The Minnesota vs Wisconsin football rivalry has gone unimpeded since 1907 but the two schools have played football against each other since 1890. So what happened?

Well, the 1906 border battle was canceled because of how violent the game of football was becoming and the dirty money that was already infiltrating it, behind the scenes.

Common knowledge says President Teddy Roosevelt called for the one-year hiatus but, after some research, I’ve found that history tells a different story…

UW mob marches to save football on campus

It’s just after 9:30 PM on March 27, 1906. A small student mob, “brandishing shotguns and revolvers”, is quickly growing in Mendota Court at the University of Wisconsin. They’re chanting “DEATH TO FACULTY!”.

The angry crowd is getting ready for a march they hope will save football on campus, which is currently under siege across the country, but especially so at UW.

American Football at a crossroads in 1905

The game of american football was much different in 1905 than what we see today, or even what it became over the next decade. Football back then looked a lot more like Rugby. Teams only needed 5-yards (instead of 10) to gain a “1st-down” and were only allowed 3-downs (instead of 4) to get those 5-yards. Oh, and no forward passes were allowed…

Offenses usually moved the ball by bunching 10 blockers around one ball-carrier in a V-type formation, as they tried to smash their way (without pads) for 5-yards in 3-downs. It was a bloody disaster and quickly became way more dangerous than its English cousin (rugby).

In 1905 alone, 19 deaths were recorded on college football fields in the United States. Some universities had already dropped the brutal sport or switched to rugby, including Duke, Stanford, Cal, Northwestern and Columbia. When Harvard’s President, Charles Eliot, threatened to be the next domino to fall, even football’s biggest proponents were worried about the sport’s future.

Popular but polarizing…

All of this uncertainty surround football collided with a massive BOOM in the sport’s popularity. By 1905, universities were already using the money they made from football, to prop up other collegiate sports on campus. Schools were starting to spend big money on football coaches and (sometimes) players too. The sport was so dangerous (and dirty behind the scenes) however, that state legislatures were starting to get involved.

New vs Old

The calls for reform or cancellation of American Football sparked it’s most important supporter, President Teddy Roosevelt, to get involved. Roosevelt was a Harvard grad and loved the relatively new game of American football. The last thing he wanted to see was the end of his favorite sport before it even got off the ground. Everything you are about to read that involves Harvard, Teddy had a hand in (behind the scenes).

As the calendar turned from 1905 to 1906. A line was drawn in the sand between those in football who were willing to make radical changes and those in the sport who weren’t. Those schools who were willing to make radical changes, created their own rules committee, separate from what was already established. So now, there were two college football rules committees.

The old football rules committee wasn’t keen to the type of radical changes that most felt the game needed, if it was going to survive. Under the old committee, Walter Camp (known as the father of american football) had ultimate power over any changes… and he didn’t like change.

Camp’s stubbornness was becoming a major point of conflict and it was frustrating everyone involved.

Old vs New CFB rules committees — Information via the New York Times (Jan, 1906)

Trying to come together..

Roosevelt helped broker a meeting between the two committees and the date was set for the evening of January 12, at the Hotel Netherland in New York City. The future of american football would be on the line.

But the day before the meeting took place, Dr William T Reid (Harvard) sent swapped sides (thanks to some help from Roosevelt behind the scenes), which changed everything. Walter Camp was forced to bend to many wishes of the new committee or lose out on having any say at all.

The birth of the “NCAA”… kind of.

The new body received the advantage by the defection of Harvard from the old committee. Dr. William T. Reid Jr., representing Harvard, telegraphed on Thursday each individual member of the old committee, announcing Harvard’s intention to withdraw.

He also telegraphed Dr. Babbitt (acting Chairman of new committee) that he had been instructed to represent Harvard in the new committee. In following this purpose he appeared at the Murray Hill Hotel and sent his card to the committee in conference there, but he remained in the corridor of the hotel until after the invitation of the old committee to meet with it had been received by the new.

New York Times (1/13/1906 — Pg 7)

When the [new] conference committee appeared on the scene, Dr. Reid with them, the members went at once to the committee room, remained closeted for fifteen minutes, then withdrawing, each to consider the propositions exchanged.

Messengers were sent from one to the other committee rooms with inquiries from time to time. John C. Bell representing the old committee in such exchanges of views and Prof. Savage the new. At midnight, an agreement was finally reached and the new committee joined the old and the election of officials followed.

New York Times (1/13/1906 — Pg 7)

One unified collegiate governing body

By the morning of January 13, ONE new rules committee “American Intercollegiate Football Rules Committee” (which would eventually become the NCAA, as mentioned above) formed.

The new unified rules committee dug in right away and they started kicking out changes that would transform the game of american football as we knew it.

• We got the “line of scrimmage” (neutral zone)
• Games were reduced from 70 minutes to 60 (two 30-minute halves).
• Instead of needing 5 yards to gain additional downs, 10 yards became the standard.
• “Hurdling” was penalized.
• The forward pass was also legalized (though incompletions were penalized).

The mainstream media world credits Teddy Roosevelt for saving football back in 1906 and his contributions to creating the NCAA certainly can’t be understated.

Saving football isn’t all Roosevelt is credited for, from 1906. Legend says Roosevelt also ordered the cancellation of Minnesota vs Wisconsin that season, in another effort to stem the violence that surrounded rivalry games in college football at the time. But… this part of Roosevelt’s legend seems to be all fable.

Since the series debuted in 1890, the Wisconsin vs Minnesota rivalry has been cancelled just twice. 1906 stood as the only time for over 110 years, until 2020 (thanks COVID). But if it wasn’t Roosevelt’s doing, like legend says, then how did that game in 1906 get canceled?

March 27, 1906: Back to the UW mob…

500 students have now joined the angry mob of protestors on the UW campus. They are heading down Francis Street, toward the Mendota Lake house of famed historian and Wisconsin native, Frederick Jackson Turner, who’s leading the faculty charge to rid the campus of football. The crowd continues to chant, “DEATH TO FACULTY!”, as they march.

The new rules committee that was formed in New York three months before, along with the sweeping rule changes enacted for the 1906 season, weren’t enough to convince Turner and other professors on the UW campus, that football was going to be any safer going forward.

Faculty at Wisconsin were well-aware of the problems stemming from football on the field, but their biggest concerns went beyond serious injuries. The “dirty money” coming in from this new sport made many faculty members nervous, especially when it was used to float other sports.

Here’s how the front page of the Wisconsin State Journal read on March 28, 1906.

Football will be abolished at the University of Wisconsin if the recommendation of the faculty committee read before a joint meeting of the faculty and students Thursday is adopted by the general faculty meeting on the return of President Van Hise from the Pacific coast on April 1.

Track athletics, crew work and baseball will not be abolished but they must be self-supporting. The crew must be supported by subscription

Two distinct recommendations were read by Dean Birge. The first was that the western conference rules be adopted and the second was that no football games be scheduled for next fall. It is said that Dean Birge and other members of the faculty who have championed the cause of football up to the present time have been led astray by other members of the faculty who have determined that the game must go.

This action on football is not final but it is felt that the faculty will adopt the resolutions of the committee.

Wisconsin State Journal (3/28/1906 – Pg 1)

Brink of elimination

By the end of March 1906, football was clearly on the brink of being eliminated at the University of Wisconsin, but many students and faculty on campus weren’t happy about it.

On April 4, 1906 nearly every UW student and most faculty members on campus signed a petition in a last-ditch effort to save football… and it worked. On April 6, 1906, the University of Wisconsin made a decision.

The school would work with its rivals to cancel all of its “championship (rivalry) games”, for the 1906 season. That included games against Michigan, Chicago and Minnesota. If those contracts could not be voided, then the University of Wisconsin was ready to cease all football activities. If Michigan, Chicago and Minnesota complied… the Wisconsin football season would be saved, but wouldn’t include rivalry games.

Here’s the “bulletin” given by the University of Wisconsin, to all major newspapers around the midwest, when it announced plans to abandon its football rivalry games in 1906.

I found the bulletin posted in the April 7, 1906 edition of the Minneapolis Star Tribune and the April 6, 1906 editions of the Minneapolis Journal and Wisconsin State Journal.

…continued:

“The faculty of the University of Wisconsin decided to negotiate with the universities of Chicago, Michigan and Minnesota with a view to the suspension for next year of intercollegiate football between the University of Wisconsin and three institutions.

“If such suspension cannot be accomplished, it was decided that no intercollegiate football be played by the University of Wisconsin next year.

“This action of the faculty was taken with a view of eliminating the evils due to the disproportionate emphasis upon athletics, and especially upon football, as an element in university life; to free athletics from the corruption which had appeared in football.

“In view of the fact that the most pronounced excesses and the greatest temptations to professionalism in athletics in the University of Wisconsin has appeared in connection with the hotly-contested championship games, it was determined to observe the effect of such a partial suspension for one year

“This plan will necessitate the abrogation of certain existing contracts with Minnesota and Michigan, but no doubt is entertained that these universities will be glad to co-operate with the University of Wisconsin in the experiment.

“The faculty also votes that all coaching football, baseball and track athletics shall be done only by members of the faculty engaged for the entire year.”

University of Wisconsin Bulletin (April 5, 1906)

So that was it… the Universities of Michigan and Minnesota agreed to let Wisconsin out of its football rivalries in 1906, but all three teams still played 5 games that season.

Minnesota and Michigan both finished 4-1. Minnesota lost to Carlisle College and the Wolverines lost their last game of that season, to Penn. Wisconsin went 5-0, beating the other three Western Conference teams on their schedule (Iowa, Illinois, Purdue), in addition to two non-major opponents (Lawrence, North Dakota).

Football Abolitionist Movement of 1909

The football abolitionists made one last attempt at removing the game from the American conscience in 1909, after a run of serious injuries made the average American cringe again. A Navy Quarterback named Edwin Wilson was paralyzed in a game vs Villanova. He would eventually die. Later that season, an Army tackle named Eugene Byrd died from injuries he suffered in a game vs Harvard. Then, a University of Virginia halfback (Archer Christian) died from a brain hemorrhage he suffered vs Georgetown a month later.

But the abolitionist movement failed again. Instead, a new batch of safety rules were adopted, and over the next decade, the game evolved into something that looks a lot more like the game we see today.

From 1909 to 1918, we saw the following rules enacted:

• Only 1 man allowed to go in motion before the ball is snapped.
• No pushing or pulling allowed on the ball-carrier, by teammates.
• Creation of “4th down” (1912)
• Implementation of “Roughing the Passer” (1914)
• Finally, the rules around forward passes were relaxed (1918)
• 6 points for a touchdown (instead of 5) and 3 points for field goals (instead of 4)
• The field shrunk to 100 yards (down from 110).
• “End zones” were added to the end of each side of the field (instead of just goal-lines).

So the next time someone blames Teddy Roosevelt for cancelling one of two Wisconsin vs Minnesota football games over the last 150 years, you remind them that the Badgers actually pussed out in 1906… and they shouldn’t blame a dead president for their own past fears.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

*Information came from various sources, including: onwisconsin.com, History.com and a University of Texas Thesis.

**1905-1906 Newspaper clips came from the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Minneapolis Journal, New York Times, and Wisconsin State Journal (all via Newspapers.com)

My early morning agitation is the farthest thing from my mind now though. It’s amazing, the power some of these necklaces hold. There are gold plated necklaces that fill important buildings all over the world. You couldn’t trade me any of those for this one, that could have been made with a used shoelace and some extra plastic you had lying around. This specific necklace has me behind the ESPN College GameDay set, snapping pictures of Kirk Herbstreit and a ridiculous on-looking Gopher crowd. This world I’ve created from my electronic devices is straight out of a fucking fairy tale. A little-kid, dreamed-up, fantasy-land fairy tale, that I’m now living out in my real-adult life, everyday.

5 minutes later, I don’t know it yet, but I’ve now stolen a cup of coffee from the Home Depot VIP lounge right behind us, that I thought was also for media members (spoiler: it wasn’t). Caleb, who is living the dream with me today, is tugging my coat and I don’t know why… “Here comes PJ”, he utters.

Here comes wh…. oh shit! After swinging my head around, fast enough to cause life-ending neck injuries, there’s no PJ… but something is clearly taking place.

‘VIEWS, ERIC. DON’T BE SELFISH OTHERS WANT TO SEE OUR SAVIOR TOO’

Phone up. This is what I’m here for. Lol, yup that’s Ryan Saunders and Pat McAfee too. What a world. What a life.

*TAP*

The savior has arrived. pic.twitter.com/aXyY4LA9UT

— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) November 30, 2019

Fast forward a few hours and we are up in the TCF Bank Stadium press box, prepping for why ESPN College GameDay is here in the first place: The biggest Gopher Football game in modern day football history. All of the hype and activities surrounding this game are just that… hype and activities. I’m a fan. Sometimes I find myself in these surreal moments, surprised, because I don’t think about them that often. I think about the teams I cover and what they have at stake, because I’m following them like I always have. Now, I just have thousands of people who enjoy following along with me. The Gophers winning this game today is what I’ve been thinking about all week.

40 minutes before game time, I decided to bring that preparation, and the electric TCF Bank Stadium environment, to the people. It was lit, if the kids are still saying that.

Last minute LIVE Gophers-Badgers cram session from down on the ELECTRIC TCF Bank Stadium field #RTB #WISvsMINN https://t.co/OTrOrtlPnw

— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) November 30, 2019

With the snow falling harder, as we inched ever closer to game time, the keys of this game were simple. Limit Jonathan Taylor (to whatever degree a team of only human beings are capable of limiting Jonathan Taylor), grease Wisconsin’s already buttery fingers, and find a way to stay balanced on offense, no matter the weather conditions. If the Gophers could do that, this game was theirs for the taking.

And oh fuck.. did they look like they were going to take this game right from the very beginning. On the first drive of the game, Tanner Morgan dropped back and Rashad Bateman ran a beautiful deep post route. He was rewarded with a beautiful deep post throw by his beautiful quarterback. We were off to the races… or so we thought.

It's gross out there in Minneapolis.

Someone forgot to tell @GopherFootball's lethal pass-catch duo. pic.twitter.com/v5QSMvzkV6

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) November 30, 2019

But then, during their 2nd drive on offense, after a dominant first defensive possession, Right Tackle, Daniel Faalele, went down with what looks like a serious leg injury. After he left the game, the Gopher offense was never the same. Suddenly, Tanner Morgan was under constant fire. It was ugly… like Sam Bradford when he played for the Vikings, ugly. He couldn’t even get through his drop back without having guys in his face. Combine that with a shotty run game… and the Gopher offense rode the struggle bus the rest of the first half.

Morgan threw a non-Tanner Morgan-like interception and they couldn’t take advantage of the 6th lost Badger fumble in their last 1.5 games. Wisconsin was able to muster 10 points, 6 of which came on this pretty ridiculous touchdown catch by (who else?) Jonathan Taylor… and the Gophers limped to halftime down 3 points, failing to put anything up after that first drive.

Jonathan Taylor is good at football.

That's it. That's the tweet.#OnWisconsin pic.twitter.com/1Q0e90z0k7

— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) November 30, 2019

Whole lotta football left to play. #WISvsMINN pic.twitter.com/0F0t8aWrMV

— Minnesota Football (@GopherFootball) November 30, 2019

The second half got a lot worse, before it got better and never got better. Wisconsin scored two more touchdowns in the 3rd quarter while the Gophers could only muster a field goal (if you are here to see more Wisconsin scoring highlights, you’re in the wrong fucking blog). The game was on the verge of getting out of control after that second Badger touchdown. Now down 14 points, with just over 5 minutes remaining in the 3rd quarter, it was time to put up a touchdown or start packing your bags for the Citrus Bowl or Outback Bowl. And, everyone in the stadium thought the Gophers were about to.

With time running out in the 3rd, the Gophers prepared to punch back. After a big run by Mo Ibrahim and another nice catch by Rashod Bateman, the Gophers were knocking on the door from the Badger 6-yard-line…. but they couldn’t punch it in. They were unable to run or pass for a score. The game was looking over at that point. Then, this screen pass on 3rd down set the nails in the Gopher coffin, before Jonathan Taylor pounded them in for a score on the ground. Now down 31-10, this one was about over.

How about the 3rd-down call?@garrettgro37 | @BadgerFootball pic.twitter.com/vUuZYPSv1l

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) November 30, 2019

A few more ugly offensive plays later, combined with more Badger points… and this one got out of hand in a hurry.

The Gophers got out-coached in this game and it started from the beginning. WE PLAYED SCARED…. which I wouldn’t have expected. On our second drive of the game, with a chance to go up 14-0 early, the Gophers faced a 4th and 1.5, from the Badger 35 yard line. We have gone for it, in this situation, all season long. We didn’t vs Wisconsin today. We ran the punt team on the field, took the delay of game because we were uncomfortably close to the Wisconsin end zone, and punted. The Badgers ended up fumbling on that drive but the tone was set. From there, Wisconsin was more aggressive and looked like the more multi-dimensional offense. They were running reverses on kicks and intricate screens combined with timely end-around plays on offense. They looked like the offense that the Gophers were supposed to bring into this game.

One team is throwing bombs and running reverses on kickoffs. The other has run the ball on 3rd and 10 twice and punted on 4th and 2 from the 33.

— Tyler George (@tgeorge1323) November 30, 2019

The final score was 38-17 and the result was an embarrassment in front of the entire nation. I’m going to stream the postgame press conferences, where I hope I get a chance to ask some of these questions I have, and then I’m going to go home and curl up into the fetal position, unsure when I will come out of my depression. This was a fairytale dream of a day… that suddenly turned to nightmare when the sun went down. When I collect my thoughts, I hope to come out with a blog on this team and season… that doesn’t make anyone want to drive off of I-35 on their way home.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

With another win and more positive energy surrounding the program, the Gophers are climbing up both the AP and Coaches Top-25 Polls:

Auburn rejoins the top 10 in the @AmwayUS Coaches Poll as Wisconsin tumbles after upset loss to Illinois. https://t.co/mx5GHHtae4 pic.twitter.com/XNfUtPreju

— USA TODAY Sports (@usatodaysports) October 20, 2019

POLL ALERT: Ohio State jumps Clemson to No. 3 behind Alabama, LSU in AP Top 25 presented by @askRegions; all five SEC teams in poll are in top 10.

Full poll: https://t.co/DWCBw9xytP

More AP college football: https://t.co/lyS9Elfx0c pic.twitter.com/PesL3BgsjC

— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) October 20, 2019

I’m not upset or ecstatic about where the Gophers landed for Week 9. I love the fact that they are in the rankings and I love the fact that they continue to move up the list. These are very important for recruiting. I don’t really care whether they are overrated or underrated on either list, though. The Gophers are still undefeated and they will have 3 major tests before playing any postseason football.

The 2020 season is almost undoubtedly a success already, unless something catastrophic happens between now and game 12. How big time the season ends up being and where the Gophers finish in the both Top-25 Polls, will be dictated by the final 3 of 4 weeks vs Penn State, Iowa, and Wisconsin. None of that matters right now, though. We saw how quickly your season can turn on its head when Illinois upset Wisconsin this weekend.

Right now, it’s Maryland season. We’ll wait until that season is over, before we start worrying about who comes to town after, where we end up in the rankings, or what bowl game we will play in.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

I hope you turned on the Big Ten Network today at 11 AM and sat your ass in front of the TV for 7 hours straight. If you did, then you got to see Wisconsin somehow lose to Illinois and afterwards, another convincing Gopher victory, this time over a really fucking bad Rutgers team. People laughed at SDSU and Fresno State earlier in the season… both of those teams would stomp on the 2019 Rutgers Scarlet Knights. It’s sad that they live in the Big Ten…

First, let’s talk about Wisconsin’s loss to the Illini. Jesus (Paul) Chryst, how does this happen? All of a sudden, Wisconsin forgot how to score or stop the run. This is a team that looked invincible leading up to this weekend.

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Once the Badgers got done losing to Illinois, the Gophers took care of Rutgers handily. I’m not going to go play by play or quarter by quarter because this game just got out of control. I’ll embed some highlights at the end of this blog. Here is what got me excited about today’s game.

• Casey O’Brien: Look, this moment was awesome. If you don’t know about the Casey O’Brien story, you can read more here. This kid is a fucking miracle and the fact that he is on the football field, no matter the position, is awesome. Also, he’s not some out of shape kid that they just let hang out. Casey O’Brien looks like a fucking football player. I know this first-hand. And, what more can you say about PJ Fleck? If you still hate this guy… it’s a “you” problem.. as this tweeter so perfectly puts it:

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There it is. Take in all this selfishness and egotistical madness… it’s hard to watch… https://t.co/9GygF7lqWA

— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) October 19, 2019

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• Rashod Bateman: Bateman is going to be a phenom. I don’t know how we are going to hold him here after next season, once he is eligible for the NFL Draft. If he continues on his current track, there’s no way he stays out of the 1st round with one more year under his belt. But don’t let that get you down. That’s what we want and we still have a lot of catches to celebrate before then.
• Bland Bland Bland: I wasn’t the only one to notice this. It was getting pointed out all over the place and Seth pointed it out on his radio show and on Minnesota Sports & Stuff weeks ago. The Gophers have had a very bland gameplan for a lot of the bad teams they have played. That could be a reason why those early non-conference games were so close and why they were a little slow to get going in this game. At the same time, you have to wonder if that bland play vs. bad teams, has played into any of the blowout performances they’ve put up against the better teams on their schedule.
• Antoine Winfield Jr.: This is another guy that I’m not sure we hold onto much longer. He put up another ridiculous performance today with 2 interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown. He damn-near recovered a fumble too. He is eligible for the draft after this season. With his performances, leadership, and family pedigree, I can’t imagine he’d last past day two in the draft, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he landed in the 1st either… Again, these are not problems. These things are absolutely unmeasurable when recruiting. Guys that are able to leave early for the draft… that doesn’t happen everywhere.

The Bad:

• Kamal Martin: After getting named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week last week, Kamal left this game on a cart. That was really the only negative to come out of this game…

The Gophers will now welcome Maryland to TCF Bank Stadium next weekend and the stakes have never been higher. They haven’t been 7-0 since the 60’s, when they were winning national titles and now they have a great chance to have Penn State at home with an 8-0 record (after a bye week), if they can win next weekend vs the Terrapins. What a year to cover Gopher Football…. what a year to be a fan!

Make sure you are ready to packe the Bank next weekend boys and girls! We have a Big Ten West Championship to win!

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

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Antoine Winfield's good at this.@AntoineWJr11 | @GopherFootball pic.twitter.com/GWM1ASZaJ4

— Minnesota on BTN (@MinnesotaOnBTN) October 19, 2019

Antoine Winfield's good at this.@AntoineWJr11 | @GopherFootball pic.twitter.com/GWM1ASZaJ4

— Minnesota on BTN (@MinnesotaOnBTN) October 19, 2019

Rashod Bateman is an impossible red zone cover.@R_bateman2 | @GopherFootball pic.twitter.com/1mUaHNfbGa

— Minnesota on BTN (@MinnesotaOnBTN) October 19, 2019

?@GopherFootball WR @R_bateman2 is a highlight machine.#BTNStandout x @AutoOwnersIns pic.twitter.com/CzvAOTxSb2

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) October 19, 2019

✅ Vision
✅ Agility
✅ Speed

Rodney Smith showed it all on this TD.@Numerouno1_ | @GopherFootball pic.twitter.com/sOdJ4GUVcl

— Minnesota on BTN (@MinnesotaOnBTN) October 19, 2019

You could say that Chris Williamson read this one the whole way.@Chris_Will8 | @GopherFootball pic.twitter.com/gwB9XPS3PT

— Minnesota on BTN (@MinnesotaOnBTN) October 19, 2019

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We’ve talked about this on our last two podcasts. If Ryan Burns (GopherIllustrated.com) and I can ever align our schedules again, I’ll be sure to get his thoughts on it too, during one of our next shows…

The 2020 Gopher recruiting class hasn’t grabbed the big names I had imagined this far along into the recruiting process. It’s looking awfully similar to the one from 2019, which fell short of Fleck’s rookie recruiting class of 2018.

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However just like in 2018 (with Dunlap, Faalele, and Bateman), Fleck has the chance to top off his class with talent that isn’t seen through the rest of the 20-ish commitments. But this time, they have one major competitor… and it’s our stinky neighbor to the East.

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This is a great opportunity for Fleck to kick Wisconsin while they are down and the Gophers have to be the running favorite to land both, currently. It doesn’t look like Notre Dame is highest on Jackson’s list anymore but Iowa State is still in the mix. However, if you see yourself as an elite WR talent, who is going to enter the Big Ten… are you going to choose Minnesota, under Fleck; following behind Corey Davis, Tyler Johnson, and Rashod Bateman, or are you going to go to Wisconsin, where they haven’t even thrown a pass in 13 seasons?

Nobody is willing to pull the trigger on a 247Sports Crystal Ball prediction yet for Jackson. But if they had to…. well, I’ll let the WISCONSIN writer, Evan Flood tell you what he thinks (out of his latest write up on the subject):

It’s believed that Jackson will choose between Minnesota and Wisconsin. Iowa State is there as well, but the main draw for the Cyclones seems to be distance from home. Right now, the momentum does seem to be with the Gophers, however. There’s talk that Jackson may return to Minneapolis after the dead period. We’ll hold off making a crystal ball prediction for now, but if we had to, it would be on Minnesota.

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via GIPHY

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And as for the Minnehaha Academy LB, Kaden Johnson… well, he’s already talked about wanting to take more visits and, as much as the Badgers wish they could land a beautiful Minnesotan like him, they’re likely getting pushy with Kaden so he signs before their class fills up. Flood even says that you can ignore his crystal ball on Johnson to WI, if it doesn’t happen in the next 2 weeks.

Although Johnson said on the record he wants to use more official visits, we do believe there’s potential for a decision in the near future. Should a week or two go by, you can disregard our crystal ball prediction as the battle will likely carry on, maybe into Johnson’s senior season as well. Right now, we’re just prepared in case something imminent does happen.

Why the fuck would you even call that crystal ball? It might be the flimsiest prediction in the history of recruiting. It sounds a lot like a Wisconsin writer who is worried about losing to Minnesota AGAIN, this time on the recruiting trail. But as long as Fleck stays in town, I have a feeling Badger fans will start getting used to it. We did.

Just think, if you would have let Fleck win the Cotton Bowl with Western Michigan… he might not even be here to ruin your lives for the foreseeable future..

Oh, and for the Gopher fans that want to use this article to throw things at Fleck… his worst classes are lightyears better than what Kill & Co. used to reel in…

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

P.S. If by any fucked up chance, Kaden Johnson ends up playing for the Badgers…. he’s dead to me. For obvious reasons. I don’t care your age or sensitivity. There are things you don’t do as a Minnesotan. Playing for the Badgers with a Gopher offer in hand is one of those things.

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SHUT THE FUCK UP PATRICK REUSSE!

SO WHERE SHOULD WE PUT THIS FUCKING STATUE?!?! #GOPHERS #SKIUMAH #RTB pic.twitter.com/Kmxm4UOepR

— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) November 25, 2018

Sorry… I just wrote an article this morning that included thoughts about not letting guys like Patrick Reusse get to Gopher Fans and Fleck apologists but when the Gophers beat the fuck out of the Wisconsin Badgers tonight while you eat and drink beer at Buffalo Wild Wings, articles like this can get out of hand.

I’m still in a state of shock. I admitted it to Toups, while we watched the game together and threw a few beers back, but while I was defending PJ Fleck and writing an article about him beating Wisconsin earlier this morning, honest Eric Strack would admit that I didn’t really see this upset coming. Not that I didn’t think Wisconsin was beatable like I wrote, because I did, but I just expected Minnesota to be Minnesota.

But Minnesota wasn’t Minnesota. And we can thank PJ for that. I wish I were with Reusse so I could see him shove that turkey leg up his ass.

But at the end of the day, I am just glad that the offseason won’t be filled with my articles and Twitter arguments about why PJ Fleck is still the right guy for this job. Good luck arguing that we should fire the coach after two seasons where he, in his second year, beat Wisconsin in Camp Randall and finished 6-6 with a bowl game.

The future is bright… because of PJ.

Eric Strack
Minnesota Sports Fan

Follow @realmnsportsfan

Gopher football fans have had an interesting few weeks. They were bent over by a terrible Illinois team, sending critics into a frenzy and PJ Fleck apologists into hiding, eventually leading to defensive coordinator Robb Smith being fired. But then, they rose from the ashes to curb stomp a rolling Purdue team the next week. Out came the apologists, into hiding went the critics, and out came the Superman cape for new DC, Joe Rossi.

So, enter last weekend vs the Big Ten West Champs: – Northwestern @ TCF Bank – The Gophers were actually favored going into this game. Insanity.

So, now what?

The haters are running amuck. It’s ugly out there right now for PJ. Predictably, the sensitive Gopher fan base is fighting back. Let’s start with the haters. There’s no bigger troll in the Twin Cities than Patrick Reusse. And, it just so happens he hates PJ Fleck. Reusse is also the writer who picks out the Turkey of the Year for the Star Tribune, which is just him labeling one sports figure in town as the biggest failure of the year. Sadly, it’s become a pretty big deal in its 40 or whatever years of existence.

It was the perfect storm.

Before I move on to why I actually sat down to write this article, I’ll stick up for the Gopher fans out there who were triggered by Pat.

The fact that Reusse picked ANYONE over Jimmy Butler, who just ruined the Timberwolves franchise for the next 10 years, means that he’s either as blind to Jimmy Butler’s bullshit as Tom Thibodeau or (the more likely scenario) that he just likes to trigger Gopher fans and hate on PJ Fleck.

Me personally? I fucking love PJ Fleck. I’ve been in the boat since the first article I read on him. Gopher fans, you can’t listen to people like Reusse and Jim Souhan from the Star Tribune. They are the original trolls. Before Twitter, there was Reusse and Souhan. It’s laughable that so many fans/writers, who have been ok with 50 years of shitty Gopher football, now demand excellence from Fleck, after 2 seasons.

I don’t trigger that easily. Souhan, on the other hand…

Remember kids, bullies aren’t usually that tough when confronted.

Let’s move on to why I’m writing this.

Beat the family-copulating Badgers Saturday and shove the Ax up Reusse’s ass

I got a little distracted up there. My fingers and heart sometimes work against my brain when I sit down to type things. This is a “PJ Fleck turns the narrative” piece.

Has this season been disastrous for Fleck? No. Does he need a win this weekend to keep his job? Fuck no.

Fleck gets more undeserved hate in this state than anyone not named Joe Mauer. All he has done is come here and tell everyone that Minnesota is good enough to win a national championship. That this state is great enough to get the best recruits. That we have everything we need here to compete with the top schools and programs around the country.

Ooh… what a terrible fucking person.

The Wisconsin Badgers are beatable this year. They aren’t the reliable Badgers that have beaten the Gophers 14 straight times. They are getable this time around. Our disgusting neighbors have the 4th-best rushing team in the country so you have to slow down RB-Jonathan Taylor to have a shot. On top of that, we’ll have to play a mistake-free game. But it can happen.

Wisconsin has struggled with good teams. They got beat handily by Michigan, Northwestern, and Penn State, while struggling to beat Purdue last week. They also lost to BYU earlier this year. The only really good win they have on their 2018 resume is vs Iowa. Again… beatable.

If PJ can bring the Axe back to campus we’ll go from running him out-of-town to building him a fucking statue.

Eric Strack
Minnesota Sports Fan

Follow @realmnsportsfan