Senior defensive tackle Ra’Shede Hageman said a players-only meeting after the Gophers lost their first two Big Ten Conference games helped change the team’s season.
The Gophers under-performed in their conference opener against Iowa, losing at TCF Bank Stadium by a score of 23-7. The next week Michigan embarrassed Minnesota in Ann Arbor winning 42-13.
Hageman was concerned the season would duplicate 2012 when the Gophers went 2-6 in league games. Dozens of players showed up at a meeting to discuss how things could improve. “The coaches didn’t know about it,” Hageman said.
Players spoke out and among the messages was the Gophers should challenge each other more in practices. “We felt like it (practice) was kind of dead,” Hageman said.
The meeting helped the team get ready for Northwestern, Minnesota’s third conference game of the season. The Gophers won against the Wildcats and since then have added three more league victories. “It definitely set the tempo for the Northwestern game,” Hageman said. “It kind of carried on, especially during practice. We want people to compete at the best level they can compete at. I feel like it definitely carried on to the four wins in a row.”
Saturday the Gophers play the Badgers at TCF Bank Stadium, another Border Battle game. Hageman said the Gophers have to perform like the team that has won four in a row, not the group that was overwhelmed by Iowa. “We weren’t relaxed. We were uptight.”
Senior offensive tackle Ed Olson said the Gophers must keep their focus on Saturday. “We can’t get too excited. Can’t get too nervous for this game. We just gotta keep calm.”
The Gophers haven’t defeated the Badgers and won possession of Paul Bunyan’s Axe since 2003. Both teams are ranked among the top 25 teams in the nation. That hasn’t happened in this border rivalry since 2005 when Wisconsin was No. 23 and the Gophers No. 22.
Both teams have 8-2 records and are still contenders for championships in the Legends and Leaders divisions, but the Badgers are considered the better team in the Bowl Championship Series listings and other rankings. The Badgers are more than a two-touchdown favorite to win the game but Olson isn’t thinking about that.
“We’ve been an underdog for so long and this season as well. …It won’t affect our mindsets. We just gotta go out (and) have fun and play physical.”
The Badgers probably should be rated higher than they are. None of the four nationally recognized polls has them higher than No. 16, while the Gophers aren’t ranked in the Associated Press poll and are No. 23 in USA Today and No. 25 in both the Harris Interactive and Bowl Championship Series listings. “I know…that Wisconsin is an underrated football team because I think they’re as good as they’ve ever been,” said Gophers coach Jerry Kill.
The Gophers haven’t played since November 9 when they defeated Penn State. Kill said having no game last Saturday was beneficial to his players’ health. “I don’t like a bye week when you’re rolling pretty good, but the status of a lot of kids would have been questionable if we’d played the next week. …We do have some kids that are healthier than they would have been.”
One player the Gophers probably won’t have ready is senior wide receiver Derrick Engel who has a knee injury. Kill confirmed yesterday that Engel got hurt in practice recently but didn’t disclose details.
Gophers’ all-time leading rusher and now radio analyst Darrell Thompson predicts the score of Saturday’s game will be 32-28. “I don’t know who is going to have 32 and who is going to have 28. I wish I did. Ticket to Vegas.”
Gophers’ deputy athletic director David Benedict said the game is a near sellout. There were some $75 tickets being sold yesterday and standing room only tickets for $50 each. He expects attendance to exceed the record TCF Bank Stadium crowd set at the Iowa game, 51,382 (capacity 50,805).
Representatives from the Outback Bowl and Citrus Bowl will attend the game.
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