You are going to have up and down seasons regardless. I think if you can start beating Wisconsin, Iowa and Nebraska on a more frequent and consistent basis, that will change the dynamics of the Gopher football program considerably. To think that this program has only beaten their top rival 2 times in the last 22 years is pretty sad. For as successful as Glen Mason was at Minnesota, he was just 2-8 against Wisconsin in his 10 years. Heck, Jim Wacker even had 2 wins against Wisconsin.
If you are going to change the culture of the program and take that next step, you need to start by beating your rivals Wisconsin, Iowa, and Nebraska more consistently. And beating teams like Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan when you have opportunities to do so. Those are the wins that are going to get your program some attention.
You can win 9 games every year, but unless you start beating some ranked opponents or your rivalry/trophy games, it's not going to get you very far as a program. There was a reason why the 9-4 Gophers were not ranked last year.
Minnesota plays for 3 of the most prestigious trophies in college football, it's time to start winning some of these trophies back! And that's not even counting the broken chair trophy