In the grand scheme of an 18-game Big Ten season, each contest counts exactly the same in the simplest of ways. Either you win or lose, a column is marked, and you live to play another day. Coaches navigate seasons by attempting to make players believe that there is no visceral difference in any of the games.

To do that, however, means believing a lie — and everyone knows it’s true. There are games that define seasons, that set up a potential domino effect for future performances and create perceptions, for better or worse, about a team. We believe the Gophers at Wisconsin tonight is one of those games — is clearly more than just one of 18. Madison has been a house of horrors for the Gophers in recent years, primarily because they lacked the mental toughness, defensive acumen, in-game savvy and overall skill to hang with Wisconsin.

That is not the case this year. Both teams are 3-1 in the conference. Beyond that, though, this is a statement game — win in Madison and the Gophers can win anywhere. Lose tonight and suddenly an early February swing through Columbus and East Lansing becomes even more daunting. Win tonight and fans start thinking (even if it might be premature) about Big Ten title contention. Lose tonight, and the wheels don’t fall off but more realistic expectations set in (like 11-7 in the conference and a modest NCAA seed). Either way, tonight, we shall know for sure what this team is made of by around 10 p.m.

At least that’s how we see it. We submit, then, a couple of talkers for you:

1) Agree or disagree that this game is as big as we’re making it out to be?

2) Search your brain for other examples of “what this team is made of” games you can remember from Minnesota teams in years past, win or lose.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 15th, 2009 at 11:41 am and is filed under Main. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.