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Post by bomber on Oct 25, 2007 15:25:50 GMT -5
What about the coaches? Obviously, they're at the helm. No one's absolving them of anything, that I know of. "Favorites" is a loaded word. Here's my take: Cal really shook up this team. They said all sorts of things about how well Cal played, and Cal's intensity, and learning to match that intensity -- all true -- but deep down this match really shook their confidence. Then Jones goes down just as they are headed to PSU. OSU gives them a scare. PSU thumps 'em, Cal-like, in g1. They do better in g2-3, but confidence slips even more headed into their biggest match of the year: Wisconsin at home. Remember, this is a team that believed they were going to be in the Big10 title chase. Wisconsin sweeps them. Yes, Jones is 75% at best and the scores were fairly close, but it's still a sweep at home. Confidence hits new low. Illinois, Northwestern, MSU. You get the picture. Hell, _I_ was bawling after the NW loss! (OK, not really. But it was the abyss for a Gopher FanBoy.) Luckily, they have the Lions tomorrow night to help them regain their confidence. Ha! I for one will be a big fan of Minnesota tomorrow. The loss on Sunday to PSU STILL is a burr under the saddle, and I'm sorry, I can't help but feel they got away luckily from Madison. I don't think the Lions were successful at all at proving themselves to be better than the Badgers. The Gophers have absolutely nothing to lose at this point, and a win tomorrow would go a long way toward regrouping the troops. A bad loss on the other hand, and it might spell the end for any modicom of success for the rest of this season...... |
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Post by The Bofa on the Sofa on Oct 25, 2007 17:08:36 GMT -5
I for one will be a big fan of Minnesota tomorrow. The loss on Sunday to PSU STILL is a burr under the saddle, and I'm sorry, I can't help but feel they got away luckily from Madison. I don't think the Lions were successful at all at proving themselves to be better than the Badgers.. While I can see the argument that it was close and all, I still see that Penn St outscored the Badgers (scoring 51% to Wisc's 49%), and that's with Wisconsin's HCA (which I have found to be bigger than average, on the whole). In fact, Penn St outperformed the Pablo prediction for the outcome of the match. No, they were not as lopsided as most people knee-jerk response thinks they were, but overall Penn St did exhibit a small edge in the match. Don't overestimate the difference between the two teams, and how that should look on the court. That match was basically textbook case of what a close match with a small edge to one team would be like (the fact that Penn St won is only a small part of it) |
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Post by spikerthemovie on Oct 25, 2007 22:42:55 GMT -5
Oh, sure, get all statisticsy on us.
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Post by bucky415 on Oct 26, 2007 0:15:25 GMT -5
I hope it isn't a repeat of 2005. That was just ugly. I will never rule out the Gophers in Minneapolis, but they will have to step it up a lot to beat PSU.
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Post by ugopher on Oct 26, 2007 8:30:51 GMT -5
I would take an effort similar to the one they had against Stanford earlier this year. I hope they come out loose and with the attitude that they have nothing to lose.
Unfortunately, for the Gophers, I don't think the Nebraska loss helped. I'm sure that PSU feels that if they can have a dominate performance tonight they may have a shot at moving into the #1 spot on Monday. Doubt that will happen but they may play with a little more fire.
For MN to win tonight they need to start strong, catch a break or two, and regain their confidence. They can do it but they will need to be on top of their game.
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