Minnesota
No. 7 Oregon hosts rested Minnesota on Friday night
In an unusual scheduling quirk, Minnesota has a four-game winning streak when playing on Friday nights.
So certainly the Golden Gophers (6-3,-4-2 Big Ten) are hoping to continue the tradition this weekend in Eugene, and at the same time topple No. 7 Oregon (8-1, 5-1, No. 8 College Football Playoff).
Minnesota is coming off a bye week following a 23-20 overtime win at home over Michigan State that made the Gophers bowl eligible for the fifth straight season.
The victory was also Minnesota’s sixth straight at home. The problem for the Gophers is the road, where they’re 0-3 this season.
“We’ve played some really good football at home and on the road. We’ve also played some really good teams on the road. So we just got to find a way to be a little bit better each week, have a little more attention to detail in the things that we do — especially in our preparation — to go out there and play our best game of the year,” coach P.J. Fleck said.
Oregon staged a comeback 18-16 win on the road against Iowa last Saturday that might be one of the Ducks’ most notable victories when the season is all over.
Oregon went into the game against the Hawkeyes without a pair of key receivers, freshman Dakorien Moore and tight end Kenyon Sadiq, and lost Gary Bryant Jr. to an apparent foot injury in the first quarter. And it was played in horrendous weather.
Oregon quarterback Dante Moore celebrates with fans after an NCAA college football game against Iowa, Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, in Iowa City, Iowa. Credit: AP/Charlie Neibergall
But in the end, quarterback Dante Moore led a 10-play, 54-yard drive to set up Atticus Sappington’s game-winning 39-yard field goal with three seconds left.
“I thought our guys had great composure. And each guy had to do their part. It was one of those games where every phase mattered. They all contributed,” coach Dan Lanning said.
Dakorian Moore, a freshman, has caught 28 passes for 443 yards and three touchdowns this season, while Sadiq has 22 catches for 311 yards and five scores. Bryant has pulled down 25 passes for 299 yards and four TDs.
As is his custom, Lanning wasn’t revealing much about the status of his injured played for Minnesota.
Minnesota players huddle on the field ahead of an NCAA college football game against Michigan State, Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, in Minneapolis, Minn. Credit: AP/Alex Kormann
“If they’re ready, they’ll play,” he said.
Moore’s Moment
Lanning was surprised to learn that Moore had never led a game-winning final drive like the one against the Hawkeyes.
“I didn’t realize this, but this was Dante’s first opportunity to actually come back from being down in a two minute drive. He said that to me, in his career, not just in this game, but in his career, which I think is pretty, pretty awesome for him to have that moment, but he’s cool, calm and collected, executed at a high level,” Lanning said.
Moore threw for 112 yards and an interception in the challenging weather in Iowa. Overall, he’s thrown for 1,884 yards and 19 TDs with only five interceptions.
Lindsey to the rescue
Redshirt freshman Drake Lindsey had his own late-game heroics in the Gophers’ last outing, rushing for the game-tying touchdown in regulation against Michigan State and then adding a 3-yard TD run in overtime to win it.
Fleck said starting an inexperienced quarterback comes with the acknowledgment that there will be highs and lows. It’s part of the maturation process.
“He’s played really well, then maybe inconsistent at times, and then bang — when we needed him most, he was there,” Fleck said about the latest performance.
Lindsey has thrown for 1,743 yards with 10 scores and six interceptions. He’s also run for six touchdowns.
Rankings watch
Oregon moved up a spot in the College Football Playoff rankings this week to No. 8 following the victory over No. 20 Iowa. It was the Ducks’ first win over a ranked team this season.
Of the three remaining games on Oregon’s schedule, only one is against a CFP-ranked team, No. 17 USC on Nov. 22.
Should the Ducks win out, they should earn one of the at-large spots in the 12-team playoff. Undefeated Ohio State and Indiana, sitting atop the CFP rankings, are likely to meet in the Big Ten championship game.
Minneapolis police suspect a driver was under the influence when he hit and killed a bicyclist on the city’s southside early Monday morning.
Officers responded to the crash at the intersection of Hiawatha Avenue and East 35th Street around 3 a.m., according to the Minneapolis Police Department.
Upon arrival, police found a man in his 50s suffering from apparent life-threatening injuries. Officers provided immediate medical aid, including CPR, before the man was transported to Hennepin Healthcare, where he later died.
The Minneapolis Police Department says that preliminary information indicates the driver, a 23-year-old man, had been traveling south on Hiawatha Avenue in a Ford Edge when he struck the bicyclist.
Officers arrested the driver and took him to the hospital, where police say “a search warrant for evidence collection was carried out.” Police later booked the driver into Hennepin County Jail on suspicion of criminal vehicular homicide.
The incident is still under investigation.
A rest area along Interstate 94 in Minnesota has been closed to trucks until about Independence Day to accommodate an almost $3 million improvement project.
The eastbound I-94 Enfield rest area between St. Cloud, Minnesota and the Twin Cities between Wright County Road 8 and Highway 25 is now closed to cars and commercial vehicles as crews resurface the entrance and exit ramps, and update nearby sidewalks.
According to KNSI, the full closure is just the first phase of the project. The rest area will reopen to passenger vehicles only the week of May 11th. During that time, the truck parking area will remain closed as crews repave the lot.
The truck parking lot will reopen the week of June 30th, right around Independence Day. During that time, the passenger vehicle area will be shut down to allow for the resurfacing of the lot. The Minnesota DOT expects the rest area to be fully open by late July. The entire project is expected to cost $2.9 million.
Drivers heading east on I-94 are encouraged to use the Big Spunk Lake rest area near Avon, or to drive a little farther out to the Elm Creek rest area.
Could a UCLA baseball team that’s perfect in Big Ten play get better?
Bruins coach John Savage thinks so, which is a frightening prospect for the rest of a seemingly overmatched conference.
While Savage’s top-ranked Bruins completed a three-game sweep of Minnesota on Sunday with a 5-2 victory at Jackie Robinson Stadium — stretching their Big Ten winning streak to 21 games — he said there’s more upside to be realized.
“Offensively, we just really couldn’t get a lot going,” Savage said after his team went 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position and stranded six baserunners. “We just weren’t able to put a lot together, but when that pitching and defense shows up every day, it gives yourself a chance to win, and that’s kind of what we did all three games, really.”
Those elements were so good Sunday that they overshadowed Roman Martin’s solo homer in the third inning and Will Gasparino’s two-run shot in the sixth.
Bruins left fielder Dean West made three superb catches — two leaping and one diving — and four relievers combined to give up only one run in 4 ⅔ innings. Closer Easton Hawk needed only six pitches to record a 1-2-3 ninth inning while notching his third save in as many days.
Savage credited Minnesota’s pitching after the Golden Gophers (22-17 overall, 5-13 Big Ten) held the Bruins (36-3) to an average of five runs during the series and said many of his team’s offensive struggles were situational.
“We have very, very good offensive players — some of them are in … little ruts right now, but that’s OK,” Savage said. “These guys play a lot and get a lot of at-bats; there’s a lot of ups and downs.”
When it comes to UCLA’s conference record, it’s all been up.
What it means
UCLA’s sweep is further evidence that the Bruins aren’t getting complacent because of their record.
“This culture is really solid, and these guys truly believe in one another and they’re playing for the team,” Savage said. “We’re very fortunate to have this group, and so they love playing together, so there’s no complacency and there’s no reason to because we haven’t done anything; I mean, you’re 36-3, that’s great, but at the end of the day it’s about getting better and playing your best baseball the next 75 days.”
Turning point
Spotting a dominant team an early lead is never a good idea.
That’s what happened when the Bruins struck for two runs in the bottom of the first inning.
West led off with a single to center field, took third on Roch Cholowsky’s double to left and scored on a balk. With one out, Martin hit an RBI infield single off the pitcher’s glove. UCLA was up 2-0, and the Golden Gophers could never catch up.
Did you see that?
Minnesota did not like it when Gasparino admired his home run by lingering in the batter’s box before commencing his trot around the bases.
There was consensus in both dugouts because Savage also didn’t care for it.
“I thought he probably stayed in the box a little too long for me,” Savage said. “That’s kind of not who we are, and they didn’t like that; I wouldn’t like that either, really.”
MVP
West saved multiple extra-base hits with his catches.
Which was his favorite?
“Probably the diving one,” West said. “I think that was the coolest one. I got to leave my feet and make a play on it.”
Up next
The Bruins will open a five-game stretch of nonconference games when they host Hawaii on Tuesday evening at Jackie Robinson Stadium.
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