The Gophers football program will have a double dip into the newly expanded Big Ten Conference over a two-week span. After their first conference home game against Southern Cal on Saturday, the U will travel to the Rose Bowl Stadium to face UCLA next Saturday. The Gophers won’t face Oregon or Washington this season, but those former Pac-12 teams are coming soon. The conference shared a year ago each team’s future opponents and locations through the 2028 season, but not the future dates for those games. In 2025, the U will play the Ducks at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore. Minnesota last played in Oregon against Oregon State in 2018. In 2026, the Gophers will play Washington at Husky Stadium and on the banks of Lake Washington in Seattle. The U will also host UCLA at Huntington Bank Stadium. In 2027, the Gophers head back out to Los Angeles, but this time against the Trojans at L.A. Memorial Coliseum. The U will host Washington in Minneapolis that year, too. In 2028, the Gophers will host Oregon and again visit the Rose Bowl Stadium to play UCLA. The Gophers’ athletics department is anticipating a big crowd in Pasadena, Calif., next weekend, possibly in excess of 10,000. The Gophers estimated 8,000-10,000 fans were in Boulder, Colo., for a 30-0 win over Colorado in September 2021 and roughly 6,000-8,000 fans in Chapel, Hill, N.C., for the 31-13 loss to North Carolina in September 2023. Legacy offers The Gophers offered a scholarship Saturday to Daylen Sharper, the son of former Vikings and Packers safety Darren Sharper, and Devin Fitzgerald, the son of former Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald of Minneapolis. “Excited to be heading back home today to Minnesota for a game day visit at the University of Minnesota!” Sharper wrote on X. Daylen is a three-star receiver out of Phoenix; he has offers from Wisconsin, Oregon, Arizona, Arizona State, Iowa State and others. Devin is a three-star receiver in Phoenix; he has offers from Washington State and Pittsburgh, where his father attended college. Helping O’Brien With former Gophers placeholder Casey O’Brien in the throes of another cancer fight, his former team wore Team One Four Fund lapel pins on their suits to bring attention to fundraising for cancer research. “Love ya @caseyob14!!” coach P.J. Fleck posted on X. Brutal, Bruins Before facing Minnesota next week, UCLA (1-4, 0-3 Big Ten) ended a nearly 10-quarter drought without an offensive touchdown by finally scoring a TD with 16 seconds left in a 27-11 loss to No. 7 Penn State on Saturday. The Bruins did not score a TD across the second half of a 37-17 loss to No. 16 LSU two weeks ago and throughout a 34-13 defeat to No. 8 Oregon last week. Related Articles College Sports | Gophers football: Injuries continue to hit U defense going into USC game College Sports | Gophers football: USC game will be unfamiliar in many ways College Sports | Gophers football vs. USC: Keys to game, how to watch and who has edge College Sports | How Gophers were able to recruit cornerback Ethan Robinson over USC College Sports | Gophers football: Can freshman sensation Koi Perich also play offense?