The Vikings haven’t had a winning road record since 1998 when they were 7-1 in away games and 8-0 at home. The franchise hasn’t even reached .500 since the 2009 team was 4-4 on the road. And more recently the Vikings have really struggled in NFC North road games, not having won a division game away from home since 2012.
Wide receiver Mike Wallace acknowledged the Vikings need to win Sunday’s game in Detroit against the 1-5 Lions. “We know why need to win this game. We need to get it going, do something on the road,” he told Sports Headliners. “We can’t make the playoffs (alternating) win and lost, win and lost.”
During September the Vikings opened the season with a road loss to the 49ers, then followed up with home wins against the Lions and Chargers. Early this month there was a road loss to the Broncos and last Sunday a win at home versus the Chiefs. That adds up to a 3-2 record including no wins on the road.
While the Vikings are undefeated at home, they can’t count on a perfect record at TCF Bank Stadium, and even if they could go 8-0 that wouldn’t for certain qualify the club for the playoffs. Wallace believes the Vikings should think about winning five of eight games on the road. But with six road games remaining, the goal of going 5-1 seems daunting.
Awaiting the Vikings are away games with the Lions, the 2-3 Bears and Raiders, 5-1 Falcons, 4-2 Cardinals and 6-0 Packers. The best the Vikings might accomplish are three or four road wins.
Regarding the remaining home schedule, the Packers are the only opponent with an above .500 record. A win over the Packers at TCF is possible, but victories are more likely against the Bears, 2-3 Rams, 3-4 Seahawks and 3-3 Giants.
Add up the potential wins and losses and the Vikings could go 9-7 or even 10-6 but they need to help themselves both on the road and at home starting this Sunday in an almost can’t lose game. The Lions were 11-5 last season and defeated the Vikings twice, but they have been a major disappointment in 2015.
Vikings wide receiver Charles Johnson anticipates plenty of support from Lions fans on Sunday at Ford Field, a covered stadium. “A place like Detroit is going to be really amped up, and it’s super loud. (I) think it’s going to be a good test for us,” he said. “We already beat them once but I know they got something else up their sleeve.”
Johnson said encountering extreme noise on the road can limit communications among players and restrict game plans. “Some things that we would do at home we won’t be able to do on the road because of the crowd noise and certain situations that may occur,” he said.
Told that the Vikings haven’t had a winning road record since 1998, Johnson said: “We’ve got a great group of guys here willing to work and we’re gonna try to change that statistic.”
What does Vikings coach Mike Zimmer think is needed to play better on the road? “Probably start fast (in the game) would be a good one. I think we’ve started fast at home pretty good. …Handling the crowd noise, making sure we don’t turn the ball over. We’ve got to protect the quarterback better than what we’ve done on the road. Those will all be big things.”
Worth Noting
Phil Loadholt said this Vikings team has more rapport than any he has played on. The offensive tackle is in his seventh year with the Vikings and although a torn Achilles tendon has ended his season he is around the players. Teammates are supportive of one another and while coaches are critical they avoid humiliating players. “They don’t do that,” Loadholt told Sports Headliners.
Rookie wide receiver Stefon Diggs has been mentored by teammate Charles Johnson. “He’s definitely helped me out a lot,” Diggs said. “More than he knows as far as watching him run routes. Watching what he does really helps me. …”
The 21-year-old Diggs has 13 catches for 216 yards in his last two games. Johnson, a three-year NFL wide receiver who joined the Vikings last year, is enthusiastic about Diggs, a fifth round draft choice from Maryland.
“I love Diggs,” Johnson said. “Since he came in he’s been under my wing and I’ve been helping as much as I can.”
The Gophers basketball scrimmage on Sunday at Williams Arena will consist of four eight minute quarters. The scrimmage, free and open to the public, begins at 4 p.m. with doors opening at 3:30 p.m.
The team’s potential star, at least early in the season, looks like sophomore guard Nate Mason. Gophers coach Richard Pitino predicts Mason has the potential at some point to become one of the Big Ten’s best guards. The 6-2 Mason, who averaged 9.8 points and almost three assists per game as a freshman, told Sports Headliners he doesn’t have a preference between point guard and shooting guard.
Mason’s assignment could be shooting guard if 6-foot much hyped point guard Kevin Dorsey, a freshman, impresses Pitino in practices and early games including the November 1 exhibition matchup at Williams Arena against Minnesota Crookston. Mason likes what he’s seen of the speedy freshman and would “welcome” playing along side of him. “We both came in (to the Gophers) with a lot of confidence,” Mason said.
Minnesota junior forward Charles Buggs also talked about Dorsey. “He’s one of the fastest guys I’ve ever seen at the guard spot in college basketball,” Buggs said. “He can get to the rim, and shoot.”
The Gophers men’s hockey team should be on a mission tonight and tomorrow evening in games against Northeastern at Mariucci Arena. The Gophers 0-3 start to the season contrasts to their first three games a year ago. With a revised roster of players this fall, Minnesota has been outscored 9-1. In the first three games last year coach Don Lucia’s team was 3-0 and had outscored opponents 12 goals to five.
The Gophers have 10 freshmen on the roster after graduating six seniors and having three juniors sign professional contracts.
A streak of mediocre seasons and discontent with coach Kirk Ferentz resulted in Iowa attendance being down this season. The Hawkeyes haven’t sold out a game in 2015 but the Iowa athletic department announced yesterday only single seats remain for the November 14 Minnesota game. Although Iowa is off to a 7-0 start, 9,500 tickets remain for the Maryland game and 15,000 for the Purdue game.
Nationally-ranked St. Thomas, the MIAC’s only undefeated football team, hosts Bethel (4-2 overall, 3-1 MIAC) on Saturday afternoon. The Tommies (6-0 overall, 4-0 in league games) will see a Bethel squad that lost close games to nationally-ranked Wartburg and Concordia.
The game will feature two of the MIAC’s top running backs in St. Thomas’ Jordan Roberts (730 yards, 7.0 yard average, 14 touchdowns) and Bethel’s Marshall Klitzke (642 yards, 6.2 average, 8 touchdowns). The Tommie defense leads the conference in scoring (6.8 points per game), yardage (209.2 a game) and sacks (22), while the Royals aren’t far behind, allowing 18.2 points and 333.6 yards per game. The two football programs are 3-3 in their last six games.