Brewtster taking heat for comments 17 months ago...

January 17th is a date known for many significant events…

• 1595 – Henry IV of France declares war on Spain
• 1605 – First publication of Don Quixote
• 1899 – Al Capone was born
• 1917 – the US buys the Virgin Islands from Denmark for $25 million
• 1949 – the first sitcom, The Goldbergs, airs on US television
• 1971 – Kid Rock was born
• 1982 – "Cold Sunday" in the US saw temperatures fall to their lowest levels in over 100 years in numerous cities (thank god for global warming)
• 1991 – Operation Desert Storm begins

But that date will forever be remember by Gopher fans as the day Athletic Director Joel Maturi officially hired his new head football coach, Tim Brewster.

We are 17 months removed from his first press conference and some Brewster quotes from that day are still being parsed and debated by fans, bloggers and message board enthusiasts. I’ve take my shot at analyzing and ending the conversation (not a goal actually attainable) but ultimately I wonder why it even matters?

There really are two things that matter in college football.

1- actually winning
2- the perception of moving in the right direction

I know that everyone will tell me that really winning is the only thing that matters. And maybe at certain schools that is true, but not necessarily at the University of Minnesota. One could argue that Glen Mason was the third best coach in the storied history of the Gophers (Murray Warmath and Bernie Bierman are clearly top 2). Mason did produce the highest win % since Bierman. But winning games and going to mid-level bowls was not enough to keep his job as it was determined that the program wasn’t really moving forward.

I’m putting words behind the actions of Maturi but I think it is safe to assume that the program had plateaued and the administration or influential alumni believed we needed a new leader to move forward.

This brings us back to January 17^th, 2007 and the initial press conference by Tim Brewster, who boldly proclaimed he was not only creating Gopher Nation but planning not take us to Pasadena and stated things like…

"My expectations from day one are going to be to win the Big Ten Championship. That’s what the seniors deserve and what everybody deserves."

“Our expectation is to win a Big Ten Championship now. We’re not interested in any rebuilding process. I’m very fortunate that I’m not coming into a situation that is decimated where there are no players. There are players here. Glen Mason did an excellent job at this university and coached these kids well. They’ve won a lot of games. They’re not void of talent, so we’re in a little different situation here than it is at most places that are going through the hiring process. I’m very excited that it’s not a complete rebuilding process."

These quotes created quite a stir and have been the root of controversy and debate ever since.

One side wonders how we ever hired this lunatic who thought we actually had the talent to win the Big Ten in 2007.Either he was crazy or he was a poor judge of talent and crazy. As his team marched on to a 1-11 season the fuel was added to the fire of this groups’ ire.

The other side says “C’mon guys he didn’t REALLY mean he could win this year.” What coach in his right mind is going to give up on a season. Of course he was just encouraging his troops and showing them that he had confidence in them. Ultimately he just meant that winning the Big Ten (as opposed to ‘earning’ a mediocre bowl bid) is the goal each and ever year.

After initially defending the comments, I say WHO CARES! Whether or not he thought the Gophers were going to be Big Ten Champs in 2008 is completely meaningless. There are two things that matter. His record and the perception that he’s moving the program forward. In year 1, he failed miserably in the win/loss department. But he did hit a home run in the world of recruiting which has Gopher Nation buzzing about being able to field a team with Big Ten talent throughout the roster.

You may say, his words don’t exactly matter, what irks Gopher fans is that his rhetoric is over the top and coming off as crazy which won’t get you anywhere. You may be correct to a degree. He clearly overstated things when he was in the moment of being paraded as a new head coach. But that same enthusiasm and goal oriented rhetoric is precisely the reason he was able to bring in a top 20 recruiting class which happened to be the best this program has seen in decades.

Was his first season a success? Absolutely not, but I would argue it wasn’t a total loss. Bringing in a top 20 class when your team finished 1-11 is incredible. 2007 was a disaster but he has given hope for a sustainable turnaround. Eventually he will have to prove he is more than a recruiter and a coach capable of winning games and take this program to a new level of competitiveness. Through one season he is completing 50% of his passes.

But really does the fact that he was excited and was the first person to voice that we should have higher goals really that big of a deal? His team struggled on the field and there has to be improvement this in 2008, but what he said at his initial press conference or even all through his first spring is completely irrelevant to the 2008 season. Can we please move on?

----------

Inspiration for this post
Charlie Walters
Sunday Morning Quarterback
Footballnews - 247

Golden Gophers on the national (and international) scene

Congratulations are in order all around for the following current and future Golden Gopher athletes...


Women's Track All-Americans
Liz Roehrig - Runner-up Heptathlon
Heather Dorniden - 5th place 800 Meters
Ruby Radocaj - 6th place Javelin


Men's Track All-Americans
Hassan Mead - 6th place 5000 Meters

Mead is a true freshman who has had an outstanding freshman year and if healthy could become an all time Gopher great.

• All-American (Cross Country)
• Big Ten Runner-Up (Cross Country)
• Big Ten Freshman of the Year
  
• Big Ten Outdoor Champ 5000M (Track)
• All-American 5000 M (Track)
• 6th place finish at NCAA Outdoor Championships

Next? Olympic trials.


Wrestling
Jake Deitchler - your youngest member of the US Olympic team as the 66 Kg wrestler. The 18 year old just graduated from Anoka and will be a Golden Gopher next season but has already made a name for himself as only the second high school wrestler to make the Olympic team. Mike Farina was the last to do it in 1976. This is a pretty incredible accomplishment and should give me a reason to tune into Olympic Wrestling this year.

Also worth noting is that there has been a wrester from the state of Minnesota on the US team for every Olympics dating back to 1968.

HOT tailgating product (shameless plug)

I am often e-mailed various products and advertising "opportunities." Some I reject and some I find cool enough that I can't in good conscience keep hidden from Gopher fans and in this case tailgaters.

Check out The Grill Topper (don't hold it agaisnt them that they are an Iowa based company) to see how this little product works. Since my target audience is primarily men, don't count on this being purchased for you for Father's Day, you might have to go and buy it yourself.

Anyway, check it out and it will be interesting to see how many burgers look like THIS on Saturday afternoon, September 12th, 2009 in the TCF Bank Stadium parking lot!

Incoming frehsman, Sam Maresh, to have open heart surgery

UPDATE: thanks to brilliant commenter (G0EL Pete) HERE is a link to more info on the Aortic Valve and replacement.
----------
Every once in a while something comes along that reminds all of us that football really isn’t all that important.

Many of us have been eagerly anticipating the new look Gopher defense that was to eventually be led by in-state recruit Sam Maresh.The middle linebacker from Champlin was an early commitment to coach Brewster and honestly has been the only significant in-state recruit Brewster has kept from other major programs.

But the Star Tribune is confirming what has been recently rumored, that Maresh has a congenital heart defect requiring surgery. Sam’s father, Bill, e-mailed the Star Tribune…

According to the e-mail, Maresh reported to the U of M on June 2 for a physical, where tests revealed he had a heart murmur. Three days later, after more tests, the family was told that Maresh has a congenital heart defect. Bill Maresh wrote of Sam: "His aortic valve has a serious leak, his ventricle is enlarged and also has an enlarged aortic root."

That is incredibly scary for Maresh and his family. Fortunately this was caught before the condition would have been worsened by 2-a-days in August and hopefully it can be corrected so the young man can live a long and healthy life.

The article does a nice job laying out the significance of Maresh to Brewster and the Gopher program so I won’t go into it any further.

A 4 pm press conference is scheduled for this afternoon to provide further details.

While hoping and praying for more Gopher wins this fall is kind of a big deal to those of us who follow, it all feels pretty meaningless in light of something as serious as this.

It is my prayer for the Maresh family that they can be at peace throughout this process and that Sam can be healed by competent doctors to live a full and healthy life.

----------

UPDATE:

From GopherIllustrated message boards (rivals subscription required and I urge you to subscribe as they are excellent at what they do), Bill Maresh recently posted this...

It’s difficult to know where to start when sharing information like this. Julie and I have tried to keep the information from going public, only telling family and a few staff members. At 4:00 p.m. there will be a press conference here at Champlin Park High School with Julie, Sam and myself. We feel it is time to share this information with the people we work with.

On Monday June 2nd, Sam reported to the University to participate for his first work out with the Gophers. The University requires physicals of all their new recruits before allowing them to work out. During the physical Sam was told he had a heart murmur and before they would let him work out they would have to perform further test. Wednesday June 4th, Sam had an EKG and an Echogram. Later that evening, Julie and I received a call telling us they had set up an appointment with a cardiologist and that Julie and I needed to be there. Thursday, as we met with two cardiologists, we were told that Sam had a congenital heart defect, his aortic valve has a serious leak, his ventricle is enlarged and also has an enlarged aortic root. We were told that he would need open heart surgery to repair or replace his valve and also to “fix” his aorta.

Yesterday, we were at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester and saw three more doctors, the last being Dr. Schaff, a surgeon who we scheduled the surgery with. The Surgery will be June 26th.

The priority of Sam living a full and long life has been the number one concern through this process. Of course as most of you would guess, Sam asked the doctors, “will I be able to play football again” and I’m sure many others will ask the same question.

So before I answer that question, I want to again state that we, including Sam, have accepted the fact that this surgery was necessary for Sam to have a long and full life. Sam chooses to have the valve repaired if possible and if not to have it replaced with a tissue valve.

With the tissue valve, Sam has a chance of playing again. Of course the surgery will have to be a success, his ventricle will have to return to a normal size and his breastbone will have to mend strong enough to handle the impacts of football. So the answer to the question “will Sam be able to play football again” cannot be answered at the present time. There are many hurdles for Sam to clear in the next year before the doctors will clear him.

Julie and I are so thankful for all the University of Minnesota has done, from detecting the heart murmur, to referring us to possibly the best surgeon in the world, Dr. Schaff. We are most thankful for the prayers we have received through the last week and asked that you continue to pray for Sam through his surgery and his recovery.

Thanks for all your support,

The Maresh Family

Gopher Sports 2007-08 Recap

Chances are pretty good that if you read this blog then you are already aware how the football, basketball and hockey teams fared this year. (Ugly, improved, disappointing in case you didn't know). But lets take a moment to recap all of the 23 Golden Gopher sports...

Big Ten Champions
Women's Cross Country
Women's Swimming and Diving
Women's Indoor Track & Field

I guess it was a better year for the women's side of the athletic department but here is a brief sport-by-sport run down.

Fall Sports

Football (1-11) - Tim Brewster's first season was highlited by his recruiting class while we suffered through a season as bad as any in memory. The football team has received enough coverage so we'll leave well enough alone.

Volleyball (18-13) - 11-9 which was good enough to be tied for third in the Big Ten. A streaky season for the Golden Gophers who started out 12-3, went on a seven game losing streak, split their next two and then finished the conference season winning five of their last six. Minnesota was the only team in the country to face all four participants of the Final Four (Cal, Stanford and the National Champs from Penn State). Heading into next year we return two very talented freshmen (Brook Dieter and Lauren Gibbemeyer) and currently sit as the 9th winningest volleyball program in the country.

W Cross Country (finished 12th at NCAA Championships) - Big Ten Champs (five runners in top 17) and NCAA Midwest Region Champs highlited a rather successful season for the women runners. SO-Jamie Cheever was the highest finisher at the NCAA meet finishing 33rd overall. We do return six of our top seven runners so 2008 could be another highly successful season for the women long distance runners.

M Cross Country (finished 8th at NCAA Championships) - JR-Chris Rombaugh finished 29th and FR-Hassan Mean finished 43rd to lead the Gophers. Mead and Rombaugh finished 2nd and 4th respectively in the Big Ten Championships as the Gophers finished 2nd to Wisconsin. We return three of the top five runners for next year.

Women's Soccer (9-8-2) - The season was nothing special but did manage to pull off the biggest upset in the program's history when the Gopher women knocked off nationally ranked (#8) Penn State 1-0 in double OT. The team finished 6th in conference and lost to Illinois in the first round of the B10 Tourney. With their sophomore and freshmen classes ranking top 50 nationally when they were recruited, it would appear that the next couple seasons could be improved.

Winter Sports

Men's Basketball (20-14) - again well chronicled on this particular blog. Much improved, incredible recruiting class and some new coach who given time just might make a name for himself.

Women's Basketball (20-12) - 11-7 was good enough for 3rd in the Big Ten. More importantly the women earned a their 5th bid into the NCAA Tournament in coach Pam Borton's six seasons. They return their best player in cup stacking champion, PG, Emily Fox who earned First team All-Big Ten honors in her junior season.

Men's Gymnastics - finished 5th (out of 6) in Big Ten Championships. SR-Mitchel Mays claimed an individual title on the vault. Mays was actually the heavy favorite to win an NCAA title on the vault but he "landed short on his Tsukahara double pike for a score of 15.625 and an eighth-place finish."

Women's Gymnastics - finished 6th in Big Ten Championships, but managed to finish the season with a #16 national ranking. Apparently the Big Ten was loaded as seven teams finished in the top 30 (6 in top 20).

Men's Hockey (19-17-9) - a disappointing season as the Gophers began the season with hopes of a Frozen four appearance but reality brought them down to a 9-12-7 WCHA record (7th place). Freshman Goalie, Alex Kangas, went on an unbelievable run during the WCHA tournament and Minnesota fell just short of their 15th conference tournament championship. The Gophers did manage an at large bid into the NCAA's but lost in their first round match up at Boston College.

Women's Hockey (27-7-4) - a more successful regular season than the men ended in much the same fashion. After finishing 2nd in the WCHA to Wisconsin, the Gopher women advanced to the championship game but lost to Wisconsin. They did of course make the NCAA tournament and were given the opportunity to avenge their previous 3 losses to Wisconsin but once again they lost to the Badgers to end the Gopher season.

Men's Swimming and Diving (3rd in Big Ten) - continued their streak of a Big Ten top 3 finish each and every season since 1989. The men scored more points this year in the NCAAs than they did a year ago when they finished 10th, but the added points this year were enough to garner an 11th place finish.

Women's Swimming and Diving (Big Ten Champs) - setting 14 team records and five events the women swimmers (and divers) won their third conference championship. The women continued their successful season and went on to finish 13th at the NCAA meet. Jillian Tyler earned Big Ten freshman of the year.

Wrestling - The Gopher grapplers followed up their 2007 National Championship season with their worst finish in the NCAA meet since 1996 finishing 10th. Not so bad, right? But when you have standards set as high as the Gophers', who have finished top 3 in nine of the last 11 seasons, 10th isn't exactly something to write home about. Second in the Big Ten, their best wrestler returning and the nation's top recruiting class on it's way there is no reason to believe the Gophers will not be back to their usual top three finish.

Spring

Baseball (20-35) - the baseball team is likely the biggest disappointment of the Minnesota athletic department. A decent showing in the non-conference season beating Tulane, Pepperdine and Missouri (all NCAA Tourney participants) turned out to be fools gold as the Gophers struggled mightily and finished last in the Big Ten. I'm planning to cover this in more detail soon, but it was their worst season since 1950. A very young pitching staff and much of their lineup potentially returning (depending on draftee decisions) should mean the Gophers will return to the top of the Big Ten soon.

Softball (29-16) - 4th place finish in the Big Ten. This was the highest Big Ten finish since 1999 and with only four seniors on the team 2009 could be a very successful season for the softball team.

Rowing - With the finest facilities around and a breakthrough season in 207, the women's rowing team finished 4th at the Big Ten Championships and 6th in the Central Region.

Men's Tennis (7-17) - 16 of their 17 losses came to ranked opponents and this young squad finished 4-6 in the Big Ten to cap their season. They will return 3 of their top 4 singles players and should be in fine shape to return to the NCAA tournament where they have been 13 of the last 15 years.

Women's Tennis (15-11) - a winning season and much of their roster returning this may have been a learning season. #1 singles was freshman Alessandra Ferrazzi from Brescia, Italy who will anchor the team in the next few seasons. Looking at the roster you see that the women's tennis team hails from exotic locations all over the world as Italy, Russia, Brazil, Australia and Neenah, Wisconsin are all represented. Bonus points to anyone who is actually reading this and can guess which of those locations I have actually been to.

Men's Track & Field - 5th place in Big Ten Indoor and Outdoor Championships. The premier outdoor event, the 100m, was won by a Gopher for just the second time as Ibrahim Kabia established himself as the fastest man in the Big Ten (would have been 8th in SEC for those of you keeping track). Three other men won individual titles. Five Gophers will participate in the NCAA Meet (June 11-15 in Des Moines, IA). All five are underclassmen.

Women's Track & Field - This may be the most successful team in Gopher athletics this season. Big Ten Indoor Champs and 3rd place in Outdoor Championships. Eight individuals will be participating in the NCAA Meet next week.

Men's Golf - Big Ten runner ups to Michigan State with two golfers finishing in the top 10. JR-Victor Almstrom finished tied for 5th and SR-Clayton Rask finished 10th. Like several other sports this team was young and will return four of their top five golfers. Rask and Almstrom also participated in the NCAA Central Region Tournament finishing 11th and 41st respectively.

Women's Golf - While young squads has been a theme here, the women's golf team is the youngest of them all. The Gopher women finished 8th in the Big Ten (shooting their second lowest B10 score in team history) and the team was led by two freshman. Teresa Puga finished sixth individually at the Big Ten Tourney and Mary Narsizi finished 23rd. Essentially the entire roster returns (one senior who was not usually within the top 5), while this does not guarantee success they will have every opportunity to improve.

That covers all 23 sports that you can support in Gopher Athletics. As a group the University of Minnesota athletics finished 22nd nationally in the NACDA Director's Cup Standings. I do not believe that all of the spring sports are included in the most recent rankings so I would expect a little drop depending on how well our track athletes perform. A year ago we finished 20th but with the poor showing by football and baseball, coupled with slightly down years in hockey and wrestling the drop cannot be all that unexpected. How Notre Dame could even think about hiring away an athletic director from a team not in the top 20 of the Director's Cup Standings is beyond me.

Directors Cup Standings
Big Ten Teams
2	Michigan
3	Ohio State
4	Penn State
18	Wisconsin
22	Minnesota
23	Purdue
25	Michigan St.
29	Illinois
30	Indiana
32	Northwestern
50	Iowa

Take that Iowa!

Cold Minnesota Lakes Cause Linkage

I haven't jumped on the linkage bandwagon lately but here is what is going on around Gopher Nation and the Big Ten.

• Recently some minuscule Michigan blogger MGO Blog (you've probably never heard of it), has indirectly called out Gopher Nation saying there really is no such thing.
  

  "I blame the 2004 Red Sox and Kos for this. There is no Spartan Nation. There is no UAB Nation. There is no Badger Nation. Unless you are named Chad and everyone on your team is also named Chad, there is no nation for you. BLANK Nation jumped the shark two seconds after the 2004 ACLS. Shut up about it."

  I guess Brian didn't directly call us out so maybe we are OK. All I know is Tim Brewster said there is a Gopher Nation so that's what I'm going with. Maybe he'll think differently after his Wolverines step foot into Gopher Nation as they get housed at the Dome this fall.

• Matt Hayes at The Sporting News recently listed his top 5 players in the conference at each position. Only Eric Decker (#5) and punter Justin Kucek (#2) represented the Gophers. There is little to argue with here as there was a reason we were 0-8 a year ago. If the Gophers are going to win a couple conference games this year guys like Weber, Dom Alford, and anybody on defense may have to earn a spot within the top 5 of their respective position.
  

• As usual the Iowa bloggers Black Heart, Gold Pants provides us with a funny but completely unsafe for work, home or the library post. Just for your own safety and job security I suggest never clicking on a link provided by BHGP!

• People who know me will say I'm lying but I am actually reading a book. I have begun reading Bruce Feldman's "Meat Market - Inside the smash-mouth world of college football recruiting." Feldman spent a little more than the entire 2007 recruiting season with Ole Miss and noted recruiting great Ed Orgeron.
  
  I am not far enough to comment on the book but I have noticed several parallels between Orgeron and Brewster. Both are noted as outstanding recruiters and have landed blue-chip players for blue chip programs which led to National Championships. Orgeron was the master behind Leinart, Bush and other drafted players at USC. Brewster is given credit for guys like Vince Young at Texas. Both parlayed their recruiting reputation into head coaching jobs at schools in need of talent to move up from the bottom of their conferences. It should be a great read and provide some insight into the world of college football recruiting.

• From the Barn put out a hard hitting interview with incoming PF Colton Iverson about his love of "The Office."

• One of the best Big Ten Blogs for one of the worst Big Ten teams recently allowed me to give my thoughts on Gopher Football 2008. Lake the Posts has been giving an early sneak peak into the NU schedule and HERE is the Gopher preview. LTP also did an interview with Big Ten Network host and NU grad Dave Revsine. I didn't actually read it because it is really long but it looks interesting.

• Paterno will eventually die or quit coaching (not sure which will come first) and there are rumors that Rutgers coach Greg Schiano is being set to replace him. A planned successor isn't all that strange but when that successor is currently coaching another D1 team, that is unprecedented. It is of course just a rumor but interesting nonetheless.
  

5 best wins of the Glen Mason Era

Say what you want about the Mason era, and I have, but Mase did move this program from a perpetual bottom 3 or 4 team to a middle of the road Big Ten team capable of occasionally knocking off the big boys. Obviously his lack of recruiting at every position outside of RB and OL, his contentness with mediocrity and his unique ability to lose games that appeared to be locks cost him his job. But over the course of his 10 years at the U he did mange a few significant wins that stand out. So in all fairness, after pointing out five of his ugliest losses, here is my list of top five Mason wins

#5 - Wisconsin (34) vs. Minnesota (37)
11 / 08 / 2003

Although this was the second win over Wisconsin in the Mason era this one stood out. Heading into the game Minnesota sat at 8-2, was ranked #20, but had lost a heart breaker to Michigan and hadn't beat anybody else of significance. Wisconsin was 6-3 at the time with wins earlier over #23 West Virginia and #6 Ohio State. This was a chance to beat a good team.

Wanting to make a statement the Gophers jumped out to a 24-6 lead after a Thomas Tapeh TD with 2:01 remaining in the half. The Badgers scored 36 seconds later but the lead still remained double digits heading into half time. In typical Mason fashion we let the Badgers back into it and the game was tied in the 4th after a Badger TD with 7:15 left in the game.

The Gophers and their dominating ground game of Barber / Maroney managed 6 plays and a punt. The amazing part of this game was what the defense did. Wisconsin started on their own 42 but went 3 and out gaining 1 yard. The Gophers got it back with 2:49, went 11 plays, 61 yards and was capped by a 35 yd game winning FG by Rhys Lloyd.

#4 - Minnesota (24) @ #2-Penn State (23)
11 / 06 / 1999
First significant Big Ten win for Mason

Since the Nittany Lions joined the Big Ten the Gophers had been unable to beat them. But this after a couple near wins was one of Masons first significant wins. Heading into the game in Happy Valley Mason's Big Ten record stood at 5-16 beating nobody of significance and only 2 road wins within the conference. What really makes this game stand out is that fact that entering the game Peterno's Lions were undefeated at 9-0 and ranked #2 in the nation.

This was a great game with both teams trading scores and the lead throughout the second half. But in the end it was a 32 yard Dan Nystrom kick as time expired that put the Gophers over the top and put Mason on the map in Gopher Nation.

#3 - Alabama (16) vs. Minnesota (20)
12 / 31 / 2004
Music City Bowl

The Penn State win above was huge but the Alabama win edges it out for #3 for two reasons. 1-the Tide had an outstanding rush defense that we shredded and 2-it was a win over an SEC team.

The Crimson tide had not allowed anybody to rush for over 100 yards all season. That included Joseph Addai (99), Ronnie Brown (55), Cadillac Williams (41) and Jerious Norwood (96). Marion Barber had more than those first three backs listed on his own with 187 yards rushing. That alone is impressive but then add that Lawrence Maroney chipped in 105. This was a game we were not supposed to win because of the fear of the Bama rush defense and if we can't run we can't win. But we ran (and ran and ran) 72 times racking up 276 yards.

In rare Mason fashion, Alabama did not score in the second half until a late safety with 3:11 to play and Minnesota secured the highly sought after Music City Bowl trophy.

#2 - Minnesota (23) @ #21-Michigan (20)
10 / 08 / 2005
First time the Little Brown Jug came home to Minnesota since 1986!

Minnesota started 4-0 including a double OT win over #11 Purdue then headed into as rough a Big Ten schedule as you will ever see @PSU, @ Mich, Wis, OSU. This was the only win in that stretch but it is likely the game that kept Mason around for the 2006 season.

After tying the game late in the third, this game was a dog fight throughout the fourth quarter. Michigan had shut down the Gopher ground game of Maroney and Gary Russell in the final quarter UNTIL Russell shook loose on a 3rd and 9 play with 1:52 remaining. Michigan appeared to have the play wrapped up at the line of scrimmage, but Russell broke to the outside got free for a 61 yard run to the Michigan 13.

At that point there was time to get centered on the field and allow Jason Giannini to knock in a 30 yard FG to win the game.

#1 - Minnesota (29) @ #6-Ohio State (17)
10 / 14 / 2000

On the road where Minnesota had not won since 1949! Yes you read that right, only two other wins in that span but both at home. I don't need to elaborate any more than that, winning in Columbus for the first time in 50 years is enough reason to be #1 on this list.

But the Gophers came ready to play jumping out to a 17-3 lead in the first quarter and knocked the Buckeyes on their heels. Minnesota never trailed, were never tied (with 0-0 being the exception) and scored a late TD to push it back up to a double digit margin.

This game was huge for Mason as he was a former Buckeye assistant and gave us a slight boost in Ohio where Mason preferred to focus his recruiting (we were finally able to beat out Mount Union for those key 3-star kids). This game was huge and gave Gopher fans hope for the next few seasons that the Gopher program had turned a corner.

Gophers lose Bryce McNeal to Michigan

Breck's Bryce McNeal has decided to play for Michigan and Rich Rodriquez's version of the Spread Offense. McNeal is clearly the #1 prospect coming out of Minnesota this year. The players who will likely occupy 3-5 have already committed to being Gophers. McNeal's very early commitment leaves me with a few thoughts.

First of all it is nice to get this out of the way in May rather than November. Last year the staff spent many hours working on Willie Mobley and Michael Floyd only to see them hold out until October or November. Time can now be spent on other WRs.

Let's also not completely give up hope, this isn't over. A verbal commitment, especially this early, isn't exactly a lock to leave us. Should Brewster turn things around this year, should we beat up on Michigan as they fall to a embarrassing season or should he realize he'll be featured more in Mike Dunbar's offense than RichRod's or should Michigan bring in several other highly rates RWs then he could always change his verbal and actually sign with Minnesota. Clearly the chances are greatly diminished but there is a lot of time between now and signing day in February.

Finally, It is hard to argue with the recruiting results of Tim Brewster in his first full year of chasing high school all over the country. This year's incoming class is the best we have seen in decades and probably ever. We have athletic and speedy kids coming from Texas, Florida, California, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, Chicago and Detroit to name a handful of hot spots. Coach Brewster coming off a 1 win season landed a top 25 class, which is remarkable to say the least.

BUT, he has failed to live up to one of his early promises. We all know he vowed to take us to the Rose Bowl (that seems a ways off) but so far what hurts more is that he has yet to "lock down the borders." The previous staff was unable to retain the best of Minnesota's prospects, largely because of poor relationships and a lack of interest. The current staff has put in more time and effort but have equaled the formers' success rate.

The class of 2008 saw the best two in state players leave for Ohio State and Notre Dame. 2009 will have us keeping more but we still have to watch the top of the list compete against the Gophers in another Big Ten uniform.

Next on the list is TE Ra'shede Hageman from Mpls-Washburn. Hageman is getting interest and offers from Florida, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Illinois Nebraska and other Big Ten schools. Hageman is probably the #2 prospect in the state, and should be a top priority for the Gopher staff. Don't let the best two leave yet again.

----------

MGO on the McNeal commitment
Michigan Sports Center on McNeal with more to come HERE.

Ruesse would be happy to know there is little other coverage within the blogosphere.

5 Worst losses of the Glen Mason Era

The offseason is here and there is little to keep the blogging juices flowing. So I wanted to look back and give my top 5 worst Glen Mason losses. This is not meant to pick open the Mason scab and scratch it till it bleeds again, but I thought it would be an interesting topic and give a springboard for others to give their thoughts on worst losses.

To be fair I will post my top 5 Glen Mason wins and one could easily argue that none of these losses was as bad as losing to North Dakota State at home.

#5 - Houston (45) @ Minnesota (43)
9 / 27 / 1997 - Mason's first season

In what would prove to be a Mason staple, his first season presented us with a cupcake non-conference schedule. After losing to Hawaii (not as considered a 'good loss' in 1997) and beating what would be a 1-10 Iowa State team, we got to see a couple CUSA teams to kick the Mason era into high gear. We beat 4-7 Memphis on the road then Houston came to the Metrodome to get us ready for the Big Ten.

This game makes the list because it was the first of embarrassing losses in the Mason era. This game was no nearly as close as it appeared on the final box score. A touchdown and 2-pnt conversion were scored to 0:03 left on the clock to bring this game to single digits. While technically it was a 2 point loss, this essentially was a 10 point loss to a CUSA team, AT HOME.

This game was the first in a line of games in which Mason's teams somehow snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.

• Min outgained Hou
• Min had six more first downs than Hou
• Min had fewer penalties that accounted for 45 yds
• Minnesota's starting QB was 25/35, 368 yds, 3 TDs and two rushing TDs

I realize these are not dominating statistics, but outgaining, fewer penalties, more first downs and a great game from your starting QB rarely end up in essentially double-digit losses to weak teams from weak conferences at home.

#4 - Minnesota (43) @ Indiana (51)
10 / 21 / 2000

This game makes the list because of it's impeccable timing. Coming into this game Minnesota was 3-1 in conference and had just upset Ohio State on the road. Their remaining schedule including @Indiana, Northwestern and a down Iowa team. A loss at Wisconsin was expected but this was shaping up to be the year we made a run at the Rose Bowl.

Instead of winning the games they were supposed to win, the Gophers followed up with Ohio State win by giving up 611 yards and 51 points to the Hoosiers. Despite our awful defense we were able to take the lead and hold it till the final 17:18 of the game. But then we allowed 27 points, scored a meaningless TD late to keep this from being a 16 point blowout.

MN was 3-1 in 2000 in B10 having Ind, NW and Iowa (3-9) on the schedule. This after winning @ OSU. Up with 10:13 in the 3rd only to be outscored 27-14. This started a tailspin that ended with another awful loss to NW at home during homecoming.

Ultimately this started a tailspin for the Gophers who then lost at home to Northwestern by being outscored 27-7 in the 2nd half, and then lost @ Wisconsin by giving up the final 21 points after being tied in the 4th qtr. Those games merit consideration for this list but they were fueled by the loss to Indiana.


#3 - Texas Tech (44) vs. Minnesota (41)
Insight Bowl
12/29/2006

This was the final embarrassment for AD Joel Maturi and was Mason's final game. One could argue that this game should be #1 on the list for that very reason, but this loss doesn't hold the same embarrasment factor as the top 2 simply because it was played in a meaningless bowl game, watched by few on the NFL Network and most Gopher fans will admit they weren't all that surprised.

Up 35-7 at halftime and actually was up 38-7 (that is 31 points) with under 5:00 in the 3rd qtr. Besides giving up 31 consecutive points in the last 20 minues, the vaunted Gopher defense racked up some rather impressive stats...

• a grand total of 3 stops on 3rd down
• 1 forced punt
• 445 yds passing allowed
• the five final scoring drives for TT each took less than 3:00

The offense didn't help much either. In their final five drives of the game they managed to go 4 yds, 35 yds, 6 yds and -5 yds. The final two drives of regulation began just shy of midfield after failed onside attempts by TT and resulted in back to back three and outs.

As I mentioned before I think many Gopher fans were wary of assuming a victory at any point in this game. If the Mason era had taught us anything it was that no game was over until the coaches shook hands on the field. It was the perfect game to end his tenure and an instant classic we will all never forget.

#2 - Wisconsin (38) @ Minnesota (34)
10/15/2005

Another classic example of Mason 4th quarter game management. This game could also make an argument for #1 it was a rivalry game, at home and would have given you realistic chance at a Jan. 1 bowl game. Here is how this little gem played out...

Up 10 with under 3:00 to play.
Gave up a TD with 2:10 (up 3).
Couldn't get a first down to run out the clock.
Had to punt with under 1:00 left on the clock (still up 3).
Punt blocked after bad snap.
Badgers fall on it in endzone to take the lead with 0:30 left.

Take a knee, take a safety, anything but try to kick it on the run getting it blocked. It is hard to come down and blame this loss solely on the punter. Had your head coach said to him, if anything should go wrong take a safety, things would have likely worked out in our favor. But beyond that play when you get 258 yards rushing from Maroney and 139 from Gary Russell there is no real excuse for losing.

This day was actually the same day USC escaped with a win over Notre Dame in what was a great game to watch. I was actually at that game but that day will forever be tainted by this Gopher loss.


#1 - Michigan (38) @ Minnesota (35)
10 / 10 / 2003

This game was likely the difference between the Rose Bowl and the Sun Bowl. Entering the game the Gophers were 6-0 overall, 2-0 in Big Ten play winning two road games @ Penn State and Northwestern. That left us with 4 home games in our final 6. This was the statement game needed and with the favorable schedule a chance to be the Big Ten front-runner.

Minnesota came out and for three quarters played like they wanted it and they belonged leading 28-7 and absolutely dominating Michigan. I believe we only gave up 77 yards of offense in the first half. But this was a Glen Mason special as we gave up 31 points in the 4th quarter and managing to get just 7 to try and stop the bleeding.

When you are able to rush for 424 yards there is absolutely no reason you shouldn't be able to milk the clock and nurse a three touchdown lead for the final quarter. This one hurt and was brutal to watch.

All things being equal and turning out as they eventually did, winning this game would have put us in a tie for 1st place at the end of the season and likely a Rose Bowl berth. At the very least it would have made an incredibly strong case for something like the Capital One Bowl or another significant Jan. 1 bowl. Even with the other bad losses on his resume, getting this win would have kept Mason's job at the end of the 2006 season.

----------

There you have it. That is my list and I'm sticking to it. There were many others under consideration and if you look closely enough you'll be able to find several games where we gave up the last 10 points in a game to lose a close one. All were considered and were top 10 worthy but not top 5. Give me your thoughts.

Welcome to Gopher Nation Kid - Kim Royston

There is a growing club of Minnesota kids who leave the great state from which they came for the lure of 1 win seasons in South Bend, corn feeds in Lincoln, large cheerleaders in Madison and various other institutions of higher learning. But this club is more exclusive than those who just leave us, you also have to come back home to finish your career here. Dan Coleman and Lawrence McKenzie are recent examples to come back to the raised floor of the Barn (makes you think twice about leaving for a national championship doesn't it Cole Aldrich). Earlier this spring Matt Carufel decided he wasn't getting a quality enough education at Notre Dame and heard from Sid he'd be set for life if he graduated from Minnesota so he came back to play football (or something like that). And we now have Mr. Kim Royston leaving the Badger program and coming home to play for the surging Gophers.

What makes Royston's transfer interesting is that he was not given a release from his Badger scholarship. This meant he was unable to have any contact with the Gopher coaching staff. And because he is transfering within the Big Ten Royston is not only forced to sit a season for transferring he is also forced to pay his own tuition to the U for his remaining three seasons (transfer year and two seasons of eligibility).

Apparently Royston felt he was not given a fair opportunity to compete for the starting FS position in spring football as he was promised. According to his father position battles at SS and QB were allowing split reps with the first team but Royston was not given one snap with the first team defense. Some excellent quotes and a good recap of the situation from The Capital Times...

Chris Royston said his son was disappointed when the coaching staff released a depth chart prior to spring practice that had Kim Royston listed behind Carter. Kim Royston was even more disappointed when, during the Badgers' first two practices of the spring, Carter got all the reps with the No. 1 defense.

In Chris and Kim Royston's minds, that was a clear sign the coaching staff already had decided Carter would remain the starter.

"He was not going to be allowed to compete for a spot at free safety," Chris Royston said of his son, who played cornerback and both safety positions during his UW career. "This year at strong safety, they're alternating, they're competing for a spot. And at the quarterback positions, they're alternating, they're competing for a spot. Coaches can say you're competing, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that isn't the case."

I agree and I'm certainly not a rocket scientist. But I have also been on the coaching side of college athletics and the way a player views things and the way a coach sees things are often very different. Let's let coach Beilema have a say here...

According to Bielema, Royston was being given an opportunity to win the starting spot.

"Everybody in our program has an equal shot," Bielema said. "Anytime you are personally involved in situation, you see things in a little bit different light. I can appreciate what he's saying, but we had lengthy discussions. He was the No. 2 free safety behind Shane Carter and I really liked the development at that position at this point.

So it is clearly a he said / she said (sorry for inferring you are a woman coach Beilema) situation. I'm going to take Royston's side here though (shocking, I know). Royston isn't claiming he was better or deserved the starting spot, his beef is that he felt he was told he'd be given the opportunity to compete and it appears that he was not actually given that opportunity.

With that behind us let us look forward to the Royston family joining Gopher Nation. Royston at a bare minimum will add depth to a thin and young defensive secondary. At best he'll take his third year at the college level to continue his growth/development and will be a starter for two season at either FS or CB. My best guess is that 2009 when he is eligible to play he will compete and be the frontrunner to start at opposite Traye Simmons at CB. But like I said, worst case scenario he is just quality depth for the entire defensive backfield.

The 2008 recruiting class was the most talented in the program's history, The 2009 class will be limited in scholarships (16 is the number I have heard) but will also get a boost in talent with Carufel and Royston joining the 2009 team. This is good news for Gopher fans and should help to further the development of the program. Welcome back Mr. Royston.