8-4 would be a success in my book, and quite frankly it doesn't matter how we do in the bowl (ok, well a 55-0 loss in a bowl would change that opinion, but you get the point). While my expectations have certainly gone up with every game since the TCU loss, I still defer to preseason expectations when I'm looking at how "successful" the season is. The common phrase back then was "Minnesota can be better this year but still have a worse record than last year." This was before we knew how good TCU is (and how bad Michigan is), but I still feel the same way. Going 8-4 this year would be more impressive than last year. If we are able to take care of Illinois and Iowa, but then lose the rest, I would still view the season as successful. We're noticeably better than we were last year, and the momentum we've built can do nothing but help recruiting.