Sid Hartman: A lot of mistakes, but Gophers still come up with victory at end

Eric Decker not only caught 10 passes for 89 yards Saturday night in the Gophers football team's 31-27 come-from-behind victory, but he was a hero at the end by knocking down a Northern Illinois Hail Mary pass as time ran out.

"We call it the victory defense," Gophers defensive coordinator Ted Roof said after the game. "Decker is such a great athlete that we have him a part of it, and he showed what he could do in this game."

A Northern Illinois team that was 2-10 and never accumulated more than 293 passing yards a year ago, dented a still-questionable Gophers pass defense for 326 yards and almost scored an upset, with the Gophers needing a touchdown with 22 seconds left to win the game.

Rest assured, coach Tim Brewster won't be happy after he reviews the film and notes a key fumble, a blocked punt and a kickoff that went out of bounds near the end of the game. That bad kickoff gave the Huskies the ball on their 40-yard line on their final drive.

But the big thing is, the Gophers won the game, and they face a surprising Bowling Green team next week on the road after the Mid-American Conference team upset Pittsburgh.

Quarterback Adam Weber, who completed 24 of 37 passes for 298 yards and two touchdowns, said it was a game the team had to win after the 1-11 season in 2007.

"After the season we had last year, we just weren't going to give up," Weber said. "We never got down on ourselves as a team. We knew that if we got the ball with some time left, we could make something happen. Luckily, we put the ball in at the end."

"Sometimes you take wins for granted. We learned last year you can't do anything [like that]. We stuck with the game plan and never gave up on each other. We have really grown, and know it's about continuing that into our next game."

Well, the Gophers didn't win pretty, and if they are going to improve on last year's record, they can't give games away like they almost did Saturday.

McKinnie loss big This week's Sports Illustrated came out previewing the NFL season, with Vikings running back Adrian Peterson on one of six regional covers and the Vikings selected to win the NFC North.

However, the prediction that the Vikings would finish 13-3 was made before the NFL's announcement that left tackle Bryant McKinnie was suspended the first four games of the season, an announcement that leaves the team's pass protection a big question mark.

SI graded every unit of every team, and in giving the Vikings offensive line a B+, the magazine commented that McKinnie's status -- with a possible NFL suspension coming following his arrest after a nightclub brawl in Miami in February -- was the key.

A scout told me recently that while McKinnie isn't a better player than center Matt Birk or guard Steve Hutchinson, he would be the toughest for the Vikings to replace.

Jottings Dr. Sheldon Burns, the local doctor for the Wild and Vikings, who just attended his ninth Olympics, gave Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski a lot of credit for the success of the United States men's basketball team going undefeated and winning the gold medal in Beijing. "Mike had the complete respect of the players, sold them that defense would win it, and the chemistry on this team was great," said Burns, who was a physician for the basketball team and some other sports. Burns said he had a great opportunity to have a nice chat with Michael Phelps when the star swimmer visited the U.S. basketball locker room looking for autographs. Burns also complimented the government of China, saying he believed the nation ran one of the best Olympics ever.

One thing Brewster believes in is rewarding walk-ons who deserve a scholarship. This week, Brewster announced the names of six walk-ons who were put on scholarship because of their combination of being good students and football players. They were linebacker Mike Rallis from Edina; wide receiver Ben Kuznia from Olivia, Minn.; long snapper Ryan Coleman from Brookfield, Wis.; running back Damola Ogundipe of New Brighton; linebacker Thomas Hennessey from Somerset, Wis.; and tight end Curtis Hughes from Chicago.

Gophers running back coach Thomas Hammock was reminded of his great career at Northern Illinois on Saturday night. Hammock was a running back for the Huskies for three years, rushing for 2,432 yards in 32 games. Following the first game of his senior season in 2002 when he had some trouble breathing, he was discovered to have a potentially life-threatening heart condition. Despite the problem, he had rushed for 180 yards in what proved to be his final college game. His health is good now, but he has to watch himself.

Some 10 cities, including Minneapolis, are bidding to play host to one of five Final Fours between 2012 and 2016. Despite the questionable status of the Metrodome or any potential new Vikings roof-covered stadium, Bill Lester -- executive director of the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission that runs the Dome -- is confident this area has a chance at another Final Four.

Two players who impressed Rob Antony, the Twins assistant general manager, on his recent trip to Florida were catcher Wilson Ramos of Class A Fort Myers and outfielder Aaron Hicks of the rookie-league Gulf Coast League Twins. Ramos impressed with his power and his catching ability; Hicks, a first-round draft pick this year, "is very athletic, has some power and is a much more polished player than I thought he was," Antony said.