Media – Page 8 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Expanded Playoff Breath of Fresh Air for Gopher Football

Posted on June 17, 2024June 17, 2024 by David Shama

The University of Minnesota football team hasn’t won’t a Big Ten championship since 1967 and that’s not likely to change in the foreseeable future with the conference adding premier programs from the west coast to join dominant schools in place for decades like Michigan and Ohio State.

But there is a development that realistically could sooner or later juice the Golden Gophers program—the expanded college football playoff starting in 2024. The expansion from four to 12 playoff teams should put a smile on the face of every loyal Gopher fan. Now this program can potentially be nationally relevant without winning the league title.

“P.J. and I are very excited with the 12-game expansion,” athletic director Mark Coyle told Sports Headliners.

Head coach P.J. Fleck’s 2019 team went 11-2 including an Outback Bowl win over Auburn. That group finished tied for first in the Big Ten West Division standings. Minnesota was ranked No. 10 in the country by two polls following its bowl win.

That 2019 outfit exemplifies a Gopher team worthy of being invited to participate in a 12-team playoff. As a member of the Big Ten, the Gophers belong to a conference exceeded in prestige and reputation only by the SEC. Talk this spring is those two leagues could annually have four or even five teams each in forthcoming playoffs.

Athlon Sports College Football magazine, now on newsstands, offers a projected playoff bracket for 2024-2025 that has Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon and Penn State from the Big Ten, with Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and Texas from the SEC. The forecast is for a national title game between Georgia and Ohio State with the Bulldogs winning.

The College Football Playoff Selection Committee will evaluate teams including by their schedules. The SEC has an edge with its teams playing eight league games, while Big Ten programs play nine.

That difference gives Coyle pause when a visitor asks about Big Ten teams one day playing 10 conference opponents each year. The change would be appealing to fans and TV viewers, but Coyle said such a development becomes “tricky” in that an extra league game adds another loss for half the schools. “…You’ve got to win all of them (the full schedule) if you want to have a special year,” Coyle said during an interview in his campus office.

The Big Ten adds Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington this year, creating an 18-team league. The SEC expands to 16 teams with the addition of Oklahoma and Texas. Coyle said it’s going to require a couple of years to see how the committee evaluates the teams in the two conferences including wins, losses and strength of schedules.

The Gophers have a mix in quality of nonconference opponents through 2032 with college football kingpin Alabama at one extreme and Lindenwood, a program that became Division I last year, at the other. Other diverse future opponents include California, Mississippi State, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northwestern State and Rhode Island.

Coyle said Fleck is open to scheduling any school. “He never freaks out,” Coyle said about Fleck who has been leading Minnesota since 2017 and has a career third best Gopher winning percentage of .595 (among football coaches with 45 games or more).

What Fleck’s teams do on the field is critical to revenues for the self-supporting athletic department with 21 sports. The Gopher revenue streams from football, men’s basketball and men’s hockey include those they control directly such as ticket sales and fundraising. A jackpot is Minnesota’s share of TV and other revenue that comes from the Big Ten office, with USA Today reporting that in 2023 and 2024 a full league member received about $60 million.

Tony Petitti, who became Big Ten commissioner in 2023, has a career background in the business side of TV and Coyle raves about him. “He makes it clear that football is 90 percent of the revenue in the Big Ten Conference. The same thing with the SEC.”

Worth Noting

Coyle talking about men’s hockey coach Bob Motzko who took the Gophers to consecutive Final Fours in 2022 and 2023 after being hired in 2018: “The crowds are back. 3M Arena is hopping again.”

Bobby Bell, the greatest Golden Gophers football player I ever saw, turned 84 today. Bell was a two-time All-American tackle, Outland Award winner and Big Ten Conference MVP while leading the Gophers to a 22-6-1 record from 1960-1962.

Michael Hsu, the former University of Minnesota agent, has long been an advocate for treating college athletes as employees. He looks more like a prophet all the time.

It appears as soon as 2025 college football players will be sharing in revenues at their schools. Last month the NCAA and Power Five conferences settled a pending lawsuit by allowing schools to directly pay its athletes in the future. Already in place is the practice of Name, Image and Likeness money that has lined the pockets of athletes from coast to coast.

Hsu, who told Sports Headliners he doesn’t receive compensation or expect it in the future for his advocacy on behalf of college athletes as employees, has been supportive of several litigations that challenged the old amateur college sports model. Defendants included the NCAA, Ivy League and Notre Dame.

“They (the lawsuits) basically say that college athletes are being misclassified as student athletes by these organizations,” Hsu said.

What’s down the road could be classification of athletes from revenue generating sports as employees by their schools. That, of course, includes Minnesota who by next year maybe sharing about $20 million in athletic department revenue. Hsu said schools don’t want athletes to be employees because as such that will entitle them to various rights and protections including health insurance.

Hsu, who lives in the Twin Cities area and is a Gopher fan, co-founded the College Basketball Players Association. That entity is dedicated to current, future and past college players and advocates for their rights including “health, safety and welfare,” per the CBPA website.

The Lynx, winners of three straight and having a 10-3 record, remain No. 2 in The Athletic’s latest WNBA power rankings. The Liberty, 12-2, is still No. 1 in the 12-team league.

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Improving U Pass Offense? Unknowns Still Lingering

Posted on May 20, 2024May 20, 2024 by David Shama

Spring practice has come and gone for the Golden Gophers football team and while there is reason for cautious optimism about the upcoming 12-game 2024 season, no personnel unit on offense and defense seems so uncertain as the roster of receivers.

Not since 2019 has Minnesota had an elite passing offense. Ryan Burns pointed out on his GopherIllustrated Website last week that “Minnesota hasn’t ranked nationally higher than 122^nd in pass attempts in the last three seasons, which is how the Gophers averaged a putrid 143 passing yards a game last year.”

Part of the blame was deservedly targeted last season at quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis who is now the presumed starter at Rutgers next fall. But Gophers receivers had their issues, too, including with route running and dropped passes. In 2024 Minnesota returns second team All-Big Ten receiver Daniel Jackson but that’s not enough to clear the murky outlook for the receiver room.

In an interview with Sports Headliners, Burns was asked if the receiver roster and production could be good in 2024. “I don’t think they’re going to have a really good room. I have a lot of questions about that room,” said Burns who has an extensive fan following because of his recruiting knowledge and analysis of the Gopher football program.

Jackson was third in the Big Ten in receiving yards with 831 yards and also in touchdowns for pass catchers with eight. “There’s just so much ambiguity behind Daniel Jackson I really don’t know what to expect,” Burns said. “I think it (the room) has the potential to be better than it has been the last few years, but I would say the bar for that isn’t exactly high considering the inconsistencies we’ve seen at receiver. …”

Burns made his point while talking about specific receivers including Eiljah Spencer, a promising transfer from Charlotte a year ago, who caught only nine passes for the Gophers in 2023 while starting five games. Spencer has struggled with dropped balls but is a potential starter along with Jackson and Lemeke Brockington who has considerable potential but missed most of last season with an injury.

Kenric Lanier is a former four-star recruit going into his 2024 redshirt freshman season after playing in just one game last season. His talent reputation is intriguing as is Georgia transfer Tyler Williams, a redshirt freshman who coming out of high school was considered among the elite prep receivers in the country.

Burns looks at Williams and talks about the Gophers polishing “his clay,” noting he believes the Florida native has different skills “than anything in that receiver room.” Williams played in two games for Georgia last season before deciding to enter the transfer portal, perhaps because of an ankle injury in the spring and prospects of not receiving as much playing time next fall as desired, per Burns.

Raising hopes about an improved passing game is the addition of Minnesota’s FCS transfer quarterback from New Hampshire. “With Max Brosmer, I think a lot of the national media is sleeping on Max Brosmer,” Ryan said about the graduate student who recently was included on the Senior Bowl watch list for quarterbacks.

In seven seasons at Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck has only once had a quarterback throw for more than 15 touchdown passes, Burns said. In 2019 Tanner Morgan threw 30 when he had All-Big Ten receivers Tyler Johnson and Rashod Bateman.

Burns is hoping for a “souped up Tanner Morgan” in Brosmer who was second team FCS All-American at New Hampshire last year. “Where you can be accurate, where you can be able to put the ball out on time, give your playmakers a chance to make a play, and just do that consistently. What that does for this Minnesota offense (in improvement).”

Brosmer is expected to throw more accurately than Kaliakmanis including on intermediate passes. He is also one of at least 14 anticipated new starting quarterbacks in the new 18-member Big Ten. Most of the league will be figuring out how their quarterbacks will settle in next fall, with Burns predicting if Brosmer can total 20 touchdown passes and be “under double digits in turnovers,” that will go a long way in Minnesota improving on last season’s 6-7 record including 3-6 in the Big Ten.

The anemic Minnesota passing offense produced just 16 touchdown passes in 13 games while accumulating 1,884 yards. The rush offense, usually the program’s bread and butter, was challenged by running back injuries and didn’t provide a lot more production with 2048 yards and 13 touchdowns. But the running game should be rolling in 2024 with lead back Darius Taylor and a refortified roster of quality backups for Taylor who made All-Big Ten honorable mention as a freshman.

Burns thinks the floor on next season’s record is 4-8, with the ceiling 9-3. The performances of all players and coaches, of course, will all impact outcomes and so will injuries. But Burns emphasizes (as was seen last season) without “consistent quarterback” play it’s difficult to win games.

What if Brosmer plays poorly, or is injured? Well, that’s where things become more dicey. In the spring the Gophers added Virginia Tech quarterback Dylan Wittke. He redshirted last season and didn’t see game action. He didn’t arrive here until late April so it’s difficult to assess Wittke, who was an athletic player coming out of high school in Georgia.

With more experience right now in the Gopher system than Wittke is true freshman Drake Lindsey. “Minnesota is incredibly, incredibly high on that young man after being able to work with him here this spring,” Burns said.

Lindsey, an Arkansas native, comes from a family of Razorback fans. There’s an impression here and down in Hog country the Razorbacks didn’t push hard enough to recruit the hometown quarterback. Any last minute recruiting rush, Burns said, was apparently negated by all the work and time Fleck and co-offensive coordinator Greg Harbaugh Jr. had already invested on the three-star quarterback.

This spring Burns saw why Lindsey was a recruiting priority. “Drake Lindsay just looked different to me than other true freshman quarterbacks I’ve seen. He was very poised. Nothing really flustered him. Now (it’s true) he was drinking through a fire hose (learning so much). He’d make a great play one time; then the next time would not make a great play but I think his poise DNA ability to make plays is something that excites me.”

That’s good to hear because as recent history shows, the Gophers need help in a lot of places to raise the production of their passing offense.

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Unflappable Finch: Calm Voice for Frustrated Timberwolves

Posted on May 13, 2024May 13, 2024 by David Shama

It was typical Chris Finch last night at his presser following Minnesota’s 115-107 loss to Denver. There had been a roller coaster of emotions at Target Center among fans, players and coaches–including Finch’s frustrated Timberwolves—but if there were expectations for a ranting head coach, that didn’t happen.

Not too high, not too low describes the team’s three-plus years bench boss. With an inexperienced playoff team and having lost two straight to the Nuggets, that looks like the right approach and what everyone has come to expect from the steady leader who could be granted a pass for some orneriness after surgery earlier this month to repair a ruptured patellar tendon in his right knee.

Finch, of course, was hardly a happy camper about his team’s performance but his demeanor fit the situation of the game and playoff series that is now tied and continues Tuesday night in Denver. Asked about his team’s postgame emotional state Finch said matter-of factly:

“They’re frustrated but they’re fine. We’re two-two. We got a three-game series (best of seven) going on. We never thought this would be a quick series. …”

Finch wasn’t at a loss for critical words in describing his team’s play Sunday night when he spoke at his news conference that was also broadcast on KFAN Radio. “These are inexcusable plays you can’t make right now,” he said about a couple of key parts of the game.

At times during the pivotal game (the Wolves led only once), Finch found fault with the offense, analyzing that his players “lost our composure a little bit, just kind of rushing things.” The coach added he didn’t like the offense’s structure and lack of ball movement.

Anthony Edwards scored a franchise playoff record 44 points, but the Wolves had a “Big 1” in their All-Star shooting guard, while the Nuggets countered with a “Big 3” of Nikola Jokic, with 35 points, Aaron Gordon, 27 and Jamal Murray, 19. The Wolves aren’t going to win the series without a “Big 2,” or “Big 3,” and expectations start with Karl-Anthony Towns whose career performances in playoff games is often MIA.

Among the NBA’s better paid players at more than $30 million this season, Towns scored 13 points last night on five of 18 shooting and two free throws. “Rushed a lot of things,” Finch said. “I thought physicality (the Nuggets) kind of got him off his spot a little bit. He kind of rushed it.”

The 28-year-old veteran falls into lapses where he makes too many physical and mental errors including unnecessary fouls, careless passes, ill-advised shots and bulldozing to the basket. Tomorrow night the Wolves will need performances from KAT like his contributions in Minnesota’s May 4 and 6 wins in Denver: 20 and 27 points.

Maybe for focus and calm KAT can channel his inner-Finch.

Worth Noting

Nuggets coach Michael Malone at his presser last night: “…We have to go home and protect our home court. We can’t allow them to get a third win at Ball Arena. That’s a message to our fans to come out and make that place an absolute zoo come whatever night we’re playing. I don’t even know what day it is anymore. Good win for us, but we got a long way to go.”

The Wolves only led once in the game, allowing the Nuggets to often silence the raucous sold-out crowd of 19,583 that was potentially ready to explode with every positive move by their hometown favorites.

Celebrities at the game included Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell and Twins star Royce Lewis.

Word is a prominent national company that was a Wolves Target Center suite purchaser during the season turned down the opportunity to rent space for $29,000.00 at last Friday night’s Game 3 between Minnesota and Denver.

The Wolves had over 160 reservations for media space for last night’s game.

Dr. Sheldon Burns has been with the Wolves since their inception, now celebrating 35 years as a team physician. “Third employee hired,” he told Sports Headliners.

ESPN.com reports this afternoon former Golden Gopher Antoine Winfield Jr., a former second round draft choice, has reached agreement with the Bucs on a deal making him the highest paid defensive back in NFL history. The deal is four years, $84.1 million.

The Twins, who have won 17 of their last 20 games, will start right-handed pitcher Chris Paddack tomorrow night at Target Field in the opener of a three-game series against the Yankees. Paddack, 4-1 with a 4.34 ERA, opposes Yankee left-hander Carlos Rodon, 3-2 with a 3.56 ERA.

Paddack is trying to extend his career-high four-game win streak. In his last four starts he has a 1.93 ERA, giving up three walks, 28 strikeouts and two home runs. He is tied for first with Ronel Blanco, Tarik Skubal and Cole Irvin for the longest active win streak in the American League.

Sam Vecenie’s NBA mock draft yesterday for The Athletic has Golden Gophers’ freshman guard Cam Christie going to the Trail Blazers at No. 34 in the second round. That might surprise Gopher fans, but the smooth shooting and athletic Christie is a solid prospect in a very average NBA Draft. If an NBA team chose to, they could offer Christie guaranteed money—something second rounders don’t automatically receive.

Vecenie projects the Wolves taking Wake Forest guard Hunter Sallis at No. 27 in the first round and Connecticut guard Cam Spencer at No. 37 in the second.

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