I will gain some respect for Fleck if some of those 20 players out are starters and backup in a certain position group and they still play UNL this weekend. It's one thing to have a starter out here and there (we see that with injuries all the time) but if one or two position groups are really affected and you lose your depth that is pretty damn detrimental to your team and any success you plan on having
I don't like Fleck, but I have respected the job he has done. I get sick of the "row the boat" thing, but his kids have bought in. And whereever I saw the thing about the Lions looking at him? I am not sure his schtick would work in the NFL.
On the one hand, we didn't handle success well the last time we won, and you know the Minnesota staff has been preparing for this since the Wisconsin game was cancelled so they've had a lot of time to prepare. On the other hand:
No Bateman, and their passing offense had already regressed
Dunlap (Achilles) and Faalele (not specified that I know of) haven't played and their OL is rumored to be a good chunk of the 20 unavailable
Their defense has been very, very bad and the DL is also rumored to be the other significant chunk
If they come out with a genius plan and get us on the ropes it could be a problem, they've still got some dudes and as much as I dislike him Fleck can coach. But I just don't think they have the any difference makers outside of Ibrahim.
@Crusader Husker I heard if the bears fire Matt Nagy they might go after Fitzpatrick from NW. It would be like a Big 10 rivalry week between the Bears and lions. Also, what else do the Lions have to lose? all the other schticks they have tried haven't worked either.
@Hilltop My thoughts exactly. I think part of overlooking Illinois this year was we gave them 5 turnovers last year, and still managed to just go take the game when we wanted to. Hopefully the team actually believes Minnesota could beat them - pretty sure many players legitimately though there was no way Illinois could win, regardless of their preparation.
People worried about 30+ degree weather... In December smh. They are really lucky to have temps in the upper 30s. We have been really lucky this year playing games so late. I can remember much colder weather, with snow, over the past few seasons.