Tag: Minnesota Football

Wisconsin’s 2017 Cotton Bowl put PJ Fleck, Paul Chryst center stage

Recalling the 2017 Cotton Bowl (January, not December) between Paul Chryst’s Wisconsin Badgers and P.J. Fleck’s Western Michigan Broncos.

The Cotton Bowl had two games in 2017: One was played in late December, when Ohio State defeated USC. The other one was played on January 2 of that year, when the Wisconsin Badgers defeated the Western Michigan Broncos, 24-16. Western Michigan was the Mid-American Conference champion, the first (and still only, to date) MAC champion to win the Group of Five championship and play in a New Year’s Six bowl. The coaching quality of PJ Fleck emerged that season, when WMU went unbeaten in the regular season and earned its big date with Paul Chryst and Wisconsin in Arlington, Texas.

This was the first really big game between Fleck and Chryst. Their second really big encounter is this Saturday, as the Minnesota Golden Gophers try to win the Big Ten West for the first time and deny the Wisconsin Badgers a rematch with the Ohio State Buckeyes in Indianapolis in the Big Ten Championship Game.

Last year’s Fleck-versus-Chryst game didn’t sizzle. I say that not because Wisconsin was on the short end, but because Wisconsin didn’t have a very good team. Minnesota was also trying to find its bearings under Fleck and gain an identity as a program. This 2019 meeting, on the other hand, is a clash of quality teams and a battle for a division championship, maybe even a ticket to the Rose Bowl (with Penn State being in the mix for that latter prize as well). It is worth looking back on the first especially significant encounter between Fleck and Chryst on a national stage.

One key note to make about that (January) 2017 Cotton Bowl was that Chryst went into battle against Fleck and offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca (who accompanied Fleck in moving from Western Michigan to Minnesota) with Justin Wilcox as his defensive coordinator. The Western Michigan-Wisconsin Cotton Bowl is therefore not a renewal of the assistant coach battle (and Broyles Award semifinalist showdown) between Ciarrocca and current UW defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard.

Yet, even though so many faces were different — Wisconsin had T.J. Watt and Vince Biegel on defense, Corey Clement and Troy Fumagalli on offense — a few details of this game are certainly worth noting in connection to what we will see this upcoming Saturday in Minneapolis.

Jan 2, 2017; Arlington, TX, USA; Wisconsin Badgers running back Corey Clement (6) and head coach Paul Chryst and tight end Troy Fumagalli (81) celebrate the win over the Western Michigan Broncos in the 2017 Cotton Bowl game at AT&T Stadium. The Badgers defeat the Broncos 24-16. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

The third-down conversion rates for both teams were impressive. Western Michigan was 5 of 11, Wisconsin 7 of 11. The Badgers won this battle, and it certainly mattered in propelling them to victory. However, Western Michigan’s ability to convert a reasonable percentage of third downs enabled the Broncos to stay close. Time of possession in this game was a virtual tie: 30:05 for Wisconsin, 29:55 for Western Michigan. The Broncos kept the ball from the Badgers long enough to keep the game close. Western Michigan did cover the 8.5-point Wisconsin betting line. However, Western Michigan — with receiver Corey Davis on its roster — needed to hit the home-run pass to beat Wisconsin, and that did not happen against Wisconsin and Wilcox’s defense.

Davis had six catches for only 73 yards — 12 per catch — and was outgained by Wisconsin’s best offensive player that day. Fumagalli made sensational grabs in that contest, accumulating 83 receiving yards and powering the Badgers’ offense on a day when Clement was held to 71 yards by Western Michigan’s resolute defense.

I don’t need to tell anyone that Minnesota is more physical and skilled than that 2016 Western Michigan team. The Gophers are a much more formidable version of Fleck’s first great team in his coaching career. Nevertheless, the game flow Wisconsin established that day against Western Michigan is something Chryst and his staff will certainly want to replicate against Minnesota. If you offered Chryst a deal in which his team would get a 14-0 first-quarter lead, and get an 11-of-12 passing line for 159 yards — as Bart Houston delivered on that day — from Jack Coan, he will take it. He would sign on the dotted line. Sure, he wouldn’t like the part of the deal in which his lead running back gains only 71 yards, but the 7 of 11 number on third downs would likely lead him to accept this larger package of circumstances.

Strong third-down conversion rates, supremely efficient situational passing, and a two-touchdown first-quarter lead — with the opposing offense, coached by Fleck and Ciarrocca, not hitting a long downfield pass play — give Wisconsin and Paul Chryst a roadmap for how to play this game Saturday. The biggest concern and question mark: Can Jim Leonhard get a Fleck-busting defensive performance which was every bit as impressive as Justin Wilcox in the 2017 Cotton Bowl? More precisely, can Wisconsin’s back seven defend the RPOs and other delights the Fleck-Ciarrocca brain trust has in store for the Badgers in Minneapolis?

We will get to find out soon enough.

Saturday is a moment of truth for Wisconsin and Jim Leonhard

A few thoughts on Wisconsin Badgers defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard before Saturday’s game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

If this particular subplot to the game between the Wisconsin Badgers and the Minnesota Golden Gophers did not exist, Jim Leonhard wouldn’t coach less vigorously. He wouldn’t care less passionately. He wouldn’t focus less intensely. Yet, the subplot exists, and it is fascinating: Two Broyles Award semifinalists will coach against each other:

The battle lines have been drawn even more sharply before Saturday’s kickoff in Minneapolis. The offensive coordinator for Minnesota and the defensive coordinator for Wisconsin are both on the Broyles Award semifinal list. The Gophers dutifully promoted the achievement of offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca, who has worked seamlessly with head coach P.J. Fleck to transform the Minnesota offense in a relatively short period of time:

The battle is fascinating enough on its own terms and merits. The Wisconsin defense versus the Minnesota offense is the heavyweight matchup in this game, given that Wisconsin roared to the top of the Big Ten on the strength of its defense in the first half of this season. That first half is what put Leonhard on the Broyles semifinalist list. It certainly hasn’t been the past four weeks.

Minnesota’s defense has played a part in the Gophers rising to the top tier of the Big Ten, but the offense is the main engine of Minnesota’s rise. The Gophers haven’t been winning slugfests; they have been winning with big numbers. When they contained Iowa’s offense, they still lost because their own offense had a miserable day in the red zone. Minnesota is the team which would like a 42-35 game. Wisconsin would prefer a 27-24 or 23-20 game. If that lower score is going to emerge, it is up to Leonhard to not only find the right plan for Minnesota; Leonhard needs to find a way to get this defense — especially the back seven — to defend the pass with a lot more consistency than the Badgers have shown in November.

The last truly great half of defense Wisconsin played — when adjusted for the quality of opponent — was the first half against Ohio State. Minnesota isn’t as good a team as Ohio State, but its offense certainly deserves to be taken seriously. Jim Leonhard and Kirk Ciarrocca are both Broyles semifinalists; Leonhard needs to show that his status has been fully deserved. If he shuts down Ciarrocca’s attack on Saturday, no one will question Leonhard’s Broyles credentials.

1962 Wisconsin-Minnesota was biggest Axe game ever

Reflections on the 1962 game between the Wisconsin Badgers and the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

If this Saturday’s 2019 edition of the Paul Bunyan’s Axe game between the Wisconsin Badgers and the Minnesota Golden Gophers can be compared to any game in UW-U of M history, it would be the 1962 game between the two teams. The game was for the Big Ten championship. Minnesota had just made consecutive Rose Bowls under head coach Murray Warmath, the last great coach in Minnesota history. Wisconsin was gunning for its second Rose Bowl in four seasons.

Heading into the 1962 edition of Badgers-Gophers, the two schools had made the last three Rose Bowls: Wisconsin under coach Milt Bruhn in 1959, Minnesota in 1960 and 1961. Moreover, if you look into these schools’ histories, some fascinating “crossover” details emerge. When you read this Sports Illustrated account of the 1962 game, you will note that Bruhn — a legitimately great coach at Wisconsin — played for Minnesota in the mid-1930s, when the Gophers became a national power under then-coach Bernie Bierman.

When Bierman was coaching Minnesota to prominence in the mid-1930s, Clarence Spears coached Wisconsin. This is the same Clarence Spears who coached at Minnesota in the late 1920s and guided a man you might have heard of: Bronko Nagurski, one of the greatest football players of all time. The Bierman era at Minnesota carried all the way through 1950. After three brief years of mediocrity, Warmath took over in 1954 and began another storied chapter of Minnesota history.

Bruhn began his tenure at Wisconsin in 1956. He won only one game his first season. In Year 2, he won six games. In Year 3, he went 7-1-1. In Year 4, he reached the Rose Bowl and began that glorious four-year period in which either Wisconsin or Minnesota represented the Big Ten in Pasadena. The 1962 game wasn’t just the height of a special season for Wisconsin and Minnesota, who both ended that regular season in the Associated Press Top 10; it was the last year in which Warmath and Bruhn both fielded great teams in the same season.

Warmath and Minnesota shared the Big Ten title in 1967 with Indiana and Purdue. (Indiana went to the Rose Bowl.) That was Warmath’s last hurrah. Bruhn never got back to the Granddaddy. No one could have known in 1962 that the flame would flicker and then die for Wisconsin football after the unforgettable 1963 Rose Bowl against USC.

Wisconsin won that 1962 game, 14-9, on a late 80-yard touchdown drive marked by a roughing-the-passer call which kept alive the Badgers’ march and wiped out a Minnesota interception. Minnesota fumed about the call, but the Golden Gophers failed to observe a longstanding principle about sports: Always be significantly better than your opponent, to the extent that one call can’t ruin your day. Minnesota failed to put away Wisconsin at earlier points in the game; it paid a price for its inefficiency against Ron Vander Kelen, Pat Richter, and the other great players on the 1962 Wisconsin team.

As the scene shifts to Saturday and the new “mountaintop” moment in the history of Wisconsin-Minnesota football, the Badgers and Gophers need to heed that advice: Be up by nine points, not two, so that if a bad call happens in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, it will have relevance only in relationship to Las Vegas… and not Pasadena.

Rivalry week: How UGA vs Georgia Tech ticket prices stack up to the rest of CFB

A look at UGA vs Georgia Tech ticket prices compared to the rest of college football this rivalry week. Plus looking the SEC Championship.

It’s the final weekend of the college football regular season. Wow…how sad is that?

Very sad is the answer to that question, but on the bright side we are in for a good day of college football.

Alabama vs Auburn and Ohio State vs Michigan headline what will be an exciting Saturday. Additionally, fans will also be able to enjoy a ranked matchup between Wisconsin and Minnesota plus Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.

With the Dawgs playing LSU in the SEC Championship the following weekend, I’m looking forward to watching how the Tigers handle Texas A&M, which Georgia struggled against last weekend.

Speaking of the SEC Championship, currently, the get-in price for the conference title game is $341 and the average is now $995. The get-in price has only dropped just over 2% in the last week, but the average list price has gone down 23% over that same time frame. I’d be curious to see what would happen to those prices if LSU were to lose this weekend seeing as how it would then be a win-or-go-home battle for both teams.

Click here to view tickets to the SEC Championship.

As for this weekend, Georgia fans’ wallets will get a bit of a break if they want to see the Dawgs take on Georgia Tech in Atlanta. Currently, Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate is the weekend’s ninth most expensive game, with a get-in price of $98. For Georgia fans, that’s not too bad; for Tech fans, this is the Yellow Jackets’s most expensive game of the season.

Click here for Georgia vs Georgia Tech tickets.

Minnesota at Wisconsin claims the title of most expensive ticket this weekend with tickets starting $257, followed by the Iron Bowl at $165.

Georgia football: CFB fan outlines nightmare playoff scenario

The College Football Playoff Committee released their top 25 last night with the Georgia Bulldogs checking in at number four. With rivalry week left in the season, fans can still put together some nightmare scenarios for the CFP Committee. This …

The College Football Playoff Committee released their top 25 last night with the Georgia Bulldogs checking in at number four. With rivalry week left in the season, fans can still put together some nightmare scenarios for the CFP Committee.

This scenario is far from a nightmare for the Georgia Bulldogs. UGA is a lock in this situation:

What four teams would you pick? I think these three are locks in this particular scenario:

1. Clemson

2. UGA

3. Minnesota

Beyond Minnesota, who’d feature wins over Wisconsin, Penn State, and Ohio State, I think LSU would get the nod over Ohio State, Utah, Alabama and Baylor. It’d depend how the conference championship went. I’m assuming each championship game is close in this scenario. LSU has slightly better wins than Ohio State. Utah and Baylor’s soft non-conference schedules comes back to bite them. LSU’s head to head win over Alabama would be too much for the Crimson Tide to overcome.

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Five Minnesota players who Badger fans need to know

Here are five Minnesota Gophers who Badger fans should keep a close eye on throughout Saturday’s matchup between Wisconsin and Minnesota.

The matchup Badger fans have been eagerly anticipating all season is finally upon us, as No. 12 Wisconsin will look to take back Paul Bunyan’s Axe from No.10 Minnesota in the Twin Cities on Saturday afternoon in this year’s rendition of one of college football’s most heated rivalries. As if the game was in need of any more hype, this year’s showdown between these two bitter foes will also serve as a Big Ten West championship game, with the winner destined for a berth in the conference title game in Indianapolis.

It’s been a dream season for head coach P.J. Fleck’s Golden Gophers, whose only loss of the season to this point came a couple of weeks ago against Iowa in a thriller at Kinnick Stadium. Fleck has clearly elevated his program to new heights, and after Minnesota’s beatdown of the Badgers at Camp Randall at the end of last season, it appears as though the days of Wisconsin’s consistent dominance over its border rival are over.

It was a bit of a surprise to find the Badgers listed as 3-point favorites in this one as of Wednesday morning, but after getting embarrassed by the Gophers last season, it would be shocking if they don’t come to play on Saturday. However, make no mistake, it will be an uphill battle for Wisconsin to slow down this Minnesota squad in what is sure to be a hostile atmosphere on the road. These aren’t the Gophers Badger fans have grown accustomed to routinely pounding anymore, as Fleck has a squad loaded with talent, especially on offense.

Here are five players on the opposing sideline who Badger fans should keep a close eye on throughout the game.

Tanner Morgan – Quarterback

2019 stats: 67.9% passing, 2,679 yds, 26 TD, 5 INT

Morgan has been a revelation under center for the Gophers this season, emerging as one of the Big Ten’s top quarterbacks seemingly out of nowhere after not even serving as Minnesota’s full-time starter last year. His production has been key to the program’s shocking level of success in 2019.

The Davey O’Brien Award semifinalist is the conference’s leader in passing yards and trails only Ohio State’s Justin Fields in passing touchdowns and passing efficiency rating. Morgan is a good bet to throw for at least 200 yards each time out, reaching that benchmark in seven of Minnesota’s 11 games this season.

Wisconsin’s secondary struggled yet again against Purdue last weekend, which isn’t great news for the Badgers as they prepare to stifle the most potent aerial attack they have seen all season aside from Ohio State. If defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard doesn’t come up with some effective schematic changes to bolster the passing defense, Morgan and his talented wide receiver corps are going to shred the Badgers all afternoon.

Tyler Johnson – Wide Receiver

2019 stats: 66 rec, 1,025 yds (15.5 avg), 10 TD

Nov 9, 2019; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers wide receiver Tyler Johnson (6) catches a one handed touchdown pass over Penn State Nittany Lions cornerback Keaton Ellis (2) in the first half at TCF Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Minnesota could have the two best wide receivers in the conference, and there’s a case to be made that Johnson is at the top of the list.

The senior is putting the finishing touches on a marvelous career in the Twin Cities, and he’s doing so with a bang. Johnson is already over 1,000 receiving yards for the second year in a row, leading the conference in that category as well as receiving touchdowns. The only player he trails in receptions is the next one on this list.

Johnson had a solid outing in Minnesota’s victory over Wisconsin last season (four catches for 76 yards), and he enters Saturday’s matchup on a bit of a hot streak, having gone over 100 receiving yards in the Gophers’ last three games.

NEXT: Rashod Bateman/Antoine Winfield Jr./Carter Coughlin

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Georgia football falls in CBS Sports’ CFB rankings

Georgia football dropped in CBS Sports’ CFB rankings.

It’s a good thing the only poll that matters is the College Football Playoff rankings. Well, at least for now. We’ll find out if I will still be saying that on Tuesday night when those are released.

But after a week in which Georgia did not look particularly great in a 19-13 win over Texas A&M in Athens, CBS Sports dropped the Bulldogs one spot in its rankings, swapping them with Alabama. The Dawgs remained No. 4 in both the Amway Coaches Poll and the AP Top 25.

Related: Kirk Herbstreit predicts CFP teams if Georgia beats LSU

CBS Sports’ new-top is as follows:

1. LSU

2. Ohio State

3. Clemson

4. Alabama

5. Georgia

6. Utah

7. Oklahoma

8. Florida

9. Minnesota

10. Baylor

Alabama looked good, sure. But it was against Western Carolina. The Tide may very well still be able to win a national championship over any of the playoff committee’s top-four teams, but if you don’t win your conference, let alone your division, you should not be given the opportunity to prove that.

Here is my prediction for what the College Football Playoff rankings will look like on Tuesday night.

Jeff Brohm of Purdue sizes up Wisconsin versus Minnesota

Jeff Brohm of the Purdue Boilermakers commented on the game between the Wisconsin Badgers and the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Jeff Brohm of the Purdue Boilermakers has now coached against both the Wisconsin Badgers and the Minnesota Golden Gophers. It is true that in a 40-second audio clip, one can’t learn everything one needs to know about the Badgers and Golden Gophers, but it is nevertheless interesting to hear what Brohm had to say.

You can watch and listen to the clip and see for yourself:

What is notable in the clip:

1) “Minnesota’s a big, physical team.” The Gophers play with pace have fast receivers, but Brohm focused first on Minnesota’s physicality, and how the offensive line sets up everything for P.J. Fleck’s attack. Wisconsin and Minnesota offer two very different offensive styles, but they can both be rooted in the same principles, line play being number one. Brohm could have said that Minnesota is a fast, versatile team (and it is), but he led with its physical nature instead. That gets one’s attention.

2) “Their run-pass play-action stuff has been very effective for them, with two outstanding receivers.” Hmmm. Was this intentional? I doubt it. It was probably an innocent and perfectly earnest way of praising Rashod Bateman and Tyler Johnson, Minnesota’s two best receivers. I don’t think there was some deeper, hidden intent on Brohm’s part. Nevertheless, Minnesota has more than two outstanding receivers. Chris Autman-Bell has made acrobatic and important plays for the Gophers this season. He is no slouch as a third option. Brohm might be saying, though, that dealing with Bateman and Johnson clearly takes precedence in trying to contain the Minnesota passing attack, which is a reasonable-enough statement to make (or imply).

3) “Who can get out to a lead first and control the tempo will definitely help their chances of winning.” I think this is spot-on from Purdue’s head coach. Once Wisconsin established its offense against Purdue, the Boilermakers couldn’t stop it. Minnesota also scored 38 points against Purdue and was difficult for the Boilers to defend. More relevant to the upcoming game between Wisconsin and Minnesota is the simple reality that Wisconsin’s offense is not built to come back from a 14-point deficit. A one-score deficit isn’t cause for (excessive) concern, but yes, if one team gets a multi-score lead, that team has to love its chances.

This isn’t the Big 12, you know.

College Football Playoff projections following Week 13

Predicting the College Football Playoff rankings after Week 13.

Week 13 saw Georgia football beat a talented Texas A&M team to advance to 10-1 on the season.

Georgia looked like it has all season – unable to finish a drive on offense but smothering on defense.

That’s been Georgia’s recipe this season, but how much longer will it work? We will find out in two weeks when the Dawgs take on LSU in Atlanta.

Right now, Georgia is sitting at No. 4 in the College Football Playoff rankings behind LSU (1), Ohio State (2) and Clemson (3).

Right behind the Bulldogs is Alabama, hoping that it can not only win next week vs Auburn but also that LSU will take care of business in the SEC Championship, thus eliminating Georgia from playoff contention.

Behind Alabama currently is Oregon, but that won’t last long after the Ducks lost to Arizona State. The best part about Oregon losing is that now we don’t have to hear about how Rob Mullens, the Oregon AD and the chair of the CFP selection committee, is “recused from the room” when the committee discusses the Ducks. Is it just me, or has that been mentioned way too many times this season?

Ohio State definitely had the most impressive win of the weekend among the teams near the top of the rankings (Arizona State probably had the best win, though, in beating Oregon). I would not expect the committee to swap LSU and OSU, however. LSU’s beaten plenty of top-ten teams itself.

Then there’s Utah, which is 10-1 and needs some help to make it into the final four. The Utes have not really beaten anyone, but if Georgia and Alabama both fall and Utah wins its conference, then it has a much better argument.

Oklahoma, however, assuming it wins out, will be right there with Utah vying for that last Playoff spot if both Alabama and Georgia lose before the final rankings reveal after the conference championship games wrap up.

Here’s our College Football Playoff projections:

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The biggest reason Wisconsin should be confident versus Minnesota

Another look at the game we’re all waiting for: the Wisconsin Badgers versus the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

There are certainly reasons for the Wisconsin Badgers to be worried about the Minnesota Golden Gophers, but what is their main reason to feel confident on Saturday? One could come up with several legitimate answers. This is not a “there’s only one right answer” kind of question. However, I do feel that one answer stands out more than others.

You will recall how poorly Wisconsin played against Illinois. That was a distracted, uneven, emotionally subdued game the week before a big clash against Ohio State. Would that loss to Illinois lead to a dispirited, disjointed Wisconsin team in Columbus? No, it did not. Wisconsin lost to a better team that day, but the Badgers’ defense played its best 25 minutes of the season at the start of that game.

Yes, Wisconsin thrashed Michigan and casually brushed aside Michigan State. The statistics looked better and the thrill of emphatic wins certainly felt better. Yet, when adjusted for the caliber of opposition, Wisconsin standing up to Ohio State’s loaded offense in the first 25 minutes of play — allowing a measly field goal to a juggernaut — strikes me as UW’s best 25 minutes of defense this season.

The key point is that UW played elite defense one week after playing subpar defense. That tells me Wisconsin can put ordinary performances in the rearview mirror; adjust; and learn from mistakes. That first half against Ohio State told me that Jim Leonhard can — and probably WILL — have his group ready to handle what P.J. Fleck has in mind for the Badgers.

Yes, without question, a big reason for Wisconsin to be confident against Minnesota is the play of the offensive line in tandem with Jonathan Taylor. That running game can win in Minneapolis. That offense can control the ball and keep the Gophers’ offense off the field. Yes, it is painfully clear that the defense’s difficult second half against Ohio State was a product of the offense not keeping the ball as much as anything else. Wisconsin is in better position to help its defense in this game against Minnesota. If you want to cite that reason as the main source of confidence for UW against the U of M, I wouldn’t really argue with that.

I would only emphasize that even if Wisconsin’s offense helps the defense in this game, there will be moments when the Badgers’ defense will have to be self-sufficient. I don’t see Wisconsin scoring every time it touches the ball. I also don’t see UW completely shutting down Minnesota, either. My more precise point is that the Badgers will need to go through a 10- or 15-minute period in this game when their offense isn’t clicking, and they need to hunker down and thwart Minnesota’s offense. No, that dynamic probably can’t be sustained for 45 minutes. No, that dynamic definitely won’t be sustained for the full 60 minutes. It CAN be sustained for 10 to 15, and even for 25… as we saw against Ohio State, before the Buckeyes finally scored a touchdown late in the first half and then gained momentum after halftime.

Wisconsin’s defense slept against Illinois and then awakened in a magnificent first-half performance against an elite offense in Columbus. That is the foremost reason for the Badgers to expect success — and conquest — against Minnesota in the game of the year for both sides.