minnesota gophers football – Syndication Server

UCLA coaching search: P.J. Fleck’s name surfaces as a candidate to replace Chip Kelly

Minnesota’s P.J. Fleck has emerged as a leading candidate to replace Chip Kelly.

The UCLA Bruins are officially undergoing a coaching search. Finally, after plenty of NFL OC rumors, Chip Kelly is leaving UCLA and is becoming the new OC at Ohio State following Bill O’Brien’s departure to Boston College.

It has sent a whirlwind around Westwood, although fans recently called for Martin Jarmond to move on from Kelly after losing out on Keona Wilhite.

Social media is having a field day, and rightfully so, with Kelly moving on but “staying” in the Big Ten Conference.

Where does UCLA go from here? Well, one name has popped up as a strong candidate: Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck.

Texas A&M predicted to face Big Ten opponent in future bowl game

One outlet is predicting Texas A&M to punch their ticket back to a bowl game for the first time since the 2020 season, with a matchup versus a Big Ten foe on the docket.

With no shortage of talent throughout the roster it’s not a stretch to say that a winning record is the expectation for Texas A&M in 2023. A bowl game appearance feels in order as well, and one outlet is already predicting the Aggies’ future opponent.

According to The Sporting News‘ annual preseason bowl projections, Texas A&M is forecasted to face Minnesota in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl on December 30. The post-season bowl game has been played in Nashville since 1998, and following tie-ins with the ACC, Big Ten, and SEC, the matchup has exclusively featured a showdown between the Big Ten and SEC since 2020.

The Gophers are coming off a 9-4 season (5-4 Big Ten) under P.J. Fleck, a campaign in which they ranked fourth in the country in defensive scoring (13.8 ppg allowed). Minnesota is coming off its second consecutive bowl game appearance, a 28-20 win over Syracuse in the Pinstripe Bowl.

The Aggies are looking to compile a bounce-back campaign following their 5-7 finish (2-6 SEC) last season, which marked the first losing season under Jimbo Fisher since he arrived in College Station. Texas A&M did not go bowling for the second consecutive season after reaching three straight bowl games in Fisher’s first three seasons with the Aggies.

The Maroon and White’s last bowl game appearance came in the 2020 Orange Bowl, a 41-27 win over North Carolina in which Aggies running back Devon Achane tallied 12 carries for 140 yards and two touchdowns.

Truth be told a bowl game appearance, coupled with a winning record, should be the standard barometer of success for an Aggies roster that is packed with four and five-star talent. Tough matchups like LSU on the road and Alabama (at Kyle Field) highlight this season’s schedule, but Texas A&M’s roster construction has the makings of being a dark-horse contender in the SEC this year.

So while outlets agree that the Aggies should be set for a bowl game return this year, it’s not far-fetched to hope for a potential New Year’s Day Six berth so long as the pieces fit this coming season.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Pete on Twitter: @PeteThreee.

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BadgersWire Staff Predictions: Wisconsin vs Minnesota

Wisconsin battles Minnesota on Saturday

The Battle for the Axe is finally here as Wisconsin and Minnesota go at it on Saturday at Camp Randall.

The Badgers are looking to regain control of The Axe after Minnesota’s win in the Twin Cities a year ago.

Before losing to Iowa last week, Minnesota had won their previous three matchups. Wisconsin comes into Saturday following a dramatic late win over Nebraska that gave them bowl eligibility. Wisconsin has won 16 of the last 18 matchups in the longest-running rivalry in all of college football.

How will Saturday play out with two evenly-matched rivals? Here is what our BadgersWire staff thinks:

What PJ Fleck had to say after Minnesota’s win over Wisconsin

What the Gophers head coach said after the win over Wisconsin

In their final step towards Indianapolis, Wisconsin came up woefully short in a 23-13 loss to Minnesota that handed Iowa the Big Ten West division title.

The loss felt like early moments of Wisconsin’s season, where the Badger offense simply couldn’t find rhythm in any facet of the game. Whether it be a run game that averaged only 2.8 yards per carry, Graham Mertz and the passing game that saw multiple misses and drops, or the questionable play calling, Wisconsin’s offense stalled in the biggest moments.

After the game, Minnesota head coach PJ Fleck was complimentary of the Badgers as he spoke with reporters.

Here is some of what Fleck had to say postgame:

Way-too-early power rankings for the 2021 Big Ten football season

With the 2020 Big Ten football season now over with Ohio State on top, we are ranking the conference’s teams heading into 2021.

The 2020 Big Ten schedule has finally reached its end after what has been an absolute roller coaster ride of a season.

The season was originally postponed back in August, it was then reinstated, numerous games were canceled due to COVID-19 and if that wasn’t enough, the Big Ten Championship wasn’t even the last conference game played.

Hopefully, for the sake of everybody involved, the 2021 calendar year is a bit different and things return to normal by the time the Big Ten starts up again in early September.

One of the necessities of closing a football season is giving a way-too-early look at the year to come, and rank teams based on what we saw this season and we know going into next year.

In order to do this, I put together a ranking system jokingly named Ken(ney)Pom—with reference to the college basketball ranking site KenPom. My metric weighs each team’s returning/incoming production, quarterback play, coaching and 2020 success in order to compare the teams numerically and understand why they are slotted in the spot they’re in.

Necessary disclaimer: the teams are ranked below based on who has discussed returning for another season and they are subject to change as more players enter the NFL Draft, return to play an extra year and as transfers find their homes.

So this is not a sure-fire shot at who will win the conference next season, because so much will change between now and September. It is instead a look at where things stand right now–the week after the conclusion of the 2020 season.

Here is edition 1.0 of the way-too-early power rankings for the 2021 Big Ten football season: