Once a Decade. . .

Rivalries are what make sports so entertaining. While it would still be fun watching athletes face off against each other under normal circumstances, knowing that each side would like nothing more than to take the head of their opposition energizes the atmosphere. No matter how bad a team can be, when it comes to a rivalry game all bets are off. Iowa State will probably only win a handful of games the remainder of the year, but they beat Iowa. Oregon State is a middle of the road program, but every year they are given a chance at ruining a conference championship or bowl bid when they face Oregon.

Some rivalries don't really feel like rivalries at all. Case and point, Minnesota v. Michigan. While it is the longest running trophy game (Battle for the Little Brown Jug dating back to 1892) Michigan has dominated to a point where the idea of the Jug not being in Ann Arbor would be unheard of. Since 1964, the Gophers have won only five (that's right FIVE) times against the Wolverines. For those of you not able to fully grasp at how long that's really been, that's five wins in 50 years (For reference, Lyndon B. Johnson was President). And it's been since 1977 when the last time the Gophers beat them on their home turf. Once a decade . . . Once!

While the losing streak at home continues, Minnesota potentially had a rivalry shifting moment on Saturday when they stomped the Wolverines 30-14 in Ann Arbor. The game itself seemed to symbolize two teams heading in opposite directions. While Minnesota seems to be ascending into Big Ten relevancy (still a long way to go), Michigan displayed a poetic fall from grace. Even with all their money, facilities and blue chip athletes, they just can't seem to right the sinking ship that is the program. Now I know that Michigan can rebuild in a snap, but the program just has a feel of one that will take some time to rebuild, which will give the Gophers a chance to run off a few wins to once again make this a relevant rivalry to Michigan fans.

Looking ahead for both teams, things may only get worse for Michigan. In their next three games they face no slouches in the conference by heading to a feisty Rutgers team with a very strong defense, a descent Penn State team at home and then they head east to face a far superior Michigan State team for another rivalry game situation. Don't be surprised if Michigan is 3-5 (maybe even 2-6) halfway through the season. On the flip side, the Gophers have an opportunity to build off this victory. They'll face a tricky Northwestern team that will either show up and kick butt, or roll over and take it. They then play two bottom feeders of the Big Ten in Purdue and Illinois which have to be victories for a team wanting to take a step forward in this conference. All of this nicely setting up the always-anticipated rivalry game between the 7-1 Gophers and the 7-1 Hawkeyes in a fight for the coveted Floyd of Rosedale. But knowing both the Goph's and Hawks teams well, one of them will probably slip up somewhere.