This game thread wants Michigan to win, but thanks Jerry Kill

I want to preface this game thread with a comment about Jerry Kill. As a native Minnesotan, I have followed the Gophers pretty closely ever since I started watching college football. And if there's one common theme in the last 30 years, it's that Minnesota just hasn't been very good. Well, that was until Jerry Kill got there. The team still had struggles, but they were headed in the right direction: wins over Nebraska, Iowa, and even Michigan, showed us what kind of coach Jerry Kill was. He worked hard, he believed, and he got results. Whether Minnesota keeps interim coach Tracy Claeys on as Kill's permanent replacement, or if they go in another direction, any success that the next coach has will be because of the bricks Jerry Kill laid down. Future successes will be built on Jerry Kill's foundation. At the end of the day, though, this is just a game. Life is life, and I think I can speak for everyone at Maize n Brew in wishing nothing but the best for coach Kill and shouting a little Ski-U-Mah! for the Gophers family. Thank you, coach; the Big Ten will be a lesser league without you.

On to the thread:

Although Minnesota won this game last year, don't expect the Jug to hang out in Dinkytown for consecutive years--the last time that happened was 1960-1963. My parents were only nine years old at the beginning of that streak. But, the added incentive of playing for Jerry Kill could give tonight a little more edge than previously thought for the Gophers. Their hearts will be heavy, but they may be filled with a great and terrible resolve. Okay, maybe they won't be playing up to Admiral Hirohito's expectations, but the motivation, if not the execution, will be there.

In some self-centered news today--it's my birthday!

And since Michigan is playing in my home state on my birthday, I've decided that today's tunes will be a variety of music from the great state of Minnesota (with one coming right from my hometown of Eveleth way up there on the Iron Range). While you listen to some great stuff, comment like this is the most important thread ever, mind the guidelines, and always Go Blue!