Most Impressive Wins Since 2000

Dano564

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From 2000 on, what have been our "most impressive wins".

Based on strength of opponent, location of game, and margin of victory, what wins were most impressive?
 

Axe game 2003
Jeff Horton Iowa victory
2013 Nebraska
51-unanswered-points Iowa game
Axe game 2018
Halloween Michigan State game
 

2004 Music City Bowl

Minnesota 20
Alabama 16

Yeah, it was a down year for them, but it’s still ‘Bama. They had the 2nd ranked defense in the county, and we gained 276 yards on the ground, and held them to 21. Barber and Maroney were the only RBs to rush for 100 yards against them during the entire season.

https://www.espn.com/college-football/recap?gameId=243660135


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Whatever year we beat Ohio State
2005 Michigan
2003 Oregon Bowl win
 



They were 6-6 and were 26-23 in the Mike Shula era.
The definition of mediocrity.
Pretty cool win, but not that impressive

There aren’t many to choose from, so it doesn’t take much for a win to stand out.


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Whatever year we beat Ohio State
2005 Michigan
2003 Oregon Bowl win

Michigan was 7-5 in 2005. Almost as mediocre as Alabama was when we beat them. ;)

We were also 7-5 that year.


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In my eyes - tough to beat Horton’s win over Iowa. 2018 Wisconsin being the runner up. 2016 Holiday Bowl in 3rd.


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I think the Holiday Bowl win in San Diego was incredibly impressive — and shocking.

A Mike Leach-led offensive juggernaut vs. our team — especially our defense — depleted by the EOAA 'scandal'. A team that had had several players suspended, then allowed back on the team, then re-suspended. An investigation by the cops which found insufficient evidence to press any charges. Then a subsequent hue and cry, complete with torches and pitchforks (figuratively) and then another, repeat investigation (with the same result). Followed by a unanimous player revolt. Then the coach (and he was, um... heavy-set, no less!) who backed his players. And an administration (the coach's superiors/employers) following precisely the opposite course. Total chaos all around.

And then... an astounding victory. Possibly the most-prepared, best-coached defense I've ever seen. Celebrations by the players and coaches. Glum, stoney faces of the administration types shown on national television.

Still, to this day, unbelievable. I still can't believe they won that game.
 



Michigan was 7-5 in 2005. Almost as mediocre as Alabama was when we beat them. ;)

We were also 7-5 that year.


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Dang it.



That Michigan team was ranked 21 in the country at the time of the game though.
The 5 games they lost were by a combined total of 21 points.
They were preseason top 5 and had some early struggles. We essentially ended their chance at a great season.
But no. The Michigan game isn’t as impressive in retrospective as it was at the time.


That Alabama game was never really that impressive even at the time. I’m fairly young whereas I remember average Alabama growing up.
From 1997-2006 Alabama was 66-55
For perspective Minnesota was 64-57

Saban taking over Alabama really changed the way fans under 35 think of Alabama (and LSU for that matter). Because before Saban people under 35 thought of Alabama and LSU the way people under 20 probably think of Nebraska today.
 

Axe game 2003
Jeff Horton Iowa victory
2013 Nebraska
51-unanswered-points Iowa game
Axe game 2018
Halloween Michigan State game

This is a pretty good list. I'd probably copy yours, and add in the 2016 Holiday Bowl and the 2006 Floyd game to get us to bowl eligibility. My serious gopher following dates back to 2006 when I started college. Your list serves as a nice reminder that every coach dating back to Mason gave me at least one memorable win, even Horton.

As i wasn't a serious fan in 2003, 2018 Axe is definitely my number 1.
 
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I think the Holiday Bowl win in San Diego was incredibly impressive — and shocking.

A Mike Leach-led offensive juggernaut vs. our team — especially our defense — depleted by the EOAA 'scandal'. A team that had had several players suspended, then allowed back on the team, then re-suspended. An investigation by the cops which found insufficient evidence to press any charges. Then a subsequent hue and cry, complete with torches and pitchforks (figuratively) and then another, repeat investigation (with the same result). Followed by a unanimous player revolt. Then the coach (and he was, um... heavy-set, no less!) who backed his players. And an administration (the coach's superiors/employers) following precisely the opposite course. Total chaos all around.

And then... an astounding victory. Possibly the most-prepared, best-coached defense I've ever seen. Celebrations by the players and coaches. Glum, stoney faces of the administration types shown on national television.

Still, to this day, unbelievable. I still can't believe they won that game.

The depth thing was unbelievable.
Wazzu had already proven they could lose to anyone that season when they took an FCS loss.
But Wazzu after going 0-2 including an FCS loss rattled off 8 straight. The 8 straight were 6 teams with losing records but two with 9+ wins (Stanford and Idaho). 7 of the 8 wins were pac 12 wins.
They then were beaten soundly in their last two against pretty good teams (Colorado who finished the year ranked and playoff bound Washington).

Wazzu in 2016 was a pretty uniquely streaky team.
2 losses including loss to an FCS team.
8 wins. Mostly against average teams but a couple really good ones.
3 losses including one to the heavily depleted Minnesota team.

It’d be interesting to get a Cougar fan’s perspective on how they view their 2016 season. I’d imagine they’d view it as a positive step.
 

Dang it.

That Michigan team was ranked 21 in the country at the time of the game though.
The 5 games they lost were by a combined total of 21 points.
They were preseason top 5 and had some early struggles. We essentially ended their chance at a great season.
But no. The Michigan game isn’t as impressive in retrospective as it was at the time.
.

Not sure I care how good or bad Michigan was at the time. It was still the first win against them since 1985 (I think?) and it was in the Big House, and it was not that long after the debacle blown fourth quarter lead just a few years earlier. Exorcising those demons was huge at the time.

I was jumping up and down in my living room from 1500 miles away as Gary Russell rumbled down the sidelines at the end of the 4th.
 



Not sure I care how good or bad Michigan was at the time. It was still the first win against them since 1985 (I think?) and it was in the Big House, and it was not that long after the debacle blown fourth quarter lead just a few years earlier. Exorcising those demons was huge at the time.

I was jumping up and down in my living room from 1500 miles away as Gary Russell rumbled down the sidelines at the end of the 4th.

Yeah. And we all know 2003...
but in 2004 I think people forget we were ranked 13 and them 14 and we had a 7 point 4th quarter lead. We had the lead with under 3 left.

The 2003 game sucks so bad that 2004 game might be top 5 most disappointing endings in my watching history and people don’t even remember it.
 

The depth thing was unbelievable.
Wazzu had already proven they could lose to anyone that season when they took an FCS loss.
But Wazzu after going 0-2 including an FCS loss rattled off 8 straight. The 8 straight were 6 teams with losing records but two with 9+ wins (Stanford and Idaho). 7 of the 8 wins were pac 12 wins.
They then were beaten soundly in their last two against pretty good teams (Colorado who finished the year ranked and playoff bound Washington).

Wazzu in 2016 was a pretty uniquely streaky team.
2 losses including loss to an FCS team.
8 wins. Mostly against average teams but a couple really good ones.
3 losses including one to the heavily depleted Minnesota team.

It’d be interesting to get a Cougar fan’s perspective on how they view their 2016 season. I’d imagine they’d view it as a positive step.

I wonder if anybody associated with Wazzu thought there was any way they could lose that game.

I can't recall... what was the point spread?
 

I wonder if anybody associated with Wazzu thought there was any way they could lose that game.

I can't recall... what was the point spread?

I just looked it up quick and it was only 10. What I saw could be wrong though.
 


Interesting;

"Historical Results of Games with Similar Lines

Since the start of the 2011-2012 college football season there have been 228 games where the closing line favored the home team by 7.5 to 9.5 points. In these games:

The team like Washington State won the game 160 times (70.2%)
The team like Minnesota won the game 68 times (29.8%)

The team like Minnesota did better against the spread, going 125-102-1 (55.1% ATS) and covering the spread by an average of 0.9 points"

https://www.teamrankings.com/colleg...wl-minnesota-washington-state/spread-movement

To me, "the team like Minnesota" (the underdog, in other words) doesn't begin to encompass the adversity that that Gopher team faced that night. Not even close.
 

Axe game 2003
Jeff Horton Iowa victory
2013 Nebraska
51-unanswered-points Iowa game
Axe game 2018
Halloween Michigan State game

I like this list.

The Jeff Horton Iowa game was so cathartic after so much bad football. It was so nice to see the kids just having fun and making plays.
 


I was trying to come up with some objective formulas to come up with the biggest wins.
Factors being ranking, whether they are power 5 or not, road game, margin of victory, rivalry, etc.

Top 30 based on that is:

Year Date Team Sagarin Score
2018 11/24/2018 at Wisconsin 32 W 37-15
2005 10/8/2005 at No. 21 Michigan 16 W 23–20
2014 9/27/2014 at Michigan 60 W 30–14
2000 10/14/2000 at No. 6 Ohio State 21 W 29–17
2002 12/30/2002 vs. No. 25 Arkansas* 25 W 29–14


2003 10/4/2003 at Northwestern 58 W 42–17
2014 11/8/2014 Iowa 47 W 51–14
2000 9/16/2000 at Baylor* 121 W 34–9
2003 10/25/2003 at Illinois 116 W 36–10
2005 11/12/2005 Michigan State 35 W 41–18

2010 11/27/2010 No. 24 Iowa 21 W 27–24
2015 10/10/2015 at Purdue 104 W 41–13
2016 10/29/2016 at Illinois 111 W 40–17
2017 9/9/2017 at Oregon State* 130 W 48–14
2018 11/10/2018 Purdue 36 W 41-10

2018 12/26/2018 Georgia Tech 39 W 34-10
2001 11/24/2001 Wisconsin 53 W 42–31
2010 11/13/2010 at Illinois 39 W 38–34
2014 11/22/2014 at No. 21 Nebraska 29 W 28–24
2016 12/27/2016 vs. Washington State* 34 W 17–12

1989 11/25/1989 at Iowa W 43–7
2002 10/19/2002 at Michigan State 78 W 28–7
2003 11/8/2003 Wisconsin 38 W 37–34
2003 12/31/2003 vs. Oregon* 35 W 31–30
2004 9/25/2004 Northwestern 56 W 43–17

2005 11/5/2005 at Indiana 74 W 42–21
2006 11/18/2006 Iowa 51 W 34–24
2016 10/15/2016 at Maryland 88 W 31–10
2016 11/19/2016 Northwestern 35 W 29–12
2004 12/31/2004 vs. Alabama* 59 W 20–16

From the high marks on Baylor and Illinois, maybe I'm valuing margin of victory too much.
 
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Yeah. And we all know 2003...
but in 2004 I think people forget we were ranked 13 and them 14 and we had a 7 point 4th quarter lead. We had the lead with under 3 left.

The 2003 game sucks so bad that 2004 game might be top 5 most disappointing endings in my watching history and people don’t even remember it.

Oh I remember it because i was there. I had an acquisition I had to oversee at work on Sunday in the early morning hours. I had to drive the 11 hours straight back home immediately after the game, fuming all the way.
 


Agreed. They were SEC West champions and expected to roll. We dominated that game from start to finish.
It was the first bowl game I took the whole family to. We got there really early and the parking guy sent us to the wrong lot. It was empty when we got there but we ended up completely surrounded by Razorback fans. The pig-sooey thing got old and they were so sure they were going to mop up the field with the crappy Yankee Gophers.

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This is a pretty good list. I'd probably copy yours, and add in the 2016 Holiday Bowl and the 2006 Floyd game to get us to bowl eligibility. My serious gopher following dates back to 2006 when I started college. Your list serves as a nice reminder that every coach dating back to Mason gave me at least one memorable win, even Horton.

As i wasn't a serious fan in 2003, 2018 Axe is definitely my number 1.

Holiday Bowl was definitely an impressive win. Still one of the best defensive performances I've seen from the Gophers.
I'd add winning the jug in 2005 at the big house, but that was purely an emotional exercising the demons of the 2003 jug game. I still can't believe that if MN had held on in the 4th quarter in 2003, they would have been the de-facto pick for the Rose Bowl that year. Crazy.
 


I was trying to come up with some objective formulas to come up with the biggest wins.
Factors being ranking, whether they are power 5 or not, road game, margin of victory, rivalry, etc.

Top 30 based on that is:

Year Date Team Sagarin Score
2018 11/24/2018 at Wisconsin 32 W 37-15
2005 10/8/2005 at No. 21 Michigan 16 W 23–20
2014 9/27/2014 at Michigan 60 W 30–14
2000 10/14/2000 at No. 6 Ohio State 21 W 29–17
2002 12/30/2002 vs. No. 25 Arkansas* 25 W 29–14


2003 10/4/2003 at Northwestern 58 W 42–17
2014 11/8/2014 Iowa 47 W 51–14
2000 9/16/2000 at Baylor* 121 W 34–9
2003 10/25/2003 at Illinois 116 W 36–10
2005 11/12/2005 Michigan State 35 W 41–18

2010 11/27/2010 No. 24 Iowa 21 W 27–24
2015 10/10/2015 at Purdue 104 W 41–13
2016 10/29/2016 at Illinois 111 W 40–17
2017 9/9/2017 at Oregon State* 130 W 48–14
2018 11/10/2018 Purdue 36 W 41-10

2018 12/26/2018 Georgia Tech 39 W 34-10
2001 11/24/2001 Wisconsin 53 W 42–31
2010 11/13/2010 at Illinois 39 W 38–34
2014 11/22/2014 at No. 21 Nebraska 29 W 28–24
2016 12/27/2016 vs. Washington State* 34 W 17–12

1989 11/25/1989 at Iowa W 43–7
2002 10/19/2002 at Michigan State 78 W 28–7
2003 11/8/2003 Wisconsin 38 W 37–34
2003 12/31/2003 vs. Oregon* 35 W 31–30
2004 9/25/2004 Northwestern 56 W 43–17

2005 11/5/2005 at Indiana 74 W 42–21
2006 11/18/2006 Iowa 51 W 34–24
2016 10/15/2016 at Maryland 88 W 31–10
2016 11/19/2016 Northwestern 35 W 29–12
2004 12/31/2004 vs. Alabama* 59 W 20–16

From the high marks on Baylor and Illinois, maybe I'm valuing margin of victory too much.

Tangent:
I don't recall the 2001 Axe game at all, and I for sure was there as it was my first year attending the U of M. I remember not making the bowl game, so I just looked up that year's schedule. We only won 4 games that season, with wins against Louisiana, Murray St, Michigan State and Wisconsin. I understand it was a different era for all of these teams, but crazy to think that we could beat WI soundly and lose to Toledo by 30 pts in the same season. Memory and CFB are weird.
 

The Alabama bowl win looks good now but at the time it was not that impressive because Alabama was in a much different place then they are now.

The 2000 game at Ohio State would be really tough to beat but I don't know how any list of impressive wins can't include last year's game against Wisconsin. It is not impressive from the standpoint of beating a highly ranked team or pulling a massive upset but given the long losing streak against Wisconsin to go into Camp Randal and not just win, but kick the crap out of them was extremely impressive.
 

Tangent:
I don't recall the 2001 Axe game at all, and I for sure was there as it was my first year attending the U of M. I remember not making the bowl game, so I just looked up that year's schedule. We only won 4 games that season, with wins against Louisiana, Murray St, Michigan State and Wisconsin. I understand it was a different era for all of these teams, but crazy to think that we could beat WI soundly and lose to Toledo by 30 pts in the same season. Memory and CFB are weird.

It's a bit odd to see what factors make a "memorable" win.

I remember the Horton win over Iowa well, but 2001 Wisconsin, no.
The Arkansas bowl game I don't remember at all.

Just taking our top ranked wins and sorting by Sagarin rankings, these were top wins based on ranking. These are all "top 40" since 2000.

Date - Team - Sagarain End of Season rank - Score

10/8/2005 at No. 21 Michigan 16 W 23–20

10/14/2000 at No. 6 Ohio State 21 W 29–17
11/27/2010 No. 24 Iowa 21 W 27–24
9/8/2018 Fresno State* 22 W 21–14
12/30/2002 vs. No. 25 Arkansas* 25 W 29–14

11/22/2014 at No. 21 Nebraska 29 W 28–24

11/24/2018 at Wisconsin 32 W 37-15
12/27/2016 vs. Washington State* 34 W 17–12
12/31/2003 vs. Oregon* 35 W 31–30
11/12/2005 Michigan State 35 W 41–18
9/12/2009 Air Force* 35 W 20–13
11/19/2016 Northwestern 35 W 29–12

11/10/2018 Purdue 36 W 41-10
9/24/2005 No. 11 Purdue* 37 W 42–35 2OT
10/20/2001 Michigan State 38 W 28–19
11/8/2003 Wisconsin 38 W 37–34
9/22/2012 Syracuse* 38 W 17–10
10/26/2013 No. 21 Nebraska 38 W 34–23
11/13/2010 at Illinois 39 W 38–34
12/26/2018 Georgia Tech 39 W 34-10
 

The Alabama bowl win looks good now but at the time it was not that impressive because Alabama was in a much different place then they are now.

The 2000 game at Ohio State would be really tough to beat but I don't know how any list of impressive wins can't include last year's game against Wisconsin. It is not impressive from the standpoint of beating a highly ranked team or pulling a massive upset but given the long losing streak against Wisconsin to go into Camp Randal and not just win, but kick the crap out of them was extremely impressive.

In trying to attribute "scoring" to wins, I utilized ranking, rivalry, bowl games, and margin, as well as road game being a bigger win that home.
From my methodology, it sorted itself to the top.
That might be over-ranking it considering WI ended up 32 in Sagarin ranking which isn't great, but it was a 22 point win.

The 2000 OSU win and the 2005 Michigan win both seem like bigger wins however. Both were top 25 at the time.
 




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