Minnesota is getting ready to begin the 2019 campaign, and the Gophers are taking on an uncommon foe in Week 1.

The team will get the season rolling against South Dakota State on Thursday evening. The Jackrabbits are an FCS program, but they should not be taken lightly. They made it all the way to the national semifinals before losing to North Dakota State in 2018.

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Minnesota will undoubtedly enter the game as overwhelming favorites, but there are still a lot of unknown variables. The unknown does pose certain problems when trying to prepare for the game.

Head coach P.J. Fleck held his first game week press conference of the season Sunday, and he claimed the Gophers have been “scheming for ghosts” with their prep work leading up to the season opener. Minnesota Football shared Fleck’s full comment:

Hopefully, the ghost scheme work pays off. Kickoff for Thursday’s opener is set for 9 pm EST on FS1.