Benster and D Pick Your Games----We Need To Talk Edition

 We need to talk about what happened in the Axe game last week, and I have words. But I need to sharpen some things first. Longtime readers of this feature know what is coming up at the end of the post. 

So do longtime contributors. Uh-oh. Are you going to be upsetting Brad again?

Uh, maybe? Even though the Packers are on bye, there still are two games that most of the fanbase are going to care about. 

Wait, we have a fanbase? Cool!

I am feeling the HYYYYYYYPPEEEE! and it is time to watch me work.

Michigan Hail To the Victors (-10.5) vs. Iowa Hawkeyes, in Indy The last time the Wolverines beat A School in Columbus, I was in high school and getting ready to go to Camp Randall for the first time. Hard to believe it was 10 years ago. Michigan looked mighty impressive in doing so, and it was a display of power football that Bo would have been mighty proud of. Iowa may have gotten into this game via the backdoor, but they have nothing to lose. They were the most consistent team in the Big Ten West this year when you look at it objectively. All of the pressure is on Jim Harbaugh to follow up on last week. Michigan should win, but Iowa will hang around for 2-3 quarters. Michigan 31, Iowa 17.

Actually, that sounds about right. Iowa will not be embarrassed, but based on what I've observed this year, I don't think there's much chance Michigan will lose. Michigan 29, Iowa 16.

Georgia Bulldogs (-6.5) vs. Alabama Crimson Tide, in Atlanta In the interest of full disclosure, I haven't seen a single Georgia game all year. But they are the best team in the country. Being the undisputed number 1 in the polls for so long is historically great, and something that lots of the greatest teams in the sport haven't accomplished. But what Georgia hasn't been able to do is beat Alabama under Kirby Smart, and the Bulldogs have struggled in Atlanta. So I would expect what is going to be a very pro Bulldog crowd to be very nervous. A Georgia win would make everything fairly clear-cut in terms of the top 4, and I would imagine that there are a lot of Domers and Cowboys rooting for the Bulldogs. Georgia 35, Alabama 10.

I've seen parts of Georgia games, but I know their calling card is defense. Alabama is a high-scoring team, but they lack the defensive muscle they've had in previous seasons. I also think it's time they don't participate in the playoff, so I want to see Georgia finish them off. I believe they will. Georgia 38, Alabama 23.

Houston Cougars (+10.5) vs. Cincinnati Bearcats This game isn't just the biggest game in the history of both Nipper.t Stadium and the Cincinnati Bearcats. This game is going to impact how teams from outside the Power 5 are going to be viewed going forward. I've been a big believer in Cincinnati since I saw the tail end of their game in South Bend. They are a legit football team, and have earned their ticket to the Big 12. But Houston won't be a pushover. I can clearly see that their fanbase is thinking that everyone expects Cincinnati to roll over them, and they want to spoil the party. Dana Holgerson got pushed out unfairly by West Virginia, which is ironic considering that Houston is also getting into the Big 12. I want Cincinnati to win. It would be best for the sport because if a team is good enough, give them a fair shot. If all of these power programs think they are better than Cincinnati, then why don't they play them and prove it on the field? Cincy 56, Houston 24.

If Cincinnati wins, they deserve a shot in the playoffs. Let's see how they compete. Bearcats 31, Cougars 14.

Minnesota Vikings (-7) vs. Detroit LOLions The Vikings couldn't get it done in the Bay Area, and are now looking at a spell without Dalvin Cook lining up in the backfield. The good news for the Vikings is that they have a pretty soft schedule down the stretch, with their only tough game being the rematch against the Packers in Lambeau. The LOLions are a team that will hang in there, and people forget that the Vikings needed a walk off field goal to win in October up here. I'll say what I said in October. If the Vikings aren't careful, they are walking straight into a trapdoor. LOLions Gonna LOLions 24, Vikings 10.

Uh, no. Vikings 28, Lions 16.

Arizona Cardinals (-7.5) vs. Bear Down Chicago Da Bearz Still Suck This is going to be one of those games that I really hate. Because the Packers are fighting with the Cardinals for the top seed in the NFC, I'm going to have to root for the Bears. I'm going to be doing this while wearing a hazmat suit with a strong need to take a shower after the game. It's just wrong, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. Arizona is a great team, but I wonder if they are mentally strong enough to avoid another collapse. Thankfully the NFC West is a complete dumpster fire behind them, with at best a deeply flawed Rams team the only real competition for Arizona. Da Bearz need to address the offensive line before Justin Fields gets seriously hurt. A win would go a long way to save the jobs of Matt Nagy and Ryan Pace. As a Packers fan, I feel those two have done a fantastic job with the Bears, and need to be given extensions. Moving to Arlington Heights changes nothing, and even delusional Bears fans know it deep down. Da Bearz Still Suck 28, Cardinals 19.

Obligatory:

Crown their asses! I miss Denny. We're a long time past all that, but da Bearz still are who we thought they were. Cardinals 33, da Bearz 24.

And now, time for a Very Special Comment. I'm not upset that the Badgers didn't play well enough to win. I'm not upset that the Gophers played Jump Around after the game. As trolling goes, I've seen worse this year. In fact, if one thing didn't happen at the end of the game, I wouldn't even have considered doing this. What really bothered me was P.J. celebrating the replay reversal with a minute left like he had won the Big Ten title. Dude, it was a two score game at that point, and you were going to win anyway. It's like he wants the cameras on his face after every single play. The guy draws attention to himself, and acts like he is the savior of Gophers football. He isn't, and I will explain why. 

Jerry Kill ripped Fleck a new one a couple of years ago in an interview when asked about what he thought about Fleck's work with the Gophers. Jerry Kill did a lot for the Gophers. He and Tracy Claeys lifted the program out of the dumpster fire that Tim Brewster created. The Gophers under Kill and Claeys won 8-9 games, won bowl games, and took the Gophers to a New Years Day Bowl game. Kill also pushed for construction of Athlete's Village, which Fleck gets to sell to recruits. The Gophers have more money coming in under the Big Ten media rights deal, which means that Fleck has more resources to work with. Kill and Claeys also recruited the "Empire Class" of recruits in 2016, who played a major role as upperclassmen in the 2019 team that was so successful. Fleck came in and said that the Gophers were in "Year Zero", and mentioned a need to change the culture. The Gophers finished that year 9-4, with a record of 5-4 in conference play. They also won the Holiday Bowl against a good Washington State team. That's really disrespectful to Jerry Kill, a man who hired Fleck when he was a young coach and helped Fleck get the Western Michigan job. Kill didn't cover himself in glory by taking shots at Fleck's personal life, but still. The Gophers also had a similar level of success under Glen Mason. 

On Wednesday, I took a trip to the Mall of America to hang out. There is a Goldy's Locker Room, which is an official store selling Gophers gear. There was only one shirt that had the Row The Boat Mantra. That's interesting, because the official social media has been pushing the Row The Boat brand hard. On the Gopher YouTube channel, there are videos explaining what Fleck's sayings are, and on the Gopher football Twitter account, there is an image celebrating 7 years of Row The Boat Culture from 2019. That's right, an official Twitter account of a football team celebrating accomplishments that were done at another school. I've never seen a team push the brand of a coach who isn't an elite coach by any stretch and celebrate achievements as much as the Gophers have under Fleck. Have you ever heard Fleck mention any of the past greats of Gopher football or praise the proud tradition the Gophers have? I haven't, and I'm from here. 

Finally, coaches other than Kill have made clear their displeasure with P.J.'s constant references to his culture. Kirk and Brian Ferentz have been vocal about how they feel Fleck uses his tactics. That's damning, because the two of them are pretty calm and collected. When Kirk uses all of his timeouts last year, that's a sign that he doesn't like Fleck. It's been rumored that Jeff Brohm of Purdue doesn't like Fleck, and Scott Frost mentioned his dislike of "sloganeering" at the conference media days last summer. Look, you are going to run into a coach or two who doesn't like you. I've named 5 coaches who don't like Fleck, and this is in a conference where the coaches generally don't call each other out in public. 

So what's my point? My point is that Fleck has been selling his culture, when the culture at Minnesota in my lifetime wasn't broken, and that you can win at Minnesota in football. And I know that the Row The Boat schtick isn't meant for me. I also don't blame the players at Minnesota or the fans for eating it up. They want success, and I'd do the same if I were in their shoes. But I'm not buying what Fleck is selling. When Fleck leaves, the Gophers will have to build their own brand again. Seriously, most outsiders think of Row The Boat when they hear about Gopher football. 

Enjoy your football this weekend. Ben out.