Big 10 Football Tour

Gametime rolled around and we walked one block down to TCF Bank Stadium.  The lines were moving pretty quickly; mostly because the security guards were only patting down the torso (completely ignoring the legs).  We quickly took our seats and looked around.  We were surronded by a bunch of rich kids who had their parents fly them out from Cal-Berkley.

Our seats would be considered one of the worst in the stadium, but by our accounts the view was just great.  It seemed as if there wasn't an obstructed view in the whole stadium.  A few moments later the explosions were going off & the Gophers took the field!

From the get-go, California running back Jhavid Best was dominating the Minnesota defense.  We had blinked once or twice, Jhavid had scored two touchdowns and Cal was up 14-0.  We started to discuss what we should do at the tailgate when we got back because we figured it was going to be a blowout.  Cal was a top ten team and Minnesota had just barely squeaked by two much lesser calibur opponents. 

Suddenly the Minnesota offense came alive.  They couldn't match Cal's running game, so they went to the air & Eric Decker cut the lead in half by catching a 26-yard TD catch (he also stopped by our tailgate & said hello after the game).  We then blew up a beach ball and then attempted to hit the Cal fans with it.  We were overwhelming successful.

About 10 minutes passed & Jhavid Best was at it again, this time with a 27 yard run.  His third touchdown of the game made it 21-7.  At this point, the Cal fans got cocky and started taking their afternoon naps. 

Their confidence came a little early as Eric Decker caught another TD pass 3 minutes later and the Gophers went into halftime down only 7 points!

The 3rd quarter was a struggle for both teams until the very end where yet another TD pass (this time to MarQueis Gray) and the score was tied!  After every touchdown, the Minnesota fans do the chant shown in the Video below.

At this point, Cal was on the ropes and their fans knew it.  Minnesota had the ball and was storming down the field.  It seemed that on every play the PA announcer was yelling, "& that's another Golden Gopher First Down!" (see video below)

Unfortunately Cal got the ball back, but the Minnesota defense continued to stifle them.  After the Gophers sacked the quarterback on 3rd and long, it appeared that Minnesota would get the punt near the 50 yard line.   Then diaster struck.  The referee called a false start and Cal got another chance.  That turned into a 34 yard completion and before we knew it Jhavid Best was at it again with a 4th touchdown.  The Gophers still had life until an interception was thrown and yet another Jhavid Best touchdown put it away (yes, that's 5 touchdowns for Jhavid).

Sure the final score was a 14 point spread...but it was much closer than that.  With 8 minutes left to play, every Cal fan was silent because they felt that their title hopes were over.  They knew Minnesota had them beat.  The Gophers played valiantly.  We hate to use the cliche "moral victory," but the Gophers had to feel good about the way they played and should be heading into Big Ten play feeling good about their chances in the Big 10.

By the way, whoever picked our schedule....wow, that's two amazing games back to back before even getting to conference play!