Can PJ Fleck assemble the infinity gauntlet?
OK, perhaps the stakes won't quite reach world domination levels when Minnesota faces Penn State at 7 p.m. ET Saturday. But Fleck and the Golden Gophers are on the precipice of collecting the final piece in a historic run of hardware.
Last November, Minnesota picked up a low-scoring rivalry week win over Wisconsin 17-7. The win, the Gophers' second in a row in the series, was relatively innocuous in terms of immediate effects on the team's season -- Fleck's squad moved to a solid but unspectacular 7-5 record. It did, however, allow them to retain possession of the rivalry's Paul Bunyan Axe trophy, a success that would prove relevant this fall.
That's because this October, Minnesota enjoyed one of its most cathartic rivalry stretches in recent school history. In Week 5, the Gophers beat Michigan for the first time since 2014, and in Week 8, they beat Iowa for the second time in 11 years.
Those triumphs gave Minnesota control of the Little Brown Jug and Floyd of Rosedale trophies, respectively, the first time the school controlled both of those prizes and the axe simultaneously since 1978.
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— Minnesota Football (@GopherFootball) October 26, 2026
But, much like Thanos before the end of "Avengers: Infinity War," Fleck & Co. still have one to go. This Saturday, when the Gophers face the Nittany Lions, the Governor's Victory Bell trophy will be at stake. And, since that particular trophy wasn't established until the schools first began playing in the 1990s, a win by Minnesota would mean the team would control all four of its official rivalry trophies for the first time ever.
What would Fleck do with all four pieces of hardware secured? It's a safe bet a world-ending gauntlet isn't on the table. But Penn State is the only thing keeping the college football world from finding out.