Best Play Down The Stretch Since 1985

[IceBoxGopher]

So the Gophers have two games left on the season having just lost game 10. Means there's a chance to end the season on a high note at 2-1 going to the bowl.

It had me wondering what are the best finishes to seasons down the stretch. I went back and looked. Here are the seasons Minnesota finished 2-1 or better in the final three games.

• 1986, 2-1, Defeated Wisconsin 27-20, defeated No. 2 Michigan 20-17, lost to Iowa 30-27. Lost Liberty Bowl to Tennessee
• 1999, 3-0, Defeated No. 2 Penn State 24-23, defeated Indiana 44-20, defeated Iowa 25-21. Lost Sun Bowl to Oregon
• 2003, 2-1, Defeated Indiana 55-7, defeated Wisconsin 37-34, lost to No. 20 Iowa, 40-22. Won Sun Bowl Vs. Oregon
• 2005, 2-1, Defeated Indiana 42-21, defeated Michigan State 41-18, lost to Iowa, 52-28. Lost Music City Bowl to Virginia
• 2006, 3-0, Defeated Indiana 63-26, defeated Michigan State 31-18, defeated Iowa 34-24. Lost Insight Bowl to Texas Tech
• 2018, 2-1, Defeated Purdue 41-10, lost to Northwestern 24-14, defeated Wisconsin 37-15. Won Quick Lane Bowl Vs. Georgia Tech
• 2020, 2-1, Defeated Purdue 34-31, defeated Nebraska 24-17, lost to Wisconsin. No bowl
• 2021, 2-1, Lost to No. 20 Iowa 27-22, defeated Indiana 35-14, defeated No. 14 Wisconsin 23-13. Won Rate Bowl Vs. West Virginia
• 2022, 2-1, Defeated Northwestern 31-3, lost to Iowa 13-10, defeated Wisconsin 23-16. Won Pinstripe Bowl Vs. Syracuse

Of those seasons, these were the years where the Gophers finished the last four at 3-1. All others were 2-2

• 1999, 3-1, lost to No. 18 Purdue 33-28 before beating Penn State
• 2003, 3-1, defeated Illinois, 36-10 before beating Indiana
• 2006, 3-1, lost to No. 1 Ohio State 44-0 before beating Indiana
• 2022, 3-1, defeated Nebraska, 20-13 before beating Northwestern

 

[The Deliberate Stranger]

About to say I think we went 5-1 in 2022, wins over Rutgers, NW, Nebraska, Wisconsin and Syracuse. Lost to Iowa

 

[Gophergrandpa]

Most common factor seems to be losing to Iowa …