. . . to week results are truly unpredictable. I touched on this in responding to STP's thread, but there is a lot of wisdom in not getting too high with the wins, and too low with the losses. We (almost all of us on here) tend to re-project how the rest of the season will go depending upon bullish or bearish results each week. When you reside where the Gophers have resided (especially in the last 4 years) from the top of the middle of the conference, to the bottom of the middle, you end up with a lot of close to match up games. Here are some examples of where the board's collective psyche was way down and not optimistic or too up and over-optimistic, only to find surprising week afters:
2014-
We get crushed at TCU and two weeks later after a starting QB injury has Leidner out with an injury the week in between, Gophers travel to Michigan. We surprise them by controlling the game and winning 30-14.
We go on a streak and are 6-1 and only have to get through Illinois to set up a big game with Iowa sitting at a respectable 7-1. An average to poor Illinois team bites us on the road.
One week later, we are facing an Iowa team coming off IIRC a thrashing of a good Northwestern team and we are the underdog at home. One of my favorite all time games as we surprise and trash Iowa 51-14.
2015-
We start out 3-1 in non-conf with 3 uninspiring wins against CSU, Kent. St., and Ohio and then get dominated across the board at Northwestern. We were going on road to Purdue and most reiterated our terrible record at W. Lafayette and expectations were low. We crush them 41-13.
Thinking we were now on a roll and having Nebraska's number the previous 2 years and getting them at home, folks were cautiously optimistic. We play a terrible game and lose big.
2016-
After a bad loss at home against a beatable Iowa team, not many were expecting a comfortable win at Maryland with Leidner out. We win by 3 tds.
Everyone then assumed an easy home victory against door mat Rutgers, and we all know how that turned out.
After the win that felt like a loss to many against Rutgers, many thought we would struggle against Ill. We clobber them on the road by 24 point margin.
Things change from week to week and I would recommend that is as far as we take our emotions as the season goes fast. Am I concerned about losing Winfield, Duke out, and many concerning flags raised from last week? Absolutely, but I also know that those things can be wiped out quickly in the following week of the roller coaster ride.
2014-
We get crushed at TCU and two weeks later after a starting QB injury has Leidner out with an injury the week in between, Gophers travel to Michigan. We surprise them by controlling the game and winning 30-14.
We go on a streak and are 6-1 and only have to get through Illinois to set up a big game with Iowa sitting at a respectable 7-1. An average to poor Illinois team bites us on the road.
One week later, we are facing an Iowa team coming off IIRC a thrashing of a good Northwestern team and we are the underdog at home. One of my favorite all time games as we surprise and trash Iowa 51-14.
2015-
We start out 3-1 in non-conf with 3 uninspiring wins against CSU, Kent. St., and Ohio and then get dominated across the board at Northwestern. We were going on road to Purdue and most reiterated our terrible record at W. Lafayette and expectations were low. We crush them 41-13.
Thinking we were now on a roll and having Nebraska's number the previous 2 years and getting them at home, folks were cautiously optimistic. We play a terrible game and lose big.
2016-
After a bad loss at home against a beatable Iowa team, not many were expecting a comfortable win at Maryland with Leidner out. We win by 3 tds.
Everyone then assumed an easy home victory against door mat Rutgers, and we all know how that turned out.
After the win that felt like a loss to many against Rutgers, many thought we would struggle against Ill. We clobber them on the road by 24 point margin.
Things change from week to week and I would recommend that is as far as we take our emotions as the season goes fast. Am I concerned about losing Winfield, Duke out, and many concerning flags raised from last week? Absolutely, but I also know that those things can be wiped out quickly in the following week of the roller coaster ride.
