Top 50 Painful Losses (no gophers)

[UptownMaroon&Gold]

Although Rittenburg's Big Ten painful list had plenty of gopher mentions....I was a little surprised that the Michigan '03 game wasn't mentioned on the nationwide top 50 list at least somewhere in the 30s or 40s. I guess most of the games mentioned had national title implications....we would have needed to beat Michigan, and be undefeated at the end of the year and lose to Iowa or something....



http://espn.go.com/college-football/features/houseofpain/_/n/10

 

[EE_Gopher]

1940 Michigan Minnesota Game

Since they went back in time, I thought there was a chance that the 1940 game at Memorial Stadium would end up in the list. I first learned of this game because my dad talked about going down to Minneapolis to watch it. Michigan led by Tommy Harmon, the 1940 Heisman winner is up 6-0 with the ball inside the Minnesota 10 throws an interception for a touchback and on the next play, Bruce Smith, the 1941 Heisman winner goes 80 yards to give the Gophers the 7-6 victory and taking the National Championship away from Michigan.

 

[AhliBobwa]

That was a pretty poor list. Leaving out the 03 Michigan game that would have sent us to the Rose Bowl is inexcusable. I can't say that I'm surprised though, given that Ivan Maisel wrote the article. He is a true hack.

At least Rittenberg got it right, stating no team has lost more heartbreakers than the gophers

 

[GoAUpher]

I love how we're feeling snubbed b/c ESPN didn't recognize the bad losses we've had to deal with.

 

[Plinnius]

That was a pretty poor list. Leaving out the 03 Michigan game that would have sent us to the Rose Bowl is inexcusable. I can't say that I'm surprised though, given that Ivan Maisel wrote the article. He is a true hack.

At least Rittenberg got it right, stating no team has lost more heartbreakers than the gophers

Yeah, I don't get how the '04 ISU/Missouri game trumps the Michigan game. ISU was 6-4 entering that game, playing for a chance win their crappy division by default and get slaughtered by Oklahoma in the Big 12 championship game.

 

[Ski U Mah Gopher]

The one game i am surprised not to see was actually a Gopher win.

November 4, 1999 vs. Penn St.

Gophers convert a 4th and forever on a deflected pass, and win on the last play.

Leads to 3 straight losses to end the season for the Lions, and 3+ years of mediocre football in the Valley.

 

[UptownMaroon&Gold]

I love how we're feeling snubbed b/c ESPN didn't recognize the bad losses we've had to deal with.

That's right, I do feel snubbed. Our collective long term pain is way more than any single game's pain inflicted on any program like most of these on the list. Texas, Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State--they don't really know what pain is like in terms of college football. Whether we like it or not, if there's one thing our program should get some recognition for, it is our painful losses.

 

[2727Gopher]

That's right, I do feel snubbed. Our collective long term pain is way more than any single game's pain inflicted on any program like most of these on the list. Texas, Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State--they don't really know what pain is like in terms of college football. Whether we like it or not, if there's one thing our program should get some recognition for, it is our painful losses.

Remember, one of the primary criteria for these games is national significance. Most of our truly painful losses were of little to no significance nationally. They could have put the famous Wisconsin game in 1962 into the list though - that would qualify on all counts.

While you could make an argument about the 2003 Michigan game having that kind of significance, keep in mind that there are probably 5 people on the planet who aren't regulars here who have any idea that a win in that game (and having every other game for every team for the rest of the season turn out the same way) would have sent the Gophers to the Rose Bowl. If that game had been one of the last games of the year, then maybe it would have made the list. Also note that our overtime loss to Wisconsin in 1999 had the same effect - if we win it and everything else turns out the same, we would have been Rose Bowl bound.

The 1999 PSU game should have made the list for the reasons already mentioned.

 

[RailBaronYarr]

One thing to note, besides not being on the list, was the number of games on that list from pre-1970. I counted 12, with plenty of games from the early 1970s as well. Anyone who says football or stats or titles, etc etc from the 30s, 40s, 50s, etc isn't relevant can suck it - the media sure talks about these type of games all the time, how "storied" programs are because of their long-time history. Do I agree it's been far too long for the Gophers to not have won a B10 title? Yes. But at the same time, if we were to start winning big again, the media would be all over talking about OUR history in the same vein they talk about other teams.

 

[nsmike]

Another game that should be on the list is the 1960 MN-Iowa game where we were #2 and Iowa was #1 and beat them 27-10.

 

[RodentRampage]

Remember, one of the primary criteria for these games is national significance. Most of our truly painful losses were of little to no significance nationally. They could have put the famous Wisconsin game in 1962 into the list though - that would qualify on all counts.

While you could make an argument about the 2003 Michigan game having that kind of significance, keep in mind that there are probably 5 people on the planet who aren't regulars here who have any idea that a win in that game (and having every other game for every team for the rest of the season turn out the same way) would have sent the Gophers to the Rose Bowl. If that game had been one of the last games of the year, then maybe it would have made the list. Also note that our overtime loss to Wisconsin in 1999 had the same effect - if we win it and everything else turns out the same, we would have been Rose Bowl bound.

The 1999 PSU game should have made the list for the reasons already mentioned.

The 2003 Michigan game clearly did have that kind of significance, even if people don't know of it. I think that the most painful losses won't make this list. The most painful losses are the ones where winning it would have meant so much, but losing means it is lost in obscurity. Had we won that game, it was the ticket to the next level.

These teams on the list, it's like having your favorite toy broken when you already have a couple spares still in the box. For us, and I am sure for some other teams, it's like all you have left is the box.