There has not been as much to be proud of with the Gopher football team over my lifetime as I would have liked but the Gopher ground game of the early and mid 00's was something I was really proud of. Always had the feeling they could run on anyone, and they often did. The only rough edge was already mentioned here. The team had a hard time riding that running game to victory in some very notorious come-from-ahead losses in that era. And, as also mentioned - the defense was particularly frustrating.
Like many fans, I tend to overreact to both wins and losses but overall I have liked the direction of the offense this season. It is a shame that there have been RB injury issues through multiple players because with a little more consistency there, the offense might even be at a whole 'nuther level by now. But, the improvement in the passing game - particularly because of a huge upgrade in receiving group is impossible to miss.
There is SO much to play for in these final games. If things sputter and the team fails to make a bowl, the excitement needle will be buried to the far left during the offseason. If the offense continues to improve and the team makes it to a bowl, it will be fun to speculate what can be accomplished next season. If the offense really takes off, the defense finally gets consistently good, and the team marches beyond bowl eligibility to finally retrieve the axe - the anticipation will spread beyond diehards to the fickle bandwagon fans prior to next season.
