Your favorite bits of Gopher lore or obscure details

Donate To GopherHole
IceBoxGopher said:
They rarely played for whatever reason from 1920-1970. There were only 13 games played during that era between the Gophers and Buckeyes.
Click to expand...
I think the reason was travel. In the old Big Ten Minnesota and Ohio State were the two schools furthest apart. When teams weren't chartering planes it was easier for the Gophers to play Nebraska for a weekend trip than to go to Columbus.

There are many seasons, especially in the 1930s and early 1960s, when both schools were at the top of the Big Ten. But they didn't play. Lots of poll voters making choices and other circumstances that frankly seem to have gone Minnesota's way.
 


fmlizard said:
I think the reason was travel. In the old Big Ten Minnesota and Ohio State were the two schools furthest apart. When teams weren't chartering planes it was easier for the Gophers to play Nebraska for a weekend trip than to go to Columbus.

There are many seasons, especially in the 1930s and early 1960s, when both schools were at the top of the Big Ten. But they didn't play. Lots of poll voters making choices and other circumstances that frankly seem to have gone Minnesota's way.
Click to expand...
I think nebraska lost their desire to play Minnesota when the record was 45-6 in our favor.
 

Clairemont Gopher said:
2013- Gophers lead at Indiana, 42-39, but Hoosiers are at the Gopher 5-yard line with 30 seconds to go. Indiana throws a swing pass that falls incomplete. Gopher linebacker Aaron Hil is the only guy on the field who recognizes it as a lateral and scoops it up to save the day for Minnesota.
Click to expand...
We were standing behind a fence behind the opposite end zone. It was very informal at IU’s Memorial Stadium. You were practically on the field at the vantage point. I remember breaking from decorum ‘ yelling “pick-up the f___ing ball.”
 

fmlizard said:
Gophers @ Fresno State, 2019. Chris Autman-Bell with a 20 yard game tying TD on 4th down. Unbelievable toe-tap catch in the back corner, and a beautiful throw by Tanner Morgan. Without it, the whole run of 2019 would have been a lot less.

The greatest Gophers play I ever saw.

Click to expand...

This is a super under appreciated moment. Gophers had a few really tough early season games in 2019. And we had no business winning this game if not for this miracle. Setup one of the best seasons in modern Gophers football history. Lose this one and the top ten matchup with Penn State means less. Might still make it to the Outback Bowl.....but they don't finish 11-2 and in the top ten.
 


We moved to San Diego when I was in middle school. I was in the 10th Grade in 1965 when the Gophers came west to open the season vs. USC on a Friday night. My dad and I went up for the game. The Gophers scored in the first quarter and Warmath, oddly, went for two and the play failed. The game ended in a 20-20 tie with the Gophers escaping after USC missed a PAT and a long field goal try on the game's last play. On his way to a Heisman, Mike Garrett ran for about 150 yards while John Hankinson passed for just over 200 yards for the Gophers. Aaron Brown had a big night on both sides of the ball for Minnesota. The crowd was about 60,000 but I was struck by how the vast Coliseum made that number feel small. The Gophers were a touchdown underdog so I felt good about the game. That year the Gophers won all 3 trophy games but still just finished at 5-4-1.
 

The headline in the Strib ' U betchya '.

At least that's what I remember...I was 12 and I listened to the game on the radio.

Dan Nystrom's GW field goal.
 

Married@SiebertField said:
We were standing behind a fence behind the opposite end zone. It was very informal at IU’s Memorial Stadium. You were practically on the field at the vantage point. I remember breaking from decorum ‘ yelling “pick-up the f___ing ball.”
Click to expand...
Watched this game at Cragun's Resort. Missed a couple seminars but well worth it.
 

1967- Minnesota 21 Michigan State 0. On their way to a share of the Big 10 Championship, the Gophers get a school record 262 passing yards from Curtis Wilson. He has 3 touchdown passes on the day, 2 to Chip Litten. On both of those to Litten, a sophomore defensive back named Steve Garvey was victimized. Yup, THAT Steve Garvey.
 



1970- Minnesota 23 Michigan State 13. Gophers beat Spartans for the 7th time in a row. Mercifully, they did not have to play Duffy Daugherty's 1965 & 1966 juggernauts. Walter Bowser has two interceptions and an 82-yard touchdown fumble return before moving on to a 50-year career as a Twin Cities attorney.
 

Clairemont Gopher said:
1967- Minnesota 21 Michigan State 0. On their way to a share of the Big 10 Championship, the Gophers get a school record 262 passing yards from Curtis Wilson. He has 3 touchdown passes on the day, 2 to Chip Litten. On both of those to Litten, a sophomore defensive back named Steve Garvey was victimized. Yup, THAT Steve Garvey.
Click to expand...
At first I thought you were referring to this dude. Would've been exponentially funnier!
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot_20260525_203052_Chrome.jpg
    Screenshot_20260525_203052_Chrome.jpg
    412.5 KB · Views: 0

Clairemont Gopher said:
1967- Minnesota 21 Michigan State 0. On their way to a share of the Big 10 Championship, the Gophers get a school record 262 passing yards from Curtis Wilson. He has 3 touchdown passes on the day, 2 to Chip Litten. On both of those to Litten, a sophomore defensive back named Steve Garvey was victimized. Yup, THAT Steve Garvey.
Click to expand...
Curtis Wilson!!!!
 

Clairemont Gopher said:
1967- Minnesota 21 Michigan State 0. On their way to a share of the Big 10 Championship, the Gophers get a school record 262 passing yards from Curtis Wilson. He has 3 touchdown passes on the day, 2 to Chip Litten. On both of those to Litten, a sophomore defensive back named Steve Garvey was victimized. Yup, THAT Steve Garvey.
Click to expand...


Some of that MSU game!
 






1978- Gophers 32 Indiana 31. Gophers come back from 24-0 deficit and win it on Paul Rogind's 31 yard field goal with 2 seconds to go. Gophers roll up 577 yards of offense but lose 7 turnovers. They also run a school-record 100 plays with 34 first downs, compared to just 9 for Indiana. Marion Barber II has 177 rushing yards.
 

1972- Gophers 35 Northwestern 29. Minnesota completes NONE of its 4 pass attempts but rolls up 478 yards on the ground. John King has 188 yards on his way to being Minnesota's first 1,000-yard rusher. A freshman from North Dakota named Doug Beaudoin has 157 yards. Beaudoin will go on to appear in 59 games as a defensive back with the Patriots, Dolphins and Chargers (1976-1981)
 



1962- Minnesota 21 Navy 0- Gophers register the second of their 5 shutouts in a 9-game schedule. The Middies manage just 66 yards of offense and in the 4th quarter an obscure sophomore named Roger Staubach is inserted and becomes acquainted with Bell and Eller.
 

1968- Minnesota 27 Purdue 13- Gophers amass 297 rushing yards, 101 by Jim Carter and 98 by Barry Mayer. 3rd overall NFL pick Mike Phipps passes for just 109 yards and Heisman runner-up Leroy Keyes has a scant 49 rushing yards. Ray Stephens, Sandy' s younger but bigger brother, completes 6 of his 12 passes.
 

Unregistered User said:
They changed the onside kick rules after that game

Whiney effing ferret-faced Ferentz
Click to expand...
Sorry, wrong coach and wrong game. Right opponent though (Iowa). If I remember correctly the game was played at Iowa. Coach Kill had most of his players block the Iowa guys leaving a couple Gophers to go for the ball. Ferentz of course was pissed that he got out coached by Kill.
 


#2Gopher said:
Sorry, wrong coach and wrong game. Right opponent though (Iowa). If I remember correctly the game was played at Iowa. Coach Kill had most of his players block the Iowa guys leaving a couple Gophers to go for the ball. Ferentz of course was pissed that he got out coached by Kill.
Click to expand...
I quoted the wrong post.

I was trying to quote the one mentioning Royston, must have fat fingered that one.
 


Unregistered User said:
I quoted the wrong post.

I was trying to quote the one mentioning Royston, must have fat fingered that one.
Click to expand...
Regardless beating Iowa with Horton after just about everyone wrote off the Gophers was absolutely awesome! I always felt bad that Horton wasn't retained by Kill after what Horton had gone through to keep everything intact.
 

Bits of Broken Chair trophy game. Bring it back! It was organic, fan made, was fun....and then NCAA, Big Ten...whoever put a squash to it for some unknown reason.
 

skauma said:
Bits of Broken Chair trophy game. Bring it back! It was organic, fan made, was fun....and then NCAA, Big Ten...whoever put a squash to it for some unknown reason.
Click to expand...
I got a picture with it in the tailgating lot last year
 

BigGopher69 said:
I got a picture with it in the tailgating lot last year
Click to expand...
Very cool, I didn't think it was around anymore. I know at least the broadcasts don't make any sort of deal around it, big or small.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom