Many are saying the University of Minnesota football team's season ended the way it went in Saturday's 28-14 loss to Wisconsin, with the team struggling to move the ball and sagging to keep the other team from putting up points.
But the season isn't over.
Really.
Despite four straight losses that turned the Gophers from Big Ten West contenders to below-average also-rans, the team did qualify for a postseason bowl game.
Here's the deal: With not enough teams getting to six wins and bowl eligibility, the NCAA needed to dig deep fill the slots for its bloated schedule of 41 bowl games.
That's right... 41 bowl games, which means 82 teams needed to win six games to qualify.
"You know, we'll always accept a bowl bid," said Gopher football coach PJ Fleck, who is 4-0 in bowl games since arriving in Minnesota for the 2017 season. "Always."
The Gophers are going because they have the best Academic Progress Rate among the remaining five-win teams, a formula clinched late Saturday night when Hawaii edged Colorado State on a game-ending field goal.
Uh, RAH for the U of M... right?
"This is why it's a life program, academically, athletically, socially, serving and giving," Fleck said. "When you get put in positions like this, your APR matters. Might now matter in a lot of places, that's fine. We're a life program, and the academics will always matter here."
Plus, Fleck, his staff, and players have a chance to make improvements, which covers a lot of ground in what was a disappointing season riddled with injuries and saddled with inexperience.
"There's so much beneficial things to a bowl game," said Fleck. "With practices, with development. And to be honest, we might be our best football team in a month, if we can get everybody back."
Not that the Gophers will get a prime location and a quality opponent out of what they accomplished in 2023, or failed to accomplish.
Projections have the Gophers going to either the Las Vegas Bowl (not a bad destination) or Detroit's Quick Lane Bowl (reallly, no one wants to go to the postseason's punch line).
The bowl schedule is revealed on Dec. 3.