Gophers Already Have Their Eye On Big Ten Championship
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – All of a sudden attention has turned to the Gopher football team.
Or, more specifically, their standings.
Their 2-and-0 start in a conference that seems a bit down will do that.
The key now is staying in the Big Ten moment as the Gophers get ready to host Purdue at 11 a.m. Saturday at TCF Bank Stadium.
WCCO Mike Max takes a look at the team and how they are preparing for the Big Ten moment.
Coach Kill looks at the game of football like a student would a calculous class.
"It's no different being the classroom preparing for a big test. Sometimes you are successful and sometimes you fail. And either one of them there is a learning experience from it," Gopher head coach Jerry Kill said.
But, let's face it.
Five and one over all, and 2-and-0 in the conference are a change. It's a success that other seasons haven't always seen.
Perhaps this time the mindset changed before the success.
"That's the reason I came here. I wanted to play for a Rose Bowl. So, being in a Big Ten Championship that was always my goal and everyone else's goal. So that's the main reason why we came," Gopher defensive back Jalen Myrick said.
There is even a word being murmured over at the University of Minnesota that has not been heard for some time around campus. Overconfidence.
And the Gophers may need to be aware of it.
Understanding the team's history makes it easier for players to stay focused and on track.
"You got to come to work every single week because, as you've seen in college football, you can be beat every single week by anybody," Gopher wide receiver Isaac Fruechte said.
But let's be honest, the season of optimism really started when they carried the jug back home.
And the culture of the program had already moved forward.
"When I first got here, the bowl game seemed like it was like 'Uh, I don't know. I don't know.' Now, we could care less about a bowl game. We want the Big Ten Championship. And we know that's something that we can really get," Gopher defensive back Briean Boddy-Calhoun said.
The culture of a program that now expects things to happen.