Gophers vs. Badgers - years ending in three

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Found this little tidbit quite interesting for my "Four Downs" post on our gopher blog. Since its 2013, it means we've got a tremendous (copyright Tim Brewster) chance of winning Saturday! Hooray obscure stats!

"Not only do our beloved Gophes lead the all-time series by a narrow margin (58-56-8) but when you take a close look at the calendar, it's clear 2013 will be our year. Since the rivalry began in 1890, the Badgers have only defeated the Gophers ONCE in a year that ends in three. The Gophers hold a 9-1-2 edge in that category.

The Badgers only victory in a year ending in three came in 1983, when I was two. The two tied in 1923 (0-0) and 1953 (21-21), with the Gophers controlling the rest of the series. Minnesota won in 1893 (40-0), 1903 (17-0), 1913 (21-3), 1933 (6-3), 1943 (25-13), 1963 (14-0), 1973 (19-17), 1993 (28-21) and 2003 (37-34).

I started looking this random, wacky stat up because I knew off the top of my head we had beaten them in 2003 on the last-second Rhys Lloyd field goal, and that we had also beaten them in 1993 because it was the only blemish during Wisconsin's inaugural sea ... I mean the first Rose Bowl season under Barry Alvarez. So I decided to dig deeper into our record in years ending in three and found a really nice little pattern. This fact alone means this is our year. Right?"

http://recessionproofminnesota.blogspot.com/2013/11/four-downs-better-dead-than-red-pt-2.html
 

Ha! Great catch. Really it is stat that proves that we are the dominant team over the entire history of the programs. We had a couple of 'fluke' victories during the last couple decades, and beat them slightly more than normal in years ending in 3 outside of their one twenty year run.

That said... this year's Badgers team is on par w/ the Wilson year Badgers... just swap great QB and decent defense for a decent QB and a great defense. I hate being so negative on our chances... I just don't see this being our year. At no point before or during the season did I call this game a possible win. For the rest of our games, I saw scenarios we could win for one reason or another. And I think we can beat Michigan State.
 




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