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(AP) - If the Minnesota Golden Gophers take another
31-point lead in the Insight Bowl today, they plan on
winning the game this time.

      Two years ago, Minnesota led Texas Tech 38-7 midway through the
third quarter only to watch the Red Raiders rally for a 44-41
overtime victory, the biggest comeback in major-college bowl
history.


      The fallout was swift for a Minnesota program long mired in
mediocrity. Coach Glen Mason was fired almost as quickly as the big
lead evaporated. Then the Golden Gophers stumbled to a 1-11 record
in the following season under his successor, Tim Brewster.


      Now Minnesota (7-5) returns to the scene of its collapse. The
Golden Gophers will face Kansas (7-5) in the Insight Bowl in Sun
Devil Stadium this afternoon, and they don't want to relive history.


      "We do have a lot of players that were part of that football
team," said Brewster, who was on the Denver Broncos' staff in
2006. "It was very disappointing to finish like it finished. But
we can't control what happened two years ago. We can control (this)
New Year's Eve."


      This season, the Golden Gophers improved by six victories over
2007. But the season played out much like the 2006 Insight Bowl:
Minnesota started fast and couldn't finish.


      After opening 7-1 and cracking The Associated Press Top 25, the
Golden Gophers dropped their last four games. The skid started on
Homecoming, when Northwestern returned an interception 48 yards for
a touchdown with 12 seconds left to stun the Gophers 24-17.


Twenty-one days later, suffered a humiliating 55-0 loss to border
rival Iowa for its fourth straight defeat.


      "We didn't finish the season the way we wanted," Brewster
said. "But you know what, we accomplished a great deal this
season. We're the biggest turnaround in college football: from one
win to seven wins. We're awful proud of that."


      To snap their skid, the Gophers may have to figure out a way to
control KU quarterback Todd Reesing, who is among the national
leaders in completions (seventh at 25.17 per game), passing yards
(eighth at 297.2 yards per game) and total offense (ninth at 313.4
yards per game).


      "Todd Reesing is as good a quarterback as there is in the
country," Brewster said. "He does a great job with his feet. He
is extremely dangerous."


      Reesing's best moment may have come in the regular-season
finale, when he connected with Kerry Meier on a 26-yard score with
27 seconds left to beat arch rival No. 12 Missouri 40-37 in Kansas
City.


      Reesing is 19-6 as a starter and has played a central role in
Kansas' march to national prominence. A school known for basketball
dominance -- KU won the NCAA tournament last spring -- has upgraded
its football profile under coach Mark Mangino.


      Last year, the Jayhawks made their first Bowl Championship
Series appearance, defeating Virginia Tech 24-21 in the Orange
Bowl.


      The victory came 60 years and two days after Kansas' first bowl
appearance. In between, the Jayhawks played in only nine other bowl
games.


      On Wednesday, they'll make back-to-back bowl appearances for the
first time. Mangino and his players have been savoring their
success since arriving in the desert last week.


      "What you are seeing now is not just a couple of years," said
Mangino, who is 44-41 in seven seasons. "This is a body of work
that started in 2002, and our program has taken steps continually
since then.

      "Our feeling is that we are still a work in progress," Mangino
said. "We haven't arrived. There is no great destination for us.
We just keep at it all of the time and keep working at it."

Gallery

Sports

Minnesota Gophers

The Minnesota Golden Gophers are gearing up to
face Kansas in today's Insight Bowl at Tempe, Arizona. Both teams are 7-and-5. Kickoff is at 4:30 p.m.

Gophers ready for Insight Bowl

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