For 2023 [Year 7] to be Deemed a Success

[Dupreefor3]

It's very simple! Beat IA, WI and NE, AND beat at least three P5 teams who finish the season with winning records. Is that too f--king much to ask?? Ostensibly, this goal could be met by going 3-9 if the aforementioned Three Stooges end up with winning records and we beat all three, but that probability is nil. No, if we do both of the previously mentioned items, 2023 will end well and we'll be looking good for 2024. Are there even living Gopher fans that have seen us win in Kinnick? It's time and an 0-7 mark vs. the hogs for genuFleck is absolutely unacceptable.

I was there in 1999

 

[Dupreefor3]

No shit, huh! No doubt that a 7-5 season with an empty trophy case will find you here again in January 2024 leading the sugar coat brigade.

Definitely not what comes to mind when describing SON

 

[PMWinSTP]

I don’t like Wooty

Wooty gone.

 

[PMWinSTP]

Injuries notwithstanding, another top 10 defense and 1000+ rusher, plus a 1000+ receiver (for the first time in a few years) would be a good sign, regardless of the record at the end of the season. Records can be dumb. Schedule is tough next year. Fleck has a long leash with me if those items are achieved because that's a sign of consistency and progress, even if the record is less than desirable.

Those three things alone would probably mean an 8-9 win regular season.

 

[cjbfbp]

It's very simple! Beat IA, WI and NE, AND beat at least three P5 teams who finish the season with winning records. Is that too f--king much to ask??

Yes, the 8 year loss streak to Iowa is depressing but the Gophers beat three P5 teams with winning records (Wisconsin, Purdue, and Maryland) in 2021. Like many people who post here your memory isn't so great. I'd recommend doing a little research before you post.

 

[GopherJack]

I dunno.....I'm feeling a 7-5 season coming on. With our tough schedule, I'll take it. More wins than 7 is just icing on the cake for me.

 

[cjbfbp]

For me, it's pretty simple:

9+ wins: good season
8 wins: success
7 wins: meh
6 and under: failure

I think that's a good rule of thumb on average for a program like ours but one must consider the schedule in preseason expectations. On paper, next year is the toughest schedule we've had since 2015 (a losing season) and Michigan is a better team now than it was then. I also think it depends upon whether your referenced season is 12 or 13 games. Mine is always 13 games.

I think 9 wins (including a bowl game in the season) would be a very good showing with next year's schedule and a 7-5 regular season would not be too bad at all. I'm not too concerned about the skill players, defensive backs, and defensive line but I'm less comfortable about the offensive line (perhaps the most critical component of a Fleck team) and possibly the linebackers.

 

[PMWinSTP]

I think that's a good rule of thumb on average for a program like ours but one must consider the schedule in preseason expectations. On paper, next year is the toughest schedule we've had since 2015 (a losing season) and Michigan is a better team now than it was then. I also think it depends upon whether your referenced season is 12 or 13 games. Mine is always 13 games.

I think 9 wins (including a bowl game in the season) would be a very good showing with next year's schedule and a 7-5 regular season would not be too bad at all. I'm not too concerned about the skill players, defensive backs, and defensive line but I'm less comfortable about the offensive line (perhaps the most critical component of a Fleck team) and possibly the linebackers.

I always base my win expectations on the regular season. Also think the O-line stays the same or gets a bit better, and the LB group gets better.

 

[cjbfbp]

I always base my win expectations on the regular season.

I don't know why. If a Big Ten team wins 6 games in the regular season, a 13th game is virtually assured. Some games matter more than others but all games matter and one could argue that, as the last game and memory of the season, the bowl game matters more than most.

 

[PMWinSTP]

I don't know why. If a Big Ten team wins 6 games in the regular season, a 13th game is virtually assured. Some games matter more than others but all games matter and one could argue that, as the last game and memory of the season, the bowl game matters more than most.

I look at wins after that as a bonus. Just how I set my expectations.

 

[bleedsmaroonandgold]

Win the division, or win at least 9 games (the bowl can count towards the 9) while finishing with at least two of the three trophies.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

No shit, huh! No doubt that a 7-5 season with an empty trophy case will find you here again in January 2024 leading the sugar coat brigade.

to clarify. my post was NOT listing what I would see as a "success."

I was laying out my best guess/opinion for what will actually happen. The Gophers went 8-4 in the regular season in '22. in '23 they will be playing a tougher schedule without arguably the best RB in program history. I don't think it's crazy to suggest that they might finish 7-5 playing a harder schedule.

if they finish better than that, great!

as far as the whole "success" thing - I feel that can only be determined after the season. Unless you can tell me right now who is going to be injured, and which games they will miss. If the team has multiple key injuries, 7-5 could very well be seen as a success - given the circumstances.

 

[gopherbadgerman]

Injuries notwithstanding, another top 10 defense and 1000+ rusher, plus a 1000+ receiver (for the first time in a few years) would be a good sign, regardless of the record at the end of the season. Records can be dumb. Schedule is tough next year. Fleck has a long leash with me if those items are achieved because that's a sign of consistency and progress, even if the record is less than desirable.

But records are how you judge a team right?

 

[The SF Rock]

11-1 and beating a good SEC team in the bowl game. Top 10 finish. It is time. It is our time.

 

[mngg11]

But records are how you judge a team right?

They can be, but in terms of my personal judgement of how to deem 2023 a successful season, as the thread states, I'll use those benchmarks as a determinant if the record is causing a general gnashing of teeth. I refuse to follow the doom and gloom that's consistent with Minnesota sports fans. I'll find realistic, quantitative examples to find silver linings when things seem worse than they actually are. I don't fault people who refuse to accept x number of wins or losses, but I won't become that person myself. Life is too short to be mad all the time.

 

[Spoofin]

Win the West.

 

[alaska]

Big Ten West title. Period. Nothing else would be "successful" at this point and would feel like a let down. This is what needs to happen for a successful year. Tell me im off...

Thursday Aug. 31		Nebraska Cornhuskers Huntington Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, MN		WIN
Saturday Sep. 9		Eastern Michigan EaglesHuntington Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, MN		WIN
Saturday Sep. 16		at North Carolina Tar HeelsKenan Memorial Stadium, Chapel Hill, NC		WIN
Saturday Sep. 23		at Northwestern WildcatsRyan Field, Evanston, IL		WIN
Saturday Sep. 30		Louisiana Ragin' CajunsHuntington Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, MN		WIN
Saturday Oct. 7		Michigan WolverinesHuntington Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, MN		LOSE
Saturday Oct. 14		OFF
Saturday Oct. 21		at Iowa HawkeyesKinnick Stadium, Iowa City, IA		WIN
Saturday Oct. 28		Michigan State SpartansHuntington Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, MN		WIN
Saturday Nov. 4		Illinois Fighting IlliniHuntington Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, MN		WIN
Saturday Nov. 11		at Purdue BoilermakersRoss-Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, IN		WIN
Saturday Nov. 18		at Ohio State BuckeyesOhio Stadium, Columbus, OH		LOSE
Saturday Nov. 25		Wisconsin BadgersHuntington Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, MN		WIN

 

[Ogee Ogilthorpe]

Given the schedule, losses on offense and defense, new assistants and OC, and traditional rivalries getting upgrades in staffs and players I would say ask me when the season is over.

I doubt anyone asks you, whether it's before or after the season.