OT - Kudos to the Gophers

Very impressive victory.  Heck of a fun game to watch!!!

Good job Gophers!  Showed lots of improvement during the course of the season.  Keep building on it Gophs!  So proud of them!  U of M-St Paul grad, 76

Just a great game.  Seesaw battle with a couple of INCREDIBLE catches by the Gophers.  Tyler Johnson doing his impression of OBJ for a touchdown and the 4Q 4th down catch to keep possession and run out the clock. Amazing grab.  Whew! Oh, and Ibrahim running like Dalvin Cook!  What a game.

It was an amazing game. 

𝕏 X / Twitter — University of Minnesota Alumni Association @UMNAlumni

The thrill of victory! #OutbackBowl #FootballInParadise #Gophers #skiumah #umnalumni

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Huge for the program.  And always a bonus to take down an arrogant SEC fanbase a notch. 

I enjoyed the game immensely. I was buying into the hype down here all week. They were telling our stories and about how great our kids were...but Gophers aren't winning this. Thanks for coming.

We are a cute little program. We are growing. We should just be satisfied with being in a New Years day game. How nice for us...Baawaaahahaha. Those folks didn't understand how PJ rolls.
Before the game they still kept talking Auburn and their far superior schedule. Auburn this Auburn that. Then as it became apparent the Gophers totally knocked them out of their game. Forced them into their  game. The announcer makes some comment. We really shouldn't be surprised. Really? No folks surprise is something you weren't expecting. That doesn't quite cover this. Tigers weren't losing this. It's the Outback Bowl it's the SEC show. Just more SEC arrogance. As an adopted Gator fan as well as a lifetime Gopher fan. I'm fully aware of it myself. Big Ten sucks. Right?

There's change coming it seems. Big Ten has gone after some great coaches. They are no longer depending on coaching legends of the past like in the past.
Take notice youngsters. This is not your father's (my) Big Ten.  I'm very happy to watch it grow. Even if down here they still don't believe it. Yes keep shaking you head to clear your thoughts. Yes it did happen.
31-24 Gophers. In a game that only seemed close because of the final score.

@"suncoastvike" said: I enjoyed the game immensely. I was buying into the hype down here all week. They were telling our stories and about how great our kids were...but Gophers aren't winning this. Thanks for coming.

We are a cute little program. We are growing. We should just be satisfied with being in a New Years day game. How nice for us...Baawaaahahaha. Those folks didn't understand how PJ rolls.
Before the game they still kept talking Auburn and their far superior schedule. Auburn this Auburn that. Then as it became apparent the Gophers totally knocked them out of their game. Forced them into their  game. The announcer makes some comment. We really shouldn't be surprised. Really? No folks surprise is something you weren't expecting. That doesn't quite cover this. Tigers weren't losing this. It's the Outback Bowl it's the SEC show. Just more SEC arrogance. As an adopted Gator fan as well as a lifetime Gopher fan. I'm fully aware of it myself. Big Ten sucks. Right?

There's change coming it seems. Big Ten has gone after some great coaches. They are no longer depending on coaching legends of the past like in the past.
Take notice youngsters. This is not your father's (my) Big Ten.  I'm very happy to watch it grow. Even if down here they still don't believe it. Yes keep shacking you head to clear your thought. Yes it did happen.
31-24 Gophers. In a game that only seemed close because of the final score.

@"StickyBun" said:

@"suncoastvike" said: I enjoyed the game immensely. I was buying into the hype down here all week. They were telling our stories and about how great our kids were...but Gophers aren't winning this. Thanks for coming.

We are a cute little program. We are growing. We should just be satisfied with being in a New Years day game. How nice for us...Baawaaahahaha. Those folks didn't understand how PJ rolls.
Before the game they still kept talking Auburn and their far superior schedule. Auburn this Auburn that. Then as it became apparent the Gophers totally knocked them out of their game. Forced them into their  game. The announcer makes some comment. We really shouldn't be surprised. Really? No folks surprise is something you weren't expecting. That doesn't quite cover this. Tigers weren't losing this. It's the Outback Bowl it's the SEC show. Just more SEC arrogance. As an adopted Gator fan as well as a lifetime Gopher fan. I'm fully aware of it myself. Big Ten sucks. Right?

There's change coming it seems. Big Ten has gone after some great coaches. They are no longer depending on coaching legends of the past like in the past.
Take notice youngsters. This is not your father's (my) Big Ten.  I'm very happy to watch it grow. Even if down here they still don't believe it. Yes keep shacking you head to clear your thought. Yes it did happen.
31-24 Gophers. In a game that only seemed close because of the final score.

Well, The Big Ten bowl record is 4-4 this year and SEC is 6-2, so I wouldn't pound the table too hard for that conference yet. But this was a very nice win for the Gophers program. That's a fact. 

I will also add that there's a wealth of high school talent down here in Florida and in the Tampa Bay area. This impressive win might help some of it notice Minnesota. The Gophers are not going to out recruit the OS and Michigan's. However if you look carefully some of the leftovers are pretty damn good too.

Tired of SEC arrogance???

Try living with Packer fans next to WI...Then get swept by em.

That said, Fleck had those kids ready to go and the interim OC did a fantastic job. Big step for the program after decades of dormancy. 

Antoine Winfield JR
Tyler Johnson

Both would help the Vikings...

Hopefully Fleck has the same impact as Alverez.

Outback Bowl victory over Auburn gives Gophers football team license to celebrateBy beating Auburn, the Gophers showed the rest of the country that they can play on the big stage and made a powerful statement that they are legit.TAMPA, FLA.– They didn’t want to leave the field. Not after a win that felt defining in nature and a season best described as special. So they lingered long after the game had ended to celebrate and enjoy one final moment together.
Especially the seniors. They probably would have camped out all night at Raymond James Stadium if allowed. They have experienced so much turmoil and personal challenges the past five years that their elation was something to savor. As one of them noted afterward, “mission accomplished.” Indeed.
The perception of Gophers football changed in 2019. The first day of a new year validated the program’s rise to relevancy.
A commanding 31-24 win over Auburn in the Outback Bowl served as an exclamation point on an 11-win season and sent notice that P.J. Fleck’s program can compete with college football’s big boys.
“If you want to be a blue blood,” Fleck said, “you’ve got to beat blue bloods.”
The Gophers didn’t just beat the Tigers, they throttled them statistically and in coaching acumen, leaving no doubt which team was superior. The manner in which the Gophers took the fight to their opponent will reverberate nationally because Auburn’s résumé included a win over Alabama and a three-point loss at LSU, along with one of the nation’s stingiest defenses.
This win will get people’s attention. Eleven wins with a dominating performance against a highly regarded SEC team should remove any remaining skepticism about the Gophers’ soft schedule. They are legit, plain and simple. And they will begin next season as a Top 15 team.
“We’re doing everything we possibly can to make this a championship program,” Fleck said. “We want to change people’s thoughts, ideas and mindset. This is one game, one win. it shows where we can go. It shows what we’re capable of doing, but it doesn’t guarantee anything. You have to go earn it every single day.”
They certainly earned it Wednesday as 6 ½-point underdogs. One play encapsulated their performance in both approach and execution.
Leading 31-24, the Gophers faced a fourth-and-1 at the Auburn 41 with less than four minutes remaining. It was the kind of critical decision that leaves coaches ripe for second-guessing. Fleck called timeout to consider his options.
He went for the jugular.
Fleck not only went for it, but he signed off on a pass play called by interim offensive coordinator Matt Simon.
Tanner Morgan faked a handoff and had a defender immediately in his face. But he managed to loft a pass to tight end Bryce Witham, who made a one-handed grab while pirouetting for an 11-yard gain.
Auburn never got the ball back as the Gophers milked the rest of the clock.
“We came here to win the football game,” Fleck said in a quiet moment outside the interview room. “That was the whole mindset. We got in the huddle and said, ‘Guys, we’re going to go win the game.’ That’s all they wanted. Players said let’s go win the game.”
Fleck rose to the moment. He coached aggressively, which is exactly what you hoped to see with everything at stake.
His players never flinched either. They responded like a mature, tough-minded group after mistakes or any time momentum felt like it could shift to Auburn’s favor. The Gophers seemed in complete control even with the score close.
They outgained Auburn 494 to 232 in total yards and won the time of possession statistic by 15 minutes, which is almost unfathomable. They battered the Tigers physically with a balanced offense and a swarming defense.
“They outplayed us and outcoached us,” Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. “They deserved to win.”
When it was over, the Gophers gathered in the end zone to take pictures and celebrate with a large contingent of fans who made the trip south. A historic season ended on the highest note and nobody wanted to leave the party.
“This is just the beginning,” senior defensive end Carter Coughlin said. “The program is definitely on the up and up, but this was the catalyst. Minnesota is going to be a force to be reckoned with in the future.”
Building a program is a step-by-step proposition, but this season served as a gigantic leap. There is a new standard for Gophers football. People will look at them differently now. They earned this. All of it.
http://www.startribune.com/outback-bowl-victory-over-auburn-gives-gophers-football-team-license-to-celebrate/566638061/

@"purplefaithful" said: Antoine Winfield JR Tyler Johnson

Both would help the Vikings...

Banner year for WRs in this Draft will help Minnesota as some good players will fall in the first few rounds as teams gobble up all the pass catchers.

@"FSUVike" said:

@"purplefaithful" said: Antoine Winfield JR Tyler Johnson

Both would help the Vikings...

Winfield yes in case they can't sign Ant. Johnson not so much. 3rd WR sees less than a third of snaps in a traditional Shanahan/Kubiak offense 

Banner year for WRs in this Draft will help Minnesota as some good players will fall in the first few rounds as teams gobble up all the pass catchers.