Calling from Charlotte, N.C., Danny Morrison asked what the weather was like in the Twin Cities on Thursday morning. When told it was windy with a temperature of 13, he shuddered.
“Thirteen and windy,’’ Morrison said. “I wouldn’t do good in that weather.’’
Morrison, though, could have a big hand in getting a bunch of Minnesotans to experience his weather in Charlotte. He’s the executive director of the Charlotte Sports Foundation, which runs the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. The Gophers are on Morrison’s radar, and while nothing is certain until the announcement, indications are they have a strong chance to be the Big Ten representative that will face an Atlantic Coast Conference team on Jan. 3 at Bank of America Stadium.
“We’d be excited to have Minnesota,’’ Morrison said. “We’ll just see how it all works out.’’
Morrison is impressed with the Gophers season and how they’ve played against the tougher teams on their schedule.
“If you just look at Minnesota, they’re a hair away from being 11-1 or 10-2,’’ Morrison said of the 7-5 Gophers. “… Everybody saw the great game against Penn State, and the Wisconsin game was a great win.’’
The Gophers’ competition in the Big Ten’s bowl positioning figures to be Iowa (8-4) or Michigan (7-5), plus Nebraska (6-6) and Rutgers (7-5).
At 9-3, Illinois separated itself from that group and is the clear favorite to land in the Citrus Bowl in Orlando. The ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa appears to have its choice of Iowa or Michigan. With their upset of Ohio State, the Wolverines became more of a viable option and could be the front-runner for Tampa.
