Time, place for Gophers to make a stand

Gophers senior co-captain Steve Davis gave a talk to his teammates this week. His advice:

Don't blink.

Davis has been reminiscing this week. He remembers his first visit to the campus from his native St. Louis after playing for a high school championship in a dome down there. He remembers his first game, his first game in the Metrodome.

"It's been a blink of an eye, and I'm already a senior," Davis said. "It's exciting and it's sad. There have been good memories."

Davis and his fellow seniors want a couple more positive memories before the season ends. Davis is one of 12 Gophers seniors who never have won more than seven games, who lived through the change from Glen Mason to Tim Brewster, who started this season 7-1 only to become mired in a three-game losing streak.

The Gophers (7-4) will play their final Metrodome game today against a resurgent Iowa team that also is 7-4 but has won four of its past five games. At stake is the Floyd of Rosedale trophy, the chance for a better bowl berth and the need to head into bowl preparation on a victory rather than a four-game losing streak. So, this week, Davis reminded his team of all that.

And reminded them: Don't blink.

The party line at the Gibson-Nagurski complex is that a seven-win season and a bowl game is a successful rebound from last year's 1-11 record. At the same time, nobody is satisfied. Talk to one of the seniors who never has seen eight wins, and you get that over and over.

"We've played some good football, been in some close games," defensive end Willie VanDeSteeg said. "It's been fun. But, being a senior, we want eight real bad. We want to win in the last game in the Metrodome. You can't settle."

There is so much at stake.

A victory means eight victories, a trophy, a .500 record in the Big Ten. And, frankly, the likelihood of a bowl in a warm place. Florida, perhaps. Texas, not out of the question. Arizona, maybe.

A loss and the Gophers head into bowl prep on a four-game skid only a month after rising as high as 20th in the Associated Press poll, knowing that a bowl loss would leave the team at 7-6. Also, knowing that bowl could wind up being played in Detroit.

"My family is from Detroit," senior tight end Jack Simmons said. "So I've been there enough. I'd like to stay out of Detroit, especially in December."

That eighth victory will be difficult. Iowa is on a roll, coming to Minnesota with a signature upset of Penn State in its pocket. The Hawkeyes are 4-3 in the conference with the most consistent running back in the country, Shonn Greene, at their disposal.

The Dome will be filled, but many of those fans will be cheering for the Hawkeyes.

"This last game is crucial for us," sophomore quarterback Adam Weber said. "This season has been successful from the standpoint of where we came from this year.

"But these last three games have put a damper on how exciting this season could have been. Obviously, we let a couple games get away from us.

"This last game is important for us, for this state. Big, big game. We feel if we come away with a victory here we'll end the season on a good note."

Weber's top target, receiver Eric Decker, will return from an ankle injury. But two of the Gophers' top run-stuffers -- safety Kyle Theret and middle linebacker Lee Campbell -- have sprained ankles. Both might play, but if they do, it will be with pain.

As Decker said, after today the Gophers will have weeks to get healthy before a bowl. Right now there is too much at stake to be watching from the sideline.

"This is huge, man," Decker said. "It will depend on where we go, too. With all the work we've put in, we deserve a trophy game like this, at a critical point in our season, to go out on a good note."

That has been the note many seniors have been playing this week.

''Let's be honest, our goal is not to go 7-5,'' Simmons said.

Said linebacker Deon Hightower: ''There is no moral victory in seven wins at this point.''