EUGENE, Ore. — The Gophers have played three ranked teams in road, primetime games on three different networks this season. They have not been must-see TV.

In October, Minnesota got blown out by No. 1 Ohio State on NBC and smoked by No. 21 Iowa on CBS. On Friday, the U got pushed aside by No. 8 Oregon 42-13 on FOX.

It’s a good thing the Gophers don’t have another ranked team scheduled — and that Big Ten games are no longer on ABC anymore.

In those three games, Minnesota has been outscored by a combined 125-19, including a never-close loss Friday at Autzen Stadium.

Going into the fourth quarter, the stadium blared “Shout,” with many Ducks’ players joining students and fans in the ubiquitous wedding song dance. During that timeout, Gophers players didn’t leave their huddle along the sideline and maroon-and-gold fans in two end-zone sections sat on their hands.

Minnesota (6-4, 4-3 Big Ten) were a 25-point underdog and that was equaled at halftime with the Ducks up 28-3.

Minnesota didn’t score a touchdown against any of those ranked team until Friday’s third quarter — and 11th quarter overall — with Drake Lindsey finding Javon Tracy on a crossing route for a 10-yard connection.

After trailing 28-3 at the half, that quality drive of 10 plays and 80 yards cut the Ducks’ lead to 28-13. It was the faintest of comebacks.

No. 8 Oregon (9-1, 5-1) didn’t punt until their backups were in the game in the fourth. The Ducks displayed the mismatches they create in speed and strength all night, but especially in the second quarter.

One of the starkest examples of speed came when running back Jordon Davison went untouched on a 39-yard touchdown run. And the most-glaring example of power came when Noah Whittington appeared to be wrapped up by more than half of Minnesota’s defense, but the Ducks tailback kept churning and finished off a 40-yard TD run.

While Oregon continued to roll after a close win at Iowa last week, the Gophers had a bye week to prepare for the Ducks. They dialed up more trick plays on offense, including getting the ball to Koi Perich for the first time in months.

It didn’t matter, with Oregon outgaining Minnesota 510-196, including 332-94 in the first half.

The Ducks scored touchdowns on four of five possessions in the first half. Their only setback was an unforced fumble on a hook-and-ladder trick play that defensive end Karter Menz recovered.

The Gophers had to grind out 14 yards on seven plays to set up Brady Denaburg’s 46-yard field goal. After Whittington’s long TD, Minnesota’s best drive — 67 yards over 13 plays — included three third-down conversions, but they couldn’t get a fourth and settled for a 26-yard field goal.

Oregon wasn’t done, churning out another long touchdown drive, capped by Kenyon Sadiq’s 3-yard touchdown catch.

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With the game tied, Jett Feeney made three key plays in a four-play stretch in the third quarter.

Going for it on fourth down from its own 17-yard line, Moorhead’s highly touted junior signal caller surged just enough into the pile for a first down by the nose of the football. He followed that with an in-stride 40-yard completion to Zak Walker.

Two plays later the duo hooked up again with Walker catching an over-the-shoulder, perfectly placed 25-yard pass at the edge of the end zone to make it 20-14 Spuds.

Feeney threw for 228 yards and two touchdowns, Walker had seven catches for 128 yards, the Moorhead defense made big stops late, and the Spuds beat Lakeville South 26-14 in a Class 6A semifinal at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Up next for the Spuds (8-4) is a Prep Bowl matchup at 7 p.m. Nov. 21 against Edina (8-4), which scored 35 straight points before holding off Minnetonka 42-41 Thursday. It’s also a rematch of an Oct. 15 shootout that Moorhead won 51-44 at Edina.

The Spuds only state championship came in 1987. Edina, the 2023 runner up, seeks its first title.

Feeney — who missed Moorhead’s four losses with an injury — was 20-for-29 passing on Friday. He completed six passes for 66 yards on a game-clinching, 92-yard drive that finished with a 5-yard pass to David Mack with 1:33 left.

With its Power-T offense that averages more than 300 yards per game, Lakeville South (9-3) ran for just 205 yards, led by 119 from Griffen Dean. Nic Swanson added 74.

However, Lakeville South had just 24 yards and punted on back-to-back series late in the third and early fourth.

Things looked good for the Cougars early in the second half.

Tied at 7, Moorhead received the second-half kickoff. Nineteen seconds later, Lakeville South had a 14-7 lead after Carter Mayer recovered a fumble and Swanson scored from the 2.

A 40-yard run by Feeney and 23-yard pass to Mack keyed a drive capped by a 6-yard Walker rush to tie the game midway through the quarter.

With two offenses that can put up points seemingly at will — Moorhead averaged 47 points in winning four straight; Lakeville South averaged 40.3 points in winning three straight — the first quarter was scoreless.

A fumble recovery by Kaleb Williams gave Lakeville South the ball in Spuds’ territory, but the Cougars turned it over on downs at the 19. Moorhead then barely converted a 4th-and-1 inside its own 30 — video replay upheld the call —to keep a drive going. Taye Reich completed the 11-play trek from the 3 early into the second for a 7-0 lead.

Dean’s 2-yard plunge capped a 14-play drive and tied the game with 1:40 left before halftime.

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For all the things that had gone well for the Timberwolves of late, Donte DiVincenzo’s shot going down was not one of them.

The sharpshooter was 3 for 18 from deep over Minnesota’s three-game winning streak heading into Friday’s home tilt.

The shots fell when Minnesota needed them against the Kings.

DiVincenzo went 5 for 10 from 3-point territory to key the Wolves’ offensive attack in a 124-110 victory over Sacramento at Target Center. The guard finished with 20 points, six rebounds and five assists.

The Wolves improved to 2-0 in NBA Cup group play with the win and can, essentially, assure themselves a spot in the quarterfinals with a win next Friday in Phoenix, regardless of the result of their group play finale in Oklahoma City on Nov. 26, thanks to the team’s currently gaudy point differential of plus-54.

Minnesota has now won four straight, with all victories coming against the Kings (3-10) and Utah Jazz. The Wolves also have wins over the Charlotte Hornets and Brooklyn Nets over their past seven contests, which represents one of the easiest stretches any NBA team will face in terms of quality of opponent this season.

But the Wolves have handled their business in each of those bouts. Friday’s tilt was the most competitive of the bunch.

Minnesota jumped out an 18-7 advantage in the early minutes of the game, but then was largely outplayed over the next two quarters by a Kings’ team that’s now lost five straight, each by 14-plus points.

The Wolves (8-4) led by just one entering the final frame. But a 9-0 run early in the fourth, capped by a 32-foot missile from DiVincenzo, put Minnesota firmly in control for the remaining duration of the contest.

That bucket came off an offensive rebound, as Julius Randle tipped his own missed free throw back out to the perimeter. That was a theme of the frame, as the Wolves lived on the glass. They outrebounded Sacramento 18-11 in a fourth quarter where Minnesota grabbed five offensive rebounds.

Randle finished with 26 points, 11 boards and five assists, while Anthony Edwards paced Minnesota with 30 points and Naz Reid tallied a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

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On Friday night at Jean K. Freeman Aquatics Center in Minneapolis, Mounds View senior Ellie Bina not only put up a personal best but blew the competition out of the water during the girls swimming Class 2A state preliminaries.

Bina had a time of 5:00:65, placing her in second behind Edina junior Macy Malinski entering Friday’s 500-yard freestyle preliminaries. She finished nearly six seconds faster than the field (4:56:17) on Friday.

Bina said it was her best swim in the 500 since her sophomore year, and it boosts her confidence ahead of the finals on Saturday.

“I knew swimming that I was feeling good,” Bina said. “So, seeing the board was just like a relief, like okay, it was where I needed to be.”

Bina also improved on her section time in the 200 freestyle, dropping 1.58 seconds to 1:51:23, resulting in a third-place finish.

Marcott continues to thrive

Apple Valley senior Greta Marcott improved her 50 freestyle time from sections by 0.09 seconds to 23.12 but still finished runner-up in the prelims. Edina senior Libbi McCarthy leapfrogged her in the standings after posting a 22.55, just 0.01 seconds off a Class 2A record behind fellow Hornet Rachel Wittmer’s time set back in 2015.

Marcott led the way in the 100 backstroke, finishing in 54:37 seconds, improving by a second and a half on her section finals time.

Marcott holds school records in both the 50 freestyle and 100 backstroke, snapping the previous records set by Jennifer Riggs back in 1998. She said that entering high school, these achievements had not been on her radar, especially the backstroke.

“I just became a backstroker last year, and it’s been really fun for me,” Marcott said.

It was an exhilarating state meet for the Wyoming commit as Marcott said it is the first state meet she’s been in the thick of the title chase.

Havermann one step closer to repeating

East Ridge junior Logan Havermann arrived at the prelims looking to defend two state titles. Havermann is the reigning state champ in the 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke.

Havermann ended up as the top qualifier in the breaststroke with a 1:03:91 finish. She credits her continued success to her new approach, breaking down each race and adjusting, rather than relying on muscle memory.

Havermann entered the state meet second-best in the 200 IM to Edina sophomore Bobbi Simmons. Simmons maintained her edge, finishing 0.79 seconds ahead of Havermann’s time of 2:04:04 heading into Saturday’s finals.

Havermann said she is “excited” about being the second seed entering the 200 IM finals and getting to race against Simmons.

“I know she’s fast,” Havermann said. “She came in with a (2:01:84), I have a 2:00:00 from last year. So, if we push each other, we could both break (two minutes), which is super exciting.”

Stillwater shows out in relay

Stillwater set the tone for the Class 2A state prelims as its youthful 200 medley relay finished ahead of the pack. The Ponies squad, made up of eighth grader Maddie Mathiason, freshmen Molly Mahoney and Claire Christianson, along with junior Lucy Paczosa, put up a time of 1:45:42.

Paczosa also qualified for the 50 and 100 freestyle finals by placing fourth (23.37) in the 50 and second (50.81) behind McCarthy’s 50:00 in the 100 freestyle.

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