The Minnesota Golden Gophers haven’t won a Big Ten title in 47 years, but after beating Nebraska they’re still in the hunt. And man, did they celebrate.
The Minnesota Golden Gophers hadn’t beaten Nebraska on the road in a long time.
Like since 1960 long.
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Since that 26-14 win during Minnesota’s last national championship season, there were seven trips to Lincoln and seven losses, almost all of them lopsided.
After a 7-0 loss in 1967, Minnesota went to Lincoln in 1971 (35-7), 1972 (49-0), 1974 (54-0), 1984 (38-7), 1990 (56-0) and 2012 (38-14).
That made Saturday’s 28-24 win over Nebraska that much sweeter. Afterward, the celebration was on.
Even coach Jerry Kill was in the middle of it.
The win left Minnesota with a 5-2 conference record and set up a winner-takes-the-West showdown against the Wisconsin Badgers in Madison this week.
The Gophers have lost 10 in a row overall to the Badgers, last winning in 2003, and they haven’t won at Camp Randall Stadium since 1994.
For a program that hasn’t won a Big Ten championship since sharing one in 1967, the prospect of advancing to its first Big Ten championship game is an attractive one.
And what Kill has done since coming to Minneapolis is solid—from 3-9 in 2011 to 6-7 and a bowl loss in 2012 to 8-5 and a bowl loss last season.
The progression appears to be continuing. The Gophers are 8-3 heading into Saturday’s showdown.
In 1967, the Gophers shared the title with Indiana and Purdue (yeah, it really has been a long time).
Minnesota hasn’t won an outright Big Ten championship since 1941 and last visited the Rose Bowl after the 1961 season (Ohio State won the conference but declined the Rose Bowl bi but was named national champion anyway).
Did I mention it really has been a long time?
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