What are your Top 4 Worst Losses under Fleck?

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What is frustrating when we compare best 4 and worst 4, is I think the things that make a good win or bad loss are either a gamble where a big underdog wins or a game where a team blows a big late lead. Unfortunately, in both of those departments, the worst of our worst have been worse than the best of our best. We've never won under Fleck as the kind of underdog that comes close to the BGSU game, and I can't think of us ever erasing a lead like the one we had against NW this year. "These things happen from time to time" is a much more palatable explanation when your team is making those things happen to opponents as often as they are happening to your team.
 






bleedsmaroonandgold said:
What is frustrating when we compare best 4 and worst 4, is I think the things that make a good win or bad loss are either a gamble where a big underdog wins or a game where a team blows a big late lead. Unfortunately, in both of those departments, the worst of our worst have been worse than the best of our best. We've never won under Fleck as the kind of underdog that comes close to the BGSU game, and I can't think of us ever erasing a lead like the one we had against NW this year. "These things happen from time to time" is a much more palatable explanation when your team is making those things happen to opponents as often as they are happening to your team.
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If you're a really good coach, eventually you're going to beat a team that you have absolutely no business beating. Hasn't done that. And he's been a head coach for around a decade.
 

Breakin' The Plane said:
If you're a really good coach, eventually you're going to beat a team that you have absolutely no business beating. Hasn't done that. And he's been a head coach for around a decade.
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How can you say that? He beat Penn state and Ive been told penn state is an automatic L in perpetuity going forward.

Either he is capable of winning some games he shouldn’t win or future schedules aren’t that daunting.
 



bleedsmaroonandgold said:
Speaks volumes that a loss to Purdue at home as double digit favorites doesn't make Mount Rushmore.
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Losing to the division champ when your best player is ruled out 5 minutes before game time and your QB is playing banged up isn’t nearly bad bad of a loss as you think.

But it did make my top 4 worst losses. But it is a bad loss having nothing to do with a point spread. If it was a pick ‘em it wouldn’t have been a better loss it would’ve been equally bad .
 

Panthadad2 said:
Worst four:
1) Northwestern 2023
2) Wisconsin 2019
3) Iowa 2019
4) Illinois 2023 (IL 2021 would be #5)
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I don't see it that way. There's a reason why the oddsmakers made us a razor thin favorite (less than the normal home field bump) in this game. The game really never was "ours" with any security; we never had a lead greater than 6 points and spent a fair amount of the game trailing in the score. It just seems like a terrible loss because of the seemingly improbable ending. On the whole, I'd say that Illinois outplayed us and we would have lost by more without a 3 to 1 turnover advantage.
 

TwistingMyMelon said:
I don't see it that way. There's a reason why the oddsmakers made us a razor thin favorite (less than the normal home field bump) in this game. The game really never was "ours" with any security; we never had a lead greater than 6 points and spent a fair amount of the game trailing in the score. It just seems like a terrible loss because of the seemingly improbable ending. On the whole, I'd say that Illinois outplayed us and we would have lost by more without a 3 to 1 turnover advantage.
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Correct

Illinois and Minnesota are pretty similar teams this year.
Illinois also has excruciating losses.


In fact, the big ten has 7 teams that are all pretty similar in that they aren’t terrible but are severely flawed
 



howeda7 said:
2019 Wisconsin

2019 Iowa

Bowling Green

2022 Iowa
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Yeah it’s hard to make a list because of types of losses.

Important losses:
2019 Iowa, 2019 Wisconsin, 2021 Iowa, 2022 Purdue

Losses to bad teams:
Bowling green, 2018 Nebraska, 2018 Illinois, 2018 Maryland, 2021 Illinois

Painful losses due to the way the game was lost
2019 Iowa, 2022 Iowa, 2023 Illinois, 2023 northwestern, 2020 Maryland


2019 Iowa has to be the worst, because it’s the only one that shows up on 2 of these 3 lists. Either 2023 northwestern or Illinois could elevate in how bad it is in importance list depending on how season finishes up.
But I kind of think the gophers go 1-2 or 2-1 the rest of the way. And Iowa ends with just 2 or 3 conference losses. Collectively both losses to NU and IL really important, but individually not as much. Flipping the result of one isn’t going to cost the division (I don’t think), flipping the results of both could. But you could flip two games any year and change division races.
 

TwistingMyMelon said:
I don't see it that way. There's a reason why the oddsmakers made us a razor thin favorite (less than the normal home field bump) in this game. The game really never was "ours" with any security; we never had a lead greater than 6 points and spent a fair amount of the game trailing in the score. It just seems like a terrible loss because of the seemingly improbable ending. On the whole, I'd say that Illinois outplayed us and we would have lost by more without a 3 to 1 turnover advantage.
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It's more than just the style of losses. This last minute IL loss plus the NW loss effectively booted Minnesota's most realistic chance for the West title with a head-to-head advantage over Iowa and all other West teams severely flawed. Even with the tough BG10 schedule, this was the year with the whole division down.

Edit add: this Tweet reflects my opinion on the importance of IL/NW.

 

Panthadad2 said:
It's more than just the style of losses. This last minute IL loss plus the NW loss effectively booted Minnesota's most realistic chance for the West title with a head-to-head advantage over Iowa and all other West teams severely flawed. Even with the tough BG10 schedule, this was the year with the whole division down.

Edit add: this Tweet reflects my opinion on the importance of IL/NW.

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This tweet reflects how sad so many fans are that they think the gophers never again have a chance to be good after this season with a first year starting QB and a walk on 5th string running back as the feature back
 

Some guy said:
Yeah it’s hard to make a list because of types of losses.

Important losses:
2019 Iowa, 2019 Wisconsin, 2021 Iowa, 2022 Purdue

Losses to bad teams:
Bowling green, 2018 Nebraska, 2018 Illinois, 2018 Maryland, 2021 Illinois

Painful losses due to the way the game was lost
2019 Iowa, 2022 Iowa, 2023 Illinois, 2023 northwestern, 2020 Maryland


2019 Iowa has to be the worst, because it’s the only one that shows up on 2 of these 3 lists. Either 2023 northwestern or Illinois could elevate in how bad it is in importance list depending on how season finishes up.
But I kind of think the gophers go 1-2 or 2-1 the rest of the way. And Iowa ends with just 2 or 3 conference losses. Collectively both losses to NU and IL really important, but individually not as much. Flipping the result of one isn’t going to cost the division (I don’t think), flipping the results of both could. But you could flip two games any year and change division races.
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The 2023 team isn't that good. Sure the Northwestern loss is awful but at the end of the day it's the difference between 7 or 8 wins in a nondescript season IMO. Either of the 2019 games meant a B1G title game where we wouldn't embarrass ourselves and a likely Rose Bowl trip.
 

howeda7 said:
The 2023 team isn't that good. Sure the Northwestern loss is awful but at the end of the day it's the difference between 7 or 8 wins in a nondescript season IMO.
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Agree. Gopher fans need to make sure they don’t confuse this season.


This is flecks 4th or 5th best team (I would argue the 2018 team was better) that is going to fail to win a bad division.
This is about a good team that is blowing the division.

Now, not having the team better is an indictment of the coaches. I wish we had reloaded better.
 

Some guy said:
This tweet reflects how sad so many fans are that they think the gophers never again have a chance to be good after this season with a first year starting QB and a walk on 5th string running back as the feature back
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Well, the West won't exist after this year, so it can't ever be won again.
 


Some of the losses I've been able to look at with some forgiveness due to the context. In 2018, the loss to Illinois was bad, but the team rebounded and made necessary changes.

The 2019 losses to Iowa and Wisconsin hurt, but it was still a great season and both opponents were good in their own rights. Then in 2020, the first game against Michigan made me realize that one, the loss of talent from 2019 meant a bit of a rebuild, and two, the COVID year overall seemed to trip the team up a bit.

With that in mind, mine are the following.
2021 Bowling Green
Lost to a Bowling Green team that would finish 4-8 overall. It's one thing to lose to a really good G5 program, another to drop a home game like that to a struggling program like Bowling Green. The offense only scoring 10 points was just awful.

2022 Purdue
Yes Purdue went on to win the division that year, but still, this was an absolute disaster. The Gophers had outscored opponents 183-24, just had a dominating win on the road against Michigan State, it was homecoming, the stadium was full with the stripe-out, the team was ranked in the top 25.

And then, a complete lackluster effort against the Boilermakers. Final score was 20-10 but for a long time it was 13-10. Gophers couldn't get it done despite having a lot of chances. That game changed the whole tone for the season.

2023 Northwestern
The Wildcats are 4-5 right now so it's certainly not a terrible team, but that doesn't make this loss any better. Collapsing the way the Gophers did after leading 31-10 in the fourth quarter, not being able to seal the deal, the punt return spot in the end zone, the final drive. All terrible.

2023 Illinois
Already been discussed a lot here. Multiple opportunities to win, couldn't capitalize, and knocked the Gophers out of the West race.
 

Some guy said:
What you just said is true.
What you just said is also not what the tweet said
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OK. Yeah, I don't think the Gophers ever win a BG10 Championship with OSU, MI, PSU, USC, and Oregon in the conference. You're fooling yourself if the loss of the West division doesn't hurt conference championship chances. The Tweet also said nothing about the Gophers "never again have a chance to be good after this season" per your comment which was ridiculous.
 

Panthadad2 said:
OK. Yeah, I don't think the Gophers ever win a BG10 Championship with OSU, MI, PSU, USC, and Oregon in the conference. You're fooling yourself if the loss of the West division doesn't hurt conference championship chances. The Tweet also said nothing about the Gophers "never again have a chance to be good after this season" per your comment which was ridiculous.
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I didn’t say it didn’t hurt their conference championship chances. Again you are saying something that is true that I never claimed

You are correct that the tweet didn’t say they’ll never be good again. It did say this is the last chance they ever have to make a conference championship game. Which is false
 

Some guy said:
This tweet reflects how sad so many fans are that they think the gophers never again have a chance to be good after this season with a first year starting QB and a walk on 5th string running back as the feature back
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Some guy said:
I didn’t say it didn’t hurt their conference championship chances. Again you are saying something that is true that I never claimed

You are correct that the tweet didn’t say they’ll never be good again. It did say this is the last chance they ever have to make a conference championship game. Which is false
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You are criticizing fans, and the Tweet, for saying the "Gophers never gophers never again have a chance to be good after this season" when that is not what anyone is saying. You wrote it, so stop it.
 

Panthadad2 said:
You are criticizing fans, and the Tweet, for saying the "Gophers never gophers never again have a chance to be good after this season" when that is not what anyone is saying. You wrote it, so stop it.
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The tweet says that they can never make a championship now. Which is patently false. And many fans believe it. Which is sad and pathetic ImO
 

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