While the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, real life has very few straight lines to offer. For the past few seasons, Gopher fans have enjoyed tangible progress in a program rebuild that had most fans seeing straight lines. Embarrassing non-conference losses disappeared and were replaced by bowl games. Rivalry trophies materialized next to the hardware memorializing 18 conference championship and 7 national championships. The team went from bad to respectable to dangerous in sequential steps, brick by brick.
Then 2015 happened. All that is missing from this year is for Ashton Kutccher jumping into frame on the next episode of Gopher Football with Tracy Caeys whilst donning his Sunday best Hawkeye trucker hat in order to complete the Punk'd level of trolling that has victimized Gopher Nation in 2015.