Colleague Casey C. passes along this story from the Wall Street Journal, which looks at four "forgotten ghosts of college football." They are: The Unversity of Chicago; SMU; Tulane; and ... your Golden Gophers. Some key takeaways from the article via Casey:

At these schools, the autumn Saturday experience cherished at so many other colleges—a big game against a hated rival, with a championship possibly at stake—is gone, or is a shadow of what it used to be.

and

Maturi money quote: "I do think the Ohio States, Michigans and Penn States have an advantage that the other schools don't have," says Mr. Maturi. "But it's also been proven that the other Big Ten schools—quite frankly everyone outside of Minnesota and Indiana—have found a way to do it on occasion."

It's a celebration of what once was ... and a sobering reminder of the fall. Your thoughts -- and Commenter Of the Week votes -- in the comments.