The Boat Sinks

Wisconsin 38

Gophers 17

Well, I can't honestly say I am totally surprised.

After the win over Penn State put the Gophers into the top 10 with a 9-0 record, basically clinching this as the best Gophers season in decades, there remained a lot of scenarios for more joy. And only one scenario remained in which this season could still be seen as a failure.

Guess which scenario played out?

I know a wider perspective paints this season as a success. Easy schedule or not, the Gophers don't just win 10 games all the time. They don't beat top 10 teams often. And there was no reason to believe 10 wins were possible when I was at TCF Bank Stadium in September watching this team need basically a miracle to come back to beat Georgia Southern. And this team even now is barely over a year removed from the team was getting trucked weekly by the Illinois and Marlylands. 

Don't care. They fucked up ALL the good vibes today. Today permanently tainted, if not ruined, the whole season.

What a thorough embarrassment. 

After that opening touchdown to Bateman and a couple solid defensive drives, the whole game pivoted on one play. Facing 4th and 2 from about the Badgers 35....PJ Fleck chose to punt. It was one of those decisions that is so obviously wrong the moment it is made that you know it will come back to haunt.

And indeed it did. Biggest game of the year, of his career, and Fleck blinked.

Predictably the punt backfired almost immediately, as the Wisconsin offense began their takeover. That defense from last week that struggled to get off the field against Northweatern's backup QB returned. More or less from the punt on, the Badgers did whatever they wanted on offense. The Badgers 1st 3 touchdowns, which took a close game to a rout, all were scored without resistance. So much for shutting down the NFL-bound Jonathan Taylor. We let the Badgers crappy QB throw all over us, all the more humbling considering our own passing game was terrible.

On a day we needed the offense to keep pace, it failed. Tanner Morgan was mostly awful. Not all his fault. The OL was completely manhandled, so he was constantly being hurried, or sacked. And there was no run game to really speak of.

But we kept wasting drives trying to force the run. Late in the 3rd we have 1st and goal down 24-10. Clearly this is 4 down territory, so you get 4 shots at the endzone. And we wasted 2.of them running up the middle. We didn't score, then Wisconsin went 96 yards in 7 plays to dagger us.

Toss in a garbage touchdown both ways and you get a 38-17 final. It honestly wasn't even that close. From the moment Fleck made it clear that he was coaching scared, the whole team folded like a cheap tent.

Sorry, PJ, but when you talk this much and hype things up like this, then lose, it is that much worse. It's on him to make 10 win seasons something other than a once every 50 years event, and if he ever has this kind of chance again, to not blow it. Because nobody will ever five him full trust again.

Not after this disaster. The Gophers will now still play in a pretty good bowl game(Outback, Citrus, maybe Fiesta), and maybe even win it. But it's going to take a hell.of a bowl performance to wipe this bitter taste out of my mouth.