WindyCityGopher
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I grew up in Madison in the ‘70s and ‘80s watching Badger football, before enrolling as a freshman at the U in 1986. I watched a bunch of average Wisconsin teams that were never good enough to rise to the top echelon of the Big Ten, having a few good years, but mostly middle-of-the-road ones under Dave McClain. Those were followed by several awful years under Don Morton, an overmatched coach who set the program back, before they finally got the right guy in Barry Alvarez, who came to town and turned a school with a nothing football program into a national power.
With that as my background, I couldn’t help noticing a similar story playing out with the U 20 years later. A good stretch of pretty good football in the early 2000s under Glen Mason that were never good enough for the Gophers to rise to the top of the conference, followed by the hire of an overmatched coach in Tim Brewster who set the program back, then bringing in a guy in Jerry Kill who may or may not be the great coach we’ve been waiting for to turn the program into a perennial contender.
I’ve always wondered “if Wisconsin can do it, why can’t Minnesota?” 20 years ago Wisconsin didn’t have any more inherent advantages than the U does now. Camp Randall wasn’t yet a refurbished cash cow. Their facilities were average and their talent was below average. They had no contemporary history of football success to speak of. What they found was a great coach who built the program, had success and began to attract top talent. Winning begat winning. I sincerely believe Kill can do the same thing with the U. The numbers below suggest he’s on the right path (a year 4 Rose Bowl? Please count me in!). Apologies for the alignment issues on the numbers below:
The Middle of the Road
Coach Years Record Win % B1G Rec. B1G Win % Best Conf. Finish Bowl App
Dave McClain (UW) 1978-85 46-42-3 .505 32-34-3 .485 T3 (1981) 3
Glen Mason (UM) 1997-06 64-57 .529 32-48 .400 T4 (twice) 7
The Bad Hires
Coach Years Record Win % B1G Rec. B1G Win % Best Conf. Finish Bowl App
Jim Hilles/
Don Morton (UW) 1986-89 9-36 .200 5-27 .156 T8 (1986) 0
Tim Brewster/
Jeff Horton (UM) 2007-10 17-33 .340 8-24 .250 T6 (2008) 1
The Turnaround Artists (the first 3 years)
Coach Years Record Win % B1G Rec. B1G Win % Best Conf. Finish Bowl App
Barry Alvarez (UW) 1990-92 11-22 .333 5-19 .208 T6 (1992) 0
Jerry Kill (UM) 2011-13 17-18 .486 8-14 .363 6 (Legends) 2
Alvarez (Year 4-1993) 10-1-1 .833 6-1-1 .750 T1 1 (Rose)
With that as my background, I couldn’t help noticing a similar story playing out with the U 20 years later. A good stretch of pretty good football in the early 2000s under Glen Mason that were never good enough for the Gophers to rise to the top of the conference, followed by the hire of an overmatched coach in Tim Brewster who set the program back, then bringing in a guy in Jerry Kill who may or may not be the great coach we’ve been waiting for to turn the program into a perennial contender.
I’ve always wondered “if Wisconsin can do it, why can’t Minnesota?” 20 years ago Wisconsin didn’t have any more inherent advantages than the U does now. Camp Randall wasn’t yet a refurbished cash cow. Their facilities were average and their talent was below average. They had no contemporary history of football success to speak of. What they found was a great coach who built the program, had success and began to attract top talent. Winning begat winning. I sincerely believe Kill can do the same thing with the U. The numbers below suggest he’s on the right path (a year 4 Rose Bowl? Please count me in!). Apologies for the alignment issues on the numbers below:
The Middle of the Road
Coach Years Record Win % B1G Rec. B1G Win % Best Conf. Finish Bowl App
Dave McClain (UW) 1978-85 46-42-3 .505 32-34-3 .485 T3 (1981) 3
Glen Mason (UM) 1997-06 64-57 .529 32-48 .400 T4 (twice) 7
The Bad Hires
Coach Years Record Win % B1G Rec. B1G Win % Best Conf. Finish Bowl App
Jim Hilles/
Don Morton (UW) 1986-89 9-36 .200 5-27 .156 T8 (1986) 0
Tim Brewster/
Jeff Horton (UM) 2007-10 17-33 .340 8-24 .250 T6 (2008) 1
The Turnaround Artists (the first 3 years)
Coach Years Record Win % B1G Rec. B1G Win % Best Conf. Finish Bowl App
Barry Alvarez (UW) 1990-92 11-22 .333 5-19 .208 T6 (1992) 0
Jerry Kill (UM) 2011-13 17-18 .486 8-14 .363 6 (Legends) 2
Alvarez (Year 4-1993) 10-1-1 .833 6-1-1 .750 T1 1 (Rose)