What grade would you give the Gophers 2014 regular season?

What grade would you give the regular season?

  • A

    Votes: 48 34.3%

  • B

    Votes: 89 63.6%

  • C

    Votes: 2 1.4%

  • D

    Votes: 1 0.7%
  • Total voters
    140
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Iceland12 said:
A solid B, but please NO ONE has forgotten the mess he inherited. It's rolled-out all over every time they lose.
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People forget easily like the huge mess Obama inherited.
 

B. I predicted 8-4 and that's where we landed. But there's no doubt this year's 8-4 team is significantly better than last year's 8-4 squad.
 


B

Exceeded my expectations. The games we won were huge. As for the losses (in chronological order), no shame in losing to TCU but we didn't show up at all and that's a problem, the Illinois loss was terrible, there was no shame in losing to OSU and we gave them a solid run for their money, and finally the way we imploded after jumping out to a 17-3 lead against Wisconsin was ugly and is going to leave a sour taste in my mouth until the bowl game. Hopefully the bowl game doesn't leave that same taste in my mouth like it did the last two years.
 

afurry91 said:
PHP:

So when does that mess start to turn around? It only took Jerry 3 years. Obama's going on 6.
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GOP not cooperating at all. No more comments about this. I shouldn't have mentioned except people tend to forget as people will tell you. This is a football board.
 


I had to give it an A just based upon the fact that we went into the last game of the season with the opportunity to earn our way into the Big Ten championship game, which is something I never could have imagined coming at the start of this season. In my mind, the fact that we couldn't quite seal the deal against a really good Wisconsin team in no way diminishes the massive upward leap the Gophers took this season. For me, this was an exceptionally enjoyable and entertaining Gophers season, the most enjoyable I have had the pleasure to watch in a long, long time. The record setting performance of David Cobb, the growing cohesion of the offensive line, the toughness and determination of Leidner, the opportunistic, ball-hawking, turnover generating and massively hard-hitting defense- this season was a blast.

Even if we'd beaten Illinois, it still would have come down to that last game, with us needing to beat a peaking Wisconsin team on the road. Clearly, we're not there yet, but I don't think there's any question any longer but that we are coming. We are an ascendant team after all these years of muddling around wandering lost in the desert. My sense of hope regarding this program has been completely renewed, and I feel the future possibilities lie virtually endless. It's a good day to be a Gophers fan, thank God, and at long, long last.
 

B+ for now. A Bowl win gets an A-. Next year the grading system gets tougher though.
 

Gophers09 said:
Agree all around. That's why I'll go for A-. I know Michigan is down and Nebraska isn't great, but, we won in Ann Arbor and Lincoln, destroyed Iowa, won 5 conference games for the first time since '03, and played competitively vs. the 2 division champions. Sure, there were a couple missed opportunities and some frustrations along the way, but prior to the season I'd have taken that in a heartbeat.
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+1

I agree A-. Illinois or tOSU win would have made it an A. Wisco win would have made it an A+.
 

Win a bowl game and perform well, and the very solid "B" I am offering today becomes an "A-". I am forgiving the "burp" vs. the Illini.
 



This question has everything to do with frame of reference. Compared to other college football teams or our expectation of where the team would be in year 4 of Jerry Kill? What expectations did you have to frame said reference?

For me, if the former, I say B-. A pretty good team that's right on the fringe of being ranked all year long, and will likely be so if we win a bowl game. An A would be top 10 finish IMO.

For my expectations? B+/A-. Had some awesome wins (@MI, @NE, killing Iowa), played tough and close in 2 games against really good teams (OSU/WI), but the head scratcher @ILL and still not getting the WI monkey off our back keeps it from being a solid, totally beat my expectations, A.

We are very close to something special here. I don't think many, if any, of the "non-skill" positions will be a weakness moving forward. I think they have begun recruiting and coaching LBs, DBs, OL, etc so well that we can expect continuity in performance. DL is my only question of talent depth. If we can plug in a couple special players at WR/QB/RB, maybe an all-conference DL, we could easily be a 10-11 win team.
 

The good news about next year is that if you somehow find a way to beat TCU you are instantly vaulted into playoff conversation.
 

My hopes were for: no regression in record; grab a trophy; be considered for a 1/1 Bowl.

Solid A
 

Win 3/4 trophies? A.

(Yes, I am counting "The Chair") :cool:
 



afurry91 said:
No way anyone can say anything lower than a B. This was a solid season and a great step in the right direction. We were competitive in every game except TCU because we had five turnovers. Next year our home schedule is better and we can make another run at the title. That should be the goal next year. Anything less than a west title will not cut it for me next year, but this year I am very content. Let's win the bowl game.
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I have to quibble with the bolded section. I agree the program is showing improvement under Kill, and I would be thrilled if they won the division next year and had a chance to play for the B1G title. BUT - there are so many things that can happen during the course of a season: injuries, funny bounces, "questionable" officiating, or the other team just making good plays. As I see it, going into next year, the Gophs have to replace the heart of their offense in Cobb, and the heart of the defense in Wilson. Now, it's possible that new players could step in with no drop-off in production, but you can't assume that. And the elephant in the room will continue to be the passing game. So, when you consider those factors, I just don't think you can 'expect' a division title next year. The Gophs could go 9-3 next year (6-2 in the conference) and not win the division title. that would still be a darn good season in my book.
 

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