Minnesota’s 2024 football season started with a bang on Thursday night — and not a good one.
The Gophers fell 19-17 to North Carolina after missing a last-second 47-yard field goal. That ‘bang,’ then, was somebody in the stadium setting off fireworks thinking the field goal had gone in. The postgame scene perfectly captured a rough night for the Gophers and head coach P.J. Fleck.
Related: Full Big Ten 2024 Season Preview: Final standings, year-end awards, key superlatives
The loss to the Tar Heels is a nightmare start to 2024 after Minnesota’s 5-7 2023 regular season. The Gophers have appeared to slip far from their previous perennial 9-win pace. 2023 was the type of season that can’t happen twice. Thursday’s opener forecasts more of that performance, if not even worse.
For Badgers fans interested in Fleck’s job security, the Gophers have upcoming games against preseason No. 25 Iowa, No. 9 Michigan, No. 23 USC and No. 8 Penn State, plus tough teams Rutgers and Wisconsin. A 4-8 season is a real possibility if things don’t turn around quickly.
For those fans interested in some of the best postgame reaction to the Gophers’ last-second loss on Thursday, here you go:
Badgers fans are happy
It could get worse
The aforementioned fireworks
A meme to describe college kickers
This is a scientific fact
Minnesota sports fans know the feeling
More celebration from Badgers fans
Unrelated: Not many are fans of Minnesota’s…
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