As football season approaches, optimism isn't just for maroon Kool-Aid drinking enthusiasts. The numbers of the game also suggest a truly positive season is well within the realm of possibility.
As the calendar turns to August, college football fan bases often begin to form a trichotomy of sorts (yes, I just made that word up). Generally speaking, there are the optimists, the pessimists (usually a weak contingent for a lot of fan bases but particularly strong in Gopher-dom), and the realists.
The optimists and pessimists often eschew statistics and sound analysis in favor of unsupported claims about the upcoming season.