Lou Holtz at Minnesota - 1984-1985

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Gold Rush

Gold Rush

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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.
 

Thanks! Great recap. The Holtz era was a little before my time -- the first game I remember watching was that '85 Independence Bowl with Clemson.

Please explain the part about why Minnesota would have possibly gotten the death penalty had Holtz stayed.
 

fmlizard said:
Thanks! Great recap. The Holtz era was a little before my time -- the first game I remember watching was that '85 Independence Bowl with Clemson.

Please explain the part about why Minnesota would have possibly gotten the death penalty had Holtz stayed.
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www.offtackleempire.com

What if: Lou Holtz Stayed At Minnesota?

In 1983, Minnesota Golden Gophers Football hit rock bottom. 1-10 with the lone win coming over Rice, who also went 1-10, in the opener. On the other side of things, there was the legendary 84-13...
www.offtackleempire.com www.offtackleempire.com

This is one take -- I do not agree with it but as I said -- Holtz had his share of haters after he left!
 

Gold Rush said:
www.offtackleempire.com

What if: Lou Holtz Stayed At Minnesota?

In 1983, Minnesota Golden Gophers Football hit rock bottom. 1-10 with the lone win coming over Rice, who also went 1-10, in the opener. On the other side of things, there was the legendary 84-13...
www.offtackleempire.com www.offtackleempire.com

This is one take -- I do not agree with it but as I said -- Holtz had his share of haters after he left!
Click to expand...
loved holtz and his winning and turn around and unbelievable excitement. Having said that, it is true. Money was flowing. I know this for fact. It would have caught up.
 

Gold Rush said:
www.offtackleempire.com

What if: Lou Holtz Stayed At Minnesota?

In 1983, Minnesota Golden Gophers Football hit rock bottom. 1-10 with the lone win coming over Rice, who also went 1-10, in the opener. On the other side of things, there was the legendary 84-13...
www.offtackleempire.com www.offtackleempire.com

This is one take -- I do not agree with it but as I said -- Holtz had his share of haters after he left!
Click to expand...
Your recap was light years better than whatever that was. I remember the whole time pretty well. The Oklahoma game is where I thought we were onto something special with Lou. Fast forward a few years when I got to college and I had to deal with the Wacker era.
 


tikited said:
Your recap was light years better than whatever that was. I remember the whole time pretty well. The Oklahoma game is where I thought we were onto something special with Lou. Fast forward a few years when I got to college and I had to deal with the Wacker era.
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Thanks!! If you remember, some of the Holtz staff went on to coach with Barry Alvarez as he was building that program. In hindsight, it would have been nice to go all-in on Alvarez if they could get him. Bobby Ross was also interested in the job and he went on to win a NC at Georgia Tech a few years later as well. Both would have been great choices to continue for the Gophers but unfortunately they went with Gutekunst because the players loved him and they thought there would be a continuation with what Holtz had started. It didn't work....
 

1983 was my senior year of HS I was there at all the games. The one against Nebraska was like a MASH unit. I remember Ivan Zubar getting carted off the field as a freshman maybe just from shell shock more than anything. There were quite a few Minnesota kids that were probably committed to Salem before he left led by Gary Hadd out of Burnsville the baddest dude I ever played against. Juneau was also one along with Troy Wolkow from Lakeville, Craig Otto from Elk River, Ross Ukkelberg from I think Battle Lake, a Williams kid out of Bloomington and an Owatonna DE Curt Clausen. One recruit that got bumped out of the class when Holtz arrived which was a shame is Mike Favor from MSP North who ended up at NDSU and the college football HOF.
 


Gopherchase said:
1983 was my senior year of HS I was there at all the games. The one against Nebraska was like a MASH unit. I remember Ivan Zubar getting carted off the field as a freshman maybe just from shell shock more than anything. There were quite a few Minnesota kids that were probably committed to Salem before he left led by Gary Hadd out of Burnsville the baddest dude I ever played against. Juneau was also one along with Troy Wolkow from Lakeville, Craig Otto from Elk River, Ross Ukkelberg from I think Battle Lake, a Williams kid out of Bloomington and an Owatonna DE Curt Clausen. One recruit that got bumped out of the class when Holtz arrived which was a shame is Mike Favor from MSP North who ended up at NDSU and the college football HOF.
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That's a nice list of future Gophers you played against. You must have played in the old Lake Conference which at the time was the best division in high school MN. Those players all had some good success with the Gophers!
 




Gold Rush said:
That's a nice list of future Gophers you played against. You must have played in the old Lake Conference which at the time was the best division in high school MN. Those players all had some good success with the Gophers!
Click to expand...
Some HS games, some at Gopher camp and all at the HS all star game back then the D1 kids still participated and it was a week long deal based at the U. Paul Lenz from Hutchinson another one that got away to NDSU he would have been a multi year starter at the U. Single out Hadd he was the only player I ever competed against at any level where I felt like Richard Dreyfus’s character in Jaws where I needed the equivalent of a bigger boat.
 

Gold Rush said:
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.
Click to expand...
QB Tony Rice was one of those Notre Dame players who were headed to MN.
 





Holtz had to leave Arkansas for using university stationery to endorse a rabid segregationist for public office.
I remember the excitement when he came and the despair when he left for ND.
Despite his success at ND, he was forced out because his behavior was getting to be intolerable.
 

I went to Holtz's first game against Rice. Gophers jumped out to a 14-0 lead, but Rice rallied and took a 21-14 lead. The Gophers ended up winning 28-21. Good times!
 

Lou was a cheater. He left Minnesota because Minnesota wasn’t willing to cheat. Notre Dame was a middling institution that was beyond wiling to cheat to hold on to what little national brand they had left. Hiring Lou and cheating like crazy for decades paid off for ND.

The Gophers were never even moderately decent during Lou’s short tenure. And contrary to what old-timers think, there’s no evidence he would have been successful at the U. Holtz ball relied on cheating. That just wasn’t going to happen at the U.
 
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In that Ohio State loss that was a nail biter.....I can't remember exactly how it went, but it was something like 4th and 2 and Foggie made the first down by over a yard. There was no instant replay, and they marked us short. It was a joke of a spot. We were driving for the win.

Anyone else remember this?
 

Goldmember said:
Lou was a cheater. He left Minnesota because Minnesota wasn’t willing to cheat. Notre Dame was a middling institution that beyond wiling to cheat to hold on to what little national brand they had left. Hiring Lou and cheating like crazy for decades paid off for ND.

The Gophers were never even moderately decent during Lou’s short tenure. And contrary to what old-timers think, there’s no evidence he would have been successful at the U. Holtz ball relied on cheating. That just wasn’t going to happen at the U.
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No one is disputing what he did to win at ND, but you are wrong about what us "old timers" think. We were there and it was light years better than what is was. Getting to a bowl game wasn't as easy as now. They were decent.
 

NC State under Holtz -> NCAA sanctions
Jets - NFL - N/A
Arkansas under Holtz -> NCAA sanctions
Minnesota under Holtz -> NCAA sanctions
Norte Dame under Holtz -> NCAA sanctions
South Carolina under Holtz -> NCAA sanctions

All those decades of cheating and he wins 1 national championship and he’s in the college football hall of fame.

Fuck him and fuck the hof for electing him.
 

kg21 said:
In that Ohio State loss that was a nail biter.....I can't remember exactly how it went, but it was something like 4th and 2 and Foggie made the first down by over a yard. There was no instant replay, and they marked us short. It was a joke of a spot. We were driving for the win.

Anyone else remember this?
Click to expand...
Yes but I thought it was Valdez Baylor with the carry?
 

kg21 said:
In that Ohio State loss that was a nail biter.....I can't remember exactly how it went, but it was something like 4th and 2 and Foggie made the first down by over a yard. There was no instant replay, and they marked us short. It was a joke of a spot. We were driving for the win.

Anyone else remember this?
Click to expand...
What I remember is the Gophers were driving in OSU territory I think it was about the 20-30 yard line and Foggie got hurt and had to sit out a play. Alan Holt came in and they ran it right into the teeth of the OSU defense into LB's Chris Spielman and Eric Kumerow and it got stuffed. Perhaps they made it, but it was a heartbreaker because we came so close!!
 

WorkingMyTailOff said:
Yes but I thought it was Valdez Baylor with the carry?
Click to expand...
I just remembered Foggie for some reason. I'm sure you are right.

All I know is we made the first down by a yard or more. It was an absolute joke where they spotted it.

I looked for a YouTube replay of it and came up empty.
 


I knew a couple of players at the time. If Holtz didn't think you could contribute you were just a piece of meat and he would try to get rid of you.

Dave Huffman (sp?) who played at ND (Daves claim to fame was, he was drafted ahead of team mate Joe Montana) and whose younger brother played at ND reported to Dave that the team used steroids. Dave was a radio personality and very funny - a great radio listen - but Huffman had no time for Holtz. Holtz would do anything to win.

I do think Holtz was a great coach, especially in his play calling during games, but he was a horrible human being.

I love the fact that Fleck wins games but the fact that he tries to mold players into better human beings is most important to me. If Fleck consistantly (a little more or less) went 7-5 or 8-4 he could stay at he U forever as far as I am concerned.

By the way, my understanding is Fleck and staff are very honest with players about the players strengths and short comings. When some players hear they are too slow, run bad routes, can't/won't learn the plays they choose to transfer out. They are not "run off"
 

diefirma said:
I knew a couple of players at the time. If Holtz didn't think you could contribute you were just a piece of meat and he would try to get rid of you.

Dave Huffman (sp?) who played at ND (Daves claim to fame was, he was drafted ahead of team mate Joe Montana) and whose younger brother played at ND reported to Dave that the team used steroids. Dave was a radio personality and very funny - a great radio listen - but Huffman had no time for Holtz. Holtz would do anything to win.

I do think Holtz was a great coach, especially in his play calling during games, but he was a horrible human being.

I love the fact that Fleck wins games but the fact that he tries to mold players into better human beings is most important to me. If Fleck consistantly (a little more or less) went 7-5 or 8-4 he could stay at he U forever as far as I am concerned.

By the way, my understanding is Fleck and staff are very honest with players about the players strengths and short comings. When some players hear they are too slow, run bad routes, can't/won't learn the plays they choose to transfer out. They are not "run off"
Click to expand...
God bless PJ Fleck. He is not just a flash in the pan but is building a quality program that is sustainable. A strong defense is coupled with ball control with a good offensive line and solid running game. To get to the next level they will need to be able to throw and be a little more balanced but I like his concept -- it works!
 

Seriously, did anybody not cheat in the 1980s? Jim Wacker goes into TCU and uses the "will be a clean program" schtick while claiming that all the SW Conference cheats, then is forced to voluntarily kill his own program because it became public that his boosters were cheating.
 

Summer of 1985 Our family was swimming at our neighbors pool when Holtz called and told our neighbor that he should buy season tickets and that he thinks they will have a really good team. He was actually making telemarking calls.

After a quick consultation with my dad, they agreed to go in on 4 season tickets. I attended every game that season and was hooked. That Oklahoma game was amazing.
 


Holtz was 10-12 at Minnesota. Much like when he quit on the NY Jets with 2 games to go in the season, the Gophers did have a Bowl Game left on the schedule when he quit. The U was 6-5 when left. Even though they lost their last 2 regular season games. He was 3-10 when he took a walk on the Jets.

Holtz ws still under contract at Minnesota when he announced he was going to Notre Dame. Where he'd have a much better situation all around. Can't blame him for that. He ended-up taking Tony Rice and a few other Gopher recruits with him.

Luther Darville stayed at the U. Before he went to prison for stealing money to pay players and keep for himself. His lawyer said Darville told him that Holtz never knew of the payments to players. Luther never said anything about that on the stand.

Do blame Holtz for saying he had an escape clause for the Notre Dame job in his contract, thus throwing Paul Geil and the U under the bus. No matter how many times Geil, his son or anybody else tried to clarify the situation most people seem to believe Lou's lie. The U had agreed to let him go anyway, why Holtz felt the need to lie about it he's never said.

Maybe it was a Brian Kelly situation in reverse. Where after leaving Notre Dame Kelly landed at LSU and started speaking in a Southern drawl to ingratiate to the locals. Holtz probably felt the need to talk about how it was his dream job all along.
 
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