When Pat Fitzgerald walked into his postgame press conference after a 45-6 Outback Bowl thrashing at the hands of Tennessee, something seemed off. Fitzgerald was upbeat and positive. When asked about the offense's struggles, he in part refuted the question, saying, "You're talking about stats, and the only stat that matters to me is winning, and we won 10 games."
The general message from the program was that a 10-win season is a 10-win season, and despite its unpleasant ending, it should be celebrated. And it's true. The Outback Bowl loss doesn't completely tarnish the success of September through November, which started with an upset of Stanford and ended with a reclaiming of the Land of Lincoln Trophy.