Oh, you got me. He did say 8-10 (talking about the regular season), but he also said this is "our best team", that they'd be disappointed if they weren't vying for the West in late November, and that the winner of the division would possibly have 2 losses. Unless he expected to lose to Oregon St, Indiana St, or Colorado St, that would seem to suggest that the worst they could do to win the West would be 10-2.
He didn't guarantee anything, but he was more optimistic about this team than any preceding team that he had been involved in and the schedule was notably easier. So what would you expect with that kind of rhetoric? I think most people expected that he was suggesting the best record in the last 6 years, which he achieved. But, to the point that I was making, had the Offense performed better, the Gophers may have hit 10 regular season wins. Beside our running backs, it didn't play well. The defense carried the team and won the bowl game.