Hole Poll: What grade would you give the Gophers 2021 football season?

[caliGopher]

I think it's fair to say that each one-game improvement in a team's record is more difficult to achieve. By that I mean it's far easier to bump a team's record from 4-8 up to 5-7, than it is to bump a team's record from 8-4 up to 9-3.

The former only requires you to beat some also-ran team, while the latter requires you to most likely beat a very good team--like Iowa on the road. Going from 9-3 to 10-2 is even more difficult.

If it was simply an arithmatic progression, then yeah, maybe Fleck hasn't made significant progress compared to Kill/Claeys. But I don't think it's that simple.

Generally I agree that in a 12 game season, the more wins you have, theoretically the harder it becomes to notch that next win.

The problem I have is when looking at the specifics of this year, the argument is thinner than the theoretical scenario. Cross over games against Indiana, Maryland doesn't hurt your chances of winning more games, although against tOSU does.

The argument completely falls apart when you consider that the path to 9-3 in 2021was beating Bowling Green. It also doesn't help your argument that the path to 10-2 involved beating Illinois. Two very winnable games and we're 10-2 for the second time in three years. It's hard to give an "A" or a "B" when that is what was squandered in 2021.

There is a combination of this team being better than the 2016 squad, and the schedule being softer than the 2016 schedule that laid out a chance to demonstrate via win totals that we're making the move to the next level, instead we sh!t the bed like we have consistently under Fleck in games against inferior opponents, but could't pull out a "W" this time around.

 

[gopherbadgerman]

Gave a C for the two bad losses but would have gone with a B- if it was an option. If we get a bowl win I’ll change to a B

 

[Cedar Rapids Gopher]

I gave it a C. And reading some comments I was thinking isn't that great. PJ has definitely raised the bar. During the years before PJ 8-4 would have been a B in my book and beating WI would have raised it to an A. PJ has raised expectations.