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Big show coming up today from London.

Ben Lieber is set to join around ten am.

You'll hear from Vikings wide receiver.

Justin Jefferson, the host himself, PA set to be in the mix at some point and he has an interview in the mix and some tricks up his sleeve.

So looking forward to that, but looking forward to under the bright lights of Ohio Stadium, the Horseshoe as it is on Saturday, six thirty pm, kickoff your home for Gophers football.

The fan joining me now is the vox himself, Mike grim At Mike Grim three via X.

You know, like Ron Johnson put the number first, you chose to do it after yards.

We were both and we both used three.

How about that?

Good to see you?

Yeah, and how about that Drake Lindsay performance last Saturday.

It was one of the better quarterbacking performances I've seen in my time.

There's been good ones over the years.

Adam Weber had bunches of yards over the years.

When I first got to town.

You know, Adam's big issue was he had a new offensive coordinator every third week, it seemed like, and so he was learning new offenses every year.

But what a talent he was.

And then you know, I don't want to you know, I'll leave guys out.

But Tanner Morgan had a couple of big three hundred plus passing yard games.

Obviously, Brosmer had his day last year, his days last year.

And this is I mean, it isn't very often one a quarterback throws for over three hundred for the Gophers.

He threw for three twenty four in his fourth career start, with three touchdowns no interceptions against the Rutgers defense that statistically hasn't been very good this year.

But they've got some dudes that that defense is probably underperforming a little bit.

Now.

Some of them might be who they've played, probably not might be some coaching related sabotage they are going on in terms of the defensive coordinator and in his history and all that stuff.

But the bottom line is they have and they're too deep on the Rutger side of the defense.

Twenty two guys on the two deep, seventeen or seniors, nine of them the eleven are senior starters.

So they've they've got some guys that have been around the block.

So to throw three touchdowns, no picks, go for three twenty four against him, pretty good for a guy in his fourth career.

Start well and into the game.

It's not that, you know, I'm deep diving and losing sleep at night trying to dig into exactly how PJ wants to attack a team, because, frankly, I think trends have become stereotypes that have become habits and routines and philosophies.

He likes to run the ball.

Yeah, and I actually thought into this game, and you know, Darius Taylor, we had talked about this a week ago.

His availability was tenuous and we just got to, you know, got to wait this thing out, right, But I thought they'd be able to run it against Rutgers a little bit, and even without Darius Taylor.

I agree.

It's just it should have been because they've been giving up a lot of yards and they completely shut that thing down.

And just having PJ on a Monday, you guys get the chance on Tuesday at Tipsy Steer to chat with him on the gop of Football Weekly Show.

You know, just that had to be a big confidence builder from the standpoint that PJ likes to do what PJ likes to do, PJ can't do that.

And to be able to say, well, this is becoming a throwing game quickly with the score line the way it was, I'm gonna let Drake try to handle business and then he does like that.

That was just kind of fun to see how things trans not transgressed, but progressed.

I should say it transpired either or transpired.

Yes, I leaving us inspired.

Yes it did.

I thought that that third quarter drive to come out to start where they went no huddle and guards.

You mentioned this as well on the Coaches Show on Tuesday, and I agree with him in the sense of if you watch the TV replay, they really did a nice job of showing how in control Lindsey was in that case with the hand signals and tapping the helmet and getting the subs.

Well, there were no subs, but getting the guys lined up in the right spot in a relative quick hurry.

I think they ran it was either seven or nine straight plays without any huddle, without any time in between, which they have not done all season.

They are a melking the clock kind of a team, and which also could be a partial shift.

They might be thinking, look, we're gonna need to score some points here to win games this season, just the way college football is and looking at the schedule and who you're playing, you know, I don't know if there's going to be a lot of you know, sixteen to thirteen slog fest.

Maybe there will.

That's not to say I don't think this defense is going to be good.

I think it is, But I just think that the offenses are so good that maybe you start shifting a little a little.

We're gonna have to score some points.

That was a total sidebar to my point.

That is one of the better drives I've seen in my time here.

Really.

I mean, there have been some good ones over the years.

We cited it on the radio show with PJ some of the good ones over the years, but just the way he commanded it, just the way he you know, methodically, a quick short passing game.

Boom boom boom, quick hitters down the field, and before you know what, they're in the end zone and they covered whatever it was, seventy five or eighty five yards and you're right back in the game.

It's a tie game.

And then they come back and engineer the game winning drive basically in a similar fashion, utilizing I think he was nine or ten different receivers throughout the game as well, which is nice.

So he's a guy that sees the field.

Not to say he's perfect.

I did see on the TV.

I don't watch the All twenty two way some do, and I'm jealous of that, but I do watch the TV copy once or twice, usually just to see what I missed or just to see it.

Is funny when you in live action, there's once or twice a game where you're convinced of something you watch the TV broadcast, like, oh okay, I totally totally different than I remembered, or totally different than I thought unfolded there.

But there was one or two plays.

There was one play where he did throw to the to the receiver on the out and if you watch the replay, Jamison Gears is just streaking down the scene with absolutely nobody covering him.

So it's not perfect and and maybe that was the third read on that progression and so you never get to it because the first guy's open and it just was unlucky that that that that and maybe you know, there's partially some of how they defend it that way because they know where that first read is.

I don't know, but that was one that that that looked like maybe maybe you don't throw it to the right guy.

But again I don't know what the what what the first and second, third reads are And so, yeah, he's not perfect.

The the field is gonna or the level of competition will clearly step up.

This might be the best defense in the country that they're about to play.

Matt Patricia, you know, he who what's the who's the rest of the pops out of the casket?

What's his name?

The undertaker?

Oh?

Yeah, yeah, that Patricia.

His career has been dead like three times now, and all of a sudden, he pops out of the casket.

Ohio State hires him to be the defensive coordinator and they are absolutely stopping people and and we'll see what the Gophers have for that for that defense and that new coordinator there.

You know, it's kind of I'm glad you mentioned that particular drive in the third quarter.

Just one or two more on Drake.

There's more people on the team I know than Drake Lindsay.

But the quarterback is such a fun it's such an important position.

It gets all the all the blame and all the credits, so it's worthy of extra discussion.

Well, and it's it's one of those things too, where you move on from Athan, you do the one and done with with Brosmer.

And I'm not saying PJ needs Drake Lindsay to do what he will.

In this particular case, the team needed Drake Lindsay to do what he did.

But in a sense, you kind of feel like there's an urgency is you have to at some point pick a freaking guy and develop him.

And it was cool what Brosmer did.

Thanks for your service.

And now he's whooping it up.

And there are many Gophers fans actually they are like this offensive line in this situation and what I just watched from Carson, just put number twelve in their place.

Just put Brosmer in there by the way sidebar.

If people have been to a Gopher game, they at some point always flash up the guys that are in the NFL.

They play the Fox music, you know, Da Da da and flash them up.

And so this year they've been saving Brozmer for last, all right, and so they'll they'll fly and Cashman they're the last two because you know, obviously they're playing for the hometown team.

And so you know, Winfield comes up and people cheer, and Coke Keith comes up and people cheer, and then it gets to a winfield and the Vikings logo comes up and people cheer, and then they flash Brozemer up in the place.

Each of the home games has just gone wild.

It's pretty fun.

Yeah.

But the but I'm glad you mentioned those drives because you have you have the the moments where you're just impressed with him throwing it, you know, fifty yards on a dime to Jalen Smith, the Mancato kid yep, who takes it down to the doorstep.

You need those types of plays.

But the issue, whether you're a Vikings fan, you're watching your favorite pro team or you're watching the Gophers, the ability to when you have to go on a thirteen play drive, when you have to settle for these eight nine yard completions and matriculate if you will, you're your way down the field, that that would be the sign of getting it.

That would be the sign of a sign of command.

And everybody misses receivers, right, I mean, you know Tom Brady missed receiving, no question, and uh and and hopefully is it saying what what what saying?

Is it Julian saying that?

Yeah?

Hopefully for Ohio State, who's also a red shirt freshman, we need we need him to miss a few guys on Saturday and we hope if he does, hopefully he misses him right into the Gophers hands.

But the but the sign of command I think was the step for me that that he took on Saturday.

And again, as we need to we need this kid to develop.

I don't want him to be one and done.

I want to see what he does, no question, with a bigger spread of opportunity.

And I just really loved it on Saturday.

Yeah, I agree, I thought he made and this is what you look for, right, And it's not going to be linear like Drake Lindsay's not going to start here at point B as I no one can see this but point B and then just immediately get to point Z on a straight line, like like, I'm not predicting this, but it could be he could make a few mistakes against this defense.

It is possible.

It could be that you take a couple of steps forward and and then you have a blip.

Let's hope not Let's hope he takes a step forward.

But when you're his age and you're going through a lot of stuff for the first time, first Big ten road game is quite well, go to the horseshoe, go see what you can do.

Great, So he's going to be you know, it's not going to be linear.

You just hope this over the course of a month.

You know, if you break it up into four game segments, and that's where we're at now through game four, I think you do see progress in each one of the games.

And again, it won't be perfect.

He's not going to throw for three twenty four every night, but some night you might throw for three sixty four, yeah, right, and four touchdowns if you need it, and another night it might be like you say, dude, your job is to hand off to Darius Taylor because we're just mowing these people over and we'll see, But I agree with you.

I thought from the col game where he was good but not great, I mean that wasn't I don't think he was the main issue and why that game went south.

And then you get the bye week, you sit on and then you get ready for Rutgers and after a slow start, he got things going.

And yeah, I thought there was great progress for sure.

Yeah, great progress and okay, in a game, by the way, that had good times bad times like you sack eighth and seven times?

I forget is it?

My goodness?

Why am I I'm losing the running backs name because he went for like a buck six to do for them, but was a.

Hang on it.

It's Antoine Raymond Raymond.

Yes, yeah, he had an unbelievable game, like you had the good times bad times of that, but the ability to stick with those punches.

Again, when's the last time PJ won a game but lost time of possession?

Yeah?

You know what I mean, You're right, well, it was it was real early.

It was the Golphers I think had two three and outs and Rutgers had fourteen points in a block field goal and it was something it was something like fourteen to four, right, minutes or or time of possession fourteen for them, four for Minnesota.

And then they did flip the script.

They controlled.

I think Rutgers only ran like four plays in the third quarter.

It might have been six plays something like that because the Gophers really had to you know, the touchdown drive and the field goal drive in the third quarter, which which put him ahead.

So it was a really good second half obviously, and the defense did what it had to do.

There's still areas that they can get better.

Perish on that blitz was like a missile.

That was an incredible sack.

I loved it.

Yeah, and then Maverick Bernowski had a great sack where he just just basically pushed the running back to the point where he almost hit the quarterback with the running back and then sacked him.

And Anthony Smith had a couple of sacks and it was you know, they made plays when they had to.

And then, as always, you need a little luck and so the ball snapped through the quarterback's feet at the at the best time you could possibly ask for it.

When when you're you know, you're close to the team, it's it's not like you're in the locker room every day, but all the same, you you have access that the average roub like myself doesn't have.

And you know, I'm curious because even with with Ohio State around the corner, I even got it from the text line as soon as you come on and we start chatting this particular texter.

For instance, the.

Last time Ohio Stay lost a regular season Big ten game to a team not named Michigan or Oregon was due in twenty eighteen.

Yeah, like I feel, and maybe that's the inclination.

Ohio State, more talented team, Ohio State, more highly touted, four star We get all of that.

I'm just curious what the team's mindset is because I'll hear what PJ has to say, but in the end, it's like, you know you're up against it.

You know you are a massive dog under the lights at the shoe.

You probably will lose the game.

But I'm just curious what their mindset is because from a fan base standpoint, it's like, all right.

Just can you try to look respectable?

Yeah, on a Saturday night on the big screen.

Right When you look at recruiting rankings, when you look at budgets, when you look at fan bases in terms of what a fan base is willing to spend on a ticket.

How many people are going to buy tickets, how many people are going to donate to an nil?

It's you know, it's the haves and the have nots in all of college sports, and that gap is getting bigger in some cases.

And so that's a hard that's hard for Minnesota to compete against Ohio State.

And that's why they're twenty three and a half point underdog this week.

It's why no one not named Michigan and Oregon was it.

Did he say hasn't beaten him in their place?

Didn't?

I didn't fact check that.

I'm just going to assume that it's gaudy because I got messed up by AI the other day when I was on with the Morning Guys and said that the last time that Ohio State lost at home to an unranked team was that Purdue game in twenty eighteen, because that's what AI told me.

And as it turned out, that game was actually in West Lafayette.

And you don't have to go nearly as far back as we thought last year's Michigan game.

Remember the controversial Michigan game at the end when there was the fight and guys, were I don't know, planting flags and all this stuff that was at Ohio Stadium and Michigan was unranked in Michigan beat them.

So it hasn't been but two or three home games ago for them that that has happened.

But again, Michigan is also fishing in different waters than what others in the country are, including Minnesota.

So every now and then, you know, if you're on the if you're on the lake with all the fish, and I'm on the lake with with just a few fish, that doesn't mean I can't aasally catch a fish and win a game like this.

True, usually much harder you do, and you gotta work harder, and you gotta have some luck, you gotta cuts right.

And so the bottom line is once or twice a season there's a game like this.

It happens where the number one or two or three or a top ten team loses to somebody that they're not supposed to lose to.

Remember last year Alabama lost to Vanderbilt, and now it turned out Vanderbilt was pretty good.

But Vanderbilt is no better than where the Gophers are, I would say at this point, and no one thought Vanderbilt would go in and beat Alabama when they did last year.

So maybe there's By the way, does anybody think of the equipment guys when you start tearing down upright posts and things right exactly?

And maybe this is a Bama game, didn't they?

They they marched the fan based day with the uprights and threw it in the river the river, And now we got equipment guy taking an l and we have potentially the city getting involved to figure out.

And the SEC finds those teams for that.

Now, if you feel the dish in the SEC, oh wow, you get fined.

I think most leagues now have a fine on the field rush and and the court storm means and all of those things.

And now some teams have gone to this deal where the goalpost is on a hinge and as soon as the game's over, it just drops.

Oh that's smart, I think.

I don't remember where did I just see that somebody did it?

But anyway, so so that they wouldn't have the goal post toward down.

But you're right.

I just searched on I just searched on Google and AI says that it was October of twenty eighteen.

Yeah, so screwed me up, screwed you up.

So it's not right because that game was at and West Lafayette.

I remember this, I'm not going to be totally accurate.

We could probably do an AI search to me.

Ohio State took a big step.

Now, Ohio State's always been a power, right, They've always been, you know, since the sixties.

They've always been a power of fact.

You could argue a little bit they in Minnesota swap positions a little bit.

In the early to mid sixties, Gophers had won seventeen or eighteen Big Ten titles and five or six national championships before the Night Teaen sixty sixty was the Gophers last title.

The Vikings show up in sixty one, and the landscape of this place changes forever, becomes an NFL town, and that changes stuff, let's face it, and and and then you know, and other varying aspects throughout the deal have changed it.

Ohio State starts to become a little bit more of a power.

Columbus, Ohio grows into a big city without pro sports.

I mean, you still think about how big of a city that is.

They still only have the Columbus Blue Jackets.

So all of that money and a bunch of insurance companies are based.

They're all kinds of stuff is rolling into Ohio Stadium.

And so since that point, Ohio State has taken off.

But it changed.

Even when Tressel won the national title in whenever it was to one or oh two, that was big.

It was huge for the Big Ten.

It was their first.

I mean, I think Michigan won at ninety seven, Ohio State won.

It was either one or O two.

I'm sorry, I don't have it in front of me, yep exactly.

And then they then they played for a couple more national ties.

I don't think LSU beat them.

PJ was was a grad assistant on that OSU team that lost.

I think Florida might have beaten them in there anyway.

But when when urban Meyer took over, that changed it.

They moved into Alabama territory.

They moved into like top two or three where you're just getting guys and become like urban Meyer in his career, lost like three Big Ten games, right and Ryan Day has kind of picked up where he left off, obviously winning the national title last year.

And so it's a nine hundred pound guerrilla to try to go up against that team right now, and to me, well, I looked it up this morning.

When Minnesota last won there was in two thousand year.

Guy Ron Johnson had a huge catch in that game and Glenn Mason.

Our team went in and won.

Ohio State was ranked sixth, they had their eyes on a potential national title, and Mace went in and beat them, and the Gophers were a ten and a half point underdog there.

So that tells you.

And that was a good that was a good Gopher team, but they needed to win the last game of the year to get to a bowl game that year.

You know, kind of a little up and down.

You're obviously up with that two thousand win, the win in two thousand, but they were ten and a half points.

I don't think in relative terms, this current Goalfer team is any on the landscape of college athletics, is any worse than that two thousand team.

They're twenty three and a half point underdog this week, which tells you just where Ohio State, even from that point, has gone.

Now.

They were ranked six, then they're ranked one.

Now it is There's no question it's an uphill fight, but they're in a different it's a total different stratosphere.

It's just they have to they think up ways Like Minnesota and Iowa and Wisconsin and some of these others, they're trying to find ways to save money because it's, well, we got twenty million.

Now you got to pay to the players right off the top, and how do we balance this budget?

And you got to figure out ways to save money.

Maybe you got to bus to a certain volleyball game or football buses to one game or whatever.

And Ohio State's just inventing ways to spend money.

They're like on their third basketball practice facility in like fifteen years, because they just they have.

Me mean, they got one hundred plus thousand people paying over one hundred bucks a ticket.

Some of those tickets are two or three hundred dollars in the real good seats.

And when we were there last time, they were building new premium seats.

Of course you're not building you're not putting that kind of money in unless those premium seats are already pre sold, right right.

So yeah, it's a different stratosphere.

So and I'm not saying there's no hope.

Like I said, once or twice a year, there's a game like this where you're like, how the heck did that happen, and the golfers aren't dog me like the golphers have.

Some players absolutely and in fact, the last time they were there that it was close at halftime and then the talent just you could just tell the gap was there, and I think the first hand off of the second half was an eighty yard run and pretty soon it was another big score, and all of a sudden, instead of being tight at halftime, I forget what the final was, you know, lost it by the career that would have been Travion It was I think Travion Henderson.

Yeah, yeah, that's crazy, you know.

It's you mentioned the stratosphere and I was just thinking about it.

I have a neighbor of three or four houses down down my block and he's he's an Ohio State guy and his parents were boosters that they actually walked around with the buck eyes in their pocket.

Yeah, with a little Are they like nuts?

I think it's a nut, yeah, yeah.

And I had no idea what a buck guy was and I even asked, and of course he was very, very willing to pull them out of his pocket.

Yeah.

It's kind of weird when someone's like, well, let me show you my not Yes, I have, I hold them in my pocket.

It's kind of a weird thing, but I've gotten past it and they're they're terrific people.

Well, they've like one of their big fan sites, like the Ryan Burns of of Ohio State is literally buck nuts dot com.

It is okay, well to that end, to that end, my neighbor actually told me after that team won the national championship they weren't sure if they wanted to keep Ryan.

No.

Right, it's it's just insanity.

And we can't relate of course here in the in the Midwest with with our situation and you know, urban campus versus institution town and Columbus, et cetera.

But they are so nuts about that team and so and simultaneou so down on Ryan's days that he brings you the trophy you've been begging for.

Yeah, I don't really know if he should stick around.

It's because he lost to Michigan twice in a row.

That's's it.

Like, remember after that game, there were people saying, I think.

There are fans that would rather he go undefeated for a decade against Michigan and not win a title versus maybe.

Lose to Michigan.

Here there even twice, as you mentioned, but bring titles if it's kind of.

Crazy, and I don't think it's beyond the realm.

So who did they play or they played Oregon?

Right in that first game of the playoffs.

Oregon really got stricted by the way by the seating.

Oregon was the number one seed in the tournament.

I think, right, they were number one, and they had to play Ohio State in the first round because the remember the weaker conferences champions got buys.

Yeah, yeah, and so I think Ohio State lost to Oregon in the regular season.

So Oregon was the Big Ten champion.

I think they were, and they won the Big Ten championships.

I think they were the number one overall seed.

They got the to buy and their their gift was you got to play the eighth seed or whoever Ohio State and they got rocked by twenty.

Well, a lot of State beats Tennessee in the home game, right, So if Ohio State loses to Tennessee, there's a ninety percent chance Ryan day is is fire probably about that.

Yeah, if he loses to Oregon, it wouldn't have been beyond the realm of possibility that he gets fit better than a coin flip maybe right, Yeah, I mean, which is crazy, It's insane.

So in essence, he wins the national title to save his job because he lost to Michigan.

Uh and yeah, that's the that's the man.

I'm remembering this playoff like the cam scattabo from from Arizona State, like that game with Texas.

I think it went to overtime.

This playoff system kind of kicks ass.

I mean that they have changed the rule now to where it doesn't go to the bid or the buy, right.

I think they have changed that rule where the bye does not now go to the four conference champions, although that could I don't know if that starts this year or into the future, but you know, there's often now we have many things.

Essentially it'll be a sixteen teamer.

The Big Ten's talking about a twenty eight teamer, you know, who knows where it all is going to end and whatever we.

Can do for I mean, and this is with all respect to to the Gophers.

When you're in a conference right now that's eighteen deep and potentially there's still room to grow there and we have Oregon in Michigan and Ohio State, et cetera.

I don't want to say, what's the point but to some end, like what is the end goal for a good program, a solid, stable program that when the schedule comes out, you probably, if we're all being honest and realistic, you don't have the playoff bracket is not accessible to you.

You will not be a part of that.

So you can appreciate New Year's Bowls and all of this and good games and the frivolity and the pomp and circumstance of it, but in terms of hoisting titles, you're probably out of the mix.

So is it expanding the playoffs?

And maybe it's splitting these larger conferences.

I'm just curious because that that's something they.

Absolutely have to work on.

Yeah, I think I think it's accessible.

I wouldn't go as far as you just did twelve teams.

I mean indianimated.

I don't mean to be negative.

No, No, that's true.

You know, like if Indiana can make it, But that's signetty cap man he can call.

He may have completely turned around that program, no doubt they're they're playing well again.

So what he's done is mighty impressive.

And you have to tip your cap he timed it well.

And I'm not.

This is not to take anything away from him.

This is just a couple of observations.

Timed it well in that and again the transfer portals open to anybody.

All those guys he took, other teams could have tried to out recruit him for but he did get some benefit in that.

He got was it James Madison?

I believe he came from He got like twelve guys from there that come in former president?

Yeah, former president?

Was he James Madison a president at some point?

Yeah?

I think I think he might have been early ones.

Yeah, anyway, he he he brought in guys from there that knew the system.

So now instead of having to teach everybody what your system is, you have thirteen guys walking around practice, who can you know?

As PJ O he says, player led teams are the best teams.

And so you got players that know the system, they don't all have to start over.

And let's face it, ten years ago, nine years ago and PJ took over, there was no portal.

And this isn't to suggest that there's a correlation here or not, but it was much harder right off the bat to flip it and to Signetty's credit.

He brought those dudes.

He got a quarterback from the MAC who turned out to be a Heisman Trophy candidate.

And the guy can coach and he's so brazen about it, it's unbelievable.

Like even in the in Vegas well two years ago in Indy for the Big Ten Tournament, for the Big Ten mediad, I should say, and this is where when PJ in the pre this year he was talking about being delusional.

Let's just be delusional enough to think we might be able to make the playoffs.

I will say this.

When I was two years ago in Indianapolis, Mike Loxley, that Maryland team was coming off of a pretty decent year.

The prior year would have been the twenty three SEASONI and into twenty four and he basically had he delivered one of the great lines which I've actually used, because he was like, I'm going to say it.

You want to be a playoff team, we want to contend for the Big Ten title.

And he goes.

People are going to laugh at that.

I know it.

He goes, and this is one I want to I'm gonna paraphrase, I think, but it's close to this.

He goes, and I don't care because my give a crap tank is pretty much on empty unbelievable line, and I'm thinking, well, this guy is a little crazy.

And then like three coaches later, Kirk Signetti gets up there for Indiana.

You're like Indiana and he's like, yeah, we're going to contend and we're gonna win right away.

And I'm like, this guy is delusional.

I literally thought this guy's delusional.

And then he takes into the playoffs.

So anyone who you know wants to snark a little bit at PJ saying b delusional.

So back to your question, I wouldn't say that.

I'd say, actually, access is is.

Nothing's easy, but access is better now obviously than when it was four teams.

But I do think I think your general point is correct.

People in Madison are having to figure out, oh, we're not going to make a Big ten title game anymore.

Why fickle fickle there are besign him to an extension.

It's awful.

Yeah, regardless of who the coach is there, the thing has changed now there is no Big ten West and East, so access to the Big Ten championship game means you have to finish one in two, one or two in an eighteen team league, that access is probably not available to Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa.

The way it has been, Iowa played in like two of the latter or three three of the last five Big Ten championships.

Before that, Wisconsin played in a bunch, so that those two fan bases are gonna have to choose a week West.

Of course, for Iah it was it was and look the two the two divisions were basically equal.

Yeah, except one division had or had Michigan and Ohio State.

Because if you if you eliminate those two, like the West would have been fine, West would have been better had those two teams been in the West.

Even look at I mean if if even one of them had been in the West, because had to head outside of those the West actually beat the East more if you take out those two.

So it was basically those two teams nullified everything.

And in the East you had to play those two teams every year and in the West you got them every now and then.

So yeah, even Penn State would be complaining about that.

The reason that they're not.

Divisions is Penn State they had they had to take advantage, I mean they should.

They could have beaten in the whiteout game against Oregon.

That's that's recent.

But James Franklin's like, what do I gotta do here?

Want to produce the top five teams every season?

But as long as I got a hardship the house.

Yeah.

But Penn State was pushing the Big Ten to eliminate divisions anyway because they always had, you know, just talking to people, they always had Wisconsin on the mind, like Wisconsin should not be in that Big Ten title game this much, We're better than Wisconsin.

He's probably right.

That was well, it wasn't him, but it was people at Penn State really pushing for years about that.

And then when they went to no divisions, the people at Penn State were saying, well, let's see how Wisconsin for They just had dialed in on Wisconsin making a lot of those Big Ten championship games.

So places that have been used to going to some Big Ten title games that's off the table now.

However, the access now that teams need to be playing for like Minnesota and Wisconsin, Nebraska, Iowa.

You know, to me, those are the three players.

Is the playoff.

Here's a twelve teen playoff in twenty nineteen.

There's a pretty good chance Minnesota would have made a twelve team playoff.

Yeah, they were ten or eleven rank they were ten to two.

I think the rankings would have been a little different.

The fact that they lost the last game of the regular season I think could have played a role that could have knocked them out, and that was an ugly game against wiscons Most years, I think a ten win team in a twelve division or a twelve team playoff will likely be in Okay, and it's going to go to sixteens.

There's no question it's going to go to sixteen.

So then you have even more access.

So the fan base not just here, what's cut wherever, is going to have to change the Big Ten title game one.

It's really rendered meaningless other than the winner gets the buye in the playoff, right, the loser has to play a play in game or a quarter whatever you want to call it, quarterfinal play and I don't know what they first round whatever you want to call it.

On campus somewhere.

You might host it, you might be on the road, depending on where you fall in the seating.

I think Ohio or a Penn State lost the Big Ten title game and hosted was it SMU or something something like that last year in the Big in the first round.

Forget who they hosted anyway, they got to host a first round, it was SMU.

Yeah.

So so the point is that's now what you're shooting for is a playoff situation.

So if the longest answer in the history of the world now of that question, what what should Minnesota fans think?

My theory is you should expect and hope that your team every now and then.

I don't think it can be in every year thing unless somebody wants to write a billion dollar check and you know, scholarship it out over the course of a number of years to where you can you can get into the same serving line as Ohio State and some of those others.

But that doesn't make it illegal to try to contend for a playoff.

Berth right, every few years, be in it, be in the mix.

You don't even mean you have to be you know, get into November with a chance to look if we go, if we go three and on in these last three games, got a shot to be in the playoffs.

That's the new what's got to be the new push.

And over the course of a decade, if you can do that two times would be great.

Once would be fine.

If you go ten or twelve or thirteen years without that, then you it's a little lean.

You got a problem, you know.

So that would be my opinion.

And some people are going to say why you're short serving it because I live in reality, man, Yeah, you know, And and I don't even think people in charge it att And I'm not saying that's just Minnesota's deal.

That's going to be like Wisconsin's been really good.

Yeah, that's got to be part of their new attitude as well.

I agree, I agree, that's that's awesome.

Man.

Thanks for hanging out with the studio this morning, and have a blast at at Ohio State.

And yeah, could see the shoe and shock the world do it.

Let's get into the playoffs.

Why don't we get into the bus playoffs?

Do you have something via the power trip you're supposed to say, I do one other quick thing on that the way places that are a little under under resource less.

Sure, the way you can do that is kind of what's brewing a little bit here.

You got a red shirt freshman quarterback with some talented young pieces around, some transfers that have come in that have multiple years and if it's not this year.

Then you move along, bring everybody back, add a couple more pieces, and all of a sudden you hit the right mix of guys that have played with each other for a while, and you hit it and then you get interested like part of a couple of these guys that are young kids.

The twenty nineteen season still resonates for some of them because Drake Lindsey said, that's when he first found out about Minnesota.

He's watching them play and roll the boat.

That's kind of cool.

And you know, in twenty nineteen he was like thirteen years old, right, So you get one hit like that and all of a sudden you create some interest.

So that's how you do it at an under resource place is you get a group of kids that are together and on year two or three of them being together, and you supplement it with a few pieces and transfer portal kids.

And at the end of the day, you got to have excellent quarterback play.

There's no teams making the playoffs without excellent quarterback play anymore.

And I think I think the golfers have a chance over the next few years to have excellent quarterback play.

I'm excited for Drake and I'm excited for you and Darryl and guards you on the call Saturday night, my friend, thanks so much.

You gotta thank you, Nord.

I'll always enjoy it.

And I do have a line.

Yes, I can't remember it though.

That's fine.

Hockey emailed it to me so perfect.

You'll have to tune in listen on Saturday night.

Absolutely.

That's Mike grim at Mike Grimm and the Number three via x Gophers at Ohio State Saturday night, six thirty pm.

We're a bit behind it, but we got a cash giveaway and Brett will take care of that.

We'll be back in minutes.

Nine to noon, The.

Fanto two minute and Junk Truck want to give you shot to win bonus bucks of the National Cash Contest.

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Keyword cash cafan dot com keyword cap.

Time for a truncated edition nine to noon of Vikes Bites, which is always presented by Thousand Hills Lifetime grazed grass fed Beef.

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Time for a couple of bites here, some nibbles.

What do we got, Brett.

Fikes bites, Hikes bites.

Yeah, we've got a lot.

We're trying to piece together the injury report for today.

I can look at yesterday's but just piecing together the reporters that were there at the practice in the English countryside.

Darre saw another rest day, so that was planned, part of the plan.

No problems there.

No jurgins as well for the second straight day.

JJ McCarthy made a few throws on the side.

But here's the big thing.

The following This is an Alex Lewis tweet.

The following offensive Lineman, we're taking center snaps today in the English country side.

Do this Blake Brandell, something called Henry byrd verse, Sean Lee and the guy who apparently kicked your puppy Pete and your cereal and slashed your tires.

Joe Huber.

First of all, I must say this, Joe Huber is just a name that.

You've been You've thrown him under the bus, it's.

No, it's not about being down on Joe Huber.

It's just that problems when when you're getting to the names and you mentioned it, Henry Bird, ver Sean Lee.

When you start getting down the row on some names here taking center snaps Brandell, there was ash.

This has to be two three camps to go now, maybe because at one point the team re ups Brandell.

It's like a three year, nine million dollar deal of some sort.

But into the season, I forget what the circumstances were, but he was actually taking snaps at center and it just kind of raised a few eyebrowns, like, well, we got Bradbury.

I mean, I don't know what the idea is here, but certainly Brandell the Swiss Army Knife potentially on the old line that he is, and it's good to know that the guy can.

There was an issue with Garrett Bradbury.

It's good to know that he could step in and do his thing.

But he's definitely not going to be playing center.

So now you have Brandell, you got Huber, who again, I have nothing.

I hope Joe Huber is a starting guard in the NFL for a decade.

I hope he's terrific, but under no, I mean just nobody's fathoming the idea that four games now into week five, that Joe Huber is potentially going to be taking snaps at center and practice because they can't freaking figure out what on earth they're going to do to field five healthy guys to protect Carson Wentz on Sunday at Tottenham.

So it's those names are not reassuring.

Those names do not inspire a ton of confidence in terms of what the offensive line is going to provide where people are even going to freaking line up on Sunday.

So yes, it's it's not about Joe Huber.

Brett, you know as you are you're a Packers fan.

Are you a Brewers guy?

I know you're a Braves guy.

Well, just well classic classic Iowa like we were talking with We were talking with Grim last segment where you kind of do growing up in Iowa have the freedom maybe maybe it's maybe it's maybe it's Hawkeyes or Cyclones at the college ranks.

You told me that your father actually infected you with the virus that is the Badgers.

Is that accurate?

It's true, I don't really College sports just didn't do it for me like it used to in high school.

So I wouldn't really hold that against me.

You can hate me for the Packer bit, but that's fine.

That's the thing.

There are all things.

We all have things we have to resent our parents for.

My father happens to be a Packers fan, my grandfather is an owner.

I mean, yeah, it's it's it's it's in your blood.

Christmases are tough, I will tell you that.

But but to that end, you know, the not no problem with Joe Hubert, but growing up in Iowa, you just don't have choices.

You're at some point like if you if you grow up in the Quad Cities, Cubs or Cardinals, maybe.

Yeah, and maybe it's.

Hawkeyes or Cyclones to some extent, but I know Bears fans, Vikes fans.

I mean, it's just it.

It's a mess in Iowa for proports, sports love.

You can pick just anybody you want.

Because it's three hours to hear it's four change to Chicago, it's five to Green Bay, it's three to Saint Louis, it's four to Kansas City.

I think I got those numbers mixed up.

But like for instance, no one cares about your fantasy league, but just my group of friends from high school.

Let's see Chiefs, Chiefs, Steelers, Steelers, Rams, Saints, Steelers, Saints, Chargers, Vikings, Falcons, Colts.

That's my high school friend fantasy league.

That's their allegiances could all over the place.

I can see India.

If you grow up on the east side, that makes sense, south southwest side, you're probably going to be a Chiefs fan.

That's okay.

What I am glad though I'll say this to tip my cap to is he didn't mention, Like I just figured there'd be at least one buddy of yours who huge Cowboys fan.

Oh, he's loving what Aaron Judge is doing in New York.

You can't wait to see what Lebron and Luca can do this time around.

Like you didn't.

You didn't mention any of those guys, so you know, cowboys in the mix, etc.

So I'm I'm glad that you didn't have that going for you or against you.

I should say, well, they wouldn't be in my league if that was the case.

Or you can also say, on the other hand, the benefit is you're not by blood and by location latched onto a team that is zero and four in Super Bowls and hasn't been back to one since the seventies.

So there are other ways.

To look at that too, your ability to peek over the fence and see if the grass is indeed greener.

We'll have more Vikes Bites later.

Yeah, the injury report is preposterous right now, specifically the focal point being the offensive line.

And we're gonna pause, come back, Ben Lieber, And it sounds like Pa is actually going to jump on with liber at ten am, so we're gonna chat with both of them, and I'm sure health will be part of that conversation.

But we'll pause briefly, come back, catch up on the clock here.

Nine to noon.

Vikes Bites brought to you by Thousand Hills.

Thank you.

All of you, whether you are educators, innovators, or I don't know whatever you are.

Thanks for listening tonight to noon.

Thanks for the talkbacks as well.

Dramatic pause.

Sorry, no, this is Ralph ful New Jersey.

I am tired of an offensive line that's inept for all these years.

Who is the strengthening coach on this team?

That's what you've got to figure out.

There's too many injuries.

Nagan injuries, hamstrings, ankles, what's going on?

Skull forever?

What's going on?

What's going on?

Forget what the name of that song?

Maybe it's maybe the song itself is what's going on?

I'm asking myself that exact same question.

Ralph school Forever, Good.

Morning, gentlemen, want Kenny and Dalouth.

My question to you is, I know, as banged up as we are in Cleveland starting a rookie quarterback, will that be vote well for the Vikings?

Possibly?

And also if Cleveland does lose to the Vikings, is Kevin Stevanski possibly on the chopping block going one and four?

If we win?

Thanks, have a good day guys.

By Yeah, you have a good day as well.

Kenny, appreciate the talkbacks free iHeartRadio app Yeah into this game.

I don't know if maybe maybe it just needs to end.

Similarly with the Minnesota Twins, if you were thinking, what are if you put a list together, what are the top ten reasons that this organization is franchise is as destitute as it is.

I'm sure Roco Baldelli would have made the top ten of factors involved.

But given the temperature of things, the pulse, given the sentiment of the fan base.

I'd imagine ownership group and Falvee would be like, I mean, you just write po lads, polelads, Pole lads, Pole lads, pole ads.

Falve maybe Falvey again, and then injuries to stars.

You know who's their strength and conditioning coach, right, and and you'd put that in there, and then somewhere in the top ten, let's say it's seven, eight, nine.

Ish, it would be it'd be Rocco.

I think I think Stefanski, two time Coach of the Year, what he has done with the Cleveland Browns, even finding their way to the playoffs.

He was out for that for that wild card game.

I think it was against the Steelers.

Baker and company go out.

Maybe Alex van Pelt was the fill in coach.

We dealt with that in a regular season game.

Mike Preefer was coaching the Vikings while Zimmer Zimmer had that nasty eye situation feeling muf to punt Jeremiah Searles with a false start on a two point conversion.

Now the two points from the seven.

I think it was an incomplete to Jerrick McKinnon and that was all she wrote, and the issues abound.

I just I look at this team.

I look at the defense he's built from a health standpoint, whether it's it's the devastating injury that they endured with with Chubb offensively, just kind of the in and out nature of things.

Had had some options with, you know, in Djoku.

Not a bad option.

Certainly Amari Cooper had some good days there, but it's really stemmed from finding the right quarterback to this spot and the front office, even with what was maybe later confirmed, I forget the timeline of the Deshaun Watson ridiculousness where when he went to Cleveland, I believe the buzzards and the news was circling, but maybe there hadn't been like in process suits yet and they commit the what two hundred and forty million guaranteed to him, and that was just a complete disaster.

And now DeShawn whether it was the social implications of that that changed who he was as a player.

Now you're having these injuries.

It's just been nothing short of cataclysmically bad.

Uh with the with the Deshaun Watson situation, and now you're going back to the well, you're trying your hand with Flacco.

Flaco won you some games a few years ago A couple of years ago, and now he's just thrown it to the other team more than he's throwing it to his own team.

You have Shadu or Sanders doing mind bits in the locker room.

Certainly a talented player, but maybe you kind of start to understand why he was a Day three selection and nouns Dylan Gabriel, I mean that the carousel qb for for Stefanski in some ways, it's.

Almost like he never left the Vikings.

So he was thinking to himself, I'm looking I'm looking forward to to a head coaching opportunity.

You know, for me, it's it's it's not.

Zimmer ESQ, but it's kind of a Kubiak esque offense.

I'm gonna I'm gonna run the ball and I'm gonna strike downfield and and I need, you know, to find their way to Miles Garrett and it just some really really good pieces defensively he puts this thing together, and just the quarterback situation, I just I hope when I find my first head coaching job, I can find some stability at that position.

And he actually picked the franchise maybe that has had more instability at the quarterback position than anyone in the NFL, including the Vikings over the last twenty five years.

So it's I don't think.

I don't think his job's going to be in jeopardy simply because if they lose to the Vikings on Sunday, I think I think the sand is running out of that hour glass just in general, where similar to that Roco.

The reason I brought that up is kind of the idea is, can't fire the players, and so you're gonna make at some Pointstfanski's probably gonna lose his job because of their inability to find somebody to operate under center at a high level.

And we'll see what Dylan Gabriel has, you know, just kind of onto the next one, the south paw.

You know that ball comes out different when they're left handed.

You just say, you just don't know.

It's a completely different universe to catch the thing.

But but it's going to be interesting to see how they how they employ or deploy Dylan Gabriel, this quinsan when we're gonna pause, here's get let's get liber and Pa into the mix, because I am fascinated with this quin Shawn Judkins and how effective he is at doing what Stefanski wants to do.

However, they haven't really been explosive or successful with it through the first four games.

This is a Vikings operation, whether it was gain Well finding his way to nearly he's at the doorstep of one hundred yards with two tds.

We saw what Bejon did week two.

You know, both the Vikings losses, the inability to stop the run has been a really important and vital part of the story.

And Judkins is a talented cat.

So let's pause.

Let's jump out to London Weekly guest.

Of course, Ben liber on site on scene, the host himself.

He's taking a breather.

I had to walk like half a mile from practice to where the the access and everything is set up.

So we've given him, i.

Think, proper breathing time, and we're going to reset this thing around the corner and chat with Pa and the Vox.

Second hour ahead.

It's Nordo in for Pa for now.

It's not a noon on the fan.