College Gameday should come to Minnesota!
by GopherNation on Jun 23, 2009 3:00 AM CDT
in Gopher Football
29 comments
What are the chances that ESPN College Gameday will make a trip to the Twin Cities and show off the brand new TCF Stadium to the world of college football? (don't answer that question, cause I know the real answer but amuse me). But rather than spend time talking about why GD should NOT come to Minnesota, I want to make the argument for why they should.
Since a 1993 match-up between #1 Notre Dame and #2 Florida State, ESPN College Gameday has taken their Saturday morning preview show on the road. 1994 saw six premier games also receive the on campus version of the show and then beginning 1995, pretty much every week is a new location. By my calculations there have been 168 College Gameday road shows (336 teams). The selected venue "usually" is the location of a premier game on that week's schedule, although not always.
Obviously teams like Notre Dame, Ohio State, Texas, Oklahoma, etc have been on Gameday or hosted Gameday on a regular basis. By my brief research I have found that Ohio State has been on the show (either the host school or away team) 21 times, Florida 20, Notre Dame 18, Michigan 15 and a number of other premier programs between 10 and 16 times. This makes sense as often these schools are highly ranked and fighting for conference championships or potentially a BCS bid. But finding the biggest named schools is not always the end all in selecting the CGD location.
So why should College Gameday even consider the Gophers for their broadcast schedule?
Reason #1 - TCF Stadium
The Gophers are moving out of one othe worst college football venues into one of the finest. A year ago or were the Gophers going to be in the Metrodome for the 2009 schedule I wouldn't even be considering this post. This is the premier reason that CGD should come to the U of Minn. There is a storied history of on campus football and the Gohpers are moving back home where new traditions and a new college gameday atmosphere will be created. Stories about old Memorial Stadium and how it was the birthplace of the modern day chearleader are pretty easy stories that can fill air time.
Reason #2 - Minnesota actually has a place in the history of college football
Forgive me if I sound like Tim "tweeting" Brewster for a minute but we DO have six national championships to our credit and 18 Big Ten Championships. I realize that they were a long time ago, but the success of the Gopher program all happened when they played on campus! Now they are returning to campus and once again there are several stories that are low hanging fruit for CGD. The championships are great but you also have long standing rivalries, a Heisman winner and 28 All-Americans. This is a program that today's college football fan knows nothing about. Not that anybody should confuse us with USC, but this program was once great and is trying to get back there (another great story).
Reason #3 - We have some really good matchups
I see three potential games that could cause CGD to make the trip north.
Air Force @ Minnesota - this game is kind of admitedly weak. But first and foremost it is the very first game in the new stadium. That would be the reason to have CGD on campus, but it would be a nice hat tip to the MWC who has performed very well over the last few years. Air Force isn't Utah, but the MWC isn't the MAC anymore. Games to contend with? UCLA vs. Tennessee, Iowa vs. Iowa State (rivalry), Notre Dame vs. Michigan. All are decent match ups but the opening of a the Gopher's brand new stadium has to put the U of Minn in contention to host.
Cal @ Minnesota - This is the best team we will see come to TCF. Assuming Cal beats Maryland and Eastern Washington they could easily come into this game as a top 10 team. Not only is Cal a team that could potentially contend for the Pac-10 title, but they'll bring Jahvid Best and his Heisman campaign season to The Vault. This isn't a great national match-up as Cal shoudl be favoried, but it is a great team visiting the brand new TCF. Games to conetnd with? Tennessee vs. Florida, Georgia vs. Arkansas, Texas Tech vs. Texas, West Virginia vs. Auburn, Louisville vs. Kentucky are all good match-ups that would likely trump the Gophers hosting Cal.
Wisconsin @ Minnesota - THIS is the one, Gopher fans! It isn't the stadium opener but it is the Big Ten opener. And it is a great rivalry that is vastly underappreciated in NCAA football. The games above all are hinged on TCF, but in this case the longest running rivaly in all of college football is equally as compelling as the new stadium. This game gives CDG two great reasons to come up to Minnesota and showcase not only the finest stadium in the country but also one of the preimier rivalries that makes college football so great. Games to contend with? LSU vs. Georgia and USC vs. Cal are two outstanding games that will grab the most headlines. My money wouuld be on USC @ Cal, but I want to strongly urge you Mr. Herbstreit and Mr. Corso to bring your dog and pony show to Dinkytown.
How much fun would it be, Gopher fans, to see Lee Corso putting Goldy's head on as he predicts a Gopher victory. The base of fans behind him would start chanting "Spin your head!"
I know there are those among you who think why on earth would a team like Minnesota EVER be featured on CGD? Well would you be shocked to see that Iowa has been on CGD four times, Purdue three and even Northwestern has appeared on CGD. You don't have to be a top 10 team to be on CGD, every year they show a game for reasons other than a top five match-up (Williams vs. Amherst or Hampton vs. Florida A&M are prime examples over the last two years).
I know the chances are slim, but it would be a lot of fun and this would be a great chance for ESPN to educate college football fans while showcasing the beautiful TCF Stadium.
0 recs |
29 comments
|
Email
Print
Comments
ESPN will come up here this year....
…it is so rare that new stadiums open in college that ESPN should find its way here.
However, the opener will not be it. You forgot one rather important game on September 12th – USC at Ohio State. GameDay will be in Columbus.
However, on September 19th, Cal at Minnesota may be the glamour game of the weekend. I think GameDay will be in town for that game.
how did I miss that game?
I figured the Air Force game would be third on the list of most likely to happen. The Cal game isn’t a great matchup and I really want them to cover the Wisconsin game, but we shall see.
what you say here can, and will, be used against you
by GopherNation on Jun 23, 2009 7:27 AM CDT up reply actions
one other thing
do you really want GameDay on campus when there will undoubtedly be 15,000 Wisconsin fans drunk and rubbishing up our campus? That’s another reason why I want them here for the Cal game – more gold.
We can hope that Wisky will only bring 15,000...
but I think it makes for a better atmosphere (which GameDay will no doubt like). For example, the atmosphere before the Iowa game last year was electric, and if the game was close at all, it would have been unbelievable to watch (unfortunately, we all know how it turned out).
It doesn't look good.....
….on television when you have a home game and you’re drowned out by the traveling support. Remember when Nebraska took over Notre Dame’s stadium in 2001?
Remember when NDSU took over the Metrodome? Heck, think back to Iowa last year. Why would you want recruits turning on the TV seeing that half the fans on your campus for a game are not your fans? That doesn’t exactly scream “imposing venue” or “tough place to play.” Columbus and Happy Valley aren’t “electric atmospheres” because of 20,000 visiting fans – it’s because their own fans ratchet it up and intimidate the heck out of visiting teams. That should be the goal at the Vault, not hoping that 20,000 idiots in red decide to deplete our state’s beer supply and get passed out in front of Mariucci and McNamara.
For whatever reason we all get jazzed up over “atmosphere” when a good game would be a better value for money (I’d have rather Minnesota be competitive in the Iowa game you reference, than have “an electric atmosphere” before it).
Agreed that it would suck to have GameDay at the dome facing Iowa or Wisky...
But if 15,000 Wisky fans are here, that would still mean 40,000 Gopher fans would be in attendance which is a much better ratio than it has been over the last 15 years. I personally think it is fun to jab with opposing fans at games and with nearly a 4-1 ratio it would be pretty exciting. I would much prefer a competitive game and was obviously thinking the Iowa game was going to be competitive, or else I wouldn’t have gone to it. I don’t want to go to games to see my team get crushed. All I was trying to say is that had that game been competitive, it would have been awesome to be at and as it turned out, it wasn’t and thus it sucked to be at the dome that day. TCF should definitely be a much better home field advantage than the dome (which never was). Hopefully more students show up to make it even better than we anticipate.
by GreasyLlama on Jun 23, 2009 11:07 AM CDT up reply actions
this year I would disagree
I think Gopher fans will dominate TCF in year one. There will be a lot of Badger fans but I will be shocked if they “drown out” or “take over” this year.
what you say here can, and will, be used against you
by GopherNation on Jun 23, 2009 11:48 AM CDT up reply actions
But the point is that.....
….we’re talking about GameDay. If those 15,000 can’t get tickets outside the stadium, guess where they’ll be in the 20 minutes before gametime, when Gopher fans are going to the Vault?
They’ll be all behind Lee, Perv-streit and Fowler, making it look like State Street.
As for inside, I’m pretty sure a number of Gopher fans (maybe as many as 5,000) will realize the “economic benefit” of allowing Badger fans inside the Vault. Plus, there are MANY season ticket holders who are ticket brokers (if you go to Stubhub, look for the tickets you can buy where “up to 22” are available in one row. I’m guessing that isn’t the Lindstrom family from Onamia). Badger fans will be there.
Badger fans will be there...
…that is inevitable. I was reading the scout badger board and one of the wisky fans was talking about getting 12 student tix to the game from UM students… this kind of stuff shouldn’t happen, but it unfortunately does. I wish Gopher fans traveled as well as some of our BigTen rivals, but unfortunately that isn’t the case. Though, I can’t really say much as I have only been to Kinnick once and haven’t been anywhere else.
I would say...
…that the Wisconsin game is our best bet. In addition to the games you listed, two other games are potential GameDay stops: Oklahoma at Miami (FL) and Penn State at Illinois.
On October 10th ESPN will undoubtedly be in Baton Rouge for Florida at LSU.
Now, Penn State at Illinois. Unfortunately, I think both teams will be undefeated, and Illinois has a renovated stadium that I don’t think ESPN has been to yet. So, I think that game is slightly ahead of us in the pecking order.
So, I speculate the following GameDay locales:
September 5th – Stillwater, OK (Georgia at Oklahoma State)
September 12th – Columbus, OH (USC at Ohio State)
September 19th – Minneapolis, MN (Cal at Minnesota)
September 26th – Happy Valley, PA (Iowa at Penn State)
October 3rd – Miami, FL (Oklahoma at Miami)
October 10th – Baton Rouge, LA (LSU at Florida)
October 17th – Dallas (Oklahoma v. Texas) or Atlanta (Va. Tech at Georgia Tech).
and I don’t know until
November 22nd – Ann Arbor, MI (The Game)
September 26th is open,
Gameday will be in Happy Valley for the PSU, O$U game. They’ve done the PSU-O$U game 4 years running. Assuming nothing crazy happens to PSU or O$U, like PSU losing any game or OSU losing a conference game (they may well lose to U$C and it wouldn’t hurt the chances of a gameday appearance), Gameday will definitely pick up the PSU-O$U game in Happy Valley and they wouldn’t go to the same place twice in the regular season.
I think the best chance for the Gophers of the three you laid out, is either the Air Force game or the Wisconsin game. The other competition isnt that stiff (though for the Wisconsin game the OMGESSSEEEEECEEEE LSU @ Georgia game will probably trump). The contenders you listed for that day are ND and michigan, thats the tough one to get over. The Cal game will be overshadowed by Texas Tech @ Texas or Tennessee @ Florida.
It would be great to see Gameday at the U of M though!
Put a tarp on that circus! - showtime @ BSD
Cal at U of M
Since ESPN calls the gameday location on the fly, I think it all depends on if the U and Cal both come into that game 2-0. IMO, gameday on campus hinges on two, 2-0 teams playing. If that scenario doesn’t play out, I don’t think we will see the crew in MLPS this year.
Air Force
Game has already been announced for a 6pm start too which I would think put it out of consideration. I was looking forward to the evening start.
Visit my D2 Baseball Blog - Northern Sun Baseball
That won't deter GameDay
They do plenty of night games. I do think they like to partner with an ESPN or ABC game, though, which is why the Air Force game (on the BTN) is probably a “no.”
not true
they have done CGD for games that are night games or games that are not even on ESPN (although usually ABC).
what you say here can, and will, be used against you
by GopherNation on Jun 23, 2009 9:13 AM CDT up reply actions
Test
I would probably fall in line with the other posters with the speculation that Sept. 19 vs. Cal would be our best chance to host GameDay.
HOWEVER, I think that the largest road block is the Minnesota fan base. I’m sure ESPN would like to gauge how Minnesotans respond to the opening of The Vault on Sept. 12 vs. Air Force. GameDay sets in the heart of college football country are swarmed with fans sporting school colors, chanting, etc. Even as the most ardent Gopher Football fan, I’m not sure that is the case at Minnesota. I think the Gopher fans would respond if GameDay made an appearance, I just think ESPN would want us to ‘prove it’ with the Air Force game first.
Great post.
I was thinking about this, too, for a long time. I was thinking that the Cal game is the best chance. Cal not only is in contention for the Pac 10, the Bears might even be a Top 5 team by then. If the Gophers put together some impressive wins against Syracuse and Air Force, I might think that Minnesota could be ranked.
Adding on to what twinsfan21 said, I think the fan base has to be there, too. However, I think the buzz around campus is that the student section is going to be crazy on Sept 12. I’m pretty stoked to see the fan base break loose against Air Force.
So how can we convince ESPN to bring GD here? Do we make a formal request? Is that the University’s job?
The job of making the fan base "break loose..."
is on the Gopher football team. If they come to play on September 12th, the whole place will be fun. If the team has stage fright, well, who knows what will happen.
Maybe the first game away is good.
Perhaps having the first game on the road will ease the stage-fright factor a little. What I might be concerned with is that the team might be looking ahead to the stadium opener and not play well against Syracuse. But if the Gophers play well in their first game, i think the team and fans will be juiced. I can’t wait!!!!! I’m in the nose-bleeds, but I don’t care!!!! Go Gophers!!!!
Daydreaming
If the stars align, here is the dream scenario:
1) Gophers open strong and sport a 2-0 record
2) Cal comes in to town 2-0 and J Best has run wild the first 2 games and has a real heisman buzz going
3) Cal is a top ten team
4) a perfect weather Mn. fall day for football
5) Gophers play Cal tough (my imagination can’t work in a win, but a competitive game would be a huge)
6) Gophers get a ton of good press from espn and the CGD crew in regards to the new stadium, the team, and the campus.
Doesn’t hurt to dream I guess.
I think Cal is less likely
only because I would bet CGD is strongly considering Cal hosting USC two weeks later. That will be a premier matchup of likely top 10 teams. I know teams can be on CGD more than once a year but usually it is only teams like USC/OK/OSU/Tex that get multiple CGD exposure.
what you say here can, and will, be used against you
Don't underestimate the rivalry
this is the longest running rivalry in college football, a sport that LIVES off tradition / history / rivalries. Wisconsin @ Minnesota would make for an outstanding CGD experience.
what you say here can, and will, be used against you
For CAL????
Do you really think ESPN would turn down the opportunity to be at the Swamp on September 19 as Lane Kiffin comes to town for the first time to meet Urban Meyer?
Tennessee - Florida
will get the TIVO (and TEBOW) treatment for me.
I’m guessing Meyer hangs 60 on Kiffin.
I don't think
they’ll come this season. But if we have a good year the USC game will deffinately be on their radar
I like the Cal game or the Wisky game
This all depends upon how the Gophers fair in the first 2 games of the year which they need to win. Mason was known for crushing non big 10 opponents and losing in historic fashion every year, will this be the year that Brewster shows the Gophers can be better then a bottom 5 Big 10 program. With a win at Syracuse, although cuse isn’t good it is a road win vs a BCS opponent and a win vs a dang good Air Force team CGD could show up for the Cal game. Wisonsin should be either 3-1 or 4-0 when they show up to TCF and the Gophers will be somewhere between 1-3 worst case scenario and 4-0 best case scenario when this game happens. Both teams will have to be at least 3-1 for CGD to give this game a chance. Anyone know why 08 recruit Vicent Hill never ended up on campus?
Maxwell
I dont think GD will be in the swamp for the Tenn Fla game just because Tenn could be 1-1 at the time and Fla will be unanimous number 1. CD ussually schedules games that have a good chance of being close ball games. Tenn was 5-7 last year and will probably lose by 30 to Florida and i think GD will host a Florida game in one they have a shot to lose like at LSU or if Florida St. is leading the ACC the FSU UF game. If the U can handle the running game of Air Force and are 2-0 they could give Cal a game but the coaching needs to be much better then the last 2 years. We also need the fans esp. students to show with some emotion and make a great atmosphere that first game. I wish i was still a student there i would be making tons of noise.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
Related FanPosts on The Daily Gopher
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2010 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
