It might be the Gophers' most unlikely feat yet: They closed one of the most disappointing football seasons in their history Saturday -- and left players, coaches and fans wanting more.
"This was a tough year," senior cornerback Ryan Collado said shortly after making a fumble recovery he'll never forget, "but this was easily the highlight of my Minnesota career."
He wasn't alone. Minnesota said farewell to its past, embraced its encouraging future, and finally, emotionally claimed a rivalry trophy -- twice -- by wrapping up its 2010 campaign with a startling but well-earned 27-24 victory over Iowa.
Duane Bennett scored the go-ahead touchdown with 4:31 to play. Then Troy Stoudermire jarred loose a fumble on the next play from scrimmage that short-circuited the Hawkeyes' own rally and Collado dived on the miscue, securing a no-way-in-heck two-game winning streak for the 3-9 Gophers and setting off a pair of stampedes to claim Floyd of Rosedale for the first time since 2006.
Two stampedes? Yep, the Gophers got a dress rehearsal for the real thing when half their roster sprinted across the TCF Bank Stadium Field to claim the goofy-looking iron pig, only to discover Iowa had used a timeout with 35 seconds to play. One more kneel-down by quarterback Adam Weber -- who won the first trophy game of his career, after 11 unsuccessful attempts -- and the pig rush, along with a stadium-consuming celebration, could begin for real.
"I had a lot of fun going over to get the pig the first time," Collado said. "I was OK with doing it again."
Good thing, too, because he'll never have another chance. Nor will Weber, nor fullback Jon Hoese (whose block helped clear room for Bennett on the game-winning score), nor coach Jeff Horton and the assistant coaches. The victory over an Iowa team ranked in the top 10 nationally only two months ago was the Minnesota finale for 15 seniors and ex-coach Tim Brewster's staff.
"There's a lot of joy and emotion in that locker room and on that field," said Horton, who could be replaced as soon as this week. He's been a head coach before, but this victory, he said, "it's the top, just because of all the things that have gone along with it. Because of my demeanor, I seem laid-back, but it's been a long month and a half. But we tried to make a tough situation enjoyable. Everyone stayed on board."
