For Gophers football, November is the month recalibrated hopes can still come true

In college football, the games of November are the ones to remember, with matchups like Tennessee, No. 1 in the College Football Playoff rankings, at No. 3 Georgia on Saturday.

For the Gophers, the stakes this month won't reach those heights, but November is important, nonetheless. Minnesota is aiming to finish strong after seeing its grand aspirations fade during a three-game losing streak. Beginning Saturday at Nebraska, the Gophers close their regular season with four consecutive games against Big Ten West Division opponents.

After the Gophers stumbled through October by losing consecutive games to Purdue, Illinois and Penn State, coach P.J. Fleck and his players labeled the final five games the "Gopher Football Playoff," a goal-adjustment tactic that started with a 31-0 win over Rutgers last week.

"You can just tell everybody was playing with each other and for each other,'' senior safety Jordan Howden said. "At all three levels, we played better than we did in the Penn State week. You can tell everybody was excited, everybody's flying around to the ball.''

They'll try to keep that enthusiasm going at Nebraska, then with home games against Northwestern and Iowa the following two weeks, and finally in the finish at Wisconsin. At stake during the stretch are two historic trophies when they face their traditional rivals — Floyd of Rosedale vs. Iowa and Paul Bunyan's Axe vs. Wisconsin.

Here are some questions that the Gophers will answer with their play over the next four weeks:

Can they win the Big Ten West?

Will they pass the ball?

For those who like to see the football flying through the air, the blowout win over Rutgers was an aesthetic disappointment as the Gophers ran the ball 53 times and passed it on 21 occasions. Fans rightfully worry that the passing game won't work when needed if it sits dormant too long. Some proof should come against Nebraska, which will try to shut down star running back Mohamed Ibrahim.

What are their bowl options?

That depends on how they finish in the last four games. It could range from a return to Tampa, Fla., for the ReliaQuest Bowl to the destination that makes most fans shudder, Detroit for the Quick Lane Bowl. Here's a look at Minnesota's most likely options: