skol” chant, to boot. P.J. Fleck does not do things quietly, no matter where he is. On this early April day, the third-year Minnesota head coach had moved one of his team’s final spring practices to the local pro team’s complex in nearby Eagan, offering the public a dress rehearsal of what could await the Big Ten this fall, along with a glimpse into how this kinetic bunch operates daily.

https://theathletic.com/1060255/2019/07/07/minnesota-football-2019-schedule-roster-depth-chart/?source=dailyemail

More to come...

 

[Mavric]

[No message]

 

[Husker in WI]

It's just a weird culture Fleck is building there - clearly it can work to some degree, he won at Western Michigan. They really need that defensive turnaround to be real though, and a QB to take huge steps forward.

 

[everybody knows my name]

Yeah, be fair though - that's a fifty year old trophy that they present to the winning team after the spring game, then put back in storage for a year.

And don't most teams get a ring to commemorate a win in a bowl game?  I think they do.

 

[everybody knows my name]

It's just a weird culture Fleck is building there - clearly it can work to some degree, he won at Western Michigan. They really need that defensive turnaround to be real though, and a QB to take huge steps forward.

Prediction: Zach Annexstad will be the QB, and he'll do fine.

 

[Husker in WI]

Yeah, be fair though - that's a fifty year old trophy that they present to the winning team after the spring game, then put back in storage for a year.

And don't most teams get a ring to commemorate a win in a bowl game?  I think they do.

Yeah fair enough, didn't realize it was the bowl game ring. Intentionally misleading tweet, and I fell for it.

8 minutes ago, everybody knows my name said:



Prediction: Zach Annexstad will be the QB, and he'll do fine.

I still just don't know about Annexstad - he was thrown in as a freshman, so I'm sure he'll improve. Fleck's Western Michigan QB improved a lot freshman-sophmore years, and doesn't look like he was much of a runner either. But Annexstad did get benched, so it seems like he'll have to win the job back to start. They've got some receivers in any case, Johnson is a stud.

 

[Scarlet Overkill]

Yeah, be fair though - that's a fifty year old trophy that they present to the winning team after the spring game, then put back in storage for a year.

And don't most teams get a ring to commemorate a win in a bowl game?  I think they do.

That checks out.

 

[Mierin]

That checks out.

Just guessing here. He was here 4 years.

3 national championships

4 big 8 championships

2 bowl rings (possibly another 2 for the bowls that ended up being championships?)

1 super bowl

3 NFC championships (not sure if they give rings for those)

He has 14 rings so I'm not sure what the other 1 is. Do they give rings for being an All American?

 

[Gage County]

Just guessing here. He was here 4 years.

3 national championships

4 big 8 championships

2 bowl rings (possibly another 2 for the bowls that ended up being championships?)

1 super bowl

3 NFC championships (not sure if they give rings for those)

He has 14 rings so I'm not sure what the other 1 is. Do they give rings for being an All American?

Those are all college rings. Might be a Lambardi ring and 2 B12 D player of the year?

 

[Caliborn72]

[No message]

 

[In the Deed the Glory]

Just guessing here. He was here 4 years.

3 national championships

4 big 8 championships

2 bowl rings (possibly another 2 for the bowls that ended up being championships?)

1 super bowl

3 NFC championships (not sure if they give rings for those)

He has 14 rings so I'm not sure what the other 1 is. Do they give rings for being an All American?

The original tweet said that some of those were Tracey's rings (his little brother)

 

[Head Coach Scott Frost]

The nice thing about PJ Fleck is that on the of chance he does ever start to put teams together like he did at Western Michigan then he will for sure leave for a better school.  So either he'll only be bad to ok in which case we won't have to worry or he'll be elite in which case he'll leave.

 

[Scarlet Overkill]

Someone loves himself a little Peej.

 

[Landlord]

The nice thing about PJ Fleck is that on the of chance he does ever start to put teams together like he did at Western Michigan then he will for sure leave for a better school.  So either he'll only be bad to ok in which case we won't have to worry or he'll be elite in which case he'll leave.

I wonder where he'd be willing to go if he got hotter. He seems somewhat like a Chris Petersen type where he doesn't really want to leave one region (midwest). Looks like his entire career playing and coaching (maybe his entire life) he's only spent 5 years outside of the Great Lakes midwest region.