Minnesota Gopher Football

New, improved Orlando Citrus Bowl reopens

November is traditionally the cruelest month of Golden Gopher Football.  Swoon time.  Trophy Game defeats.  It's like the air just oozes out of the Gophers in Hindenburg fashion.  Collapse. Reality sets in.  Swaths of open seats are visible at The Bank. Teeth gnashing as you read the Sunday morning game headlines. It's been a Minnesota Football reality.  EXCEPT THIS YEAR. November was truly glorious for me and my mini Gopher entourage this season.  I'm going to dub it GOvember.  We took it all in. Yes, unlike most Gopher fans, my sister and I went to ALL the Gopher football games.  And we truly enjoyed a football THANKSGIVING like no other. After taking the first weekend off to recharge after the debacle that was our road loss at Illinois, a large segment of my family -- a couple sons, my sister, I and a bunch of friends -- erected a stellar tailgate at our usual spot just south of the massive, former ADM grain bins in southeast Minneap...

I am going to try not to be too critical of any Minnesota Gopher football players in my blog over the foreseeable future.  It's not right to be too harsh to kids playing their hearts out who are really amateurs who happen to be the entertainment for millions of college football watchers. But an interesting question arises when I look to next season:  Can Mitch Leidner, Minnesota sophomore quarterback, take our football team to the next level?  That level would be competing for a BIG West Division championship, going at least 6-2 in the BIG and making a New Year's Day Big Six bowl. Or even maintaining our second-place finish in the West Division with at least a 5-3 BIG mark. My initial impression is no.  And here's why.  He completed an average of about 10 passes per game this season, for a completion rate of 49 percent.  He has 13 career TD passes and nine interceptions.  He's been sacked 31 times over parts of two seasons.  That is just not g...

Minnesota's New Year's Day clash against Missouri in the Citrus Bowl will boil down to five key factors.  The Gophers can win their first bowl game since 2005 by accomplishing the following: Pass the Football Effectively.   Gopher sophomore QB Mitch Leidner must have a very good day throwing the football.  By his standards, I would say hitting 15 of 22 throws in the 200-yard range.  The BIG's worst passing offense can't win without some balance to offset the run game. Key to this will be Maxx Williams getting open and grabbing the tosses that sometimes seem out of reach from Leidner. Slants over the middle could be promising as well as Mizzou's pass rush will likely get to the quarterback quickly. Minnesota wideouts must also be a factor in this game. The passing game has to be effective when we are tied or leading as the Gophers are not equipped to pass when trailing (see Wisconsin). Oh and Leidner CANNOT turn the ball over! Execute the Trick Play.   I...

Twitter, Facebook and all social media platforms were abuzz last week when the University of Minnesota Football program announced steep price hikes for season tickets from 2015-2017. At face value, the hikes are huge.  In TCF Bank Stadium their are six types of seating delineation.  Up to now, the chairback season ticket holders were required to donate money to the university in varying amounts as a requirement of purchasing a season ticket. Bench seaters, no donation. Until now. Some of the cheap seats will also require a donation. In my case, my two seats in Section 142, Row 15, seats 3-4 (30-yard line home side) would go from $1,000 for the pair this season to $2,080 in 2017, a whopping 100-percent-plus increase. I voiced concern to the athletic department and fed off the rage on social media.  But the Unversity ticket folks amicably reached out to me to explain the move.  First, Gopher football has not had a season ticket increase since 2009, the first se...

It's been more than 52 years since Minnesota Gopher Football has played in a New Year's Day Bowl game.  Yes, it was the Rose Bowl way back in 1962 where the Gophers rolled, defeating UCLA 21-3. With the introduction of the Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Vikings in the early 1960s, Gopher football's luster wore off and and a half century of obscurity and futility ensued. Until now. After a pair of 8-4 seasons, Minnesota has emerged as a legitimate middle-of-the-pack Big Ten football program for the first time since the late 1960s.  Road wins over Michigan and Nebraska this season helped highlight the fix-it capability of coach Jerry Kill and staff.  He's turned around every program he's coached, including Saginaw Valley State, Emporia State, Southern Illinois and Northern Illinois. Coupled with a 6-1 home record, Minnesota is now being labeled a solid football program by most media outlets. Kill has done it by coaching up two and three-star prospects with a staf...