What grade would you give to the 2012 Gopher football season?

What grade would you give to the 2012 Gopher football season?

  • A

    Votes: 2 1.4%

  • A-/B+

    Votes: 8 5.6%

  • B

    Votes: 43 29.9%

  • B-/C+

    Votes: 56 38.9%

  • C

    Votes: 30 20.8%

  • C-/D+

    Votes: 3 2.1%

  • D

    Votes: 2 1.4%
  • Total voters
    144
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Taking everything into account: improved record, bowl game, dealing with injuries, same number of Big Ten wins compared to 2011, etc., what grade would you give to the 2012 Gopher football season?
 

Was torn between the options from B to C but eventually went with B based on improving the win total and getting to a bowl game while winning the games we were supposed to along the way. Bar gets raised for next year though. We need to see this team win at least 3 Big Ten games next season to show things are moving in the right direction.
 

You can't argue that the program isn't better than it was the past three seasons. Six wins, a bowl, and winning the games you are supposed to win is progress. I hope people are patient, because the next hurdle of winning 4 conference games might take more than one more season.
 


I went with B-/C+. B- because we won the games we should have, though not always pretty. C+ because of the Bowl Game loss.

Overall, the Gophers exceeded my preseason expectations of a C.
 


They surpassed my expectations, so I'll give them an A, I said five wins, they got to six and a bowl, next year I think this a seven win team
 

B- They did one game better than I expected in regular season (and the win over Syracuse looking better now) and played much, much better against Texas Tech than I expected. Next year: 7-5 + a bowl?
 

I went with the B-/C+. Mostly a B- for me. Lots of good things, winning ALL of our NC games was key, winning the games we should win. Kirkwood looking pretty tough for the most part when he stays healthy. Ditto for the O-Line. Defense looked like a completely different group than last years inept D. I fully expected us to force quite a few punts this season against a number of opponents. Lots of good things to look at.

A couple negatives for me that could have made it better: (For myself)

-The Iowa game was a major disappointment for me. I didn't expect us to go in and dominate, I knew it would be a tough game. What I did expect, was not to be down 21-0 in the second quarter and just look totally lifeless. That was the main game that I was completely disappointed with our effort in.

-Special teams. Most notably the Kicking/Punting game. Wettstein lost some consistency this year in the FG area. I believe he also missed a XP or two. The punting at the beginning of the year was awful, but did improve some, not much, as the year went on. I expect to be much better next year. If not I will be incredibly disappointed.

-Injuries. Uncontrolable, I know, but man did they stink. :(

Other than those few things, I feel it was a very successful season. I feel things are definetely headed in the right direction and I feel very optimistic. Excited for 2013 already!

GO GOPHERS!
 




Solid B...Went to a Bowl game.....that was important to this program.
 

I went with B.

I thought they would win 5 games, they won 6.

Good step in the right direction.
 

this year was a pass/fail elective - I would say they have an "incomplete"
 

C at best C+. I thought the Gophers needed to make a bowl game and win 6 games just based on the schedule. I cant go higher than a C because frankly the Big Ten was way down this year and the Gophers didnt really make a serious big at an upset in the conference this year. The Iowa game was terrible and I cant say a team should get some glowing grade after just meeting my expectations. It was the step that was needed but it wasnt more than that.
 




C. IMO best win was at home vs Syracuse.

2-6 in the B10 its hard to give them better than that. I would expect 7 wins and at least 3-5 in the B10 next year.
 

I gave them a B.

Coming off a 3-9 season, where we lost to NDSU and New Mexico State and were embarrassingly blown out several times, I (rightly) wasn't expecting much this year.

Non-conference: we played badly against a very mediocre UNLV team, crushed New Hampshire like we were supposed to, had an ugly win against Western Michigan, and played great against a good Syracuse squad and finished 4-0 = A-, lots of improvement.

Conference: worst game of the year against Iowa, though we were beat up and playing in a hostile environment for the first time in the season with a lot of young players, played well against a quality Northwestern side, beat Purdue and Illinois, and lost by multiple scores to teams whose superior physicality and ability got to us in the second half (with the exception of the egg we laid @ Nebraska). We were 2-6, yes, but it was an expected 2-6 for anyone thinking straight and not carried away with a 4-0 start and a seemingly struggling Big Ten (very very over-exaggerated). We beat who we were supposed to, came close to upsetting Northwestern, and didn't have anything as bad as the Wisconsin, Purdue, and Michigan games from last year.

The team did what they were supposed to, beat a good Syracuse team (I would classify it as a mild upset), and lost a heartbreaker to a dangerous Texas Tech side, so I don't get why anyone would give less than a B, other than that they overexaggerate either/both the demise of the Big Ten (very common) and the Gophers' talent level and depth. On top of all that, we go into next year with hopes justifiably higher than they have been in a good while.
 

I glad to see that we have such demanding fans. After all most of you are clueless as to what it takes to turn a program around and as to what has actually has been accomplished. One thing I do know for sure is this silly exercise of making demands and withholding recognition may make some of you feel relevant but believe me you're not.:)
 

Killjoy said:
I glad to see that we have such demanding fans. After all most of you are clueless as to what it takes to turn a program around and as to what has actually has been accomplished. One thing I do know for sure is this silly exercise of making demands and withholding recognition may make some of you feel relevant but believe me you're not.:)
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Please tell us oh wise one what is needed to turn a program around. You spout off your senile ramblings as if you have in depth knowledge of Kill and his plans and strategy. The previous coaches that failed here sure could have used your wealth of knowledge.
 

Okay, who?

MNVCGUY said:
Was torn between the options from B to C but eventually went with B based on improving the win total and getting to a bowl game while winning the games we were supposed to along the way. Bar gets raised for next year though. We need to see this team win at least 3 Big Ten games next season to show things are moving in the right direction.
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Those of you who say we have to "win at least 3 Big Ten games next season"...please, tell me your gimmes?
We don't play Purdue and Illinois, who are the only teams we have beaten with any consistency in the last 11 years.

So, magically it's just time we beat Wisconsin who return like 9 starters on offense and scored 70 on Nebraska who is also years ahead of us. Can we win on the road at Indiana? Yes. Will we be favored? Doubtful, possible, still not easy. We'll just pass by Iowa because
they are accustomed to sitting at home bowl season and they will have no motivation to squash us. Are We going to be favored in that game?

Who is the third win? What if we stub our toe on Indiana or Iowa? What other two Big Ten teams do we roll over?

Can we win 3? Yes, but we have to absolutely over achieve to do so. We will not be favored in 3 Big Ten games! Six wins will be a big step forward. More is an A+
 

B-. They've exceeded my meager 5-7 expectation. In spite of a slew of injuries which was an unexpected disappointment, they went 6-6. Would've been a solid B if they had beaten Northwestern. The Iowa lost weighs a little in the grade.

Congratulations to the team for their bowl appearance even though they lost, and for doubling the wins over the previous year. They played well against a senior laden TT team with one of the top ranked offenses in the country. The exception was the poor execution in the latter stages of the game. They've almost pulled off an upset.

I am very optimistic about next season. Barring any injuries plus key additions of JC and regular recruits, filling up the trophy case with with one or two items is a strong possibility.

Go Gophers!
 

Killjoy said:
I glad to see that we have such demanding fans. After all most of you are clueless as to what it takes to turn a program around and as to what has actually has been accomplished. One thing I do know for sure is this silly exercise of making demands and withholding recognition may make some of you feel relevant but believe me you're not.:)
Click to expand...

I obviously don't know more than the next man how to build a program, but Kill does, and many Gopher fans/the media (not necessarily on this board) appear to think that they know more than him, which is getting real old. Of course we are entitled to questioning a coach's decisions, especially when it's things like the UNC issue, but I tend to think that because of how horrible we've been as a program for the past 45 years (with a few good years here and there) and Kill's successful history we should give him the benefit of the doubt until we start moving backwards.

With that said, giving the team a C or C+ IMHO is a sign of clearly expecting too much of this team this year. They met their goal of getting to a bowl game (a feat in itself - took a mild upset against Syracuse) and represented well on their biggest stage of the year against Texas Tech. If you would have told me that at the beginning of the year, I would have been EXTREMELY happy. They did painfully fumble away the bowl game and they laid an egg against Iowa (unacceptable), so they got a B from me despite exceeding my expectations and doing what they needed to do to move the program forward in confidence and perception.
 

Killjoy said:
I glad to see that we have such demanding fans. After all most of you are clueless as to what it takes to turn a program around and as to what has actually has been accomplished. One thing I do know for sure is this silly exercise of making demands and withholding recognition may make some of you feel relevant but believe me you're not.:)
Click to expand...

Kill doesn't need us to make excuses for him. Nobody has made more excuses since he has been here than Kill himself. He tells us every chance he gets how pathetic Brewster's recruits were and how long it is going to take him to turn the program around. Kill is an excuse making professional who makes Mason look like a piker in that regard.
 

Killjoy said:
I glad to see that we have such demanding fans. After all most of you are clueless as to what it takes to turn a program around and as to what has actually has been accomplished. One thing I do know for sure is this silly exercise of making demands and withholding recognition may make some of you feel relevant but believe me you're not.:)
Click to expand...

You're the man. Just saying.
 

Winning about half of your games gets you a C. Grades aren't awarded on the basis of performance-versus-expectation.
 

GopherGod said:
Please tell us oh wise one what is needed to turn a program around. You spout off your senile ramblings as if you have in depth knowledge of Kill and his plans and strategy. The previous coaches that failed here sure could have used your wealth of knowledge.
Click to expand...

Just look at how Jerry Kill has done it at Southern and Northern Illinois and you will have your answer. My problem is that people are measuring success in year two on the number of wins but we should be focusing and measuring on how are we doing in rebuilding and changing the program and its culture. It would be great if we did have a real discussion on what was really accomplished in year two but that would require a lot more than giving a letter grade. My point is that even though it may be fun to participate in the poll it has little value other than entertainment. This is okay as long as people realize that.
 

Killjoy said:
Just look at how Jerry Kill has done it at Southern and Northern Illinois and you will have your answer. My problem is that people are measuring success in year two on the number of wins but we should be focusing and measuring on how are we doing in rebuilding and changing the program and its culture. It would be great if we did have a real discussion on what was really accomplished in year two but that would require a lot more than giving a letter grade. My point is that even though it may be fun to participate in the poll it has little value other than entertainment. This is okay as long as people realize that.
Click to expand...

So what internet board DOESN'T that apply to?
 

"C" - based on the entire season, which included a stretch of inept offense mid-season.

Yes, the defense was better this year, but the offense has a long way to go.
 

As an established, elite armchair quarterback. I give this team a C- due to the fact that we beat the teams we were suppose to beat. If Kill didn't lose AJ Barker and threw away that $800,000 against a team that we would've pulverized, then it would have been a C.

Next year, if we follow the trend that Kill has going right now, we should be able to make it to the Rose Bowl, or at LEAST get 10 wins. Here are the following records of the 3rd year that Kill coached:

Southern Illinois: 10-2 (6-1)
Northern Illinois: 10-3 (8-0).

Failure to meet these standards, then I want Kill OUT of here.
 

Before the season i guessed they would win 4-5 games. They won 6 so i gave them B-/C+

FWIW i'm guessing they'll only win 5-6 next year again
 

C+. We ended-up exactly where I predicted (6-7). We didn't beat anyone we shouldn't have and didn't lose to anyone we shouldn't have. Positives: Overcame some injuries and improved from last year's record. Negatives: Didn't steal one against anyone better than us, and chocked away the lead in the bowl game.
 

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