No way

We never want to lose, of course. However, when you lose to a classy opponent, as opposed to hated rival known as "Thug U," it's a much different kind of feeling.

I said the same thing about the 1992 season. Someone once asked me if I would have been OK with trading the Stanford loss (ended up #9 that year) for the Penn State win (ended up unranked), and I said "absolutely not."

First, and foremost, I have the utmost of respect for Bill Walsh. He has always been a man of class and integrity.

Bill Walsh called an excellent game against us, and created several well-executed mismatches. That Stanford team was in near perfect sync, while we fell apart in the 2H.

Yes, the loss was frustrating, and knocked us out of the National Championship picture, but if there were ever a loss that I simply tipped my hat to the coach, and moved on without too much pain, it was that one.

Had we lost to that scumbag Paterno for a third year in a row, that would have been far more depressing.

Before anyone says "come on, you didn't know about Paterno and Sandusky back in those days!" I will concede that point, but I did know about Todd Hodne and how Paterno moved Heaven and Earth to protect him.