There is an unwritten rule in college basketball: When your favorite team beats an opponent that is not in the Top-25, not in the top-five in its conference, has no historical relevance, or is not your bitter rival, you don’t rush the floor.

Nevertheless, when the Indiana Hoosiers beat the Gophers two Sundays ago, we saw the Hoosiers faithful storm the court. Such debauchery should be reserved for a special win. Beating the Gophers does not qualify. 

So when will beating the Gophers matter?

Head coach Tubby Smith will deservedly enter the Hall of Fame one day. He won a national championship in his first year at Kentucky. He is one of just six coaches who have guided four schools to the NCAA tournament. Eight more wins this season and he'll have his 17th consecutive 20-win season, which is the longest active streak. Smith also had three Sweet 16 appearances in four seasons at Tulsa and Georgia.

Smith has been so good at what he does that I can’t help but wonder when his iconic touch will translate to my alma mater.

Losing Royce White and Trevor Mbakwe to suspension hurts. White is a natural scorer and a gifted rebounder, two areas in which the Gophers need help. And the way Ralph Sampson and Colton Iverson are playing, Mbakwe would play 25-30 minutes per game and likely lead the team in rebounding.

Mbakwe, who is sidelined until his felony assault case in Miami is resolved, will very likely redshirt this year. In November, athletic director Joel Maturi told the Star Tribune "I'd be surprised" if Mbakwe were found guilty. I wonder, if Maturi has done his homework in this matter and truly feels this way, why not let him play now?

Of the Gophers currently playing, have Sampson III, Iverson, Paul Carter, or Devron Bostick shown any improvement? Has Carter been given a fair shot?

Lawrence Westbrook on a good team would be featured as a spark-plug sixth man, but on the Gophers he has to be "The Man."

I have questions about Tubby’s ability to coach a productive half-court offense. After blowing a double-digit lead, the last possession against Michigan State on Saturday was a failure. They were down one, yet the final shot appeared to be for Blake Hoffarber from 23-feet. When that broke down, Westbrook went one-on-one, something that floundered for a seventh time in that game. An option might have been Sampson III on the low block, but Westbrook had no thoughts of giving that ball up. 

Tuesday night against Northwestern, Hoffarber, like he has so many previous times this season at "The Barn," delivered. Oh by the way, he was a Dan Monson recruit.

Yes, the Gophers are second in the Big Ten in scoring, but that is a misleading statistic when you consider their soft non-conference schedule and propensity to score off defensive pressure.

Landing top-10 recruit Cory Joseph -- Devoe's brother -- would help immensely, but he might end up at Villanova or Texas. The two commitments Tubby has garnered -- guard Austin Hollins and center Elliot Eliason -- are not considered to be significant.

Further, two of the team's three most important players -- Damian Johnson and Westbrook -- are seniors. If the team does not make a deep run this year, when will they? 

CBS college basketball analyst Bill Raftery has a saying when a player -- oftentimes a star -- comes through in a clutch situation: "ONIONS!"

Will Vikings running back Adrian Peterson prove to have "ONIONS" in Sunday's playoff game? If he doesn't, the Vikings will be one-and-done for a second consecutive season and 13th time in team history.

"I want to be the best there is and ever was," Peterson told NFL Fanhouse when asked what he wants to achieve. "I don't just want to be the best running back that has ever played football, I want to be the best player to have ever played football."

The player Peterson is most frequently compared with -- Walter Payton -- was just ordinary in nine career playoff games, so postseason success is not mandatory to make the Hall of Fame. But to be considered the "best there is and ever was" it is.

Peterson hasn't played like the best or second-best running back on the planet this year. Outside of abusing Cleveland's Eric Wright in the first game and showing flashes of greatness versus Baltimore, Peterson hasn't had a Hall of Fame-esque season. His numbers, especially his 43 catches, are good, but don't blow you away. In 2008, he went over 100-yards in a franchise-record 10 games. This year he has just three 100-yard games. 23 percent of the Vikings' runs have not gained at least one yard, which is 2nd-worst in the NFL.

Footballoutsiders.com on the Vikings' running game: The 2009 Minnesota Vikings do not have a great running game. They don't even have a good running game. What they have is a running back who is great when he's not having fumbling problems, and a seriously overrated offensive line that has steadily declined over the course of the year.

Peterson has put the ball on the ground seven times this year and since entering the league in 2007, leads all non-quarterbacks in fumbles (20).

A superstar running back can ever so slightly makeup for a subpar O-line. Before the regular season finale against an unmotivated Giants team, Peterson had gone six straight games averaging less than four yards per rush. Four of which came against bottom-half rush defenses (Chicago x2, Arizona, and Carolina).

His missed block on the first play of last year's playoff game set the tone for Philadelphia's blitz package the rest of the day. In that loss, he ran for 83 yards on 20 carries.

The best way to negate Dallas' top-notch pressure is to establish a run game. Yes, it's true that they haven't allowed a 100-yard rusher all season, but they also haven't seen a running back capable of doing what Peterson can.

Four of Peterson's six best games have come against the 3-4 look, which Dallas features. His top career game -- 296 yards vs. San Diego in 2007 -- was accomplished when seeing the 3-4. Current Cowboys tackle Igor Olshansky was a starter on that Chargers defense.

I get the sense after talking with well-spoken right guard Anthony Herrera in the locker room on Friday that the Vikings truly believe that they can have success in the run game.

Former Vikings head coach Jerry Burns had a saying before entering a big game: "We've got to make sure that our big knockers knock." Whether Peterson "knocks" on Sunday will go a long way in determining if he is a big-time player who delivers in big-time games or if he is just a big-time player.

After listening to many of ESPN's talking heads the past two days, this question needs to be asked: Should the Vikings even show up on Sunday?

They are making it sound like the Cowboys are a combination of the '85 Bears and '96 Favre-led Packers.

The only thing that could make me more nauseous this week is if NBC announces that former Cowboy Emmitt Smith is taking over for Conan O'Brien, although since you can't change the stripes of a leopard, we don't have anything to worry about.

Raised by a die-hard Philadelphia Eagles fan, I was taught early to despise the Mets, Celtics, Knicks, and Cowboys. This latest slurpfest fuels my Dallas dislike even more.

For obvious reasons, the teams Vikings fans loathe the most are the Packers and Bears. With all due respect to those feelings, the franchise you should reject the most is Sunday's opponent, the Dallas Cowboys.

Sure, some of it is jealousy and envy. Five Super Bowl championships to zero. 57 playoff games to 43. The Vikings have been eliminated in the postseason by Dallas four times, which is tied for the most against any team.

The Cowboys have more Hall of Famers, get regular Thanksgiving exposure, and have a longer sell-out streak. Also, according to Forbes, the Cowboys are the most lucrative sports franchise in the United States. A big reason why: A $1.2 BILLION stadium that features go-go dancers as we are entering a second decade of fighting for new digs.

More of it is the perceived inferiority complex that exists with the Cowboys fanbase. They love being called "America's team." So if you root for the Vikings on Sunday, are you anti-American?

Most of it is because Dallas won three Vince Lombardi trophies after being on the receiving end of the most lopsided trade in professional sports history. Simply called "The Trade," in 1989, running back Herschel Walker came to the Vikings for five players, three of them defensive starters, and eight draft picks, including three in the first round, three in the second and one in the third. Dallas soon went from 1-15 in 1989 to titles after the 1992, 1993, and 1995 seasons.

The Vikings had a losing record with Walker (21-23) before releasing him. Their only playoff appearance was a 41-13 loss to the 49ers in 1989.

The 1975 "Hail Mary" Dallas win at Met Stadium, where Vikings cornerback Nate Wright was pushed by Dallas' Drew Pearson, was made easier when the Cowboys eventually lost in the Super Bowl.

Running back Adrian Peterson's favorite childhood team: The Cowboys.

Quarterback Brett Favre is 2-9 lifetime against Dallas. That includes a 0-3 mark in the postseason.

Head coach Brad Childress is 0-1 versus Jerry Jones' team.

Dallas has a winning record against the Vikings in overtime games (2-1), has won the lone NFC championship matchup (23-6 on 1/1/78), and even came away victorious in the Vikings' first ever game, a preseason contest in 1961.

We even have to tolerate a former Cowboy, Troy Aikman, calling this Sunday's game.

For once, instead of hearing "How 'bout them Cowboys?" after these two teams play, wouldn't it be nice to be able to say, "Why not mess with Texas?" 

**Add-on: The Vikings beat the Cowboys on 12/30/73 in the NFC championship game 27-20. They then fell to Miami in Super Bowl VIII 24-7.

Whether he is at Chili's enjoying chips and salsa or at his western suburbs home enjoying a vodka the size of Judd Zulgad's head, Vikings coach Brad Childress will presumably be locked in on Saturday night on the Eagles-Cowboys first-round matchup.

While doing so, he needs to adopt former coach Mike Tice's one-time mantra: Go Eagles; E-A-G-L-E-S!

Why? Dallas is the worst possible opponent for the Vikings.

Quarterback Tony Romo's first two playoff games -- both losses -- would be an afterthought and he is the type of signal-caller that can give the Vikings fits. 

Romo established team records this season for passing yards (4,483), attempts (550), completions (347) and 300-yard games (eight) to go with 26 touchdown passes and nine interceptions. He has at least one touchdown pass in 12 straight games. The Eagles don't allow 300-yard passers very often; Romo did it in both regular season meetings. In the year of the quarterback, he deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Manning, Favre, Rivers, Brees, and Rodgers.

After breaking down film of Dallas' 24-0 win over Philadelphia in Week 17, NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger said of Romo: "He's in a zone right now." Even with Rodgers' brilliance and Brees' skill-set, Romo is the quarterback the Vikings least want to see the rest of the way. He has 11 touchdown passes and only two interceptions in the last six games.

The recipe to scoring on the Vikings: Three-step drops with quick-strikes, which Romo pulls off as well as anyone in the NFL. Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier will have to take his mind off the Buffalo Bills head coaching job long enough to game plan for such occurrences. That won't be a problem, but his safeties will.

Tight end Jason Witten, on his way to his sixth straight Pro Bowl, is very capable of causing headaches. He could easily do what Green Bay's Jermichael Finley (6-120-2 TDs) or San Francisco's Vernon Davis (7-96-2 TDs) did versus the Vikings. According to footballoutsiders.com, the Vikings are the 9th-worst team defending tight ends in the NFL.

They have a top-five offensive line, running backs that can block, and a wide receiver, Miles Austin, that plays all over the field, which could isolate Antoine Winfield or Benny Sapp. According to Winfield, his right foot won't be 100 percent until the off-season. Dallas' offense would be a good bet to put at least 24 points on the board against the Vikings.

Its defense has the best duo at getting to the quarterback of any remaing team. Outside linebacker Anthony Spencer recorded 17 tackles, four sacks, five pressures, one pass breakup and one forced fumble in the last three games. The other outside linebacker, DeMarcus Ware, strikes fear into opposing left tackles like no other. Bryant McKinnie would need constant help from a tight end or running back, which oftentimes would mean one less receiving option.

Dallas' 3-4 defense could replicate what Pittsburgh did on October 25. Be grateful the potential tussle won't take place on grass.

They even have a kickoff specialist -- David Buehler -- who can render Percy Harvin useless. Buehler led the NFL with 29 touchbacks.

FInally, should the Cowboys beat the Eagles, their coach Wade Phillips would no longer be worrying about his job security or his inability to win a postseason game (0-4). Same goes for Romo on the latter. They would instantly become loosey-goosey.

In contrast, under coach Andy Reid, the Eagles have advanced past their first playoff game every time (7-0).

For the Vikings' best chances to win their first playoff game since the 2004 season, they should hope for that trend to continue.