I keep seeing so much about our close games (which definitely jives with my experience!), so I wanted to lay them out in terms of wins and losses since Bret got here. Cutoff is a game that was decided by 8 points or fewer:
2021: 5-7 Record ... 2 comfortable wins and 3 clear losses
W 30-22 vs. Nebraska
L 30-37 vs. UTSA
L 17-20 vs. Maryland
L 9-13 at Purdue
W 20-18 at #7 Penn State (9OT)
L 14-20 vs. Rutgers
W 14-6 at #20 Minnesota
2022: 9-4 Record ... 7 comfortable wins and 1 clear loss
L 20-23 at Indiana
W 9-6 vs. Iowa
L 15-23 vs. Michigan State
L 24-31 vs. Purdue
L 17-19 at #3 Michigan
2023: 5-7 record ... 0 comfortable wins and 4 clear losses
W 30-28 vs. Toledo
W 23-17 vs. FAU
W 27-24 at Maryland
L 21-25 vs. Wisconsin
W 27-26 at Minnesota
W 48-45 vs. Indiana (OT)
L 13-15 at #16 Iowa
L 43-45 vs. Northwestern
Following up on this, here is the detail on some of the late lead swings to help people decide which ones we were "lucky" to win or "unlucky" to lose, out of the games listed above:
GAMES WHERE IT WAS CLEAR NEITHER TEAM WAS "ROBBED"
2021 ... 2 wins and 2 losses
W 30-22 vs. Nebraska ... we were up 30-16 in the fourth quarter.
L 30-37 vs. UTSA ... we were down 10 with under 5 minutes to go and were trying to complete a great comeback.
L 14-20 vs. Rutgers ... while this is indeed the infamous running it on 4th and 1 and getting stuffed game you are all remembering, we also trailed for the entire fourth quarter.
W 14-6 at #20 Minnesota ... we were up 14 in the fourth quarter until Minnesota made it an 8-point game with under 5 minutes left.
2022 ... 0 wins and 1 loss
L 15-23 vs. Michigan State ... we were down 23-7 at the end of the third quarter, and frankly we looked like crap all day.
2023 ... 2 wins and 1 loss
W 23-17 vs. FAU ... we were up 23-10 with under 5 minutes to go.
W 27-24 at Maryland ... we were up 10 near the end of the third quarter, and we never let Maryland regain the lead.
L 43-45 vs. Northwestern ... should we have won and did we make some really dumb mistakes? Maybe. However, we trailed by 8 for a good chunk of the fourth quarter and needed a miracle last-second TD to even get the chance to fail at our 2-point conversion.
NAILBITERS WHERE ONE TEAM WAS A BIT "LUCKY" TO WIN
2021 ... 1 win and 2 losses
L 17-20 vs. Maryland ... we were up 7 AND HAD THE BALL with under 5 minutes to go and lost in regulation.
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L 9-13 at Purdue ... we were up 3 with under 6 minutes to go and had Purdue at 3rd and 7, so hold them there and they only tie the game at best. We also had four chances in the red zone vs. Purdue and failed to score.
W 20-18 at #7 Penn State (9OT) ... this game is too much of a mess to analyze, but obviously any 9 OT game could have gone either way, lol.
2022 ... 1 win and 3 losses
L 20-23 at Indiana ... I don't need to go into this, but we lost by three points and Indiana (A) got a FG counted that they missed, and (B) had a clear Illini TD called back. Straight-up BS.
W 9-6 vs. Iowa ... on one hand, Iowa was lucky we played with a back-up QB, but MAN are we lucky that fumble got called back.
L 24-31 vs. Purdue ... while we lost by a full TD, there were SO many awful calls that kept giving Purdue another chance on offense, some even negating interceptions. I'll admit this one is borderline, but it was so infuriating that I am putting it here. My wife and I drove down for this one to sit in 20-something degree weather, and I am frankly STILL trying to erase it from my memory. The day our Big Ten Championship Game hopes died.
L 17-19 at #3 Michigan ... straight-up robbed to protect the Wolverines.
2023 ... 3 wins and 2 losses
W 30-28 vs. Toledo ... we were damn lucky to survive.
L 21-25 vs. Wisconsin ... we were up 21-7 near the end of the third quarter, and both a completely ridiculous ejection and an ineligible receiver for Wisconsin did us in.
W 27-26 at Minnesota ... we needed a miracle last-second drive from a QB most people had never heard of, lol.
W 48-45 vs. Indiana (OT) ... so many lead changes and a crazy OT finish, so this one has to be a "could have gone either way" game, IMO.
L 13-15 at #16 Iowa ... we led the game from 6:53 in the second quarter until Iowa scored with under 5 minutes to go in the fourth quarter. We also failed three times to get just 3 yards on our final drive.
So in summary, this was our record in "crazy" games where one team left bewildered with a broken heart:
2021: 1-2
2022: 1-3
2023: 3-2
Total: 5-7
2022 specifically stands out as a tragic campaign in retrospect. ANY one of (A) not getting screwed at Indiana, (B) not getting screwed and showing up vs. Purdue or (C) not getting screwed at Michigan lands us in the Big Ten Championship Game and possibly a better bowl. Who knows if recruiting momentum would have taken the necessary steps forward in that scenario, but it certainly would not have hurt!