Rivals 120 Countdown - Gophers worst BCS school at #105 / EMU #115
http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1231374
No surprise on the EMU ranking. They have a long way to go and I hope English is still there after this season - he took over a horrid program, but, at 2-22 over the last two years and another rough year ahead the stats may doom him.
As for Minnesota, I think they are destined for a battle with IU for the #12 team in the Big 10, but even if they are last place material... ranked as the worst team from a BCS conference? Ouch! Either way, anything to keep the Brown Jug where it belongs.
I assume we'll see IU in the next two days as Rivals goes from 100 to 90 and Purdue not far behind.
Let the Pre-pre-season rankings and debates begin!!!
I went to Ohio U (not tsio) and I can't believe the gophers are ranked lower than OU, where "fans" leave after the Marching 110 plays at halftime. Minnesota should stick with hockey.
OU Oh Yeah! OU may not have much of a football team, but they have the greatest bar scene ever. That alone pushes them over Minnesota.
but if drinking ability equalled athletic skill, I'd have been a lot more popular in school. The Court Street Crawl is ridiculous though!!
the most awesome mascot performance in the last several years.
Hockey hasn't been working out too well for the gophers either.. I don't understand how UMn-Duluth is a semi-powerhouse for college hockey, while the gophers are just average. That's like if MIchigan Dearborn was somehow better than Michigan in football.
I thought the Gophers were ranked #1 when we played them in hockey at the showcase a couple years ago or something. I could be crazy, though.
you're probably right. I've just been on campus here since last fall, so all I've seen is mediocrity. I guess it could be a short slump for them. It's just weird for me, growing up in michigan, seeing the biggest university in the state being pushed around by a smaller school in the state's favorite sports. Could you imagine Michigan being dominated by MSU..well, bad example I guess.
You're just not old enough to remember the days when Lake Superior State would beat Michigan more often than not.
No, they have been slumping for a while, at least for a couple of years. They haven't done anything in the last four years that I can recall. The big issue is that I believe they tend to have the most talent on their team (drafted players) versus all other college hockey programs and they still can't get it done. One of my friends heavily devoted to college hockey is constantly perplexed by Minnesota's slide.
College hockey is different than college football. Small schools can have good years and have big impacts on bigger name schools. Part of it is goaltending, which sometimes allows "worse" teams to defeat "better" teams (usually big name programs), ala Michigan v. Air Force and Michigan v. North Dakota (we were the "worse" team there). Minnesota Duluth also isn't a completely random school: they have been to the National Championship before but never won. Additionally, this might just be my opinion, but poorer officiating in college hockey allows worse teams to pull upsets also.
You do know that MSU is larger than Michigan, right?
Oh Shit! That EMU eagle is kid friendly.
Miami (YTM) / FSU : College Football
I don't understand it either but Minnesota:
1) Was great in the early 00's
2) Has a ton of talent now
3) Sucks
I've found it really entertaining that we've been owning them recently
Minnesota won the national title in 2002 and 2003 and won the WCHA as recently as 2007. They're in a dry spell right now, but they're very much a historical power.
He is a lot meaner than he looks!
They will be a lot better this year. Prediction: wins vs Howard, Bama St, wmu or cmu, akron or kent, buffalo, ball st. 6 wins!!!
The Green Wave are destined to crack the top 100 this year!! Woohoo!
I'll see you in New Orleans when the Orangemen come to town.
Aren't you simply the "Orange" now?
We're a top 100 team this year.
Roll Wave! I also have a Tulane degree. We're going to do big things this year.
I was BME 2000.
THE BUZZ: Kill's arrival from Northern Illinois has energized a fan base that had begun to tune out Tim Brewster's hyperbole.
Is that true? Are Minnesota fans actually excited about this guy now? Or is "energized" a nice way of saying "people are wondering how the hell this is gonna work?"
for EMU.
That's really sad.
As for Jerry Kill, Minnesota will be better over the longer term. Brewster was a TE coach and was never an HC. People make jokes about his dental work, but Kill did a great job at both So. Illinois and No. Illinois (following coaching legend Novak).
Not to nitpick, but Goldy comes in at #102, not #105. Another once-proud(ish) BCS school, Wazzu, is right behind (ahead?) in terms of predicted suck.
Minnesota actually used to win National Championships in the 30's and 40's: 5 of them. They last won it in 1960, which was the last year both the AP and UPI crowned champions before the bowl games. It's almost sad to see them not be able to come close to excellence on a regular basis anymore. But not quite.