Maybe there will be a silver lining to news that 10 Gophers football players have been suspended indefinitely as the team prepares for its December 27 Holiday Bowl game in San Diego. The presumption is those players won’t be available for the game but perhaps the other Gophers on the roster can use the adversity to focus more and perform better.
Four of the suspended players are defensive backs who have been key contributors: Ray Buford, KiAnte Hardin, Antonio Shenault and Antoine Winfield Jr. Their absence against a Washington State team with one of the nation’s best passing attacks would be a blow to Minnesota’s chances.
The Holiday Bowl is a prestigious destination and Washington State is a quality opponent, having finished second in the Pac-12 North Division standings. A win over the favored Cougars will boost the Gophers’ image and help build interest for next year’s team.
The nationally televised bowl game also provides an opportunity to impress high school players who the Gophers are recruiting. Minnesota’s 2017 recruiting class has so far been ranked toward the bottom of the Big Ten by media authorities. National Signing Day is February 1.
Gophers on the roster returning for next season can gain enthusiasm for winter workouts and preparations for spring practice if Minnesota wins its second bowl game in the last five years.
Gophers coach Tracy Claeys has at least one financial incentive as he prepares his team for the bowl game. His contract stipulates he receives a $50,000 bonus if Minnesota defeats an opponent from the Pac-12, Big 12, ACC or SEC in a bowl game. He has already earned a $50,000 bonus for winning five Big Ten games this year, and $75,000 for leading his team to this bowl game.
There is speculation Claeys will receive an extension on the contract he accepted late last year that turned his status from interim head coach into full-time boss. Claeys has two years remaining on that deal. Perhaps there will be an increase in not only the number of years, but also the compensation for Claeys who earned a $1.4 million salary this season. Certainly a Gophers’ win in the bowl game against 8-4 Washington State will add more luster to the coach’s resume.
Claeys coached the Gophers to a 5-4 league record, 8-4 overall. The schedule of opponents was the easiest in years and the public didn’t get excited about the team. The Gophers averaged 43,814 in seven home games, the lowest attendance since moving into 50,805 seat TCF Bank Stadium in 2009. Claeys has incentives in his contract that pay him $75,000 if home attendance averages 49,000 or more. He earns $50,000 if attendance is 47,000 or more.
Worth Noting
Claeys has received a verbal commitment from Southwest Mississippi Community College quarterback Neil McLaurin. Claeys’ philosophy is not to recruit junior college players unless there is a definite need and an opportunity to play. That might make McLaurin the favorite to replace senior Mitch Leidner, jumping ahead of redshirt sophomore Demry Croft, and redshirt freshmen Seth Green and Mark Williams.
The LIU Brooklyn team that plays the Gophers tonight at Williams Arena is 7-3 and wins include a 74-73 victory over St. John’s. The Gophers, 10-1, defeated 5-6 St. John’s 92-86 at Williams Arena last month.
Minnesota received six votes in this week’s A.P. top 25 rankings, four more than Michigan State, the Gophers’ opponent in their Big Ten opener on December 27. The 7-4 Spartans rank No. 43 and the Gophers No. 47 in the Kenpom.com advanced analysis ratings.
Before legislation was passed in 2012 approving a Vikings stadium to replace the Metrodome, the NFL told governor Mark Dayton all bets were off if the state didn’t come up with a new facility. Dayton revealed that Sunday on WCCO Radio’s Sports Huddle program and said the NFL talked about the Vikings franchise becoming a “free agent” for relocation if a new stadium wasn’t approved.
Minnesota connections: St. Charles-born Brad Nessler will succeed Duluth-born Verne Lundquist next year on the CBS TV SEC game of the week. The 76-year-old Lundquist told a national television audience last Saturday Nessler will take over for him with play-by-play, although Lundquist will continue work at golf’s Masters and the NCAA men’s basketball tournament in 2017.
The Gophers volleyball team plays Stanford in a NCAA Final Four match tomorrow night in Columbus starting at 6 p.m. Coach Hugh McCutcheon’s team is a big story locally and it will be interesting to see if the TV ratings in Minneapolis-St. Paul are the largest in any U.S. market on Thursday night. The match will be televised on ESPN2. The other Final Four teams are Nebraska and Texas.
The Gophers opened their 2016 season against Stanford in Palo Alto, winning 3-1 on August 27 and then losing by that score August 28. Gophers sophomore Samantha Seliger-Swenson had 17 digs in the loss. She is the Big Ten Setter of the Year.
McCutheon’s wife, Elisabeth “Wiz” Bachman, is from the Bachman family that has owned Minneapolis-based Bachman’s since 1885. She is a former Olympic volleyball player.
Former Henry Sibley hockey coach Tom Serratore, has his Bemidji State team at 13-5-2 and ranked No. 15 nationally in the latest USCHO.com poll. “He’s doing as good a job as any coach in college hockey,” a WCHA source told Sports Headliners.
Serratore, now in his 18th season at Bemidji, has one of the nation’s best goalies in junior Michael Bitzer from Moorhead who is third in the country in save percentage at .938, according to USCHO.com.
The 9-5-2 Gophers are No. 10 in the USCHO.com national poll. Minnesota doesn’t play again until December 30-31 when the Gophers host the 26th annual Mariucci Classic.
David, you are a good man and a sound writer. I like your loyalty. But I think you are beyond the optimist for trying to sell us on so-called silver lining in this recent debacle involving the suspensions. Logic says Leach and Air Raid team will blitz the Gophers. Especially given the fact this year’s Gophs never won as an underdog. Still, I accept the beauty of football is its basis in desire can beat talent. Silver lining? No. Last gasp? Yes.