9. Who was the Vikings lineman from the 1970s who turned his benchwarming status into a well-known local endorsement deal?

10. Who was the Vikings linebacker chosen NFL Rookie of the Month for December 1997?

11. The Vikings have had three wide receivers recognized as NFL Rookie of the Year.  Who are they?

12. Who was the Vikings head coach who once worked as an assistant to Green Bay’s Vince Lombardi?

13. Who is the Vikings all-time scoring leader?

14. Who was the Vikings running back who had a starring role in TV’s Hill Street Blues?

15. What Vikings team has the best regular season record ever?

16. How many Super Bowls have the Vikings played in?

17. What year did Minneapolis host the Super Bowl?

18. What Viking holds the team record for most yards rushing in a playoff game?

19. What Viking set the franchise record for most rushing touchdowns in a playoff game?

20. Vikings coach Brad Childress and Saints coach Sean Payton are graduates of what college?

21. Who was the Viking quarterback that threw for the most yards in a regular season opening game?

22. Who was the last Viking inducted into the Ring of Honor?

23. The Vikings have retired the jersey numbers of two offensive linemen including center Mick Tingelhoff.  Who is the other player?

24. What Viking had the most Pro Bowl starts in his career?

25. How many times have the Vikings played the Saints in a regular season opening game in Minnesota?

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The answers to the trivia questions are:

1. The Vikings franchise began its first season in the NFL in 1961, the same year the Twins started up.

2.  Sidney Rice’s unexpected hip surgery in August has Vikings fans gulping Maalox.

3.  Darrell Bevell worked for the Vikings’ hated rivals, that team in Wisconsin, as quarterbacks coach from 2003-2005.

4. Tulane running back Tommy Mason was the Vikings No. 1 pick in 1961.  On the third round the franchise chose quarterback Francis Tarkenton from Georgia.

5. Running back Clinton Jones was chosen with the second pick in the first round of the NFL draft in 1967 and then the Vikings used their eighth pick of that round to take wide receiver Gene Washington.  After choosing the two Michigan State players, the Vikings also used a first round pick (No. 15) on Notre Dame defensive tackle Alan Page.  It was a decent draft.

6. NFL veteran George Shaw was the quarterback for the Vikings in their first regular season game ever, a stunning 37-13 win over the Bears at Met Stadium in 1961.

7. Quarterback Joe Kapp, who led the Vikings to the 1970 Super Bowl, originated the phrase “Forty-for-Sixty.”  It referred to the 40-man roster playing all-out for 60 minutes.

8.  Karl Kassulke had a motorcycle accident on his way to training camp in 1973 that left him paralyzed below the waist.

9. “Benchwamer” Bob Lurtsema became a familiar face around town as a spokesman for Twin City Federal Savings and Loan.
10. Tough question.  The Vikings linebacker chosen NFL Rookie of the Month for December 1997 was Dwayne Rudd.

11. Sammy White in 1975, Randy Moss in 1998 and Percy Harvin in 2009 are the Vikings wide receivers who were honored as NFL Rookie of the Year.

12. Jerry Burns, the Vikings head coach from 1986-91, worked for the legendary Vince Lombardi in Green Bay.
13. Placekicker Fred Cox, with the Vikings from 1963-1977, is the franchise’s all-time leading scorer with 1,365 points.

14. Former Vikings running back Ed Marinaro, once a Heisman Trophy runner-up while playing for Cornell, starred in TV’s Hill Street Blues.

15. Vikings fans will long remember the 1998 team that had the franchise’s best regular season record of 15-1 and later lost the NFC title game.  Ouch!

16. The Vikings have played in the Super Bowl four times, 1970, 1974, 1975 and 1977.  Ouch again!

17.  In one of the few times the Super Bowl has ever been played in a northern city, the Metrodome in Minneapolis hosted the 1992 game.

18.  Robert Smith rushed for a franchise record 140 yards in a Vikings playoff game in 2000.

19. Adrian Peterson rushed for three touchdowns in last January’s NFC title game loss to New Orleans.

20.  Vikings head coach Brad Childress and Saints head coach Sean Payton, whose teams meet on Thursday night in New Orleans, are graduates of Eastern Illinois.

21. Tommy Kramer threw for 395 yards in the franchise’s opening regular season game in 1985.

22.  Scott Studwell, who was a Vikings linebacker from 1977-1990 and has worked in the front office since then, was inducted into the Ring of Honor in 2009.

23. The late Korey Stringer and Mick Tingelhoff are the only two offensive linemen to have their Vikings jerseys retired.

24. Guard Randall McDaniel had 11 Pro Bowl starts during his Hall of Fame career from 1989-1999.

25.  Zero. The Vikings opened the regular seasons of 1976 and 1978 in New Orleans but never in Minnesota.

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Maybe there is such a thing as Gopher luck.

Minnesota took advantage of Middle Tennessee State’s misfortune last night to win a building block game for a possible successful season.  The Blue Raiders played without preseason Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year Dwight Dasher, a dynamic run-pass quarterback who had been a force in making his team 10-3 last season.

Misfortune is a word that characterizes Gophers football, a program that has been trying to become both lucky and good since the late 1960s.  It was just last year and the season before the Gophers could have added a few more wins if not for injuries to wide receiver Eric Decker.  Among the school’s best pass catchers ever and a focal point of the offense, he missed eight total games in 2008 and 2009.

The Blue Raiders couldn’t come up with a running game without Dasher in a 24-17 season opening loss to Minnesota.  The Blue Raiders rushed for only 146 yards.  Forced to pass, they only had the ball for 14 minutes the entire game and their defense couldn’t stop Minnesota enough to win as the Gophers rushed for 281 yards while possessing the ball for 45 minutes.

Gophers coach Tim Brewster told Sports Headliners earlier in the week the key to the game would be whether Minnesota had superior line play on both offense and defense.  The Gophers were better and the result was a seven point, comeback win with Minnesota overcoming a 17-14 Blue Raiders fourth quarter lead.

Even though it was Minnesota’s first of 12 games this season, the game in Murfreesboro was critical to the schedule.  The Gophers, who were 6-7 last season and lost three of their four final games, are a popular choice to finish last in the Big Ten Conference.  Before the Blue Raiders’ Dasher was ruled ineligible, his team was favored to win the game.  A skeptical Gophers fan base had thoughts of an opening loss to the Blue Raiders, a win over lowly South Dakota next week, followed by a nonconference loss to BCS bully USC and maybe a loss, too, against Northern Illinois, a division favorite in the Mid-American Conference.

The psyche of the Gophers and their fans got a boost with last night’s win.  Surely there’s enough talent and confidence now to beat South Dakota next Saturday at TCF Bank Stadium.  With two wins, including a good memory of the Middle Tennessee Sate game, the Gophers will go into the USC game feeling positive about themselves.

Even if the Gophers stumble against USC, a 3-1 or 2-2 record in nonconference games looks doable now.  Northern Illinois lost 27-10 to Iowa State last night, a team that defeated Minnesota by one point in last December’s Insight Bowl.

The Gophers found out last night they have plenty to work on in the days and weeks ahead.  Included in that category is polishing up the tackling, and establishing a passing game where the pass protection and receiving is more consistent.  In the highlight column was a minimum of penalties and mistakes, plus the previously mentioned relentless running game led by tailback Duane Bennett’s 189 yards and fullback Jon Hoese’s three touchdowns, all done behind an improved line.  The Gophers even received favorable decisions by the game officials with Minnesota being penalized only four times for 29 yards.

The Gophers had good fortune last night including with the officials.

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