Your favorite loss in the Bank

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Schnauzer

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It's the offseason now and time for some hard hitting topics fit for this time of year.

What was your favorite Gopher football loss in the current stadium?

Losses all suck, but some suck less than others and after some, it doesn't feel like a sad refugee march to the parking lot.

For me, there are 3 to choose from. Gophers were underdogs in all three of course: 2009 Cal, 2014 Ohio State, and 2024 Penn State. I actually felt GOOD after all three of those losses.

The winner for me was the champ because I had a personal story to attach to it. It was the Cal game in 2009. Cal came into that game ranked #7 in the country with a Heisman candidate at RB.

My wife and I happened to be hosting west coast relatives That weekend. Big Pac12 fans. It seemed like great timing to get them into our brand new sparkling stadium to watch a highly touted west coast team, Cal. Prior to the game, I admitted that I had low expectations for the Gophers and didn't expect them to hold up very well against Cal. I did say that I expected the Gophers to have the best player on the field though and that got a rise out of my relative. He had been all "Jahvid Best this and Jahvid Best that" and had never heard of Eric Decker. I told him it wasn't my fault he hadn't heard of Eric Decker but that kid is special.

So the game progresses... Jahvid Best did have a spectacular game and the Bears did win by two touchdowns. But, Decker put on an incredible show that day and managed to catch one of the better TD pass plays in Gopher history... RIGHT IN FRONT OF OUR SEATS. He then went on to catch a second TD and then threw for a third as the Gophers caused a major stir by tying Cal in the third quarter. The game was still tied midway through the fourth quarter for a big moral victory prior to Cal scoring twice late to win 21-35. I was very proud of the Gophers and my man-crush on Decker reached new levels. Beautiful sunny day in the brand new stadium. I really wanted that win but the loss was acceptable given all the drama and fun during the game.
 


Among games I have been to at the Bank, the Halloween loss to Michigan in 2015 stands out.

That was the first game after Jerry Kill's midseason retirement where Mitch Leidner somehow threw for over 300 yards against a stout Michigan defense, but came up one yard short on a long bomb to Drew Wolitarsky, according to the refs on review. There was a time management debacle and a very frustrating loss, but it was an entertaining game against a major opponent where the Gophers outperformed expectations. They out-gained Michigan 461-296.

It was a Halloween night game and it was fun because I was in a chicken suit and was pleasantly surprised at everything except the last minute.

www.espn.com

Michigan 29-26 Minnesota (Oct 31, 2015) Final Score - ESPN

Game summary of the Michigan Wolverines vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers NCAAF game, final score 29-26, from October 31, 2015 on ESPN.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
 

fmlizard said:
Among games I have been to at the Bank, the Halloween loss to Michigan in 2015 stands out.

That was the first game after Jerry Kill's midseason retirement where Mitch Leidner somehow threw for over 300 yards against a stout Michigan defense, but came up one yard short on a long bomb to Drew Wolitarsky, according to the refs on review. There was a time management debacle and a very frustrating loss, but it was an entertaining game against a major opponent where the Gophers outperformed expectations. They out-gained Michigan 461-296.

It was a Halloween night game and it was fun because I was in a chicken suit and was pleasantly surprised at everything except the last minute.

www.espn.com

Michigan 29-26 Minnesota (Oct 31, 2015) Final Score - ESPN

Game summary of the Michigan Wolverines vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers NCAAF game, final score 29-26, from October 31, 2015 on ESPN.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
Click to expand...
😭😭😭
 



My "favorite" lost was Oct 30, 2010 when the Gophers were outscored by Ohio St to the tune of 52-10.

It's my favorite because due to the Tattoo You transgressions by the Buckeyes the loss was later VACATED. Plus I got to see their band Dot the " i ".

All the rest seems to be a tie for 2nd.
 


Otis said:
Favorite loss?

Surely, there is no such thing.

But if there were, it would be the Viking playoff loss.
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Agree - I was there. That was a classic Viking heartbreak, but the weather made it fun.

Gopher related:
The TCU game when they were ranked #1 or #2
The Cal game in 2009
Penn State this year was fun also. Mainly because we didn't lose the game as much as Penn State won the game.
The game vs. Ohio State where Mo tore his achilles was also a fun game.

All of those games were fun and we played well. The opponent was simply better and eventually won the game.

Someone mentioned the Michigan game after Kill stepping down. I remember being upset because we lost that game. I don't remember the details but I remember being on the 1 yard line with like 30 seconds left and ran like 1 play. I am sure I have the details wrong.
 

I'd say South Dakota. We had the long walk back over the river (Lot 90-something over there?) and going across that walking bridge, I took off my cap and flung it into the river.
 



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Word said:
How about "favorite time you were punched in the mouth"? Would be about the same as picking a favorite loss for me.
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Yeah not sure I’ve ever felt “good” after a loss. The least bad I’ve probably felt was against USC in 2010 just because I had no expectations of winning and they competed hard. And the storied Big Ten rivalry we have with them had not yet begun.
 


2010 against Northern Illinois. Got to see Kill out coach Brewster. Setting the tone that Brewster was over his head. Brewster would be fired a couple of weeks later. Kill was hired at the end of the year.
 





DarrenTheGreek said:
The snow game against Ohio State in 2014 was a good time. Will forever be remembered for the Dilly Bar Dan game.
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Anytime I need a quick little laugh, I picture walking up to the stadium from East River Flats on the way to that game. There's a little incline just past the hospital near Grace Lutheran church, and one of the guys in our group took a little mis-step in front of the church and slipped and landed square on his backside like a sack of potatoes. Makes me giggle every time I replay it in my mind.
 

GopherNtn said:
2010 against Northern Illinois. Got to see Kill out coach Brewster. Setting the tone that Brewster was over his head. Brewster would be fired a couple of weeks later. Kill was hired at the end of the year.
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Not just out coached, that Northern Illinois team was flat out more physical. Their power running game pushed us around.

Hard to say "favorite," but as others have said, I'd pick 2014 Vs. Ohio State, falling 31-24. Buckeyes went on to win the national championship in convincing fashion against Oregon so it was clearly a good team and the Gophers really put up a fight against them in the snow that day.

The one Vs. TCU in 2015 was similar, falling 23-17. That team finished 11-2, in eight of those wins they scored more than 40 points. The Minnesota defense held them to 23, that was tied for their lowest in the season, they also beat Kansas 23-17.

Both situations had Minnesota playing from behind but they showed a lot of toughness, especially on the defensive side of the ball.
 

My first thought was this year's Penn St game. We went toe-to-toe with them for 60 minutes.

2014 OSU game (aka the "dilly bar dan" game) was a good one too.

TCU game was electric and was the first time I saw Rodney Smith and went "he's gonna be a star on our team"
 



The Halloween Michigan game was a fun night...up until the last 19 seconds. I had a good time tailgating with some family, old friends,...and even some of my high school teachers! The weather was perfect and the crowd was rockin'.
 



The time I witnessed a very intoxicated badgers fan inadvertently lose his phone. He was trying to replicate a QB throwing a long pass or something and accidentally let go of the phone in his hand. The phone went flying and was swallowed up by the sea of people in the concourse to never be seen again.
 

fmlizard said:
Among games I have been to at the Bank, the Halloween loss to Michigan in 2015 stands out.

That was the first game after Jerry Kill's midseason retirement where Mitch Leidner somehow threw for over 300 yards against a stout Michigan defense, but came up one yard short on a long bomb to Drew Wolitarsky, according to the refs on review. There was a time management debacle and a very frustrating loss, but it was an entertaining game against a major opponent where the Gophers outperformed expectations. They out-gained Michigan 461-296.

It was a Halloween night game and it was fun because I was in a chicken suit and was pleasantly surprised at everything except the last minute.

www.espn.com

Michigan 29-26 Minnesota (Oct 31, 2015) Final Score - ESPN

Game summary of the Michigan Wolverines vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers NCAAF game, final score 29-26, from October 31, 2015 on ESPN.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
Click to expand...
That was a soul crushing loss with the way it ended, not sure how anyone could possibly list it in this category...

If we were listing most heartbreaking losses at the Bank, then yes 2015 Michigan would be up there with 2022 Iowa, 2019 Wisconsin, etc
 

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