How well did the Golden Gophers do while you were in college?

Gophers we’re ATROCIOUS when I was there with Wacker!


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We must have overlapped in the same student section some Yah-E, 1992 to 1996 for me. Yep, I was a student during the Wacker years in the Dome. Darkins game against Alstot and Purdue one of the highlights, and the upset win over the Badgers in 1994. I think 1994 they were giving away free tickets on the plaza of Northrup to anyone that would go to the home opener. That and I think the athletic department was giving away hot dogs and pop or something with coach Wacker thanking anyone that took the tickets. Made me feel bad I had shelled out for student tix.
 


1980 ---- 5-6
1981----- 6-5
1982----- 3-8
1983----- 1-10
 

Ricky Foggies four years were the four years I was in college. Obviously, two under Holtz and two under Gutey — more good than bad bounced back from 84-13 to be competitive and go to some bowl games.
Same as my years at The U, except I took 5 years through 1989. I remember where I was when I picked up the sports section that had the headline stating Holtz was leaving.
 

1996 - 4-7 - Wacker's last year
1997 - 3-9 - Enter Mason
1998 - 5-6 - signs of progress
1999 - 8-4 - awesome year, was in Happy Valley for the upset.

So I was a student during the time when the program went from a laughing stock to respectable and also get to witness the end of the long bowl drought.
I was a year earlier than you. Pretty bleak
 


We must have overlapped in the same student section some Yah-E, 1992 to 1996 for me. Yep, I was a student during the Wacker years in the Dome. Darkins game against Alstot and Purdue one of the highlights, and the upset win over the Badgers in 1994. I think 1994 they were giving away free tickets on the plaza of Northrup to anyone that would go to the home opener. That and I think the athletic department was giving away hot dogs and pop or something with coach Wacker thanking anyone that took the tickets. Made me feel bad I had shelled out for student tix.
Actually attending games in the early 90s was brutal. Bad teams, terrible atmosphere. Two games stand out:
  • I want to say it was against Utah (a game I know I attended, but I don't remember if this is the game with the grim experience I'm recalling). We lost -- and Utah was bad, too. But the student section was no more than one section in the end zone. The box score shows attendance as 32,000. I hadn't been to a game in person for a few years, and that was awful. If it was, indeed, Utah, that was 1990.
  • An early 90s game against Iowa. This was back when loud crowd noise that hampered the offense could result in a penalty. Gopher fans were badly outnumbered by Iowa fans in the dome, and the visiting fans were drowning out the Gopher QB calls. Iowa was called for delay of game because of crowd noise. After that, the section or two of students in the crowd joined in and started making noise to try to get a penalty on Iowa. The Iowa players were pointing at the student section, and I don't think the refs knew what to do.
I didn't go back to a game in person until the Mason years, and I was shocked at the student section, which took up all of the lower level of the end zone and part of the second level. A lot of the crowd wearing gold and the student section was all gold -- that was new to me, too. That got me going to games again.
 


Gophers we’re ATROCIOUS when I was there with Wacker!


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I first became a gopher football fan as a kid during the Wacker years because thats when I started watching them on tv with my dad. Yes they were dreadful.

Loved Jim Wacker. He also coached football in Fargo. If positivity and optimism won football games he would have never lost. (Unfortunately they dont)
 

I remember the last home game I attended. OJ and USC came into town and we stayed even for the first half. Then the “Juice” went nuts. I think he ended the game over 2,000 yards and 15 TD’s. Maybe not but it sure seemed like it.
 




1978Cal Stoll5–64–45th
1979Joe Salem4–6–13–5–16th
1980Joe Salem5–64–55th
1981Joe Salem6–54–5T–6th
1982Joe Salem3–81–810th
1983Joe Salem1–100–910th

The last coupla years (graduate School years) were kind've tough. Famous Nebraska 84-13 loss was in there. Ugghhh. So sweet to be defeating Nebraska these days.......
Was there as well....also was a varsity cheerleader and traveled to a number of games....we were certainly humbled during this period
 

My 5 years of undergrad lined up neatly with the last 5 years of the Mason administration. Beatdowns of tomato cans, utter no-shows in Mordor and Madison, and spectacular stretch collapses galore.

And finally, The Game That Shall Not Be Named remains one of only two times I've ever been physically sick after a football game (the 1998 NFC Championship Game is the other).
 

You just had to bring back the memory of my first Gophers football game at the Insight Bowl vs. Texas Tech. I did see history that day tho......
 



Same as my years at The U, except I took 5 years through 1989. I remember where I was when I picked up the sports section that had the headline stating Holtz was leaving.
The same year I started as well. I remember hearing the news while I was waiting to pick up my husband at Northrop to head to Chicago for Thanksgiving. So disappointing.
 

National Champs plus 2 Rose Bowls in a row. Freshman year Murray got hung in effigy. Biggest thrill was when Iowa came here undedfeated and no. 1 in the country and we were undefeated and no.2. We won the game and I stormed t he field but few students joined me.
 


1980 ---- 5-6
1981----- 6-5
1982----- 3-8
1983----- 1-10
I keep forgetting how bad the 1983 Gophers were - the average score for the year was something like: Opponents 50, Gophers 17. So many injuries that the team recruited walk-ons mid-season. Lots of Holtz haters out there - but he did come on board in 1984 and got the program at least somewhat watchable again.
 

That 1-10 year was very very difficult to watch. I think Iowa and Illinois put up over 60 points against us. Even Northwestern spanked us.....

Amazing how much better shape the program is in now.....
 

They were wearing leather helmets and the forward pass was rare so comparisons to present day teams would be futile.
 

Interesting thread. Those were some tough years although I was down at Mankato.
1986 6-6, (5-3 Big Ten)
1987: 6–5 (3–5 Big Ten) AXE
1988: 2–7–2 (0–6–2 Big Ten)
1989: 6–5 (4–4 Big Ten) AXE & Floyd
 





So whether you attended the U or not, I figure most here were fans of the Maroon and Gold while they were in school. For me, I was in college from fall 2007-spring 2012. During that period, the Gophers went 20-42.
  • 2007, 1-11
  • 2008, 7-6, Lost Insight Bowl
  • 2009, 6-7, Lost Insight Bowl
  • 2010, 3-9
  • 2011, 3-9
Over that period, the Gophers had two bowl-berths and no bowl wins. Against rivals Wisconsin and Iowa, Minnesota went a combined 2-8. Thank goodness for those two Iowa wins in the last couple of years.

I was just a Gophers fan, though, since I attended Minnesota State University Moorhead, which also had a rough time those years. They went 12-43. Against rivals UMary and Bemidji State, they went a combined 1-9.
  • 2007, 4-7
  • 2008, 2-9
  • 2009, 2-9
  • 2010, 2-9
  • 2011, 2-9
In total, both teams went a combined 32-85.

Had to deal with NDSU fans talking about 2007 when I told them I'm also a Gophers fan. Then I took a trip to the Twin Cities for the 2011 game and had to hear all about that game for the rest of my final year. It was tiring to say the least.
You posted a similar thread on the NSIC board! I just saw it!
 




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