Jeremy: Gophers Zig; Mason Zags

Indiana head football coach Gerry DiNardo had plenty to say after his over-matched Hoosier team beat the Gophers 30-21 on Saturday. Talking about how much fun it is to win. Talking about how his team played a good football game against a good football team. Talking about how proud he is of his football team.
Glen Mason? Yeah, he had some things to say too... about Indiana. "You have to give their defensive players credit. They were in position and they made tackles."
Mason, apparently a new fan of the Hoosiers, went on to say "I've always said you get what you deserve."
It's hard to say if our boy Mase was talking about the Hoosiers, who outplayed an opponent who has much more talent, a more high-profile coaching staff and a better record; or his own team. So the question is: What do the Gophers deserve?
Of course, the possibility also remains that he could have been talking about himself. What does Mason deserve?
At this point the Gophers deserve about exactly what they are getting. They do not deserve to be considered for a high-profile bowl game. They do not deserve to be considered as a threat to beat anybody in any game they enter. And, they do not deserve to be favored over, or even considered a close contender with, either of their next two opponents: Wisconsin & Iowa. I'm not even sure they deserve to be considered for a bowl game at all. But they also do not deserve the majority of the blame for the fact that this season is a complete loss and we haven't even played our two biggest opponents yet.
What they do deserve, however, is a head football coach who can get them ready to play, who can win the big game, and who is willing to take the heat when he and his staff fail to set their incredibly talented team up for success.
As for Coach Mason, he does not deserve the talent that surrounds him. He personally deserves every bit of criticism that his team is currently taking for his failings. He deserves every ounce of heat that he is personally taking for his team being a complete joke right now. And mostly, he deserves to be shown the door by Athletic Director Joel Maturi. (And don't let it hit you in the rear on your way out, Glendolyn.)
I will continue to thank Glen Mason for bringing this program out of the absolute cellar of the Big 10. I will continue to thank him for allowing us as fans to enjoy a few low-profile bowl games over the last couple of years. And I will continue to thank him for being able to convince guys like Barber, Maroney & Cupito to come play for a program that hasn't had anything to play for in a very long time.
But I will also continue to hold the view that his time has passed. He has done what we needed him to do, and now it is time for Gopher football to move on.
Do you see how close we are? Do you see how close this offense is to being absolutely unstoppable? Do you see how a solid game plan every week would make this team downright scary? Do you see how a head coach who knows how to win, knows how to motivate college men, and knows how to adjust when his boys are down could carry this program to year in and year out respectability?
It's all we want as Gopher fans. We want to be competitive every week against every team we play. We want to know that we have a chance to beat Ohio State and Michigan. (Heck, at this point we'd be happy to know we can beat the worst teams in the Big 10.) We want to know that we have a shot at the Rose Bowl. We want to be respected by other teams and other coaches and we want to feel confident about faithfully cheering for the Gophers every single week.
We don't have this with Mason. We never will.
But still, nice game Hoosiers! Right Glen?

p.s. The Florida Gator faithful started a web-site calling for the firing of Coach Ron Zook. Did it work? Well, Zook is out at the end of the season. Could this work with Mason? WHO'S WITH ME!?!?!?!?!

Another p.s.: To be fair, Mason did say this in a Star-Tribune article: "I need to do a better job. I am not getting the job done. Coach Mason is not getting the job done." But if you read the entire article he still goes on to say that his team isn't executing. I still have trouble blaming anybody but the coach when a team so talented is said to have a lack of execution.