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Dwag Teams with Low Expectations Who Overperformed
WoolleyDoog
Member, Swaye's Wigwam Posts: 3,477 
I just realized how hard it's going to be going into games not thinking "we" should win every one of them. Got me thinking about other Dwag teams that came into the season with low expectations but had big years. My memory only goes back so far so I remember:
2000 & 2016 will probably get called out but I was surprised to see the Huskies were preseason #14 both of those years, which would be a a very generous ranking for this season.
2022 is the only one I can really think of. I honestly can't even remember how I thought they would do that year, probably similar to this season.
Comments
Just keep thinking we will win every game. Its what I do
DAWGS
This is quite the revelation for me. I keep thinking we will loose every game…
DAWGS
I am gonna be PISSED when the doogs lose at Buttgers
Altitude…trap game
I think the real trap game is @ Indiana
How about the years we flopped when we were supposed to be good? EVERY YEAR
2021, 2019….?
Doesn't happen that much
Big Dick Eason Heisman campaign…thud.
That EWU game was speshul
I'm just glad that we do not have Montana on the schedule this year
I thought UW overperformed when they almost won the apple cup in 2008.
maybe this is why they hate “us”?
A lot of people had 2000 and 2016 ranked higher than that in the typical pre season publications.
Much of the mid to late 90's lived off the assumption that all that talent would have a decent coach. Lambo sucked so we finished worse off than most as far as meeting expectations.
2000's were mostly garbage until Pete got it going. And here we are.
Had our fair share of underperformers in my lifetime.
97 - I'll always remember being a kid and seeing the Dwags at #1 in the Athlon preseason magazine back when that was a big deal. Somehow Lambo managed to go to the Aloha Bowl with a team that had just as many guys drafted as the 2023 team. Injuries, I know. I assume if this season had happened in the internet era it gets cried about a lot more.
02 - Preseason #11. A lot of Cody & Reggie hype. Turns out it's hard to win games when you don't play offensive line or defense. Rallied with the NW Championship then in looked Sunshine Skippy soft in El Paso against greased Boilermakers.
19 - Ranked #13 preseason and open with Cal thud. Lost five games by a combined 26 points. I'm really glad Petersen didn't just go out and get a Ralen Goforth or two in the portal at ILB and win 10 games. How in the fuck did we lose to Colorado?
21 - Ranked #20 and we all know what happened. Sure, a lot of it was young, but Jimmy winning four games with the amount of NFL players on this roster is hilarious. Shoutout him forever for having McDuffie and Gordon as CBs and playing a prevent defense. How the fuck did we lose to Colorado?
Because Brunell got hurt UW was actually under rated at 4. Cost them the sole natty. And yet it gave them the natty thanks to Billy Joe
The 2021 Colorado game was the darkest comedy of marching up and down the field on them post Donovon firing, they couldn't do shit, and we still lost from a bunch of errors/turnovers by Morris.
Polk's first game back after injury and had some long TD that still could have won the game even..
We got matched against shitty Boring Colorado almost every single year by the Pac 12 instead of getting to play USC.
I don't think 2016 was a surprise. The way '15 ended, and looking at who was coming back, anything less than a conference championship and playoff birth the following year was going to be a disappointment to me. I paid a shitload of money on the secondary market for tickets to that Stanford game because I knew I was going to see something special. One of the few tims I've ever been right about anything.
1977 pre unranked post #10
1984 pre #18 post #2
1989 pre unranked post #23
1990 pre #20 post #5
1959 pre unranked post #8
I thought they would be good in 2016, not like CFP good though because the team was still young and I thought 2017 would the year. Ross exploding and I think some defensive guys making major strides brought the big success up a year. I wasn't complaining.
When Joe Mathis was bringing heat from the edge and Azeem was roaming the middle that defense was scary good. The unit dropped a notch with the edge combo of Potatoes O’Brien and P-Salm losing contain on the regular and then DJ Beavers, god bless his heart, was no Azeem. Sad.
That defense still held Alabama to 17 points in Atlanta. With 0 help from its offense. It was dominant.