Week 12 vs. Minnesota on Friday, November 14, 2025 – Autzen Stadium – Eugene, Oregon – Fox 6 PM Pacific
Oregon will play at Iowa on November 8th, making it a short week before the Ducks entertain the Gophers. Minnesota is off in Week 11 after hosting Michigan State in Week 10, thus the schedule favors the Gophers with a bye week before coming to Autzen. Mr. FishDuck took a break from his study at online casinos reviews to express his concerns about a emerging Minnesota team that beat USC, UCLA, Illinois, and narrowly lost to Penn State in their 8-5 2024 season.
Once upon a time, the University of Minnesota Gophers were indeed Golden, as Minnesota claims seven college football championships. The Gophers’ titles under coach Bernie Bierman in 1934, 1935, and 1936 make Minnesota the only team the NCAA recognizes as winning three titles in a row.
Minnesota’s other titles were won in 1904, back-to-back in 1940 and 1941, with its last title coming in 1960 when the Gophers finished the regular season Number 1 in the AP and UPI polls before losing to Washington in the Rose Bowl. Back in the day, bowl results were not considered in the rankings.
Minnesota earned its only Rose Bowl victory the following season, defeating UCLA 21-3, led by Heisman Trophy-winning running back Bruce ‘Boo’ Smith. In 1960, Minnesota finished second in the Big Ten to Ohio State. Ohio State declined a spot in the Rose Bowl. According to Wikipedia, the Buckeyes declined, “because of tensions between academics and athletics.” (I’m pretty sure that athletics ultimately Won the Day.)
In 1896, Minnesota was one of the founding members of the Western Conference, today’s Big Ten Conference. Since 1896, the Gophers have posted a record of 735-545-44. In 1890, Minnesota defeated Wisconsin 63-0 in the first of 132 games played between the Gophers and the Badgers, the most-played rivalry in Division I-A, today’s FBS.
Minnesota won at Wisconsin in 2024. (Photo by Brad Rempel, Courtesy of University of Minnesota Athletics)
When looking back on Minnesota’s football history, one would be remiss not to mention the Gophers’ great Bud Wilkinson, who started at quarterback (tailback) on the three-peat championship teams. In addition to the three titles he helped win as a player, as Oklahoma’s head coach, Wilkinson won titles in 1950, 1955, and 1956. Wilkinson is the only person to have won three titles in college and three as a college coach.
Oklahoma won a record 47 games in a row with Wilkinson as coach from 1953 to 1957 before losing in Norman, 7-0, to Notre Dame. The 47 straight wins eclipsed the 31 games in a row won by the Sooners from 1948 to 1950. Under Wilkinson, Oklahoma won 13 consecutive Big Six/Seven/Eight titles, and his record with the Sooners was 145-29-4. From 1963 through 1975, Wilkinson was ABC’s football broadcast color commentator, sitting next to Chris Schenkel and then the great Keith Jackson.
Minnesota Battle Cry: Ski-U-Mah! combines a Sioux word for ‘Victory’ with ‘U-Mah’ for university. The Gophers Marching Band is referred to as ‘The Mound of Sound.’
Famous Alums: Bob Dylan, Henry Fonda, Hubert Humphrey, Eddie Albert, Jessica Lange, Garrison Keillor, Herb Brooks.
Series Record: Oregon 1 – Minnesota 3. Last game played – Sun Bowl, December 31, 2003, Gophers 31, Ducks 30.
With such a rich history, and working up the B1G Ladder–can the Ducks stay focused for a foe who will be rested and ready?
Jon Joseph
Aiken, South Carolina
Top Photo by Sage Zipeto, Courtesy of University of Minnesota Athletics
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Jon Joseph grew up in Boston, Massachusetts but has been blessed to have lived long enough in the west to have exorcised all east coast bias. He played football in college and has passionately followed the game for seven decades. A retired corporate attorney Jon has lectured across the country and published numerous articles on banking and gaming law. Now a resident of Aiken South Carolina, Jon follows college football across the nation with a focus on the Conference of Champions and the Ducks.