What grade would you give the Gophers football season?

What grade for the season?

  • A

    Votes: 16 12.5%

  • B

    Votes: 96 75.0%

  • C

    Votes: 14 10.9%

  • D

    Votes: 2 1.6%
  • Total voters
    128
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Jug, Pig, Citrus Bowl, a couple of guys into the NFL, B1G Coach of the Year, an All-American, a bunch of all-B1Gs, a RB with over 1500 yards = A
 

I don't understand "A" or "C" grades. Since the Gophers are only a "B" football team at this point, giving them a "C" grade would imply either 1) that they've fallen from some higher level of expectations or 2) they are only average among the 128 FBS teams. They have not been at a higher level in recent history but they are probably among the top 40 teams.

On the other hand, an "A" grade isn't warranted. They lost to 4 of the 5 highest rated teams they faced and they failed to win a bowl game for another year. Those of us who have followed them throughout the year probably feel they are an improved team over last year, but in the overall college football scheme of things they finished with an identical record. The schedule this season was of comparable quality to last season except for TCU in the preconference portion. Nebraska was the best team they beat last year and Nebraska was the best team they beat this year. They went to a minor bowl last year against a minor team and lost by 4 points. They went to a much better bowl this year against a better team and lost by 16.
 

Has to be a B. Some good wins, but the Illinois and bowl game losses really bring it down.
 

B is the correct answer, beating Illinois would have made it a B+. Winning any of the others would have gotten you to the A range based on what we have.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Voted a C. I think the season on whole deserves a C+. The loss to Illinois prevented me from moving them to a B. Because of that loss, in order for me to move the grade to a B or B+ they would have needed to win one of two big games, Wisconsin or the bowl game. In order to earn a A they would have had to play for the BIG championship (win or loose) and win the bowl game.
 


CoMn said:
Jug, Pig, Citrus Bowl, a couple of guys into the NFL, B1G Coach of the Year, an All-American, a bunch of all-B1Gs, a RB with over 1500 yards = A
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How can losing 3 of the last 4 games earn an A grade?
 

If A+ = playoffs or National Title then I say C+ if you grade on a 30 year curve B, my personal fan enjoyment B+ All depends on the criteria.
 

Forget the Illinois fiasco, or the bowl game: that stuff happens.

My concern is with you folks who even consider giving this Axe-less team an A grade. That bothers me.
 

MrGopher said:
Forget the Illinois fiasco, or the bowl game: that stuff happens.

My concern is with you folks who even consider giving this Axe-less team an A grade. That bothers me.
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Good point. Next year, unless we win the division, I don't see me giving an axe-less team even a B. Losing 12 straight to our rival, with the current coach going to 0-5, when we have them at home, coming off of our best season in years, with them going through their third coach in the last four years, would be absolutely unacceptable in my opinion.
 



tikited said:
How can losing 3 of the last 4 games earn an A grade?
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True. Add a 5-5 record against Power 5, old BSC, Conference teams and an "A" would be a "give everyone a trophy for effort" grade.

Beating Nebraska, getting the Pig and the Jug and getting out of the Big Ten with a 5-3 record though get's them a solid "B".
 

Iceland12 said:
True. Add a 5-5 record against Power 5, old BSC, Conference teams and an "A" would be a "give everyone a trophy for effort" grade.

Beating Nebraska, getting the Pig and the Jug and getting out of the Big Ten with a 5-3 record though get's them a solid "B".
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B is a fair grade and should make most fans pretty happy.
 

I voted a B because I feel we had a season that had merits for an "A" (mainly 1-loss from BT Championship Game) as well as merits for a "D" (Loss at ILL). All in all, I think the positives far outweighed the negatives. If we had only two conference losses (beat ILL) and WI still goes to Indy vs. Ohio St., I would have felt this season a huge success even with the bowl loss on 1/1. But that ILL loss for me kept the season being worth an "A" because we were supposed to be the better team hands down.

But on a positive note:
1) competitive losses to TCU and OSU which will both likely be in the end of season top 5 rank.
2) brought home the JUG!!!!
3) beat both IA and NE.
4) played a Jan. 1 bowl.
5) had an All-American.
6) won 8 games and felt like there could have been more.

I see this program is no longer a bottom feeder for the conference and also is likely to continue to challenge the top tier programs though will be underdogs for a many. Very good season with room to continue the trend!
 

With the way the season ended, it felt like a D. Blown leads, lost opportunities, shot ourselves in the foot, etc. However, overall it was a B to a B+. When friends of mine that pay little attention to college football asked me how good the Gopher's were going to be at the beginning of the year, I told them that we would be a better team than in '13 but that we'd likely have a worse record. Having equalled it while winning in MI and NE and crushing IA means they actually surpassed my expectations. Take one play out of the ILL game and we're 9-4 and the season was an A-.
 



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