The California team that plays the Gophers at TCF Bank Stadium tomorrow is a two touchdown favorite.  The point spread is among the reasons the unranked Gophers could surprise and beat the No. 8 team in the country.

Don’t bet your season tickets on it but there’s no reason to enter TCF Bank Stadium looking more lifeless than a bear in hibernation.  Coach Jeff Tedford’s mostly successful coaching era (eighth season, 61-30) has been tainted by struggles on the road.  The Golden Bears entered this season with a 5-11 road record the last three years, according to a Cal Website, https://www.californiagoldenblogs.com/2009/9/16/1026957/on-the-road-again-how-can-cal.

Among the more talked about road losses was last season’s game at Maryland where the Terps won 35-27 after the Golden Bears arrived only a day before the game and made a three hour time change.  The Bears flew across the country and while Tedford may or may not think the time change contributed to the loss, he brought his team to Minneapolis yesterday, a day earlier than opponents usually arrive.

When tomorrow’s game begins at 11 a.m. Minneapolis time the California lads could be thinking it’s only 9 a.m. on the West Coast.  “I really don’t think it’s an advantage for the Gophers,” Minnesota coach Tim Brewster said.

Maybe, or maybe not.  Now go ahead and take the same view about the Bears being a big favorite in the game.  Gopher quarterback Adam Weber was asked about a possible advantage if the Bears feel a little too good about themselves.  “There’s some truth to that,” he said.  “A team like Cal might come in here and overlook us a little bit.  But we’ll demand respect right away because of how we play and what we show them.  We’re going to have to have a very flawless game on offense and defense.  But if we do that, who knows what happens.”

The 2-0 Gophers have shown an impressive defense and timely field goal kicking in close wins over Syracuse and Air Force, but they hardly have seen a sniff so far from national polls and media.  That’s not the kind of resume that will cause Cal to be extra focused and neither will playing a Big Ten Conference team.

The league’s prestige has been in free fall for awhile including last season when conference teams won one bowl game.  After two weeks the conference has four wins against BCS teams and three losses.

California’s last trip to the Rose Bowl was 1959 and Tedford has fans talking Pasadena with a team that has impressed with home wins over Maryland, 52-13, and Eastern Washington, 59-7.  Conversation about the Bears often begins with game-breaking runner Jahvid Best, among the most likely players in the country to contend for the Heisman Trophy.

Best, though, averaged 96 yards rushing on the road last year versus 153 in Berkeley, according to ESPN The Magazine. The whole Cal team only had 38 yards rushing in that 2008 loss at Maryland, according to the publication which quoted a rival coach as saying this about Best:  “He is really dangerous.  But if you can penetrate and rattle him early, he gets tentative.”

There’s some intrigue about Saturday’s game, so go in with your head up and hope it’s in the same position around 2:30 p.m.

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Ryan Longwell played nine seasons with Brett Favre in Green Bay and the two became friends.  That friendship continued after Longwell joined the Vikings in 2006.  The Vikings kicker was asked to compare the Favre personality he saw in the locker room with the Packers versus what he’s observing now at Winter Park.

“It’s exactly the same,” Longwell said.  “Not one ounce of difference except he’s got more gray hair.  But personality wise, the same guy.

“He’s just a fun guy. He’s always making jokes. Making fun of guys just like everyone does in the locker room.  He just has a better way of doing it.  When he gets comfortable, like he was in Green Bay, everybody is fair game.

“And he was like that two weeks into being…here, so you knew he was comfortable and you knew he was getting along with the guys.  We have a good locker room of guys here and he complements that.”

An unknown prankster placed a rocking chair in front of Favre’s locker at Winter Park last week.  Earlier this week it was still in place.

Favre’s age (he turns 40 in October) is an easy target for joking around.  He’s the only player on the team roster born in the 1960s.  But how do you NOT respect a guy who holds most of the NFL’s major passing records, quarterbacked the team impressively last Sunday in a regular season opening win against Cleveland and sometimes behaves like a man half his age, making jokes, piling on a teammate with congratulations after a touchdown and dressing in jeans and t-shirts.

On Sunday in Detroit, Favre will break the NFL record for consecutive starts.  He’s tied right now with former Viking Jim Marshall at 270 each.

If Favre plays a season or two longer here, perhaps his teammates need to bring in a pillow for that rocker.  Maybe a footstool, too.

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In search of a Metrodome miracle, the Twins open a three-game weekend series with division-leading Detroit tonight. The Twins, who trail the Tigers by four games with the season ending on October 4, are 7-4 against Detroit in 2009.  The Twins are 11-4 in their last 15 games with the Tigers in the dome (dating back to last year).

Joe Nathan now has 41 saves this season, moving him within three of tying his career-high of 44 in 2004.

Joe Mauer, who is likely to win a third American League batting title, now has 87 RBI, two more than his career high of 85.

The Vikings face a Lions team on Sunday that lost 45-27 to New Orleans in its season opener and the franchise has lost 18 consecutive games.  Vikings defensive tackle Jimmy Kennedy was asked by Sports Headliners about the mental challenge of playing Detroit.  “Everyone knows they’re not a bad team,” he said.  “And it’s the NFL, you can lose any week.  And they always play us tough.  We have to go out there and bring our ‘A’ game still.

“It’s not really about Detroit.  It’s about us.  As far as their situation, what do they have to lose?  You play great ball when you have nothing to lose.”

Acclaimed pro football writer Peter King predicts the Lions will beat the Vikings, 23-21, https://www.fannation.com/peter_king_challenge/peter_king.

If the Vikings don’t allow a Detroit running back to total 100 yards, it will be the 25^th consecutive game Minnesota has accomplished that.

The Vikings’ Adrian Peterson became the first running back in NFL history ever to rush for 180 yards or more and score three touchdowns on opening weekend when he earned those numbers at Cleveland last Sunday.

Worry warts can fuss over Peterson being on this week’s cover of Sports Illustrated.  Don’t think there’s an S.I. jinx?  Maybe not, but just last week the Oklahoma State football program made the cover and on Saturday the Cowboys were upset by Houston.

California connections:  Former Viking Steve Jordan’s son Cameron Jordan is a junior and starting defensive end who made Pac-10 conference honorable mention last season for the Golden Bears.  Will Kapp, son of former Viking Joe Kapp, is a second string sophomore fullback.  Famed University of Minnesota surgeon Dr. John Najarian played football for California in the 1940s.

Gopher coach Tim Brewster said it hasn’t been decided whether freshman linebacker Sam Maresh, who had heart surgery last year, will be redshirted.

Former Patrick Henry football coach Don Swanson, for decades a strong leader and advocate for prep football in the state, passed away from cancer earlier this week.  A memorial service followed by lunch will be held beginning at noon on Monday at Mount Olivet Lutheran Church at 5025 Knox Ave South.

MIAC football teams start conference play tomorrow (Saturday) and all teams except Gustavus have at least one win in non-league games this season.

Former Star Tribune hockey writer Chris Snow is Director of Hockey Operations for the Wild.

Bloomington native and former Wild forward Mark Parrish is at the Canucks training camp.

Former North St. Paul High and St. Cloud State player Bret Hedican retired Tuesday after 17 seasons as an NHL defenseman.  Hedican was with Carolina in 2006 when the team won the Stanley Cup.

Wild forwards Mikko Koivu and Martin Havlat were scheduled yesterday to deliver tickets to selected season ticket holders at their homes.

Thank you to our new advertisers, TCF Bank (see bottom of page) and Washburn-McReavy (see top).

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