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University of Minnesota Athletics
FB: Gophers and Buckeyes Set for Saturday Showdown
10/28/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Location: Minneapolis, Minn. STADIUM: HHH Metrodome (64,172) TIME: 11 a.m. (CST) TELEVISION: ABC Sports - Brad Nessler (play-by-play), Bob Griese (analyst), Lynn Swann (sideline) RADIO: WCCO-AM (830) - Dave Lee (play-by-play), Dave Mona (analyst), Darrell Thompson (analyst) Westwood One Sports - Tony Roberts (play-by-play), Allen Pinkett (analyst) THE SERIES Saturday’s game between Minnesota and Ohio State will be the 45th time the two schools have faced each other on the football field with the Buckeyes holding a 37-7 advantage. Minnesota and Ohio State first met on Oct. 15, 1921 in Columbus, Ohio. The two schools only played each other 12 times between 1921 and 1966 before beginning annual battles in 1969. Minnesota and Ohio State met every year from 1969 until 1992 when the Big Ten’s rotating schedule began during the 1993 season with the addition of Penn State. THE COACHES Minnesota: Glen Mason (Ohio State, ‘72) Record at school: 56-47-0 (9th season) Overall: 115-111-1 (20th season) Ohio State: Jim Tressel (Badwin Wallace, ‘75) Record at school: 45-13 (5th season) Overall: 180-70-2 (20th season)
NOTES TO KNOW
• Saturday’s game pits a Minnesota offense that is ranked first in the nation in rushing against an Ohio State defense ranked first in the nation against the run. Minnesota is currently averaging 299.1 yards per game on the ground while Ohio State’s defense is allowing its opponents an average of only 62.7 yards per game rushing. Overall, Minnesota ranks 10th in the country in total offense while Ohio State ranks third nationally in total defense.
• Minnesota’s 411 yards rushing against Wisconsin marked the first time the Gophers rushed for 400 yards in a game against a Big Ten Conference opponent since rushing for 435 yards against Indiana on Nov. 1, 2003. • Laurence Maroney owns three of the seven longest runs in Minnesota school history following his 93-yard touchdown run against Wisconsin on Oct. 15. Maroney had a pair of 80-yard touchdown runs during the 2004 season.
• Gary Russell’s five games this season with at least two touchdowns ties him with Chris Darkins for the most multiple touchdown games in a season at Minnesota. Darkins had five games with at least two touchdowns during the 1994 season.
• Kicker Jason Giannini ranks 10th nationally and second in the Big Ten Conference in field goals per game at 1.71. Giannini had a career long 49-yard field goal against Wisconsin in the third quarter.
• Laurence Maroney enters Saturday’s game ranked first in the Big Ten and tied for second nationally in all-purpose yards. Maroney is averaging 194.3 all-purpose yards per game and is tied with Memphis’ DeAngelo Williams. USC’s Reggie Bush is ranked first nationally at 203.1 yards per game.
• Jakari Wallace is first in the Big Ten and fifth nationally in kickoff return yards average at 31.3 yards per return.
• Laurence Maroney ranks first in the Big Ten and third nationally in rushing yards per game at 161.9 yards. Maroney is the first player in school history to have three 200-yard games in the same season. Maroney reached the 200-yard mark against Tulsa (203), Purdue (217) and Wisconsin (258).
• Minnesota’s offense currently ranks first in the Big Ten Conference and third nationally in 3rd-down conversions. The Gophers have converted on 54 of 106 third downs this season for a 50.9 percent success rate.
• Saturday’s game will be the fourth time this season that Minnesota will face a Big Ten opponent ranked in the Associated Press Top 25. The last time the Gophers faced four ranked Big Ten teams in one year was during the 2000 season.
• Cornerbacks Trumaine Banks and Jamal Harris both rank in the top five in the Big Ten in passes defended per game. Banks is currently tied for third at 1.14, while Harris is tied for fifth at 1.00 passes defended per game.
GAME NOTES
BREAKING DOWN OHIO STATE - The Ohio State Buckeyes returned nine offensive and nine defensive starters from last season’s 8-4 team that finished the year by winning five of its last six games, including a 33-7 victory over Oklahoma State in the Alamo Bowl. The strength of this year’s Ohio State team has been in its defense, which ranks first in the Big Ten in scoring defense, rushing defense, passing defense and total defense. The Buckeyes are allowing just over 62 yards per game on the ground and join Penn State as the only two Big Ten teams that are allowing under 300 yards of total offense per game. Senior linebacker A.J. Hawk leads the team and ranks fifth in the Big Ten in total tackles at almost 11 per game. Offensively, Ohio State has been led by sophomore running back Antonio Pittman and senior quarterback Troy Smith. Pittman is averaging just over 99 yards per game rushing, while Smith ranks fifth in conference in passing efficiency at 145.2.
THE LAST TIME (Nov. 2, 2002) - After trailing 10-3 at halftime, the 19th-ranked Gophers couldn’t muster enough offense in the second half against sixth-ranked Ohio State and eventually lost 34-3 in Columbus, Ohio. Minnesota scored on its opening possession after the Gopher defense held Ohio State to a three-and-out series to begin the game. Jermaine Mays blocked the ensuing Buckeye punt and gave the Gophers the ball on Ohio State’s 30- yard line. Dan Nystrom kicked a 24-yard field goal to put the Gophers ahead 3-0. Ohio State did not score until the 5:59 mark of the first half when Lydell Ross scored on a five- yard run. Ross scored again on Ohio State’s first series of the second half to put the Buckeyes ahead 17-3 after Ohio State got the ball on its 10-yard line following a bad snap on a Gopher punt. The Gopher offense was limited to 112 yards for the game, while the Gopher defense recorded a season-high five quarterback sacks.
A SATURDAY RUSH - Saturday’s game against Ohio State will mark the ninth time since the start of the 2003 season that the Gophers have faced a defense that ranks in the top 10 nationally in either rushing defense or total defense. The Buckeyes enter Saturday’s game ranked first against the run and third in overall defense. The Gophers faced a Purdue defense on Sept. 24 that entered the game ranked first against the run by allowing an average of only 16 yards in its first two games. Minnesota ended the Purdue game with 301 yards rushing on 68 attempts, including a 217-yard performance by Laurence Maroney. Last season, Minnesota faced four teams ranked in the top 10 in either category, including Alabama in the Music City Bowl. The Crimson Tide entered that game ranked second in overall defense and had not allowed an individual rusher to reach 100 yards in a game all season. Maroney and Marion Barber III each rushed for 100 yards against Alabama. Maroney had 105 yards on 29 carries, while Barber III was named the game’s MVP with a 187-yard rushing performance on 37 carries.
SIXTEEN OHIO NATIVES ON MINNESOTA ROSTER - Saturday’s game against Ohio State will feature 16 Ohio natives wearing the Maroon and Gold of Minnesota. The 16 Ohio players are the second most from one state on the Gophers’ roster behind the 41 student-athletes from Minnesota. Wisconsin natives make-up the third most Gopher players from one state with 13.
THE MARONEY RECORD WATCH - Laurence Maroney entered the 2005 season ranking near the top of several school record charts, including career rushing yards, career rushing attempts, rushing touchdowns, 100-yard rushing games and career all-purpose yards. Maroney ranks third on the career rushing list with 3,602 yards. Maroney passed both Chris Darkins (1992-95) and Marion Barber III (2001-04) with his 129-yard performance against Michigan on Oct. 8. Maroney became only the sixth running back in school history to rush for 3,000 yards in a career with 217 yards against Purdue on Sept. 24. Maroney also has 30 rushing touchdowns during his career to place him fourth all-time in school history. Maroney passed Thomas Tapeh’s (2000-03) 24 rushing touchdowns and Rickey Foggie’s (1984-87) 25 rushing touchdowns with two scores against Colorado State on Sept. 10. Maroney needs four more rushing touchdowns to tie Marion Barber (1977-80) for the third spot with 34. With 19 career 100-yard rushing games, Maroney is currently second in school history. Darrell Thompson holds the record for most 100-yard rushing games with 23. Maroney ranks third in school history in career all-purpose yards with 4,427. Maroney moved from the eighth spot to fifth place on the school’s all-time all- purpose yards chart with a 333-yard performance against Purdue and from fifth to third with his 258-yard rushing performance against Wisconsin. Maroney needs 69 all-purpose yards to move past Marion Barber III (4,495 yards) into second place.
THE LONGEST YARDS - Laurence Maroney’s 93-yard touchdown run against Wisconsin on Oct. 15 tied for the second longest touchdown run in school history. Maroney’s run equalled the 93 yards Byron Evans raced against Memphis in 1998. Maroney now has three of the seven longest runs in Minnesota school history. Maroney posted a pair of 80-yard touchdown runs during the 2004 season against Illinois State and Michigan.
THE 100-YARD STREAK(S) - Laurence Maroney has rushed for at least 100 yards 19 times in 32 career games dating back to his freshman season in 2003. Maroney has reached the 100-yard mark in 18 of the Gophers’ last 24 games dating back to his first season when he rushed for 179 yards at Illinois. During that span, Maroney set a Minnesota school record for consecutive 100-yard games with seven. Maroney’s streak started during the 2003 Sun Bowl and continued until Minnesota’s game at Michigan State last year. The seven-game streak surpassed the previous record of five straight 100-yard games set by Paul Giel (10/20-11/17/51) and Thomas Hamner (10/2-10/30/99). Maroney broke the five-game record on Oct. 2, 2004, when he rushed for 144 yards on 25 carries during Minnesota’s 16-7 win over Penn State. Maroney also has the second longest consecutive 100-yard game streak with six that ended against Penn State on Oct. 1. The six-game streak started against Iowa last season and included a 105-yard effort against Alabama in the Music City Bowl. Maroney started the 2005 campaign with four 100-yard games, including 200-yard performances against Tulsa and Purdue.
THE 200-YARD CLUB - Laurence Maroney’s 258-yard performance against Wisconsin on Oct. 15 was his third 200-yard game of the 2005 season. Maroney rushed for 217 yards against Purdue and 203 against Tulsa. He became the first player in Minnesota school history to have three 200-yard games in the same season and is tied with Chris Darkins (1992-95), Darrell Thompson (1986-89) and Garry White (1977-80) for most 200-yard games in a career. Maroney is also the fourth different running back under head coach Glen Mason to rush for at least 200 yards in a single game and the third player under Mason to accomplish the feat more than once in a single season. He is only the 11th different player in school history to rush for 200 yards in a game since 1942.
THE MARONEY STREAK - Laurence Maroney’s 258 yards rushing against Wisconsin on Oct. 15 put the junior running back over 1,000 yards for the season - his third consecutive 1,000-yard rushing season. Maroney became the first Gopher in school history to have three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons and only the third player in the Big Ten history to rush for at least 1,000-yards in each of his first three years. Maroney joined Wisconsin’s Ron Dayne and Michigan State’s Sedrick Irvin as the only players with 1,000-yard seasons in their first three years. Maroney joined Darrell Thompson as the only two Gopher players with three 1,000-yard seasons in a career. Thompson accomplished his 1,000-yard seasons during his freshman, sophomore and senior years. Thompson rushed for 947 yards as a junior despite missing part of the Wisconsin game and all of the season finale against Iowa with an injury.
THE 3,000-YARD CLUB - Since Glen Mason arrived at Minnesota in 1997, three Gophers have reached the 3,000-yard rushing mark for their careers. In all, only six Gophers have ever reached the 3,000-yard mark in school history. Since 1997, Thomas Hamner, Marion Barber III and Laurence Maroney have each eclipsed the 3,000-yard barrier. Hamner currently ranks second in school history in rushing with 3,810 yards, while Maroney is third with 3,344 yards and Barber III is fourth with 3,276 career rushing yards.
LIMITING THE NEGATIVE YARDS - Gary Russell has certainly been a major factor to the Gophers’ running game this season. The sophomore from Columbus, Ohio, has rushed for 644 yards on 85 carries this season and 10 rushing touchdowns. For his career, Russell has 109 carries for 788 yards. During that time, Russell has only one rush for negative yards. He was stopped for a one-yard loss during the Gophers’ game at Penn State on Oct. 1.
TOUCHDOWN GARY - Gary Russell’s two touchdowns against Wisconsin gives the sophomore 10 rushing touchdowns for the season and 11 touchdowns overall. Russell scored two touchdowns against Tulsa, Colorado State, Florida Atlantic and Wisconsin, while finishing the Purdue game with three touchdowns. The five multiple touchdown games ties him for the most multiple touchdown games in a season with Chris Darkins. Darkins had five multiple touchdown games during the 1994 season. Russell was tied with three other former Gophers with four multiple touchdown games prior the Wisconsin game. Marion Barber III had four multiple touchdown games during both the 2003 and 2004 seasons, while Jim Perkins accomplished the feat in 1976 and Darrell Thompson in 1987.
GROUND GAME - Gary Russell currently ranks sixth in the country in average yards per carry for running backs averaging at least 10 carries per game. Russell is averaging 7.58 yards per carry with 85 carries for 644 yards. Texas A&M’s Reggie McNeal leads the country in average yards per carry at 8.79.
NOT TURNING IT OVER - Laurence Maroney and Gary Russell rank among the best in the nation in hanging onto the football. Maroney registered his first fumble of the season against Michigan, a span of six games and 189 touches in which he had not had a fumble. Russell has never had a fumble in his brief career at Minnesota, a total of 121 touches dating back to last season.
THE CENTER OF ATTENTION - Gopher center Greg Eslinger became only the third Minnesota player since 1963 to be named first-team All-Big Ten by both the coaches and media for two consecutive seasons following the 2004 campaign. Eslinger joined Ben Hamilton (1999 & 2000) and Tyrone Carter (1998 & 1999) as players that have earned first-team honors by both the coaches and media for two straight seasons. No Gopher has earned both honors three straight times.
SIDE BY SIDE - Gophers Greg Eslinger and Mark Setterstrom have been a fixture on the Minnesota offensive line the past three seasons. Since the duo arrived on campus as true freshmen prior to the 2002 season, they have started all 45 games together on the offensive line. Eslinger was named a FWAA All-American after last season and is a two- time first-team All-Big Ten selection by the media and the coaches. Setterstrom was named to the Rivals.com All-American Team last season and was a first-team All- Conference choice by the media.
THE SIGNAL CALLER - Junior quarterback Bryan Cupito made the most of his first year as the Gophers’ signal caller during the 2004 season. Cupito finished 10th on the single season passing yards list with 2,097 yards, 15th on the season passing completions list with 123 and seventh on the season touchdowns passing list with 14, while throwing only seven interceptions in 2004. As a first-year starter, Cupito’s passing yards ranked third behind Cory Sauter’s first season total of 2,600 in 1995 and Mike Hohensee’s 2,412 yards in 1981. Hohensee holds the touchdown mark of first-year starters with 20 in 1981, while Sauter is second with his 18 touchdowns in 1995. Cupito’s seven interceptions ranked as the third fewest among Gopher quarterbacks with at least 100 passing attempts in their first year as a starter. Larry Carlson threw five INTs in 1966, while John Hankinson had six interceptions in 1964.
CUPITO’S RECORD WATCH - Bryan Cupito has been climbing the Gopher career record book list for career passing yardage and career touchdown passes. With 1,208 yards passing in the first seven games this season, Cupito currently ranks 10th in career passing yardage with 3,305 yards passing and needs only 167 yards to pass Scott Schaffner’s (1987-91) 3,472 yards for the ninth spot. Cupito’s 174 yards passing at Penn State on Oct. 1 moved him from the 12th spot to 10th and past Craig Curry’s (1969-71) 3,060 yards and Mark Carlson’s (1976-79) 3,128 passing yards. Cupito also has 10 touchdown passes this season to give him 24 for his career, enough for seventh on the all-time Gopher list for touchdown passes in a career. Cupito’s touchdown pass to Ernie Wheelwright at Michigan moved him within one touchdown pass of tying Tony Dungy (1973-76) for the sixth spot on the all-time list.
ELLERSON ON THE RECEIVING END - Jared Ellerson’s one catch for eight yards receiving against Wisconsin gives him 1,861 yards for his career and places him in fourth place on the school’s all-time receiving yards list. Ellerson moved ahead of Luke Leverson’s (1996 -99) 1,843 career yards with 35 yards receiving against Michigan on Oct. 8. Ellerson needs 372 yards to pass Ryan Thelwell’s 2,232 yards receiving from 1994-96. Ellerson would become only the fourth player in school history to reach the 2,000-yard mark for a career with 139 more receiving yards. Ellerson would join Ron Johnson (2,989 yards., 1998 -2001), Tutu Atwell (2,640 yards, 1994-97) and Ryan Thelwell (2,232 yards, 1994-96). Ellerson is tied for fifth in 100-yard receiving games for his career with five, eighth in career receptions with 103 and tied for seventh in career touchdowns with 12. He is tied with Elmer Bailey (1977-79) in career touchdown receptions.
THE STREAK - Jared Ellerson has recorded at least one catch in the past 26 games he has played and 30 of Minnesota’s last 31 games since the start of the 2003 season. The last time Ellerson was held without a catch was at Penn State on Sept. 27, 2003, during Minnesota’s 20-14 win. Ellerson missed one game during the streak - the 2003 Sun Bowl against Oregon. Ellerson is one of 19 receivers in the nation to have a streak of at least 26 games with a catch. Wyoming’s Jovon Bouknight has the longest streak in the nation at 43 games. Ellerson’s streak is the third longest in the Big Ten behind Northwestern’s Mark Philmore (34 games) and Michigan’s Jason Avant (30 games).
RUSHING TO THE TOP - The Gopher offense currently ranks first in the nation in rushing and 10th in total offense through the first eight weeks of the 2005 season. The Gophers are averaging 299.14 yards per game on the ground and 490.29 yards of total offense per game. The Gophers finished the 2003 and 2004 seasons ranked in the top five nationally in rushing offense. Last season, Minnesota averaged 256.83 yards per game to finish fifth nationally after averaging 289.15 yards per outing in 2003 for a third-place ranking. The 2003 and 2004 seasons produced the only two 3,000-yard rushing seasons in school history. Minnesota rushed for a school-record 3,759 yards in 2003 and 3,082 yards last season. The Gophers also rank fifth nationally in total offense and eighth in scoring offense.
HOMELAND SECURITY - The 2004 Golden Gopher offensive line was one of the best in school history in not allowing quarterback sacks. The Gophers finished last season with only nine sacks allowed. The nine sacks allowed ranked second in the Big Ten behind Michigan State’s eight sacks and marked the fewest sacks allowed by the Gophers since the 1970 team allowed eight sacks for the year. The 1970 team was the last Gopher team to finish a season with fewer than 10 sacks allowed during a season prior to 2004. This season, the Gophers are tied with Purdue for first in the Big Ten in fewest sacks allowed with three.
THE CORNERBACK(S) - Starting cornerbacks Trumaine Banks and Jamal Harris have provided stability to the Gopher defense. Banks currently ranks sixth on the school’s career pass breakups list with 23 after recording two pass breakups against Wisconsin on Oct. 15. Banks entered the game tied with Glenn Cardelli who had 21 pass breakups from 1979-81. Banks is currently tied with Jamal Harris for first on the team with seven pass break-ups for the season. Banks currently ranks tied for third in the Big Ten Conference in passes defended at 1.14 per game, while Harris ranks tied for fifth in the league at 1.00 passes defended per game. Earlier this season, Harris recorded a career-high four pass breakups against Penn State The four pass breakups against Penn State were the most in a single game since Mike Lehan had five against Wisconsin on Nov. 24, 2001. Lehan set the single-game record at Minnesota earlier in the 2001 season with six pass breakups against Michigan State.
THE LINEBACKERS - Minnesota’s linebackers have provided solid play this season for the Golden Gopher defense. Sophomores John Shevlin and Mike Sherels rank second and third on the team in total tackles. Shevlin has recorded 35 total tackles with three tackles for loss, while Sherels has 34 with 3.5 tackles for loss despite missing the Michigan and Wisconsin games with an injury. Senior Kyle McKenzie, who moved to middle linebacker from outside linebacker while Sherels was out, is fifth on the team with 32 tackles. Junior Mario Reese started the past two games at outside linebacker in place of McKenzie. Reese recorded five tackles, including one for a loss, at Michigan and had six tackles - two for a loss - against the Badgers on Oct. 15.
THE SAFETY - Senior captain John Pawielski has provided plenty of leadership to the Gopher defense this season. Pawielski leads the team with 52 total tackles, including 37 solo stops, and has four tackles for loss. Pawielski led the Gophers in tackles against Tulsa, Colorado State, Purdue and Penn State, recording a season-high 12 against the Nittany Lions. Pawielski had a pass breakup and fumble recovery against Tulsa in the first game of the season and an interception against Purdue. Pawielski recorded the first forced fumble of his career against Penn State.
THE MEN IN THE MIDDLE - Gopher defensive tackles Anthony Montgomery and Mark Losli have been a force in the middle of Minnesota’s defense for the past four seasons. Montgomery is 10th on the team this season in tackles with 23, has recorded four tackles for loss, two quarterback sacks, a pass breakup, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Montgomery had one of his best games of the year against Michigan with three tackles, including two for a loss and a quarterback sack. He followed the Michigan game with three tackles, a fumble recovery and a pass breakup against Wisconsin. Losli has recorded nine tackles this season and two pass breakups. Losli missed the Colorado State and Florida Atlantic games with an injury, but returned to post a season-high for tackles with three against both Penn State and Michigan.
FRESHMAN SENSATION - Freshman defensive end Steve Davis has been a pleasant surprise for the Gopher defense this season. Davis currently leads the team in sacks with five, tackles for loss with seven and is eighth on the squad in total tackles with 26. Davis has recorded five sacks in the Gophers past five games. Davis had a career-high five tackles in each of Minnesota’s games against Purdue, Penn State and Michigan. Davis had two sacks against Michigan to go along with his five tackles. His five sacks this season places him fourth in the Big Ten Conference in sacks per game at .71.
