Nail-biters for Gophers, Vikings and more sports news
Max Brosmer of the Minnesota Golden Gophers looks to pass against the Penn State Nittany Lions in the second quarter at Huntington Bank Stadium on Nov. 23 in Minneapolis.
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Just as important to a Thanksgiving spread as turkey — for many families — is football.
The Minnesota Vikings are not playing until Sunday, but there’s still plenty to talk about. The Vikings and the Gophers had nail-biter games over the weekend. High school teams like Elk River are bringing home championships. And in soccer, Minnesota United finished their season last night with a loss in L.A.
Sports guys Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about all of it.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
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Audio transcript
NINA MOINI: Well, speaking of Turkey, just as important to a Thanksgiving spread for many families is football. The Minnesota Vikings are not playing until Sunday, but there's still plenty to talk about. The Vikings and the Gophers had nail-biter games over the weekend. And high school teams like Elk River are bringing home championships. In soccer, Minnesota United finished their season last night with a loss in LA.
And joining me now with the details on all of this are our sports contributors, Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson. Thanks for being here, guys.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: How are you on this Thanksgiving Monday?
NINA MOINI: Oh, I'm doing well. Excited about a little bit of a shorter week. Hope you all are doing well too. So Wally, let's start with the Vikings. What happened there? It was kind of a roller coaster.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Oh, boy. Well, going into the fourth quarter, they had a two touchdown lead, including an 11-point lead late in the game. They gave up a touchdown with 22 seconds to go. The Bears then go for two. They get the 2-point conversion. Then they do something that rarely works. They run the onside kick that hits tight end Johnny Mundt's leg and bounces to a Bear. So Chicago recovers an onside kick, which is an absolute rarity these days.
And one play later, they're in field goal range. They kick the field goal and force it into overtime. So you could say that the Vikings blew an 11-point lead in the final 22 seconds of the game, but they managed to hang on in overtime. They sacked Caleb Williams, who had a huge game. The quarterback for the Bears threw for 340 yards, but they got a big sack of him and forced the Bears to punt. The Vikings moved down the field.
Parker Romo kicked the game winning field goal with just two minutes-- a little over two minutes remaining in overtime. It was the Vikings fourth straight win, which is the good news. They remain just a game behind Detroit, and it's the fifth straight time they've beaten the Bears in Chicago.
Statistically really good day for Sam Darnold. He threw for 330 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions. He has played really well the last couple of weeks. Kind of bouncing back from that game in Jacksonville where he threw three interceptions.
Aaron Jones, who was a little bumped and bruised last week, rushes for 106 yards and a touchdown. And Jordan Addison, big game, and some important catches. He had eight catches, 162 yards, and a touchdown. And the Vikings now will play host to Arizona on Sunday, as you mentioned.
NINA MOINI: Lots of ups and downs there. Eric, are there some other NFL games you're watching this week?
ERIC NELSON: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, if you're a Minnesota Vikings fan, you're definitely paying attention to the rest of the NFC North Division. And the Vikings are playing very good football as we know. But Detroit is on a historical roll. The Lions have now won nine in a row, so they remain ahead of Minnesota in the division. Detroit with a pounding yesterday over Indianapolis 24 to 6. The Lions are 10 in 1. They're off to their best start since 1934.
So it's been decades since Detroit has been this good. And they're going to play their annual Thanksgiving game on Thursday in Downtown Motown. And they will host the Chicago Bears. So the Lions will have a chance to up their lead over the Vikings, or if there's an upset, Minnesota could be celebrating with some extra heaps of pumpkin pie and all that good stuff on Thanksgiving night if the Lions go down. Unlikely, but you never in the NFL.
Green Bay, though, is still very much in this picture. The Packers knocked off San Francisco convincingly yesterday at Lambeau 38 to 10. Green Bay hasn't won a game by that wide of a score in eight years. So the Packers are 8 and through. They play on Thanksgiving night against Miami at Lambeau. The forecast for that game right around kickoff is in the teens. So it will be frozen tundra in Green Bay.
Bundle up Dolphins. It won't be so slow weather. You're not going to feel like you're in Miami. You're going to be very much in the cold north. So it'll be interesting to see what happens on Thanksgiving. Those games have direct impacts on Minnesota. Perhaps the Vikings will get some help from Chicago and Miami. We'll see.
NINA MOINI: Wow. Well, maybe that'll be an advantage for Green Bay. Who knows? Let's talk about the Gophers who had a close game this weekend, almost beat Penn State. Wally, what's next for them?
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Well, they'll play the Badgers on Friday in Wisconsin. That's an 11 AM Black Friday kickoff against a Badger team that got pummeled by Nebraska on Saturday. So what this means is that the Badgers actually need a victory to become Bowl eligible. So they're 5 and 6. Minnesota is 6 and 5. Minnesota's Bowl eligible. What they want, of course, besides winning the football game, is to get to a better Bowl game.
They're going to a Bowl game. I think that they would like to get to a Nashville or perhaps somewhere in Arizona, someplace warm where Minnesota fans will flock to as opposed to fly in and fly out if they play in Detroit. No offense to the folks in Detroit, but I think that the Gopher fans would rather be someplace a little warmer, especially with the weather that we have coming in.
And you're right, they lost a heartbreaker on Saturday. They had an opportunity to win the game. They lose 26-25 to a very good Penn State team. Penn State's ranked fourth in the nation. And by beating the Gophers, they upped their chances to get into the College Football Playoff. They've lost one game. They lost to Ohio State. And they could possibly be on the outside looking in should they lose another game.
But Penn State came through. And for the Gophers it's another tough loss. And if they lose to Wisconsin on Friday, they're 6 and 6. It's just another average season, unfortunately, for Minnesota, in what is, of course, a very difficult Big Ten schedule now.
NINA MOINI: Yeah. Eric, how about another big loss that happened with the Loons? They did have a good run this year but their season is over. Can you tell us what happened in the playoff game?
ERIC NELSON: Yeah, absolutely, Nina. I mean, Minnesota United had a slow start to the regular season, but a fast finish. And they hit the ground running in the playoffs. But they ran into a brick wall yesterday in SoCal out there in Los Angeles against the Galaxy losing 6 to 2. And the LA Galaxy, they have a lot of firepower.
I mean, they have scored 4 or more goals in all three of their 2024 playoff games, which if you follow soccer, 4 goals is an explosion. I mean, that's like getting 10 runs in Major League Baseball. So the Galaxy are the highest seed remaining in the MLS playoffs. They will play Seattle for the MLS Cup.
Meanwhile, Minnesota goes home. Certainly a good season, but also an opportunity missed. They did not pounce on this chance. Had they won the game, they would have been playing for the MLS Cup. And Minnesota United has never advanced to the final round of the MLS playoffs. Los Angeles got 2 goals each from Gabriel Peck, Joseph Paintsil, and Dejan Joveljic. So the Galaxy move on.
They've won, by the way, five MLS cups. That's the most in League history, Nina. So Minnesota United was going up against one of these powerhouse programs that has had so much success since Major League Soccer came on the scene. But it's something to build on. Kelvin Yeboah had two goals for Minnesota. And we'll see what they do next season when they get back on the pitch.
NINA MOINI: Wally, before we go, can you just tell us a little bit about the prep football season, which is also over. But we've got some high school celebrating today?
WALLY LANGFELLOW: We do. Seven state champions crowned this past weekend at Prep Bowl, including Maple Grove in Class 6A. That's the big schools. They won their second title in three years. They beat Minnetonka by a score of 28 to 21. Minneota won the Class A Championship, so they get their third straight title. They beat Springfield again. They've beaten them the last three years, oh, by the way.
Stewartville won in Class 3A. They take their second straight title. And the folks in Fertile-Beltrami are happy today. They win their first ever. They win the nine-man title so they get their first state championship. So yeah, a lot of fun at U.S. Bank Stadium with some of these schools getting repeat championships, and Fertile-Beltrami getting their first ever.
NINA MOINI: Thank you both Wally and Eric.
ERIC NELSON: All right, Nina.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Thanks, Nina. Have a great Thanksgiving.
NINA MOINI: Bye. You too. Those are sports contributors Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson. That's all for us today. Thank you for listening to Minnesota Now.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
And joining me now with the details on all of this are our sports contributors, Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson. Thanks for being here, guys.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: How are you on this Thanksgiving Monday?
NINA MOINI: Oh, I'm doing well. Excited about a little bit of a shorter week. Hope you all are doing well too. So Wally, let's start with the Vikings. What happened there? It was kind of a roller coaster.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Oh, boy. Well, going into the fourth quarter, they had a two touchdown lead, including an 11-point lead late in the game. They gave up a touchdown with 22 seconds to go. The Bears then go for two. They get the 2-point conversion. Then they do something that rarely works. They run the onside kick that hits tight end Johnny Mundt's leg and bounces to a Bear. So Chicago recovers an onside kick, which is an absolute rarity these days.
And one play later, they're in field goal range. They kick the field goal and force it into overtime. So you could say that the Vikings blew an 11-point lead in the final 22 seconds of the game, but they managed to hang on in overtime. They sacked Caleb Williams, who had a huge game. The quarterback for the Bears threw for 340 yards, but they got a big sack of him and forced the Bears to punt. The Vikings moved down the field.
Parker Romo kicked the game winning field goal with just two minutes-- a little over two minutes remaining in overtime. It was the Vikings fourth straight win, which is the good news. They remain just a game behind Detroit, and it's the fifth straight time they've beaten the Bears in Chicago.
Statistically really good day for Sam Darnold. He threw for 330 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions. He has played really well the last couple of weeks. Kind of bouncing back from that game in Jacksonville where he threw three interceptions.
Aaron Jones, who was a little bumped and bruised last week, rushes for 106 yards and a touchdown. And Jordan Addison, big game, and some important catches. He had eight catches, 162 yards, and a touchdown. And the Vikings now will play host to Arizona on Sunday, as you mentioned.
NINA MOINI: Lots of ups and downs there. Eric, are there some other NFL games you're watching this week?
ERIC NELSON: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, if you're a Minnesota Vikings fan, you're definitely paying attention to the rest of the NFC North Division. And the Vikings are playing very good football as we know. But Detroit is on a historical roll. The Lions have now won nine in a row, so they remain ahead of Minnesota in the division. Detroit with a pounding yesterday over Indianapolis 24 to 6. The Lions are 10 in 1. They're off to their best start since 1934.
So it's been decades since Detroit has been this good. And they're going to play their annual Thanksgiving game on Thursday in Downtown Motown. And they will host the Chicago Bears. So the Lions will have a chance to up their lead over the Vikings, or if there's an upset, Minnesota could be celebrating with some extra heaps of pumpkin pie and all that good stuff on Thanksgiving night if the Lions go down. Unlikely, but you never in the NFL.
Green Bay, though, is still very much in this picture. The Packers knocked off San Francisco convincingly yesterday at Lambeau 38 to 10. Green Bay hasn't won a game by that wide of a score in eight years. So the Packers are 8 and through. They play on Thanksgiving night against Miami at Lambeau. The forecast for that game right around kickoff is in the teens. So it will be frozen tundra in Green Bay.
Bundle up Dolphins. It won't be so slow weather. You're not going to feel like you're in Miami. You're going to be very much in the cold north. So it'll be interesting to see what happens on Thanksgiving. Those games have direct impacts on Minnesota. Perhaps the Vikings will get some help from Chicago and Miami. We'll see.
NINA MOINI: Wow. Well, maybe that'll be an advantage for Green Bay. Who knows? Let's talk about the Gophers who had a close game this weekend, almost beat Penn State. Wally, what's next for them?
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Well, they'll play the Badgers on Friday in Wisconsin. That's an 11 AM Black Friday kickoff against a Badger team that got pummeled by Nebraska on Saturday. So what this means is that the Badgers actually need a victory to become Bowl eligible. So they're 5 and 6. Minnesota is 6 and 5. Minnesota's Bowl eligible. What they want, of course, besides winning the football game, is to get to a better Bowl game.
They're going to a Bowl game. I think that they would like to get to a Nashville or perhaps somewhere in Arizona, someplace warm where Minnesota fans will flock to as opposed to fly in and fly out if they play in Detroit. No offense to the folks in Detroit, but I think that the Gopher fans would rather be someplace a little warmer, especially with the weather that we have coming in.
And you're right, they lost a heartbreaker on Saturday. They had an opportunity to win the game. They lose 26-25 to a very good Penn State team. Penn State's ranked fourth in the nation. And by beating the Gophers, they upped their chances to get into the College Football Playoff. They've lost one game. They lost to Ohio State. And they could possibly be on the outside looking in should they lose another game.
But Penn State came through. And for the Gophers it's another tough loss. And if they lose to Wisconsin on Friday, they're 6 and 6. It's just another average season, unfortunately, for Minnesota, in what is, of course, a very difficult Big Ten schedule now.
NINA MOINI: Yeah. Eric, how about another big loss that happened with the Loons? They did have a good run this year but their season is over. Can you tell us what happened in the playoff game?
ERIC NELSON: Yeah, absolutely, Nina. I mean, Minnesota United had a slow start to the regular season, but a fast finish. And they hit the ground running in the playoffs. But they ran into a brick wall yesterday in SoCal out there in Los Angeles against the Galaxy losing 6 to 2. And the LA Galaxy, they have a lot of firepower.
I mean, they have scored 4 or more goals in all three of their 2024 playoff games, which if you follow soccer, 4 goals is an explosion. I mean, that's like getting 10 runs in Major League Baseball. So the Galaxy are the highest seed remaining in the MLS playoffs. They will play Seattle for the MLS Cup.
Meanwhile, Minnesota goes home. Certainly a good season, but also an opportunity missed. They did not pounce on this chance. Had they won the game, they would have been playing for the MLS Cup. And Minnesota United has never advanced to the final round of the MLS playoffs. Los Angeles got 2 goals each from Gabriel Peck, Joseph Paintsil, and Dejan Joveljic. So the Galaxy move on.
They've won, by the way, five MLS cups. That's the most in League history, Nina. So Minnesota United was going up against one of these powerhouse programs that has had so much success since Major League Soccer came on the scene. But it's something to build on. Kelvin Yeboah had two goals for Minnesota. And we'll see what they do next season when they get back on the pitch.
NINA MOINI: Wally, before we go, can you just tell us a little bit about the prep football season, which is also over. But we've got some high school celebrating today?
WALLY LANGFELLOW: We do. Seven state champions crowned this past weekend at Prep Bowl, including Maple Grove in Class 6A. That's the big schools. They won their second title in three years. They beat Minnetonka by a score of 28 to 21. Minneota won the Class A Championship, so they get their third straight title. They beat Springfield again. They've beaten them the last three years, oh, by the way.
Stewartville won in Class 3A. They take their second straight title. And the folks in Fertile-Beltrami are happy today. They win their first ever. They win the nine-man title so they get their first state championship. So yeah, a lot of fun at U.S. Bank Stadium with some of these schools getting repeat championships, and Fertile-Beltrami getting their first ever.
NINA MOINI: Thank you both Wally and Eric.
ERIC NELSON: All right, Nina.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Thanks, Nina. Have a great Thanksgiving.
NINA MOINI: Bye. You too. Those are sports contributors Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson. That's all for us today. Thank you for listening to Minnesota Now.
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