No. 7 Oregon hosts rested Minnesota on Friday night

In an unusual scheduling quirk, Minnesota has a four-game winning streak when playing on Friday nights.

So certainly the Golden Gophers (6-3,-4-2 Big Ten) are hoping to continue the tradition this weekend in Eugene, and at the same time topple No. 7 Oregon (8-1, 5-1, No. 8 College Football Playoff).

Minnesota is coming off a bye week following a 23-20 overtime win at home over Michigan State that made the Gophers bowl eligible for the fifth straight season.

The victory was also Minnesota’s sixth straight at home. The problem for the Gophers is the road, where they’re 0-3 this season.

“We’ve played some really good football at home and on the road. We’ve also played some really good teams on the road. So we just got to find a way to be a little bit better each week, have a little more attention to detail in the things that we do — especially in our preparation — to go out there and play our best game of the year,” coach P.J. Fleck said.

Oregon staged a comeback 18-16 win on the road against Iowa last Saturday that might be one of the Ducks’ most notable victories when the season is all over.

Oregon went into the game against the Hawkeyes without a pair of key receivers, freshman Dakorien Moore and tight end Kenyon Sadiq, and lost Gary Bryant Jr. to an apparent foot injury in the first quarter. And it was played in horrendous weather.

But in the end, quarterback Dante Moore led a 10-play, 54-yard drive to set up Atticus Sappington’s game-winning 39-yard field goal with three seconds left.

“I thought our guys had great composure. And each guy had to do their part. It was one of those games where every phase mattered. They all contributed,” coach Dan Lanning said.

Dakorian Moore, a freshman, has caught 28 passes for 443 yards and three touchdowns this season, while Sadiq has 22 catches for 311 yards and five scores. Bryant has pulled down 25 passes for 299 yards and four TDs.

As is his custom, Lanning wasn’t revealing much about the status of his injured played for Minnesota.

“If they’re ready, they’ll play,” he said.

Moore’s Moment

Lanning was surprised to learn that Moore had never led a game-winning final drive like the one against the Hawkeyes.

“I didn’t realize this, but this was Dante’s first opportunity to actually come back from being down in a two minute drive. He said that to me, in his career, not just in this game, but in his career, which I think is pretty, pretty awesome for him to have that moment, but he’s cool, calm and collected, executed at a high level,” Lanning said.

Moore threw for 112 yards and an interception in the challenging weather in Iowa. Overall, he’s thrown for 1,884 yards and 19 TDs with only five interceptions.

Lindsey to the rescue

Redshirt freshman Drake Lindsey had his own late-game heroics in the Gophers’ last outing, rushing for the game-tying touchdown in regulation against Michigan State and then adding a 3-yard TD run in overtime to win it.

Fleck said starting an inexperienced quarterback comes with the acknowledgment that there will be highs and lows. It’s part of the maturation process.

“He’s played really well, then maybe inconsistent at times, and then bang — when we needed him most, he was there,” Fleck said about the latest performance.

Lindsey has thrown for 1,743 yards with 10 scores and six interceptions. He’s also run for six touchdowns.

Rankings watch

Oregon moved up a spot in the College Football Playoff rankings this week to No. 8 following the victory over No. 20 Iowa. It was the Ducks’ first win over a ranked team this season.

Of the three remaining games on Oregon’s schedule, only one is against a CFP-ranked team, No. 17 USC on Nov. 22.

Should the Ducks win out, they should earn one of the at-large spots in the 12-team playoff. Undefeated Ohio State and Indiana, sitting atop the CFP rankings, are likely to meet in the Big Ten championship game.

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