Throughout HATE WEEK, we'll be looking back at some of the memorable moments in Gopher football history. Because all teams have moments of ineptitude, but few have so many widely available on Youtube.
December 29, 2006:
In the history of the NCAA, there have been 832* bowl games played. The odds, then, of achieving any sort of superlative like "most first downs in bowl history" or "highest score in bowl history" are remarkably small.
In the 2006 Insight Bowl, Minnesota looked to be en route to setting a few of those marks of their own, running roughshod over the Texas Tech Red Raiders. The Gophers led 35-7, then tacked on a field goal halfway through the third quarter to push their lead to 31. Certainly everything will go according to plan, yes?
Yes:
Oh ho ho! Certainly you didn't expect the "plan" to be "cruise to an easy win." This is Minnesota and Glen Mason, and if there's one thing they knew how to do better than anyone else ever, it was collapse. Whether it be for a year or just one game, nobody goes halfway and collapses like the Gophers. Congrats, gentlemen. You get an E for effort embarrassment.
*I totally made that number up but it sounds about right.