LAS VEGAS — Since going 11-2 and finishing No. 10 nationally in 2019, Minnesota has been a consistent bowl team — and champion — but hasn’t legitimately challenged for the College Football Playoff.

Coach P.J. Fleck thinks that’s about to change.

The Gophers are coming off an 8-5 season in which four losses came by seven points or fewer, including a 26-25 home setback to Penn State, who went on to reach the Big Ten championship game and the CFP semifinals. In 2019, Minnesota won each of its first four games by seven points or fewer and finished 6-1 in one-score games.

“If we were 6-1 in the seven one-possession games [in 2024], we would have won 11 games,” Fleck told ESPN on Wednesday. “We’re not far. We’re right there. This isn’t a pipe dream.”

The 12-team CFP has created more opportunities for teams like Minnesota, which hasn’t won a Big Ten championship since 1967. That season, it shared the title with Indiana, which made a historic run to the CFP last fall.

“We’re not as far off as maybe what our brand and logo and name think we are, what people perceive that as,” Fleck said. “The reason you stay at a program is to change people’s thoughts, perceptions and ideas of the brand you’re in. That’s why you stay.”

Earlier this month, Fleck and Minnesota agreed to a contract extension through the 2030 season, which includes annual retention bonuses beginning at $1 million and increasing each year. Fleck, 44, is 56-39 as Minnesota’s coach with a 6-0 mark in bowls.

“Eight years is a long time, but it’s not an eternity,” he said. “We’ve still got a lot of years in this thing, and that’s why we signed a new contract in year nine, is to make sure that we get to be able to see that as we keep moving forward.”

(FOX 9) – So popular during its first offering in 2024 that it crashed the system administering them, requiring a second round – Minnesota’s 2025 e-bike rebate program will begin receiving lottery applications on July 30.

Minnesota e-bike lottery

What we know:

The application window for the 2025 e-bike rebate certificate lottery will begin at 11 a.m. on July 30, and close on Aug. 2, at 2 p.m.

As part of a person’s application, they will need to include proof of their gross income. 

Under the program, 40% of the rebate certificates are reserved for a married taxpayer filing a joint return with a gross income of less than $78,000, or any other filer with an adjusted gross income of less than $41,000.

For a married taxpayer filing a joint return, each spouse can apply separately, and be eligible for their own certificate.

Each year a commissioner will allocate rebate certificates on a lottery basis, totaling up to $2 million annually, under the current terms of the program.

Any remaining funds not doled out by Sept. 30, 2025, would then become available for additional applicants beginning on Oct. 1, 2025.

The Minnesota Department of Revenue’s current estimates suggest that roughly 2,800 rebate certificates will be available for the 2025 program.

After the application period closes, all accepted rebate applications will be entered into a random lottery to award the rebate certificates. Recipients will be notified by email if their application has been selected, stating the percentage and maximum rebate for which they are eligible.

Minnesota’s e-bike rebate system crashes

The backstory:

The first round of e-bike rebates for Minnesotans in 2024 didn’t go as planned.

Applications for the 2024 program were initially set to open on June 5, 2024, but shortly after, the Minnesota Department of Revenue’s website crashed due to overwhelming demand.

At the time, the department said it would work to identify anyone who successfully submitted an application and let them know their application was received. However, officials then backtracked to say that fewer than 80 applications were successfully submitted in the hours before the site shut down.

A second round of applications then opened, with those accepted taking turns in a virtual waiting room before accessing an application.

The department said the system aimed to control the surge of users, similar to what major sports teams or concerts use when selling a limited number of tickets.

However, it was again plagued by system failures, with potential applicants complaining of stalls, and the waiting room being filled in a few minutes.

The new lottery system aims to make the 2025 version much smoother, officials hope.

Tom Lehman is in Brainerd, Minnesota — about an hour and a half from where he grew up and still spends his summers.

“Alexandria is a tremendous town. Always has been,” said Lehman. “It’s growing and it’s vibrant. I’m really proud of where I grew up. And I’m so happy to be still connected, spending summers there.”

On this day, Lehman hits a ceremonial tee shot from the deck at Cragun’s Legacy Courses, Lehman’s design.

“I’ve always loved architecture,” said Lehman. “I would design courses as a kid.”

This has been a big project. It’s over two full golf courses. This new and final “Red Nine” is half of what will be used for next month’s PGA Tour Americas tournament.

“Forty-five holes of golf. Three and a half years of work. It’s very gratifying to see it open and see it in such great condition,” said Lehman. “People enjoy playing it. It’s fun. It makes me feel good.”

Lehman is Minnesota’s most accomplished golfer, with five PGA Tour wins. He’s a local who stayed home and played at the University of Minnesota before his PGA Tour career, but he knows the game has changed.

“The good kids from Minnesota all go south, it seems now,” said Lehman. “Used to be able to keep a lot of kids home and let them play for the Gophers or wherever, but it’s just very difficult now to do that, even with the ability to travel and participate and play in the wintertime.”

On this Open Championship week, Lehman can look back to when he won it 29 years ago.

“It’s tradition to let the crowd run ahead. They kind of get a big group around the 18th green,” Lehman remembered. “You’ve gotta kind of fight your way through the crowd. And this guy’s name was Kevin, he wrapped one arm around me from behind and swatted people out of the way up in front. Finally, we got through the crowd to the green and he says, ‘Hey Tom, we’ve been through a lot of crap together this week, but now you’re on your own,’ and pushed me forward onto the green. I’ll never forget that moment.”