Trending: Lose to the Gophers in football, get fired

The two biggest wins of this football season for the Gophers were a road win at Michigan and a road win at Nebraska. (You could argue the Iowa victory was on par with these two, but it was at home and it wasn't as much of a rarity as those other wins).

Also, we had to toss out the Iowa game because Kirk Ferentz still has a job. The other two men who lost those signature games to the Gophers, though, have lost their jobs.

Nebraska's Bo Pelini was first; and now Michigan's Brady Hoke has reportedly but not surprisingly been given the heave-ho as well.

Now, losing to the Gophers this season is certainly not a crime. Minnesota has a very solid team that is on the upswing. That said, it's hard to imagine both losses didn't contribute at least in some way to the firings. If Pelini beats the Badgers and Gophers, Nebraska is in the Big Ten Championship game and quite possibly still employed.

Hoke's firing has an even more direct link back to the Gophers' game. Per ESPN.com:

The turmoil that enveloped the program included Michigan's handling of quarterback Shane Morris when he suffered a head injury during a loss to Minnesota on Sept. 27. Hoke and former athletic director Dave Brandon both received criticism when Morris briefly played on after being involved in a violent collision in the fourth quarter. Morris was eventually diagnosed with a probable concussion. Brandon, who hired Hoke on Jan. 11, 2011, resigned on Oct. 31 after four years on the job amid public outcry for a new leader. Jim Hackett replaced Brandon on an interim basis.

In any event, Gophers coach Jerry Kill has already found himself on speculative lists of potential successors at Nebraska. SI.com opined back in October that Kill would be a good fit in Michigan. So get ready for even more noise.