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His eyes red from tears and his voice cracking, Cody Lindenberg sat behind a table and offered his thoughts, as difficult as it was to do.
The Gophers an hour earlier had lost 28-14 to Wisconsin on Saturday at Huntington Bank Stadium, seeing the Badgers parade off with Paul Bunyan’s Axe for the first time since 2020 and watching Minnesota’s regular season finish with a fourth consecutive loss and a 5-7 record.
Lindenberg, a fourth-year sophomore linebacker who was limited to three games this season because of injuries, was hurting for his senior teammates. Those players — who’d been part of the 11-2 breakthrough in 2019 and back-to-back nine-win campaigns the past two years — played their final home game in front of an announced 48,119 and left not with a third consecutive win over Wisconsin, but with disappointment.
“They’ve meant so much to the program,” said Lindenberg, who followed seniors Tyler Nubin and Brevyn Spann-Ford in the interview session. “There’s some historic moments those guys have built, and I just wish we could have sent them out a little bit better.”
Turns out, Lindenberg will get another chance.
Early Sunday morning, the Gophers found out that there would be one spot available for a 5-7 team to play in a bowl game, and because of their work in the classroom they will be that team.
The Gophers didn’t win six games needed for traditional bowl eligibility, but their Academic Progress Rate score was best among the nation’s five-win teams.
Because there were only 79 teams to fill the 82 spots for the 41 bowl games, the Gophers got in. The first two open spots will be filled by James Madison (11-1) and Jacksonville State (8-4), former FCS teams still in their transitionary period in moving to FBS. That left one spot for a 5-7 team, and the Gophers will get it when bowl assignments are announced next…
[ad_2]Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/gophers-lose-grip-paul-bunyan-075900709.html
Author : Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
Publish date : 2023-11-26 07:59:00
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