These types of seasons are the ones that stand out the most to me going back to the PS2 days. I remember a 2-10 season after taking over a probation marred Nebraska team where I only beat 2 FCS teams. By the time I got that team to 9 wins I felt like a miracle worker.
I remember being hyped up about what I thought was a stacked ECU squad I had built but had glaring holes at OL and LB so my QB got beat up, injured a few times and I had major issues against the run. What I thought was going to be a possible unbeaten year ended up being 9-4 which was a major disappointment, yet was realistic.