Those years were some of the most exciting times for the Gopher football team that I have ever witnessed. We have had a number of coaches since then, but never have things been so exciting or have I been so optimistic for the future. It was very fun to be a Gopher fan -- until it crashed and burned spectacularly.
The year was 1983 and I was a freshman at the U of M playing on an intramural football there we called "Salem's Last Hope." It was a brutal year for Joe Salem's Gophers but a glorious year for us! The Gophers were outscored by horrific margins and were brutally outmatched in every game they played after a victory over Rice in the first game. For any Gopher that complains about any other year in Gopher football history, they either did not witness or forgot about 1983 -- the worst season ever. (I wish I could forget about that one, myself!! lol)
At any rate, Salem stepped down and possibly the most inept Gopher football coaching search committee was formed. A few months went by and finally late in December they offered the job to Les Steckel who went on to crash the Vikings into the most disastrous season ever shortly afterward. Steckel turned them down. They then offered it to Lavelle Edwards at BYU. Unfortunately, Edwards had zero interest in the job and hadn't even put in for the job in the first place!! The committee then announced they were starting back at ground zero. Keep in mind this is already late December and national signing day was early February!! We had zero commitments and the whole class looked like a complete disaster. Interest in Gopher football was at the lowest ever.
Well --- in an amazing turn of events, Lou Holtz left Arkansas and some heavy hitters came in and bailed out the awful search committee and got him here. I can not believe how fast things changed. Immediately, interest skyrocketed for a program that had finished 1-11 the season before. The only thing I can compare this to would be what Colorado is going through right now with Deion Sanders. I fully expect things to crash and burn there in a few years as he moves on to greener pastures but we shall see on that one.
Holtz said when he got here he looked at the recruiting list and it only had 5 names on it and he knew he needed to get busy right away. Keep in mind this is already late December and most schools were already nearing their limit on scholarships. Holtz's first recruit was TE Tim Juneau out of Blaine but he knew he needed to get a QB right away. He signed a good QB named Daniel Ford who looked like a sure fire starter from day one. He also got a QB out of St. Louis named Michael Baker, another out of Florida named Alan Holt and another from South Carolina who projected as an athlete named Rickey Foggie. I figured Foggie was probably going to end up as a DB or WR because Ford was supposed to be so good!!
Each day I would eagerly buy a newspaper to see who committed next and they continued to pour in from all over. Each day, Holtz would fire off some new quips and we knew things would get better. The Gopher football team was suddenly the talk of the town! I got season tickets the first day possible and many others did, too with Gopher attendance over 50k the first year and 56k the next. The first year we went 4-7 with Foggie becoming a superstar option QB. We upset both Wisconsin and Iowa (EVERY victory at that time was an upset!)
This momentum only continued to get better the next year and the Gophers were clearly getting better. Oklahoma barely escaped with a 13-7 victory and #9 Ohio St was fortunate to win 23-19 after the Gophers were driving and Foggie was hurt and had to leave the game. They finished 6-5 and received a bid to play in the Independence Bowl vs. Clemson.
Everyone remembers the rest. In an absolutely soul crushing moment, Holtz leaves for Notre Dame and wins the national championship a few years later. I can only imagine what would have happened if he had stayed. Some think the Gophers would have received a probation or even the death penalty but George Stewart who played for Holtz and became a coach for many years disagrees. Stewart said Notre Dame would not have won their NC had Holtz stayed here. Many of their players that won were set to come to Minnesota. "We had a chance to build something sustainable at Minnesota." says Stewart. When coach Holtz left in ‘85 that (first) recruiting class we had in South Bend, (the) majority of those guys were coming here,” he said. “They all switched (Minnesota commitments) and came to South Bend with coach Holtz (in 1986). You’re talking about a lot of great players. …We were able to have a national championship with those guys.”
THIS was as close as the Gophers have come to national greatness in my lifetime. It came crashing down hard and we all took it pretty hard when he left. We were SO close to being a truly great program!! I can only imagine the great victories and players we would have had here -- it was a pretty hard rug pull for us Gopher fans!! I know you have to grit your teeth and move on but sometimes I think back and wonder "What could have been?"
I do not hold any grudges against Lou Holtz. For a couple years he put a charge with a lightning bolt here and put us briefly on the map. He got us out of being a complete embarrassment into a somewhat relevant team and most of all gave us hope!!! He moved on to the biggest of stages in college football with great success. Many people hated him when he left but for all his faults he was a pretty darn good coach and that is undeniable.
