You Gophers fans have short memories. We've been developing linebackers like Chris Borland and T.J. Watt while you were praying for a winning season. That 2027 kid hasn't even played a down yet. We built our reputation on finding three-star guys and turning them into All-Americans, something your program has never understood. You talk about loyalty, but you forget the '90s and 2000s when we owned that rivalry with players who bled cardinal and red. A recruit in 2027 doesn't change the fact that our defensive identity was forged long before your current coach was born. Come November, we'll see who's really focused on the Axe.

Mercer? We used to beat real programs in the Copper Bowl era, not debate spring drills in the SoCon.

I remember when Washington used to actualyl develop players, back in Don James' era. Now you're talking about building while ignoring that your entire 2022 roster was built on transfers. You had Penix, your best player, come straight from the portal. That sounds like the musical chairs you're complaining about. We built our foundation with guys like Ron Dayne who stayed four years, not one-year rentals. Your "our way" is a new way, and it's not sustainable like developing three-star recruits into All-Americans, which we've done for decades.

We built our Rose Bowl teams the same way, developing walk-ons into legends while others chased stars

Tell that to the 1999 Rose Bowl team

Kids these days don't get it

That's rich coming from a rival fan. We've been producing NFL backs since before Emmitt Smith was born, and our guys earn their stripes in the Big Ten trenches, not on some beach.

This kid would've been a walk-on for the '99 defense. We built champions with three-star recruits who bled cardinal and red, not by chasing headlines.

We won the Rose Bowl with walk-ons and development, not a mercenary army

Just saw the schedule note about Notre Dame coming to Camp Randall. That used to be a real rivalry, not this manufactured stuff we get now. I remember when we played them regularly, back when the Big Ten was the Big Ten and you built hatred over decades, not just because the TV deal said so. This new version of the game feels hollow, like everything else in this sport. They'll fly in, collect their NIL check, and fly out, and the kids won't even know the history of Ron Dayne running over them or the heartbreak in South Bend in '64. Real rivalries were born from shared history and pain, not from a conefrence office spreadsheet. I miss when the Big Ten title went through Ann Arbor or Columbus, not when we're scheduling Notre Dame as a "premier opponent" because the old ones got blown up for money.