The University of Minnesota football team, 5-4 overall and 3-3 in Big Ten games, needs a sixth win to be bowl eligible.
In the Golden Gophers three remaining games they could be underdogs. All three opponents have winning records.
Minnesota is about a touchdown underdog at Penn State next Saturday. After that the Gophers could be underdogs at home against Northwestern and in the season finale at Wisconsin.
A three-game sweep by the Gophers sends them to a more prestigious postseason destination like the Music City Bowl in Nashville. A 7-5 or 6-6 record could find them back in a tier-2 destination like last year.
Minnesota won the Rate Bowl last December in Phoenix, defeating Mountain West member New Mexico, 20-17. That bowl is now the Cactus Bowl and will be played in Tempe on December 26.
In a season where the Gophers have won back the Little Brown Jug (pictured) and Floyd of Rosedale rivalry trophies, ending up in the Cactus Bowl would be humbling. Even more so would be an invite to play North Dakota State.
The Cactus Bowl has agreements to match up Big Ten and Big 12 schools but if there isn’t enough inventory, then a team like New Mexico or North Dakota State could receive an invite. The Fargo-based Bison, 7-2 overall in the school’s first year of FBS competition, would be an intriguing opponent because of the school’s geographic proximity to Minneapolis and past success against Minnesota.
As an FCS powerhouse, the Bison won the last two games against the Gophers, winning 37-24 in 2011 and 27-21 in 2007. Those two upsets were humbling for a Big Ten school, but the Bison has long been a model for doing more with less.
North Dakota State has mastered identifying under the radar talent (including in Minnesota high schools) and how to combine promising personnel with savvy coaching. The Bison has won 10 FCS titles since 2011.
The Bison transitioned into more competitive FBS football this fall with hardly a hiccup. Among their wins are victories over Mountain West title contenders Air Force and Wyoming.
It’s a long shot, but you can bet that North Dakota State would welcome a bowl game against the Gophers to further elevate the Bison’s reputation. Even a competitive loss would be a “win” for the Bison who now more than ever can recruit against the Gophers.
Worth Noting
The acclaimed Vikings defense faces its most formidable 2026 quarterback challenge Monday night at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Bills’ Josh Allen ranks No. 1 in NFL.com’s QB Index with impressive numbers including 1,793 yards in seven games along with a completion percentage of 65.9 and 11 touchdowns. He has also rushed for 270 yards and nine touchdowns.
Allen leads all quarterbacks in NFL history with 88 rushing touchdowns. He has 4,991 career rushing yards and needs nine yards Monday to join Lamar Jackson (6,666 rushing yards), Michael Vick (6,109), Cam Newton (5,628) and Russell Wilson (5,568) as the only quarterbacks in NFL history with at least 5,000 rushing yards.
Adrian Peterson will be inducted into the Vikings Ring of Honor Monday night and will sound the Gjallarhorn prior to kickoff. In 10 years with the Vikings from 2007-16 he became and remains the team’s all-time leader in career rushing yards (11,747) and career rushing touchdowns (97). He holds the franchise record for single-game rushing yards, 296 yards in 2007 against the Chargers.
Craig Leipold’s ownership group of the Saint Paul Hotel has designated February as the start month for a renovation of the sleeping rooms with a summer of 2028 completion date targeted. Leipold also told Sports Headliners there will be other changes and “nobody will recognize the lobby” after renovation.
The historic hotel opened in 1910 and much of the public associates the building with the St. Paul Grill. “The grill is going to stay the same,” Leipold said. “That’s just an iconic restaurant and bar, and everybody loves it. The first thing people ask me is what are you going to do in the grill and I go nothing, and they go great.”
Leipold, well-known in sports circles as owner of the Wild and an investor in the Twins, could hardly be more familiar with the hotel. The Racine, Wisconsin resident has lived part of the last 16 years at the downtown landmark.
How many nights has he slept there? “Oh mercy, I would say on average 2 and a half times per week, so I’ll let you do the math when you have time.”
Leipold is majority owner of the new Minnesota Forge women’s pro volleyball team that begins play in Major League Volleyball in January. The Forge opens its inaugural season with a two-match road trip: January 7 at the Los Angeles Thunder and January 10, at the Vegas Thrill. The inaugural home opener will be January 16 against the Grand Rapids Rise at Grand Casino Arena, home of the Wild.
Leipold said projected home attendance in 2027 will be 6,000 to 8,000 per date. He added the franchise is expected to lose money initially with perhaps a break-even season by year five and be profitable after that.
The Gophers have the third most NHL draft choices in the seven-member hockey Big Ten. Minnesota’s 15 trails Michigan State’s 17 and Michigan’s 16. The nationally No. 1 ranked Badgers, who won a shootout and a 6-0 follow up game last week against the Gophers, have nine NHL draft choices. That’s tied for lowest in the Big Ten with Notre Dame.
The Gophers are the only team in the league averaging over 10,000 fans per game.