We Are Maroon and Gold Episode 088

The Vikings' playoff chances and an Auburn-Minnesota preview.

Chandler said he thought that no one has returned a kickoff or punt for a touchdown against Auburn this season. This is half-correct: Despite their 130th-ranked punt coverage team, Auburn has not allowed a punt return touchdown; however, they allowed a kickoff return touchdown against Alabama.

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Previewing Auburn

It wasn't a dream season for Minnesota, but it sure was a good one. The Gophers' reward: a trip to Tampa to play Auburn on New Year's Day. Though it doesn't compare to the Rose Bowl, it's a good place to go for a team entering what looks to be the program's brightest period since the 1960s, and it's a chance to compete against a high-profile SEC team that appeared in multiple national championship games this decade. The Gophers have a tough task ahead of them, but a win would further show the progress P.J. Fleck's team has made.

We Are Maroon and Gold Episode 087

A smattering of sports topics, including the MLB offseason, Gopher men's basketball's win over Ohio State, and the upcoming Packers-Vikings game.

It was probably clear that I don't have much of a grasp of what the word "nekton" means. Just read the associated Wikipedia page instead of relying on me to explain it.

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We Are Maroon and Gold Episode 086

The coaching changes in college football, the bowl schedule, and a quick look at the Twins' offseason.

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We Are Maroon and Gold Episode 085

Our respective College Gameday experiences, the Gophers' loss to Wisconsin, and previewing conference championship weekend.

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In Review: Wisconsin 38-17 Minnesota

1. This ride is over, but it's the beginning of another.

With a traversable schedule and an improving roster, it looked like 2019 was going to be P.J. Fleck's breakout season. Though there didn't appear to be many easy wins, there sure looked like a lot of games Minnesota would be favored.

Much of the Big Ten West was in transition: Nebraska, though overhyped, seemed likely to be better at the end of the season than they were at the beginning and might break into the top-25. Illinois, though improving, was a good distance from seriously competing. Northwestern rode a senior-heavy roster and some luck to the division title in 2018, which didn't foretell another great season. Purdue looked poised for a breakout soon, but a young offensive line meant that "soon" probably was 2020 or later.

The biggest questions were about the teams that usually control the West: Iowa and Wisconsin. Could the Hawkeyes consistently move the ball after losing their best receiving threats? Were the Badgers going to be great defensively and on the offensive line, or would some key graduations make them merely good?

The Penn State game was probably a loss, and the Gophers weren't going to go undefeated against the rest of their schedule. But if they could keep Paul Bunyan's Axe or finally win back the Floyd of Rosedale, they could have easily found themselves in the race in November.

What looked like a potentially exciting season instead turned into something much greater. It became the Gophers' best season since Murray Warmath was coach. The program entered the national spotlight, winning its biggest game in years and finally bringing College Gameday to Northrop Mall; Lee Corso put on a Goldy Gopher head. The school gave a lengthy extension to the man who took them to these heights, making sure he remains theirs. Going into the final week of the regular season, all Minnesota needed to do was beat Wisconsin, and the Gophers would win the West. From there, they would go to the Rose Bowl for the first time in nearly six decades.

The game looked like a near-toss-up coming into Saturday. The door was wide open for the Gophers to make their dreams of Pasadena a reality. Instead, in the driving snow, the offense was dominated, and the defense crumbled in a dream-shattering loss to their most hated rivals.

Ten wins wasn't enough for the Gophers to accomplish some of their loftiest goals. But it was enough to rally the support of fans across the state and get a usually cynical, often apathetic fan base to believe that they could accomplish those goals. For a program stuck in mediocrity for more than half a century, that's an accomplishment.

In his postgame press conference, Fleck was adamant that "We can. I know we didn't tonight, but that doesn't mean we won't forever." The miseries of the past, he said, do not have to return:

"Let's not go back. Let's not start thinking, 'Well, that's typical' — that has to be out of our system. And there's gonna be cynics, there's gonna be doubters, there's gonna be critics, but the true fans, what we want them to do is get that completely out of their mind. Because we are not going back to that. You don't have to worry about that with me, our staff, our recruiting, our culture, our support, our administration, our president, Mark Coyle — you don't have to worry about that anymore."

With a young roster and a number of underclassmen at key positions, along with solid recruiting, there's no reason why Minnesota cannot return to this stage and succeed next time. There's more in store for this program despite one failure.

We Are Maroon and Gold Episode 084

The football schedule ahead and Minnesota's historic matchup with Wisconsin.

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In Review: Minnesota 38-22 Northwestern

In front of a crowd wearing a lot of maroon and gold, the Gophers bounced back from their first loss of the year with a commanding win at Northwestern. The defense was shaky at times against one of the nation's worst offenses, and the Gophers' special teams unit had some more problems, but the negatives were overshadowed by another offensive romp. Though it wasn't an immaculate game, it was one Minnesota controlled from the start.

We Are Maroon and Gold Episode 083

The Vikings' comeback win over the Broncos, the Gophers' loss in Iowa City, and what to expect against Northwestern.

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In Review: Minnesota 19-23 Iowa

Minnesota's losing streak against Iowa stretched to five games after the program's ninth straight loss at Kinnick Stadium, but it wasn't because the Gophers didn't put themselves in position to win. The Gophers' offense reached at least the Iowa 33-yard line on seven of their nine drives. After initial problems, their defense allowed 3 points in the second half. They gave themselves the opportunity.

But they left Iowa City 8-1 rather than 9-0 because they could not stop getting in their own way. Missed tackles, dropped passes, penalties, and conservative coaching cost the Gophers dearly. Against a good team in one of college football's toughest environments, they put in their most inconsistent performance of the season.

We Are Maroon and Gold Episode 082

Minnesota's win over Penn State, this week's Playoff rankings, and previewing Iowa.

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In Review: Penn State 26-31 Minnesota

1. The "same old Gophers" are dead.

When it comes to sports, Minnesotans are skeptics and pessimists. When their teams do well, they only celebrate for so long before reminding everyone around them that their happiness won't last. Why would it? It's never lasted before.

Even as the Gophers led late against one of the nation's best teams, in the program's biggest game in decades, the smallest mistake gave fans ammunition to complain about "Classic Gopher Football."

Usually, they say something slightly different, but it has the same meaning: "Same old Gophers."

The same old Gophers who rose from the destitution of five straight post-Murray Warmath coaching eras to lead Michigan 28-7 after three quarters... and then lost by 3. The same old Gophers who set a new record for blowing a lead in a bowl game. The same old Gophers who led Wisconsin 17-13 at halftime with the division on the line but lost 24-34 — and then threw away a bigger, later lead in Madison two years later.

The same old Gophers who could never change. Who could never become relevant, and if they did, they'd surely blow it when the first real test came.

Previewing Penn State

After two weeks to prepare, this Saturday, Minnesota plays the hardest opponent on the schedule in the program's biggest game in decades.

Though College GameDay will be in Tuscaloosa, the Gophers will have the spotlight to themselves in the biggest game of the 11:00 window. It's a matchup between two unbeatens — a Playoff contender and perennial power against a rebuilt program at 8-0 for the first time since before the Pearl Harbor attack — who can boost their chances of a New Year's Six bowl with a win.

Though the Gophers will still lead the Big Ten West if they lose, beating the Nittany Lions would give their undefeated start some legitimacy and maybe even get fatalistic Minnesotans to believe in them. An upset could dramatically shift the public perception of the program. In a sport where perception affects reality, the result of this game is potentially monumental.

We Are Maroon and Gold Episode 081

The Vikings, P.J. Fleck's contract extension, and Penn State.

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We Are Maroon and Gold Episode 080

Reviewing another Gophers blowout win and looking ahead to a high-stakes November.

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In Review: Maryland 10-52 Minnesota

Though it was one of the worst-uniformed games of the college football season, Saturday's 52-10 dismantling of Maryland was a nearly perfect game for Minnesota heading into their idle week. It was Minnesota's 10th straight win going back to 2018, their fourth straight blowout, and their fifth straight dominant performance against a conference opponent.

The Gophers have beaten three of the six teams who beat them last season, and they're guaranteed a chance at two more (Iowa and Northwestern) before the season ends. There is too much of the season left to say whether they'll get a shot against the sixth (Ohio State) in Indianapolis, but with a two-game lead in the Big Ten West, that's entirely up to them.

We Are Maroon and Gold Episode 079

Previewing Maryland-Minnesota and looking at the Big Ten as a whole.

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In Review: Minnesota 42-7 Rutgers

The Gophers did what they needed to do against Rutgers. That's the bottom line. They were supposed to win big, and 42-7 definitely counts as winning big.

Though there were some minor hiccups in the first half, it was clear from the beginning who the better team was. The only question was whether that team would come away unscathed. The answer wasn't what the Gophers wanted, but they don't have many injuries, and they're still winning. At 7-0 and up to No. 17 in the AP Poll, the Gophers could be on track for the program's best season this century, if not in several decades.

We Are Maroon and Gold Episode 078

The Vikings' and Gophers' dominant wins over the Eagles and Cornhuskers.

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In Review: Nebraska 7-34 Minnesota

Before the season, a 6-0 start to Minnesota's season was a definite possibility. FPI gave it an 18 percent chance of happening. SP+ gave it an 11 percent chance. Though there were some likely toss-ups on the front half of the schedule, the Gophers were probably going to be favorites in most of those six games, if not in all of them.

The non-conference schedule inspired worry, some of it warranted, after a trio of single-possession victories. The Big Ten opener against Purdue felt incomplete, despite the fact that the result was close to certain for much of the fourth quarter, because the final margin was 7 points.

The Gophers have ended those worries with two complete routs of teams that blew them out last season, finding their way into the AP Poll for the first time in five years.

The team is bowl eligible. The fans, usually a fickle lot, are happy. The Chair is back in Minneapolis. The next two opponents are very beatable, and it's easy to daydream about beating two of the four after the bye week.

It turns out being 6-0 feels pretty good.

We Are Maroon and Gold Episode 077

Bon Iver, the Twins, and the Gophers.

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In Review: Illinois 17-40 Minnesota

For the first time this season, the Gophers won a game without any late drama. The only asterisk you might put on the victory was that the opponent was Illinois, but the 23-point margin beat the spread by more than a possession, and Minnesota still didn't allow an offensive touchdown. It was a comprehensive thrashing, both on the ground and in the air, and on each side of the ball.

Though the Gophers looked like they'd be at least slight favorites in each of their first five games (according to SP+, their lowest preseason win probability was 53 percent at Fresno State), it is hard not to feel excited at Minnesota's direction after a 5-0 start and two straight commanding wins over Big Ten teams.

Picking up the Pieces

Sports, like all great theatre, appeal to us because they package all of the wonderful and terrible feelings of real life into a few hours at a time,  mostly leaving out the boring parts. Failing that, it makes the boring parts feel less boring because everything else feels too important to be boring.

However, the wonderful thing is that none of it is important. It's all "men in pajamas playing projectile fetch." When a game is over, we can move on.

Except, like in real life, we cannot always move on. When things go wrong, we feel alone and broken, and we want answers. We can try believing that it's because we're cursed somehow — by where we live, by the opponents in our teams' paths, or just by being — but the truth is that there are no curses. Sometimes, a good team loses to another good team. And sometimes, it happens again and again and again.

We Are Maroon and Gold Episode 076

The Twins in the ALDS, the Vikings' existential crisis, and the Gophers.

Eno Sarris' "Picking a statistical method ... and a World Series champion," in which he appraises the Twins as "the best non-favorite in the playoffs." Chandler kind of misrepresents his statement in this episode by saying that Sarris says the only teams with better chances are the Yankees and Astros, but if you throw in the Dodgers, that characterization is not too far off.

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In Review: Minnesota 38-31 Purdue

The score may not show it, but Minnesota put forth its most commanding performance of the season against Purdue on Saturday. A change of approach on offense generated some big plays that put the Gophers up three touchdowns going into the fourth quarter. That proved just too big a deficit for the Boilermakers to overcome, even while benefiting from a funky bounce on an onside kick, some shoddy defending, and an impressive performance by redshirt freshman quarterback Jack Plummer.

It wasn't a perfect day for the Gophers, but it was really good at points.

We Are Maroon and Gold Episode 075

The Vikings' win, a college football roundup, and previewing Purdue.

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We Are Maroon and Gold Episode 074

The Vikings' loss, the Gophers' near-loss, and this weekend's college football slate.

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In Review: Georgia Southern 32-35 Minnesota

On my podcast last week, I predicted that in Georgia Southern, Minnesota finally had an opponent who would give them a relatively stress-free game for once. That prediction was anything but accurate.

This was supposed to be the game that showed Minnesota was alright, and that confirmed the Gophers were better than their struggles would suggest. Instead, it heightened concerns that Minnesota could see those struggles continue (if not increase) once Big Ten play begins after the bye week.

Yes, the Gophers won, and yes, there were positives beyond the final result. But it was not remotely pretty. Though style points don't count toward bowl eligibility, and P.J. Fleck's final record at Minnesota will include no asterisk for winning his first three games of 2019 by a combined 13 points, the way those wins have happened must inspire concern.

We're going full-on listicle for this week's post. Here are (some of) the five reasons Minnesota almost lost, as well as (some of) the five reasons Minnesota didn't lose.

We Are Maroon and Gold Episode 073

The Who and college football.

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In Review: Minnesota 38-35 Fresno State (OT)

Minnesota and Fresno State have no arrangements to play each other again in the future, and it's probably best for everyone's health that they take a break.

Despite repeatedly making mistakes against a tough opponent, the Gophers survived the Valley. Last year's game was decided by an interception on the Bulldogs' final drive, and so was this year's — and the same player made the interception. Whatever forces gave the Gophers the win Saturday night — talent, strategy, luck, fate, famous relatives — they needed all of them to continue the nation's longest non-conference winning streak and stay undefeated.

There was a lot to unpack in this game, but we must try to unpack it all anyway.

We Are Maroon and Gold Episode 072

The Vikings, the Gopher game that was, and the Gopher game that will be.

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In Review: South Dakota State 21-28 Minnesota

Well, that was tense.

I think anyone familiar with South Dakota State expected the Jacks to hang with Minnesota for a little while — I did — but it was more surprising to see them hold a lead into the final six minutes of the game. The close score said as much about SDSU's talent and effective strategy as it did Minnesota's deficiencies.

Even with those deficiencies, though, the Gophers won. As in any win, there were positives. Here's what we learned Thursday.

We Are Maroon and Gold Episode 071

Previewing the Gophers' opener against South Dakota State and the rest of 2019.

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2019 Minnesota Opponent Previews: Purdue

Gopher football approaches. To prepare you, Chandler is previewing every opponent as many opponents as he can on the Gophers' schedule. Here, he analyzes Big Ten upstart Purdue.

We Are Maroon and Gold Episode 070

The Teskey Brothers' Run Home Slow and Bon Iver's i,i.

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2019 Minnesota Opponent Previews: Georgia Southern

Gopher football approaches. To prepare you, Chandler is previewing every opponent on the Gophers' schedule. Today, he wraps up the non-conference slate with Georgia Southern.

2019 Minnesota Opponent Previews: Fresno State

Gopher football approaches. To prepare you, Chandler is previewing every opponent on the Gophers' schedule. Here is the preview of Jeff Tedford's Fresno State Bulldogs.

We Are Maroon and Gold Episode 069

Considering the Gophers and Vikings' preseason depth charts.

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We Are Maroon and Gold Episode 068

The MLB trade deadline and Tame Impala.

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2019 Minnesota Opponent Previews: South Dakota State

Gopher football approaches. To prepare you, Chandler is previewing every opponent on the Gophers' schedule. We begin today with the South Dakota State Jackrabbits.

We Are Maroon and Gold Episode 067

The Twins' trade deadline possibilities and a draft of athletes we wish we could have seen play.

A correction: The Braves won the World Series in 1995, not 1996.

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We Are Maroon and Gold Episode 066

The work of David Bowie.

On the accompanying post for this episode at Ski-U-Blog, you can find Chandler's ratings and rankings of each album discussed.

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We Are Maroon and Gold Episode 065

The MLB All-Star festivities, patriotism in sports, and the artist to whom Chandler's been listening.

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An Argument for Each Minnesota Twin to Have Made the All-Star Game This Year

Last night, the MLB All-Star Game took place in Cleveland. Three players – José Berrios, Jake Odorizzi, and Jorge Polanco – represented the Twins on the American League roster. Minnesota leads the Central by 5.5 games and finished the first half with the best offense in franchise history and one of the two best in baseball.

For a team with such ability, it seems unfitting that only three players, including one position player, would be All-Stars. There are some other Twins who definitely had an argument to be included. There are true snubs, like Max Kepler, and there are guys who might have deserved a spot among the reserves, like Taylor Rogers. But why stop there? This is one of the majors' best teams, and it's been that way despite losing some key position players to injuries over the past month. Surely a lot of other guys have résumés that were worth considering.

Excluding the three All-Stars, 38 players have appeared in a game for the Twins this season. Below are reasons for all 38 of them to have been All-Stars too, beginning with the least deserving and ending with the most deserving. Let us begin.

We Are Maroon and Gold Episode 064

The NBA and NHL offseasons and Aaron's trip to Illinois for the Outlaw Music Festival Tour.

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We Are Maroon and Gold Episode 063

The NBA offseason and the first-place Minnesota Twins.

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What Twins Pitchers Get the Toughest Assignments?

We're approaching the halfway point of Rocco Baldelli's first season as Twins manager. It's not controversial to say it's going well. With the best offense in the majors and a sizable lead atop the AL Central, the Twins are near-locks to make the postseason and the definitive favorite to win the division.

If there's a problem though, it's been the bullpen. The Twins have used 16 relief-only pitchers this season. If you ignore Tyler Duffey and Trevor May's combined two spot-starts last season, then 16 is the number of relief-only pitchers they used in 2019 as well. (I'm leaving out the four position players who pitched.) As a whole, the bullpen has been mediocre to bad in most measurements of overall performance.

We Are Maroon and Gold Episode 062

The Rays' Montreal idea, the Raptors, and lots of Bonnaroo talk.

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We Are Maroon and Gold Episode 061

What we did over the past month, and the Teskey Brothers and Katie Pruitt.

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This Is the Best Twins Offense Ever

I don't need to tell you that the Twins' offense is good this year. They're first in baseball homers, first in runs, second in batting average, fourth in on-base percentage, first in slugging, and at or near the top in most catch-all offensive statistics, like wOBA. Minnesota is mashing. If anyone in the majors has a better offense, it's Houston – the only other team in the American League with 36 wins going into Tuesday.

This is not news. It's still worth contextualizing, however.

We Are Maroon and Gold Episode 060

The NBA and NHL playoffs and Garth Brooks.

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We Are Maroon and Gold Episode 059

Recapping the 2019 NFL Draft.

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We Are Maroon and Gold Episode 058

The 2019 NFL Draft.

A correction: Donnell Greene did not leave college early for the NFL. He only sat out the Gophers' bowl game against Georgia Tech.

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We Are Maroon and Gold Episode 057

What it's like to see boxing in person and a draft of the sports holidays.

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We Are Maroon and Gold Episode 056

The national championship and other Final Four festivities.

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2019 Southwest Basketball Tournament

Monday night, Texas Tech finished runners-up to Virginia in the NCAA Tournament. It was a crushing end to an otherwise exhilarating and historic season for the Tech program.

I propose that we give the Red Raiders another chance at hardware.

After last year's NCAA Tournament, I put together the field for a hypothetical college basketball tournament featuring teams from the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. I had some fun putting it together, and you may have some fun going back to read the post.

I had so much fun that I'm doing a second edition of the Southwest Basketball Tournament. What follows is said second edition.

We Are Maroon and Gold Episode 055

The NCAA Tournament.

Aaron's Album of the Week: Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives, Way Out West

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Shiny Stadium Amenities Distract from What We Love about Sports

Chandler originally submitted the following piece for a journalism class. He shamefully recycles it here, with minimal modification, as content for his blog. The format and style may be a little different from that of the usual content published in this forum, but hopefully it is no less enjoyable to read. One disclaimer: Being written for a class that happened a year ago, the piece contains references to things that happened a year ago as if they were happening today.

More and more, it seems stadium experiences are losing the "stadium" part. And the "experience" part.

Suites were always a way to detach oneself from the action, but watching the game from seven stories up and behind glass might be more intimate than using some of the features of the modern sports venue.

We Are Maroon and Gold Episode 054

Previewing the Twins' season and recapping the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

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We Are Maroon and Gold Episode 053

The show's first ever guest: Aaron's friend Kiran Goswitz joining to discuss a past research project about factors influencing MLB attendance.

Aaron's Albums of the Week: Frank Zappa, Apostrophe ('); Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention, Over-Nite Sensation

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We Are Maroon and Gold Episode 052

Gopher sports and the early stages of NFL free agency.

Some big stuff (like the Odell Beckham and Dee Ford trades) happened just a few hours after we finished recording, so forgive us for not addressing it.

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We Are Maroon and Gold Episode 051

QCNH and This Land.

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We Are Maroon and Gold Episode 050

The NHL trade deadline, the problems facing the Dallas Stars, and whether sports can become too efficient to still be fun.

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We Are Maroon and Gold Episode 049

Manny Machado, the state of Gopher men's basketball, and the NBA trade deadline.

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We Are Maroon and Gold Episode 048

Super Bowl LIII and Aaron's acoustic Neil Young experience.

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We Are Maroon and Gold Episode 047

A Super Bowl preview.

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We Are Maroon and Gold Episode 046

Chandler's trip to Indiana University, Gophers personnel changes, and a helping of big-picture Vikings talk.

A correction: At the time of the podcast's recording, it looked like Royal Silver would be back for 2019. Evidently, he will not be.

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We Are Maroon and Gold Episode 045

Chandler ranks the 26 albums he heard in the year 2018.

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We Are Maroon and Gold Episode 044

Recapping the college football postseason, including the Gophers' 34-10 win over Georgia Tech.

A clarification: Shea Patterson will return for his senior season at Michigan. We evidently did not dig hard enough to confirm whether this was the case.

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