I think we actually made a bowl after the 5-7 season. Riley’s second year was pretty good and we went 9-3. We went into the WiscyDicks game undefeated and ranked #7. Lost in overtime. Then collapsed vs Ohio State, which was probably the beginning of the end.
In hindsight, the hook on Riley was incredibly quick given all the shit product his successors have put out. But we were determined to bring home the guy we could make a comic book about.
It’s simply insane to think that not only was Riley the last coach to win 9 games, he was also last the coach to win more than 5. JFC.