It’s a double dip at The Barn tonight in the regular season opener for both the Gopher men’s and women’s basketball teams. The women, coming off a Sweet 16 appearance last season, host Harvard, followed by the men playing North Dakota.
The Loons have done the improbable, winning three of four and last night staving off elimination with a win over LAFC. One game left - two points out of a wild card spot with another team between them and ninth. So you’re saying there’s a chance…Finale is Saturday at San Jose. All Western Conference games are at 6 Central.
Vikings Winless No More
The worst offense for the Minnesota Vikings’ vaunted defense to deal with is…their own.
The Lions held the ball for more than 35 minutes, eventually wearing down Brian Flores’ crew behind 153 yards from Jahmyr Gibbs in a 19-15 win. The game marked the Vikings’ first loss of the season. And if they don’t figure some things out offensively - trade deadline is eight days away - they could be staring 6-4 in the face in three weeks.
Minnesota missed almost 20 tackles - a season high - including on a seven-play, 69-yard play in the fourth quarter with the Vikings nursing a three-point lead. They got to Jared Goff four times - mostly coming early in the game - but they tackled like they had leftover Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups on their hands in the final 15 minutes. Detroit ran for 230 yards and had 24 first downs.
But can you blame them?
Because as usual, the Vikings offense can shoulder most of the blame here. While Kyler Murray hit Jordan Addison for 51 yards in the fourth quarter to set up a go-ahead score, Murray was also the team’s leading rusher (35 yards). He connected with Justin Jefferson just five times - none longer than nine yards - and JJ was visibly upset when on third down late, Murray threw a prayer up to Addison. Jefferson also declined to speak with media after the game.
The only time the Vikings really moved the ball was after Lions star linebacker Jack Campbell was carted off the field motionless after a lengthy delay.
And play calling continues to be an issue. On fourth down at their own 33 with three minutes left, Kevin O’Connell inexplicably punted and Gibbs ran out the clock.
I said last week, it wouldn’t surprise me if the VIkings sat at 6-4 in a month. They’ve now got Buffalo at home on Monday Night Football, then the Packers at Lambeau and at home versus the 49ers.
Getting another quarterback would mean admitting you’ve made several mistakes, I get it. In-season blockbusters rarely happen. Blame it on Kwesi. Get Kirk Cousins (twice as many TD’s on his own as the Vikings have as a team) back. Put Carson Wentz in. Murray is an absolute liability, and everyone knows it.
Gophers Let Would-Be Epic Win Slip Away
From one of the most improbable wins in program history to one of the most improbable losses in program history. In just 19 seconds and a few overtime plays.
The 2026 Minnesota Golden Gophers.
The teams traded 60-yard field goals in the final 19 seconds before No. 4 Indiana put up overtime’s only points in a 23-16 win over the Gophers.
What made the loss, which saw the Gophers hold a 16-13 lead with 19 ticks left after a booming 60-yarder from Luke Drzewiecki, hurt even more was what happened hours later. Ohio State got beat by USC, meaning a Gophers win would have set up a Big 10 first-place showdown with UCLA this Saturday. It’s an 11 a.m. kickofff regardless against the No. 7 Bruins.
No doubt, the Hoosiers are the better team. They’re the defending national champions who have issues closing out games this year. They held the Gophers to just 10 first downs. They swarmed Drake Lindsey all night, and sacked him on the game’s final play in overtime.
Indiana outgained the Gophers 419 yards to 215, yet still, 19 seconds. Grant Wilson hit Charlie Becker for a 33-yard pass on the first play after the kickoff. After an incompletion, Paddy McAfeer forced overtime from 60 yards. The Hoosiers kicking game had been a mess all day, too.
The Big 10 had just seven all-time 60-yard field goals before those fateful 19 seconds. The only time two had happened in the same game came in 1899.
And this conference schedule is just unrelenting. No OSU this year, but after UCLA, the Gophers will be favored at Penn State but then they finish with two ranked teams in Northwestern and Wisconsin.
Wild’s Two Early Goals Propel Them to Win at Caps
There was a time when matinees were a problem for the Wild, who would play like they still expected the game to be played at 7 p.m. It’s hardly a new phenomenon - you play 80 percent of your games in the evening, so a random 3:30 p.m. local time start can throw your body off.
But Quinn Hughes and Matthew McCarron scored goals 105 seconds apart eary, and the Wild went on to a 5-1 win over the Capitals in D.C.
All three Wild Russians scored, and Jesper Wallstedt was great with 26 saves as the Wild became the first team in the Central to reach 10 wins. They’re five points up on second-place Utah.
The Wild plays at Phiiladelphia on Tuesday.
Wolves No Match for Wemby Sans Gobert, Edwards
A night after beating an overmatched Clippers team without their MVP, the Wolves found things a little tougher against San Antonio in a playoff rematch. Minnesota, also playing without Rudy Gobert (back spasms) had no answer for Victor Wembanyama in a 121-111 loss that was always going to be a tough game.
Ayo Dosunmo paced the Wolves with 27 points. LaMelo Ball missed eight of 10 shots and had five turnovers. Joan Beringer earned the start in place of Gobert, scoring 12 points to go along with six rebounds. But no one was any match for Wemby, who had 43 points, seven rebounds, six blocks and four assists.
The Wolves actually led by one at halftime but were gassed late.
Minnesota hosts Milwaukee tonight.
Gopher Hockey: Women Sweep UMD; Men Earn Win, Tie in B10 Opener
The Gopher women earned a pair of hard-fought 3-2 wins at No. 12 UMD, pushing their winning streak to four. No. 2 Minnesota plays a home-and-home with SCSU this weekend. The Huskies play the top three teams in the country in three straight weeks - they were swept by Wisconsin this past weekend.
The Gopher men notched four out of six possible points, tying Penn State but losing in the shootout, before winning 4-3 over the Nittany Lions on Saturday in overtime. L.J. Mooney scored 17 seconds into overtime for the winner. Minnesota plays host to Wisconsin Thursday and Saturday.
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