There's not context vs. the rest of the B1G obviously, but I'd rather hear this than the opposite:
There are always reasons to fire a coach but after firing Mason the program regressed.
PJ has been the best coach the Gophers have had in 60 years.
Even Nick Saban couldn't win here consistently. This is why when Nick Saban had success at Michigan State he moved to LSU and then when he had success at LSU he moved to Alabama.
It's why Lou Holtz left Minnesota to go to Notre Dame.
First of all Saban didn't leave LSU for Bama he went to the pros. When he failed at Miami he went to Bama.
Second Lou Holtz didn't leave here because it was hard to win, he left here cause Notre Dame was his dream job. Take a look at his National Title team at ND some of those guys were coming here and went with him. And he only took the job here anyways because he got fired at Arkansas for various reasons. (a bad season and some dumb decisions) Sorry but that dog won't hunt.
Third, if the AD had hired anyone but Brewster after rightfully firing Mason the team likely doesn't regress. Context matters. Just because they screwed up the hiring doesn't make the firing all of a sudden wrong. Mason was lazy and his teams were regressing and after the bowl game debacle he deserved to be fired. Truth be told they held on to him too long. There were coaches who became household names later on who wanted the job here after Mason was canned.
If coaches can win at Northwestern they can win here.
And I hate the "best record since Bierman" argument because it again lacks context. Yes, record-wise and win percentage-wise that is true but you just cannot compare what college football was like then to what it is now. Bierman played mostly conference games (he never coached more than 9 games) he didn't have the luxury of playing Eastern Carolina Polytechnic like Mason and PJ do. Same with Warmath. Their records are lightyears more impressive...
Not that I want PJ fired in any way. I am not a big fan of his style but he is the perfect coach for this team. And to be honest, 6 wins was the predicted number for the season and we have a chance to better that so I am not all that disappointed anyways. I like what he has built here, and it is quite sustainable now that boosters are kicking in the NIL for him. But lets not pretend he is performing some Herculean task...with the right transfers and money any team can win now.
Been faithfully following Gopher Football since the fall of ‘94. This is probably the greatest moment in that time. Beating PSU and the field rush back in 2019. I had tears of joy in my eyes after the game. I would follow this with the Gophers beating Auburn in the bowl game that year as well!!!
Keep your stick on the ice...
I agree pretty much with everything you wrote. Though you’re harder on Mason than me. Though while being a Mason fan I see your points and they are very legitimate.
Keep your stick on the ice...
Wasn't the relationship between Mason and Minnesota high school football coaches incredibly bad? I feel like I have read that several times over the years since Mason was fired.
Part of the difficulty in winning at Minnesota is that you just have a smaller recruiting base than other schools (even Wisconsin and Iowa). The number of 3*, 4*, and 5* recruits within 300 miles of the Minnesota campus is much smaller than the same comparison with other similar schools. Most of the potential high-end recruits in Minnesota are probably playing hockey.
PJ has done a (mostly) good job keeping the high-end Minnesota recruits home. Obviously not all of them, but more than other coaches have done. He also has a clean program (so far) that has no issues in the classroom (part of the reason we ended up at a bowl game last year). If you moved on from PJ (not that anyone is advocating for that), I don't know who you bring in that's guaranteed to be more successful than he is.
Wasn't the relationship between Mason and Minnesota high school football coaches incredibly bad? I feel like I have read that several times over the years since Mason was fired.
This was my major problem with Mason... He had a horrible relationship with Minnesota high school coaches and lost recruits doing so.
Keep your stick on the ice...
That was half the problem...the other problem was he never recruited defense. He wanted all of his best athletes on offense. (they were recruiting JJ Watt as a TE!) He believed that the offense mattered more than defense and since we primarily ran the ball TOP would save us if the defense was struggling. This is why his teams collapsed, they never had the D to make the big stop when you needed.
This wasn't always true, early on he and David Gibbs took the Wacker D seniors and some good recruits and turned it into a force. The 1999 team was the best he had, the most balanced by far and was 1 play away from the friggin Rose Bowl (Jimmy Wyrick falling down against WI allowing them to force OT and get Dayne back from injury and beat us) and after Gibbs left after the 2000 season he never really made it click again.
I spent years defending Mason on here because no coach better than him was going to coach here at the time. The loss to Wisconsin where the punt was blocked in the end zone in '05 I believe was the last straw. It was obvious he had lost his mojo, and that the team never had confidence they could win a close game or even hold a lead. I think he was just kind of done coaching at that point because he knew this was likely his last major conference job. The fact that he never tried coaching again backs that up...I have no ill will towards him I loved going to games back then and even seeing some of those bad losses live I still look back fondly. But he needed to go, we just needed a real AD to hire the coach not Joel Maturi.
Minnesota has a better h.s. talent base than IA and WI and Mason blew it. And as Handy noted he rarely had a legit defense, lost at least 2 huge leads in bowl games, had the Friday night fiasco against Michigan and the blocked punt Wisconsin game. He was great for many reasons and is one of my favorite people, but it was the right time to replace him.
Whoop!!
After an opening drive TD hopefully we don't Indiana it. 😎
“When your best friend is the son of God, you get tired of losing every argument.”
― Christopher Moore, Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal
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Those last 2 plays were amazing
Wicked fun!
“When your best friend is the son of God, you get tired of losing every argument.”
― Christopher Moore, Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal
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That PI call was horrible
This conference’s officials blow. Watch them make whether or not a ball is catchable reviewable this week.
This conference’s officials blow. Watch them make whether or not a ball is catchable reviewable this week.
It was also no where close to pass interference in the first place. Hope Pedo St appreciates their free 7 points.
Not sure what the point of the PSU pooch punt was, why not just actually punt it? That punt sucked and we get the ball at the 22 so thanks I guess.
Brosmer giveth, Brosmer taketh away
Jackson drops too many easy ones but that was a great catch
Erf....fell for the fake punt. Drat.
“When your best friend is the son of God, you get tired of losing every argument.”
― Christopher Moore, Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal
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Seemed pretty obvious to me they were gonna fake punt there but I ingested some enlightenment earlier
#44 for PSU is gonna be fun to watch on Sundays as f he ends up on a inovative team.
I was at both of those games and they were equally painful. I was at the Wisconsin game with my Badger wife and was….semi-consoling her at half. Next thing you know the badgers win.Minnesota has a better h.s. talent base than IA and WI and Mason blew it. And as Handy noted he rarely had a legit defense, lost at least 2 huge leads in bowl games, had the Friday night fiasco against Michigan and the blocked punt Wisconsin game. He was great for many reasons and is one of my favorite people, but it was the right time to replace him.
Most painful part of that game is some idiot allowed the Badger band at the game and the. Allowed them to play the 5th quarter on our field. Talk about a kick in the balls.
Then I go to my car to find some Badger fans had crushed my Vikings Weber grill the was cooking in the parking lot.
Let’s go Gophers!! Up 14-0 early in the 2nd quarter.
Brosmer to Geers
21-0 Gophers
Shout out to Taylor for picking up the blitz on that play.
Tact is the ability to step on a man's toes without messing up the shine on his shoes - Harry S Truman
spectacular block!
“When your best friend is the son of God, you get tired of losing every argument.”
― Christopher Moore, Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal
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That personal foul late hit penalty has completely changed the momentum of the game
Brosmer with a perfect pass, hits Spencer in the hands and he can't complete the catch. Another punt
21-7 with 8 minutes left. Gophers have a chance to bury them on this drive.
Darius Taylor and the offensive line dominating this drive. Inside the Badgers 30 and already eating up 4+ minutes. Exactly what we needed.
Wisconsin burns their 2nd timeout on 4th and 7. Gophers kick a 43 yard FG to make it 24-7!
FG Good!
Bring the Axe home!!!
And, nice stop by the D on 4th and 1 to likely seal it
B1G refs... corrupt, or just incompetent?
On 4th and 1 Wisconsin tries to hand it off and the Gopher defense stacks the line and turns him back!
Does the Axe make it to Mariucci tonight?!?!?!
Keep your stick on the ice...
The Axe is coming home in dominating fashion winning 24-7 in Madison!!!!
When PJ took over the Gophers the Badgers had a 12 game winning streak against the Gophers. The Gophers have now won two straight in Madison, 3 of the last 4 in Madison, and 3 of the last 4 overall.
The Gophers just ended the Badgers streak of winning season which was the longest in D1 at 22. Alabama now has the longest at 18.
When PJ took over the team the Gophers had 4 winning seasons in Big Ten conference play over the previous 26 seasons. They have now done it in 4 of the past 6 seasons and one of the seasons they didn't do it was the 2020 Covid season which was a really unique season where there was no non conference games and they only played 7 games total (3-4).
Outstanding win!
Does the Axe make it to Mariucci tonight?!?!?!
Since they are bussing probably not....but tomorrow would be an awesome time for its triumphant return.
“When your best friend is the son of God, you get tired of losing every argument.”
― Christopher Moore, Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal
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I didn't watch much, but it felt like there were more Gophers fans at UCLA than at UW.
So what bowl game will the Gophers get? I bet they return to Yankee stadium again
Aloha!
So what bowl game will the Gophers get? I bet they return to Yankee stadium again
Most people think it's either Music City (Nashville) or Dukes Mayo (Charlotte).
So what bowl game will the Gophers get? I bet they return to Yankee stadium again
They won't end up there...its going to be either Charlotte or Nashville.
Not a great date for some fans to travel unless they're able/willing to take Jan 1-3 off from work.
Is this an outdoor stadium? I don't want to get on a plane to Charlotte to watch a mid bowl with high temps in the 40s.Not a great date for some fans to travel unless they're able/willing to take Jan 1-3 off from work.
My guess is they don't give a crap if anyone shows so long as they get a couple million people to see ads for Duke's mayo 30-40 times.