People may debate this, but that was the all-time low-ebb in Gopher Football History.
In a way, it did serve a positive function: It woke up even the most asleep people at the U as to just how
bad the program had fallen behind. Sure, Nebraska had one of their best teams that year, but 84 points was
beyond sobering.
It is correct to say that Salem was a fine coach who was given very little to work with. Let's go back to the late 1970's....
The Big 10 was coming out of the "Big Two and Little Eight" period as the league opened up multiple teams to accept bowl bids.
The result of far more better teams and better league-wide competition should have been anticipated by the U, but it was
not (although Purdue, Wisconsin, Iowa and the rest seized on it).
By comparison, Salem had almost nothing to work with. His assistants were very sparsely compensated and were lured away
by other schools at the first opportunity. He had constant changeover, very little in the way of facilities, and the team left
campus for the Dome.
Basically, he had the rug pulled out from under him. His 6-5 season in 1981 should be the stuff of legend when taken into
proper context. Many new-era Gopher fans do not really appreciate just how bad the support was for football for many
decades. The fact that the program accomplished anything at all is just this side of miraculous. Again, you pay Chevette
dollars, you get a Chevette. You cannot buy a Cadillac with Chevette dollars, however.
Let's all hope and pray that 84-13, or something like that, does not happen this Saturday. I think we all know the state
of the program currently and just how fragile the team is. Let's hope for a solid and spirited performance from Kill and his team!