Osler's Razor

Michigan 58
Minnesota 0

Ouch!

Things are looking pretty bad for Goldy the Gopher and his pals these days. Not long ago, I got to see the Golden Gophers lose to a terrible New Mexico State team, and things have gone downhill from there.

Last weekend, the Gophers were pasted by Michigan. Here are some of the humiliations they suffered here in the hometown Minneapolis Star Tribune:

1) They were described as embodying "Minnesota Nice." (especially re tackling)

2) The defense was said to have been simply "ignored" by the Michigan offense, as they offered the type of resistance one usually gets from "cones," and that they seemed to want to "negotiate individually with each ball carrier."

3) The scoreboard was described as resembling a "telethon tote board."

4) Again on the tackling: "Like they were playing flag football."

Of course, I have been through this before, as a season-ticket holder for Baylor football from 2000-2009. And, I have to say, Coach Kill of Minnesota seems to have been studying the Guy Moriss media handbook. Here is what he said after the Gophers' worst loss in 116 years of Big 10 conference play:

Afterward, a philosophical Kill likened his program to a "broken-down company" that he's trying to make profitable.

"When you don't have a lot of success, sometimes you come apart instead of moving together," Kill said. "That's part of the trial-and-error process of turning around a program. It's frustrating for everybody. It's frustrating for me, it's frustrating for the kids."

So, I'm choosing to look at it this way-- if they are like Baylor 2002 now, I have Baylor 2011 to look forward to!