Stanzel’s Sports Takeout — BREAKING NEWS: 10.17.25

Oct 17

Gopher men’s hoops beat North Dakota State 80-54 in their first exhibition game last night. Still aways away from the Nov. 3 season opener against Gardner-Webb. Transfer Cade Tyson - I went to college with his dad, a darn good Division II player in his own right, scored 28 points and hit six 3-pointers.

The Twins should make Nick Punto their manager before someone else does.

Wild at Caps tonight to start off a back-to-back and a four-game road trip.

Wolves end pre-season in Philly tonight. Things get real Wednesday late night in Portland.

Gophers Host No. 25 Nebraska Tonight

Minnesota hosts 25th-ranked Nebraska tonight in Dinkytown. The Gophers have won five straight against the Cornhuskers, who haven’t won in Minnesota since 2015.

We’ll see what kind of effort we get from Nebraska, which has had to deal with its head coach Matt Ruhle being linked all week to the Penn State job.

The Huskers have one of the best rushing defenses in the country, and the Gophers have had trouble on the ground all year. Nebraska is a touchdown favorie.

Signs Leaning Towards Wentz as Starter vs. Eagles

J.J. McCarthy was limited in practice Thursday, making it look much more likely Carson Wentz will get his fourth straight start when the Eagles bring their two-game losing streak to U.S. Bank Stadium this weekend.

I’m a little surprised the Eagles are only two-point favorites, with the Vikings coming off a bye with injuries a plenty.

Jonathan Greenard was added to the injury report yesterday with a hamstring issue, but the Vikings hope to get both Blake Cashman and Andrew Van Ginkel back with the extra week rest.

It’ll be a short week next week too, with a cross country flight to play the Rams on Thursday night. Limited practice time to get J.J. McCarthy reps.

Gopher Hockey Update

Huge rivalry weekends for both Gopher hockey teams.

It used to be must-see hockey four times a year, but Gophers and UND fans will have to settle for two games this year at The Ralph. Minnesota has won just one of its first four games to fall to No. 13 in the rankings. The former Fighting Sioux is 2-0-0 and eighth overall.

On the women’s side, it’s No. 2 Ohio State (4-0-0) and No. 3 Minnesota (6-0-0) at Ridder on Saturday and Sunday. The Gophers won just one of the four regular-season matchups in 2024-25, but they did beat Ohio State in the WCHA Final Faceoff. The Gophers get No. 1 Wisconsin in two weeks.

Loons Playoff Opponent Up in Air Heading into Final Week

The Loons are guaranteed to host a best-of-three, first-round playoff series, but they’re going to need some help to avoid nemesis Seattle in that series.

Minnesota does play the last-place Galaxy, but they can only move up to third or second if either or both of FC San Diego and LAFC lose. If all those teams win (or all have the same result), it’ll be the Loons hosting the Sounders in round one. Minnesota is two points behind both FC San Diego andd LAFC.

The Loons have won just five of 25 all-time matches against Seattle. Minnesota’s first-round series won’t start before Oct. 24.

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