MN Daily | Gophers football’s loss to Bowling Green among the worst in program history

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The Pacific and South Dakota loss feel worse to me. Pacific was what flashed back to me while listening to the 2nd half while driving on the PCH of all places this past Saturday.
 

Depends on your definition of worst….but there is no way it can either way.

The gophers have lost to worse teams than 2021 bowling green. Even in the last 15 years.

if you are going to go with losing to a team you should beat when you’re supposed to have a good team there has gotta be stuff from the 30s-mid 70s that tops it
 

Ope3 said:
The Pacific and South Dakota loss feel worse to me. Pacific was what flashed back to me while listening to the 2nd half while driving on the PCH of all places this past Saturday.
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South Dakota is easily the worst IMO.
 


Considering the trend we "assumed" the Gophers were on, I think this BG loss is worse than most of the losses in the article. Many of us assumed we were on our way up to the top of the Big Ten West and beyond!

Ah, no.

Beat Wisconsin and Iowa and evaluate them again. Prove it PJ.
 


have to put games in context.

this year's team has 'the most experienced O-line in the country,' a 4-year starter at QB, a supposedly improved defense, etc.

this was supposed to be the season that made it clear - 2019 was not a fluke or an outlier. Instead, it could wind up being the season that moves the program in the wrong direction.

based on all of that - and that 31-point betting line - I think it is valid to call BG one of the worst losses in program history.
 

boofbonser said:
South Dakota is easily the worst IMO.
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The loss to Pacific was worse, they were truly a nobody. The loss happened in 1986 with talent such as Darrell Thompson, Ray Hitchcock, Rickey Foggie & Mark Dusbabek. A decade later Pacific stopped playing football.

That '86 team did recover to beat Michigan in Ann Arbor. Of course, earlier they manhandled BOWLING GREEN.
 




I agree that the UOP loss was the worst I've seen. After beating the Gophers, Pacific returned home and lost to Division II Cal Davis.
 

Regarding South Dakota, I thought maybe that was a fluke. Two weeks later, when we were literally owned by Jerry Kill's NIU team, is when I felt the bottom was. Of course, it still got worse a few weeks later when there were about 15K in the stands watching Ohio State finish a drubbing.....

But then the last two weeks, they somehow found a way to beat a bowl bound Illinois & beat Iowa....so there always is hope......and hope is a good thing!
 

Ope3 said:
The loss to Pacific was worse, they were truly a nobody. The loss happened in 1986 with talent such as Darrell Thompson, Ray Hitchcock, Rickey Foggie & Mark Dusbabek. A decade later Pacific stopped playing football.

That '86 team did recover to beat Michigan in Ann Arbor. Of course, earlier they manhandled BOWLING GREEN.
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Maybe it’s just recency bias, but I think the South Dakota game was worse. Pacific was at least FBS. South Dakota is FCS. Pacific and South Dakota had 4-7 seasons the year they beat Minnesota, so neither were good teams, but South Dakota was at a lower level. For me, what sets the South Dakota loss further apart is the context. That loss set off a 9 game losing streak and obviously started a rebuild of the program after the season ended. The 1986 team actually didn’t have that bad of a year and finished middle of the conference with the notable win at then No 2 Michigan, as you mentioned. However, both loses were painful and I would consider both worse than the BG loss.
 



boofbonser said:
Maybe it’s just recency bias, but I think the South Dakota game was worse. Pacific was at least FBS. South Dakota is FCS. Pacific and South Dakota had 4-7 seasons the year they beat Minnesota, so neither were good teams, but South Dakota was at a lower level. For me, what sets the South Dakota loss further apart is the context. That loss set off a 9 game losing streak and obviously started a rebuild of the program after the season ended. The 1986 team actually didn’t have that bad of a year and finished middle of the conference with the notable win at then No 2 Michigan, as you mentioned. However, both loses were painful and I would consider both worse than the BG loss.
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It's pretty much splitting hairs. All of them were brutal.
 

I think this one is definitely up there.

Bowling Green hasn't had a winning record since 2015. They were 1-2 going into the game. The Gophers have an experienced offensive line and quarterback, a capable running back with Potts, and a defense that just shutout Colorado. To only score one touchdown is a major let-down.

I think the streak going into this game makes it rough, too. The Gophers hadn't lost to a non-power five team since Kill's first season in 2011, when Minnesota was in rebuild mode.

Here are our wins Vs. Group of Five/FCS since then.
  • 2012 @ UNLV, 30-27 (3OT)
  • 2012 Vs. New Hampshire [FCS], 44-7
  • 2012 Vs. Western Michigan, 28-23
  • 2013 Vs. UNLV, 51-23
  • 2013 @ New Mexico 44-21
  • 2013 Vs. Western Illinois, 29-12
  • 2013 Vs. San Jose State, 43-24
  • 2014 Vs. Eastern Illinois, 42-20
  • 2014 Vs. Middle Tennessee, 35-24
  • 2014 Vs. San Jose State, 24-7
  • 2015 @ Colorado State, 23-20 (OT)
  • 2015 Vs. Kent State, 10-7
  • 2015 Vs. Ohio, 27-24
  • 2015 Vs. Central Michigan, 21-14 {Bowl}
  • 2016 Vs. Indiana State [FCS], 58-28
  • 2016 Vs. Colorado State, 31-24
  • 2017 Vs. Buffalo, 17-7
  • 2017 Vs. Middle Tennessee, 34-3
  • 2018 Vs. New Mexico State, 48-10
  • 2018 Vs. Fresno State, 21-14
  • 2018 Vs. Miami OH, 26-3
  • 2019 Vs. South Dakota State [FCS], 28-21
  • 2019 @ Fresno State, 38-35 (2OT)
  • 2019 Vs. Georgia Southern, 35-32
  • 2021 Vs. Miami OH, 31-26
That's nearly a decade of getting through a non-conference season unscathed by upsets. I think this one is such a gut punch because it also sort of brings you back down to Earth.

I think we'll be able to reflect more on the Bowling Green game by the end of the season when we know how good the Falcons are. If this spurs a great season for Bowling Green, it will be at least a more understandable loss.

As for what is the worst game, I have to go with the South Dakota one. The Gophers had an experienced quarterback, plus it was year four of the Brewster era, meaning his recruits and identity should be well in place.

Despite that being the case, the Gophers defense was shredded by a Coyotes team that went 4-7.
 

This is based on how many point we were favored by. Not only is it one of the worst in program history, but also one of the worst in the B1G ever. I think the stat was it had been 60 years
 

FireDaveLee said:
Regarding South Dakota, I thought maybe that was a fluke. Two weeks later, when we were literally owned by Jerry Kill's NIU team, is when I felt the bottom was. Of course, it still got worse a few weeks later when there were about 15K in the stands watching Ohio State finish a drubbing.....

But then the last two weeks, they somehow found a way to beat a bowl bound Illinois & beat Iowa....so there always is hope......and hope is a good thing!
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And then they played really well against USC in between USD and NIU.
 

Loss to the Rainbow Warriors in 1997...17-3...has to figure into this equation somewhere.

Almost blanked...
 

BilldGopher said:
Loss to the Rainbow Warriors in 1997...17-3...has to figure into this equation somewhere.

Almost blanked...
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True, but any Gopher fan that witnessed it in person at least got to experience the state of Hawaii as a consolation. Had to be at least some salve for the wound.
 


Regardless, it is a day that will live in infamy.

The question is, what are the Gophers going to do about it? They are not who they think they are at the moment.
 

IceBoxGopher said:
I think this one is definitely up there.

Bowling Green hasn't had a winning record since 2015. They were 1-2 going into the game. The Gophers have an experienced offensive line and quarterback, a capable running back with Potts, and a defense that just shutout Colorado. To only score one touchdown is a major let-down.

I think the streak going into this game makes it rough, too. The Gophers hadn't lost to a non-power five team since Kill's first season in 2011, when Minnesota was in rebuild mode.

Here are our wins Vs. Group of Five/FCS since then.
  • 2012 @ UNLV, 30-27 (3OT)
  • 2012 Vs. New Hampshire [FCS], 44-7
  • 2012 Vs. Western Michigan, 28-23
  • 2013 Vs. UNLV, 51-23
  • 2013 @ New Mexico 44-21
  • 2013 Vs. Western Illinois, 29-12
  • 2013 Vs. San Jose State, 43-24
  • 2014 Vs. Eastern Illinois, 42-20
  • 2014 Vs. Middle Tennessee, 35-24
  • 2014 Vs. San Jose State, 24-7
  • 2015 @ Colorado State, 23-20 (OT)
  • 2015 Vs. Kent State, 10-7
  • 2015 Vs. Ohio, 27-24
  • 2015 Vs. Central Michigan, 21-14 {Bowl}
  • 2016 Vs. Indiana State [FCS], 58-28
  • 2016 Vs. Colorado State, 31-24
  • 2017 Vs. Buffalo, 17-7
  • 2017 Vs. Middle Tennessee, 34-3
  • 2018 Vs. New Mexico State, 48-10
  • 2018 Vs. Fresno State, 21-14
  • 2018 Vs. Miami OH, 26-3
  • 2019 Vs. South Dakota State [FCS], 28-21
  • 2019 @ Fresno State, 38-35 (2OT)
  • 2019 Vs. Georgia Southern, 35-32
  • 2021 Vs. Miami OH, 31-26
That's nearly a decade of getting through a non-conference season unscathed by upsets. I think this one is such a gut punch because it also sort of brings you back down to Earth.

I think we'll be able to reflect more on the Bowling Green game by the end of the season when we know how good the Falcons are. If this spurs a great season for Bowling Green, it will be at least a more understandable loss.

As for what is the worst game, I have to go with the South Dakota one. The Gophers had an experienced quarterback, plus it was year four of the Brewster era, meaning his recruits and identity should be well in place.

Despite that being the case, the Gophers defense was shredded by a Coyotes team that went 4-7.
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I agree with the bold. Bowling Green loss was horrible. No doubt. But, they might be better than most think. Second Chance University? I see many players that were at some pretty good programs.
 


Ope3 said:
True, but any Gopher fan that witnessed it in person at least got to experience the state of Hawaii as a consolation. Had to be at least some salve for the wound.
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Had to look at the Warriors general performance around when we played them...

1996 2-10
1997 3-9... include win over Gophers
1998 0-12

Not a good showing for the Maroon and Gold. This also was Grinnin' Glen's first game as HC...

Really though in present times the loss to the Coyotes has to be the runner up to BGSU. Clearly led to the HC getting fired mid-season.

As an aside, we stayed around as part of the Bitter End Club and saw the entire traveling SD team get into a tiered picture stance...players and coaches...in front of the West End Zone board. It was like they took a team picture for the annual or something. It was actually fun to watch for a very bitter day.
 

I hope Fleck looks at the non-conference numbers and realizes how he coaches against non-conference teams is not elite in any way. Something needs to change there and I hope they will address that this offseason, as we can't continue to experience this year in and year out.
 
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gophernut1 said:
I hope Fleck looks at the non-conference numbers and realizes how he coaches against non-conference teams is not elite in any way. Something needs to change there and I hope they will address that this offseason as we can't continue to experience this year in and year out.
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You don't think referring to the "[insert G5/FCS school here] championship season" is enough?
 

gophernut1 said:
I hope Fleck looks at the non-conference numbers and realizes how he coaches against non-conference teams is not elite in any way.
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I'm tempted to say that he treats them like a scrimmage but that really doesn't capture it either. You would think in a scrimmage that one would try different things and open it up a little more but the opposite often has been true.
 

Ope3 said:
The Pacific and South Dakota loss feel worse to me. Pacific was what flashed back to me while listening to the 2nd half while driving on the PCH of all places this past Saturday.
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Randomly, I was at both those games. South Dakota was far worse, made me examine my Gopher fandom.
 

Arnold Babar said:
Randomly, I was at both those games. South Dakota was far worse, made me examine my Gopher fandom.
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It feels like a discussion akin to "would you be rather be puking due to a stomach virus or food poisoning?"
 

Man, I know colleges and I've been following college football for nearly 20 years and I've never heard of Pacific. Name change? Or maybe it's just not clicking?

I think "recency bias" is always a thing with these articles. We're stewing in this inconceivable Bowling Green loss right now so it seems like the worst loss of all time, and yet, having hardly missed a snap of Gopher football since about 2007 I have to say I've definitely felt "this has gotta be the worst loss in school history" many, many times. People have already mentioned South Dakota. I recall losing at home to New Mexico State the same day our new head coach had a seizure being a pretty rough day for Gopher football too. Giving up 55 to Illinois a few years ago... or who could forget the time Tim Brewster began his tenure as head coach by losing to Bowling Green!
 

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