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Topic: Your Team's Best Season in Your Lifetime

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medinabuckeye1

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Re: Your Team's Best Season in Your Lifetime
« Reply #28 on: January 14, 2022, 01:59:45 PM »
So if we are talking worst season as a fan, it was probably 1978, Art Schlichter's freshman year.

All the talk about Ohio State having a True QB for the first time, not just another RB that could throw. Still remember vividly the 19-0 blow out by Penn State on Opening day. And of course it all ended with Woody throwing the punch that got him fired. 

I am still relatively convinced if they had beat UCLA for 1975 National Championship he would have retired with Archie graduating.  Of course College coaches are a different breed maybe I am wrong.
I was born in 1975 so I have no recollection of either the 1975 or 1978 seasons but that 1975 RB loss to UCLA is one of the most frustrating in tOSU history.  The Buckeyes had destroyed that very same UCLA team in that very same stadium a few months earlier and were ranked #1 so the game should have been nothing more than a confirmation of tOSU's NC but it was not to be.  

Worst season as a fan for me is a toss up between:
  • 1999, 6-6:  The team was phenomenal in 1998, went 11-1, and finished #2 it the polls for the second time in three years (also 1996).  I expected SOME drop-off but had high hopes that were not met.  To be fair, the Big11Ten was absolutely LOADED that year.  Wisconsin was unranked when they beat tOSU, finished #4.  Michigan was #10 when they beat tOSU, finished #5.  Michigan State was #19 when they beat tOSU, finished #7.  Penn State was #2 when they beat tOSU, finished #11.  Minnesota was #24 when tOSU beat them, finished #18.  Illinois was unranked when they beat tOSU, finished #24.  Purdue was #18 when tOSU beat them, finished #25.  In total that is seven Big11Ten teams and one OOC (Miami,FL) that tOSU played that finished ranked and tOSU went 2-6 against them plus UCLA was #14 at game time.  If they hadn't had such a brutal schedule this team might have gone 8-4 or even 9-3.  If the schedule had included IU and NU (3-5 and 1-7 in conference) instead of UW and MSU (7-1 and 6-2) then the Buckeyes would have probably been 8-4/5-3 and if they hadn't been in the Kickoff Classic against Miami,FL they'd have been 8-3/5-3 and gone to a pretty decent bowl.  
  • 2004, 8-4:  8-4 isn't a bad record but the team went 25-2 over the previous two years, won the NC in '02, and finished #4 in '03.  We didn't expect to lose four games in 2004.  Also because I drove to Evanston for the NU game that year and that is the ONLY time in my lifetime that NU has defeated tOSU in football.  
  • 2011, 6-7:  In the spring the 2011 team was expected to continue where it had left off.  The Buckeyes had won the league and finished the previous six seasons (2005-2010) in the top-10 including five of the six in the top-5 and hadn't lost more than three games since 2004 nor more than four since 2001 (Tressel's first year) so at that point we (as fans) were just used to it and expected it every year.  The team started out by beating Akron 42-0 so everything looked fine.  Even when they looked questionable in a 27-22 win over Toledo the next week and a loss at Miami,FL the week after that it still looked like they might be able to keep their BigTen and Top-10 streaks going.  The highlight of the season was a thrilling win over top-10 Wisconsin which was sandwiched between wins at Illinois and vs Indiana but after that the bottom fell out.  The Buckeyes were 6-3 after the IU win but lost their last four games (PU, PSU, M, UF) to finish below .500 for the first time since John Cooper's first year (1988).  After almost 25 years we (as fans) just didn't think that sub .500 years ever happened in Columbus.  
Earle Bruce's last season (6-4-1 in '87) and John Cooper's first season (4-6-1 in '88) were about as bad as 1999 and 2011 but less was expected of those teams so it wasn't as bad from a fan's perspective because the gap between expectations and results was not as severe.  
if you're wondering about worst season, easily 2000. started out preseason #3, season opened at ucla and first series we force a punt and freddie milons took it back to the house. that's literally the only good thing i remember about that season. ended up winning only 3 games and also just after the season was when the means infractions came to light and we were under ncaa investigation. i remember being in hs and one of my best friend's dad was head coach for a non-football team at bama and when that crap came out we all asked him and he said the university/ad doesn't seem worried about it. lol maybe they should have been. just a complete shitshow of a season and the lead in to the worst period in bama history outside of the 1950s.
This is exactly what I meant above when I talked about the gap between expectations and results.  Having a bad season like Bama in 2000 or Ohio State in 1999 is MUCH worse when you are expecting to be a NC contender.  When you start out #3 playing in the Rose Bowl (stadium not game), you expect your team to be a NC contender.  Same for Ohio State in 1999 when they started #9 playing #12 Miami,FL.  To have that season end in a sub .500 quagmire just sucks.  

MaximumSam

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Re: Your Team's Best Season in Your Lifetime
« Reply #29 on: January 14, 2022, 05:00:01 PM »
Unquestionably 2002. I went to law school at OSU over Notre Dame mostly because I thought OSU would have a better football team, and how right I was. I was a 2L, had season tickets, and even ended up going out to the championship game with my dad and brother. Which was also good. I'm not sure there was ever a more entertaining season for a team.

Brutus Buckeye

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Re: Your Team's Best Season in Your Lifetime
« Reply #30 on: January 15, 2022, 01:22:44 AM »
What was your team's worst season in your lifetime? 

Definitely 2011 for OSU, seeing as it was the second worst season in school history, and the worst was clear back in the eighteen dicketies. 
1919, 20, 21, 28, 29, 31, 34, 35, 36, 37, 42, 44
WWH: 1952, 54, 55, 57, 58, 60, 61, 62, 63, 65, 67, 68, 70, 72, 74, 75
1979, 81, 82, 84, 87, 94, 98
2001, 02, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19

OrangeAfroMan

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Re: Your Team's Best Season in Your Lifetime
« Reply #31 on: January 15, 2022, 04:31:40 AM »
Florida's had 2 losing seasons since the year before I was born.
2013 - Muschamp...the year after going 11-2, everyone got hurt and we sucked and by the end of the season, there were anonymous walk-ons playing on defense.  Wound up losing the last 7 games.  But this one wasn't the worst, because at least there was a reason.  I forget the actual number, but late in the year, of the 22 starters, double digits were out.  Was preseason #10, lol.

2017 - McIlwain....this is the worst one.  We had absolutely no offense - the leading WR was 5'8" and averaged under 10 yards per catch.  No rush defense.  We went 4-7, but could have easily been 2-10.  One game was cancelled.  We beat Tennessee on a hail mary and Kentucky inexplicably just didn't cover a WR 2 separate times!!!! in a 1-point win.  The only 2 comfortable wins were against Vandy and UAB.  The highlight of the team was the kicker.  For real.
“The Swamp is where Gators live.  We feel comfortable there, but we hope our opponents feel tentative. A swamp is hot and sticky and can be dangerous." - Steve Spurrier

OrangeAfroMan

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Re: Your Team's Best Season in Your Lifetime
« Reply #32 on: January 15, 2022, 04:37:32 AM »
The Kentucky thing will never happen ever again.  No tricks, no weirdness, the defense simply failed to have a guy across from the main, outside WR. 
One was a long TD catch.
The other was a short, game-winning TD catch.

INCONCEIVABLE!!!
“The Swamp is where Gators live.  We feel comfortable there, but we hope our opponents feel tentative. A swamp is hot and sticky and can be dangerous." - Steve Spurrier

LittlePig

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Re: Your Team's Best Season in Your Lifetime
« Reply #33 on: January 15, 2022, 08:24:27 AM »
This is a tough one.  Iowa has had some magical seasons tainted by disappointing bowl losses and some regular seasons not as great but that finished strong with big bow wins.

Magical seasons tainted by disappointing bowl losses

1985 - Iowa started 7-0 and was ranked #1 for 5 straight weeks.  Includes classic win in #1 Iowa vs. #2 Michigan game. Outright Big Ten champions.  Chuck Long was runner up in Heisman to Bo Jackson. Season Tainted by Rose Bowl loss to UCLA.

2002 - Iowa went 8-0 in Big Ten and 11-2 overall .  Co- big ten champs. Including wins over MSU, PSU, Mich. Did not play OSU.  QB Brad Banks was runner up in Heisman race to Carson Palmer.  Tainted by Orange Bowl loss to USC.

2015 - Iowa started 12-0,  went 8-0 in Big Ten and won the West.  Lost Big Ten CCG to MSU 13-9.  Tainted by Rose Bowl loss to Stanford.

2021 started out like a magical season, with Iowa starting 6-0,  rising to #2 in the rankings with big wins over #19 Ind, #9 ISU and #4 PSU but it was all a mirage, Iowa ended up 10-4.  All those ranked teams Iowa beat ended up unranked in the end.  Iowa's offense was exposed as just plain awful.  Still somehow Iowa found a way to win the Big Ten West.

Magical Seasons with strong finishes

2004 - Iowa started 2-2, including a 44-7 loss to Arizona St, and was down to its 6th string RB when somehow Iowa finished 10-2  overall and was Big Ten co champs at 7-1.  Included classic 6-4 win over PSU.  Finished season with dramatic last second win in Cap One (citrus)  bowl over Nick Saban and LSU.

2009 - Iowa started 9-0 with one improbable win after another.  Blocking 2 FGs  against UNI.  Last second TD against MSU.  A weird ping-pong pick 6 against Indiana.  All ended when QB Ricky Stanzi got hurt against NW.  In the defacto Big Ten championship game at OSU,  Iowa's backup QB almost pulled out an upset, but Iowa lost in OT 27-24.  Still Iowa rebounded and won the Orange Bowl with Ricky Stanzi back at QB.  To finish 11-2.

I am going to have think about this.  I am going to go with 1985. It truly was a special season despite the Rose Bowl loss. 

But it was tempting to go with 2004 or 2009.  Both seasons had bizarre, exciting, fun and unlikely wins topped off by big bowl wins.

FearlessF

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Re: Your Team's Best Season in Your Lifetime
« Reply #34 on: January 15, 2022, 09:22:54 AM »
1985 for Iowa, unless you're too young to remember it
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FearlessF

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Re: Your Team's Best Season in Your Lifetime
« Reply #35 on: January 15, 2022, 09:25:21 AM »
What was your team's worst season in your lifetime?

Definitely 2011 for OSU, seeing as it was the second worst season in school history, and the worst was clear back in the eighteen dicketies.
I don't want to talk about it


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LittlePig

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Re: Your Team's Best Season in Your Lifetime
« Reply #36 on: January 15, 2022, 12:52:54 PM »
1985 for Iowa, unless you're too young to remember it
I will agree with 1985 for Iowa's best season in my lifetime.

For Iowa's worst season, I was too young to remember it, but 1973 might be the worst season in my lifetime.  IOWA went 0-11 with few notable accomplishments and the head coach got fired.    Although it might be worth noting the team had Jim Caldwell and Dan McCarney as players, who went on to long coaching careers.  And one notable assistant coach on that 1973 team was Jack Harbaugh,  which means when Jim Harbaugh was a kid, he had to spend at least 1 year living in Iowa City.

Runner-up for worst team might be Kirk Ferentz first team that finished 1-10 in 1999.  Its amazing to think about that by 20002,  Iowa went 11-2 and 8-0 in the Big Ten.  Remarkable turn around.

847badgerfan

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Re: Your Team's Best Season in Your Lifetime
« Reply #37 on: January 15, 2022, 12:58:55 PM »
I will agree with 1985 for Iowa's best season in my lifetime.

For Iowa's worst season, I was too young to remember it, but 1973 might be the worst season in my lifetime.  IOWA went 0-11 with few notable accomplishments and the head coach got fired.    Although it might be worth noting the team had Jim Caldwell and Dan McCarney as players, who went on to long coaching careers.  And one notable assistant coach on that 1973 team was Jack Harbaugh,  which means when Jim Harbaugh was a kid, he had to spend at least 1 year living in Iowa City.

Runner-up for worst team might be Kirk Ferentz first team that finished 1-10 in 1999.  Its amazing to think about that by 20002,  Iowa went 11-2 and 8-0 in the Big Ten.  Remarkable turn around.
Remarkably familiar to Alvarez in Madison. 1990: 1-10, followed by 5-6, 5-6, 10-1-1.

Rose Bowl champs.
U RAH RAH! WIS CON SIN!

FearlessF

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Re: Your Team's Best Season in Your Lifetime
« Reply #38 on: January 15, 2022, 01:02:42 PM »
I was in Kinnick for Kirk's first game in 99.

the endzones were RED, I enjoyed the game

the Ex (Hawk fan) did not and was a drunken disturbance
"Courage; Generosity; Fairness; Honor; In these are the true awards of manly sport."

betarhoalphadelta

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Re: Your Team's Best Season in Your Lifetime
« Reply #39 on: January 15, 2022, 01:03:51 PM »
What was your team's worst season in your lifetime?
BTW I pretty much consider my "lifetime" as it relates to Purdue football as starting in 1996. I didn't follow college football [other than hating Notre Dame on principle] prior to coming to Purdue, so no college football history between '78 and '95 was relevant to me. 

Of course, that's not relevant to this question, because as mentioned, when it comes to the worst season of my lifetime it would still be whichever is the worst season of Darrell Hazell's tenure.

So let's go to the videotape...

  • 2013: Finished 1-11, 0-8 in conference. Only win was a narrow 20-14 win over FCS Indiana State. Only close losses were a 7-point loss to Notre Dame and a 4-point loss to Illinois. Obviously the season was bad on paper... But do I excuse it as Hazell's first season and with a hope he was actually building something?
  • 2014: 3-9, 1-7 in conference. Wins were Western Michigan, FCS Southern Illinois, and Illinois. I think this can't be it because even though the season was terrible, it finally included beating two FBS teams, and I recall seeing at least a glimmer of offensive hope. 
  • 2015: 2-10, 1-7 in conference. Wins over FCS Indiana State and over Nebraska. This season could be a strong contender, in that it was the season that saw any hope from 2014 evaporate. This was the season that I actually wrote a letter to Morgan Burke imploring that they fire John Shoop after the Wisconsin game, because it was so terrible. 
  • 2016: Hazell won three games but was fired after 6, so no matter how bad it was to finish 0-6 with an interim coach, this season can't be the worst because it meant he was gone. 

So it's between 2013 and 2015. Tie goes to the season that we didn't even beat a single FBS team, and were only briefly competitive in two other games. But it's close...

2013 is the worst.

MrNubbz

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Re: Your Team's Best Season in Your Lifetime
« Reply #40 on: January 15, 2022, 01:15:27 PM »
I am still relatively convinced if they had beat UCLA for 1975 National Championship he would have retired with Archie graduating.  Of course College coaches are a different breed maybe I am wrong.
Yup the Bucks took the Bruins behind the woodshed in October 3months later they returned the fasvor
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FearlessF

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Re: Your Team's Best Season in Your Lifetime
« Reply #41 on: January 15, 2022, 01:23:55 PM »
Husker's worst season

2007
Won 5, Lost 7
Big 12: Won 2, Lost 6, tie fifth place North
Coach Bill Callahan


11/03  #Kansas        Lawrence    L 39-76
"Courage; Generosity; Fairness; Honor; In these are the true awards of manly sport."

 

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