It's taken me nearly a decade to figure out just how brilliant of a pilot Maverick actually was.
Goose died about two weeks before graduation. It's implied Maverick doesn't win any more points after that.
"He won't get back in the saddle. Won't engage... You know he might just not make it back"
Later, when Maverick goes to Viper and asks what his options are, Viper tells him he has enough points to graduate with his class. I always assumed that he ended up ranking near the bottom, on account of his trauma affecting his flying. That is until Top Gun: Maverick came out.
During the mission debrief, Warlock mentions that Cyclone also finished first in his Top Gun class. To which Maverick cheekily adds "actually, Sir, I finished second"
Therefore, that means that before Goose's death, he and Maverick had already amassed so many points that no other team could catch up to them. In second place.
Of course, I realize that only teams that win the hops get points, but still. The fact that nobody could beat them out of the second place spot with two weeks left in the program is crazy. Especially since they fly one to two hops per day!
