Game could have been a break; now it's make-or-break

Interesting how important Saturday's nonconference game against South Dakota State has become.

The Jackrabbits are an NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division 1-AA) team. A good one, and probably will end up in the playoffs. But still an FCS team, one the Gophers should beat.

Make that must beat.

Had the Gophers played four full quarters Saturday against Illinois and won their sixth game, the upcoming game would have been a chance to better their bowl aspirations, perhaps move up the pecking order. It would have been an opportunity to further bolster the team's confidence before heading off for the regular-season finale against a good Iowa team in Iowa City, where Minnesota hasn't won since 1999. The Gophers would have been riding a three-game winning streak and already holding seven victories heading south to play a team with injury issues.

Now? The SDSU game is only that much more important.

Now the Gophers very much need to win, just to reach six victories and become bowl-eligible.

After the 35-32 loss to Illinois, Gophers coach Tim Brewster guaranteed his team would rebound, have a great week of practice and come out and play very well against the Jackrabbits.

"I don't have any question in my mind about that at all," he said.

Sunday he talked about executing for a full 60 minutes rather than just 30, which was the case against Illinois.

"Obviously we didn't execute as well in the first half against Illinois," Brewster said. "Executing for 60 minutes is what we have to do. ... It's about guys doing their jobs. [Saturday] Illinois beat us 28-7 in the first half and we beat them 25-7 in the second and we lost by three."

The Gophers should have a definite edge in talent and athletic ability over SDSU, which will be playing only its second game against a Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) team. And Minnesota will be at home.

The most important thing might be coming out strong from the start, as the Gophers did in a 42-34 victory over Michigan State but failed to do against the Illini.

South Dakota State is a relative newcomer to Division I. But the Jackrabbits have played some pretty competitive football. Last season, in their first year in the Missouri Valley Conference, SDSU finished third, with seven victories overall, probably one shy of qualifying for the playoffs. The Jackrabbits were ranked in the top 10 in their division before losing to then-No. 3 Southern Illinois 34-15 on Saturday. They defeated a Northern Iowa team that took Iowa to the wire.

The Gophers shouldn't let SDSU hang around in this game, shouldn't give the Jackrabbits reason for optimism, hope for an upset bid. The best way to do that would be to come out swinging early and set the stage for a convincing victory, then hope to ride that into Iowa City.

"We're not going to overlook anybody," Brewster said. "This is senior week, it's senior day, our seniors' last chance to play in TCF Bank Stadium."

In 2007, Brewster's first season, a less-athletic Gophers team was host to North Dakota State. The Bison took a 14-7 first-quarter lead and were off to a 27-21 upset.

A victory would give the Gophers six victories, making them bowl-eligible with a chance to win the first trophy game in Brewster's three seasons. Closing the regular season with two victories would give the Gophers seven wins, with a 4-4 conference mark and concrete proof that the program has taken another step.

But, first, South Dakota State.

The Jackrabbits figure to come to the Twin Cities on Friday feeling there is little to lose but a lot to gain. The Gophers? Perhaps the opposite. They need to take care of business early this week, then look to avenge last year's one-sided loss to Iowa.

After the Illinois loss Gophers linebacker Nate Triplett, one of many seniors starting for the team, talked about how important getting to a second consecutive bowl was. He knows there are different levels of bowls, some are better than others. Still ...

"We want to go to the best bowl game possible," Triplett said. "But, as far as which one specifically? That doesn't matter. I'm a senior, I just want to go to a bowl."

That trip starts with Saturday's game against SDSU.

Kent Youngblood kyoungblood@startribune.com