When it comes to Turkey Day, the Minnesota Gophers are top
fowls.

After witnessing what went down behind the scenes during
Wisconsin's 41-34 win at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, it's only fitting that
this week happens to be Thanksgiving, because the Gophers are a bunch of
turkeys. Similar to the holiday's favorite main dish, Minnesota is both fowl
(foul) and chicken. Not only is it scared, but Minnesota also doesn't play
fair.

Now I understand this was a rivalry game — the nation's most
storied in terms of games played, in fact — where bad blood has been spilled
and where tussles, smack talking and typically well-contested games are
expected.

What isn't acceptable, however, are cheap shots to the
opposition's "lower extremities," as UW head coach Bret Bielema politely put
it, and players exuding poor sportsmanship. 

Minnesota sophomore Eric Decker may have shown that his game
has class, catching six balls for 125 yards and two scores Saturday. He also
showed he's a terrible loser. During the game, Decker and UW's Jack Ikegwuonu
got tangled up away from the ball and Minnesota's single-season receptions
leader fell down underneath Wisconsin's shutdown corner. Instead of getting up
good and proper, Decker swung his fist upward and hit Ike right between the
legs, catching two more balls off guard.

Ikegwuonu went down in a heap and lay there for several
minutes. For the rest of the game he wasn't as effective, getting beat on a
touchdown.

Another incident occurred during the postgame handshakes.
Benchwarmer quarterback Clint Brewster, the son of Minnesota head coach Tim
Brewster, made some comments to Wisconsin kicker Taylor Mehlhaff about how the
Badgers are pathetic for barely beating a terrible team. After this exchange,
Brewster capped the conversation by saying, "How many field goals did you miss
today?" to mock an uncharacteristic day by Mehlhaff in which he missed two
kicks. Mehlhaff's response should have been, "How many snaps did you get?" but
being a sensible and reasonable human being he refrained from getting involved
(other than telling the media about it).

Looking back, it's pretty humorous that a player who has
never seen the field on arguably the worst team in major college football is
mocking one of the best players at his position. Still, it squawks poor
sportsmanship.

It could very well be that a frustrating 1-11 season has
finally caught up to the Gophers. Nonetheless, they are issues that need to be
addressed. And I'm not sure the coach is ready to do that.

Brewster is inherently positive, always talking about how
honored he is to be coaching in the same conference as legends like Joe
Paterno, Jim Tressel and Lloyd Carr and how happy he is to be in Minnesota
during a time of change (the Gophers will be moving to an outdoor stadium prior
to the start of the 2009 season). Before Saturday, he acknowledged that if he
had it his way, he'd play all his seniors for their final game. Certainly, he
comes off as a players' coach.

While maintaining an optimistic outlook and friendly
environment is vital to help a team that has struggled all season to replace
two of its best defensive players after they were dismissed for their alleged
involvement in an on-campus rape over the summer, I get the feeling that
Brewster is ignoring the facts. When things aren't going well, changes need to
be made, and he failed to do just that. And that's the biggest reason why this
team finished as poorly as it did (the Gophers lost six games by seven points
or less, signifying that coaching may have been the difference between wins and
losses).

Obviously, losing key players and having your hand forced
into playing inexperienced people at those positions doesn't make the job easy.
Then again, this is Division I college football, not some "My Super Sweet
Sixteen" episode.

With that in mind, I wonder if Brewster is the biggest
turkey of them all.

So as Brewster heads into his first full offseason with the
team, it is my hope that he is teaching himself and his players to give thanks
by eating turkeys, not acting like them.

Kevin is a senior majoring
in journalism and economics. Have fun eating turkey and taking a break from
school. If you feel so inclined to get Kevin off the couch and on the computer,
shoot him an e-mail at [email protected].