University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota Set To Host Illinois For Homecoming
11/2/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
GOPHERS PUT SIX-GAME HOMECOMING WINNING STREAK ON THE LINE
After not playing a Big Ten home game in over a month, Minnesota (1-8, 0-5) returns to Metrodome Saturday night to face Illinois (6-3, 3-2). The game will be televised nationally by the Big Ten Network and will kickoff at 7:07 p.m.
Saturday night’s game vs. Illinois will serve as the centerpiece of Minnesota’s 2007 homecoming weekend, “Golden Oldies”. It will also be the first meeting between the Gophers and the Illini since 2004 due to the Big Ten’s unbalanced schedule.
Minnesota, which has dropped four games by less than a touchdown this season, is coming off a 34-10 loss at Michigan. The Gophers, who have not won since Sept. 8, will be out to stop a seven-game skid and pick up their first conference victory of the year.
Illinois steps back into conference play after knocking off Ball State last week in Champaign, 28-17. The win snapped a two-game losing streak for Illinois and made the Illini bowl eligible for the first time since 2001.
THE SERIES
Saturday night’s game will be the 61st meeting all time between Minnesota and Illinois. The Golden Gophers lead the all time series 31-26, with three ties. Minnesota has won three straight and six of the last seven vs. Illinois, including a 45-0 shutout in the last meeting between the two programs at the Metrodome in 2004.
THE COACHES
Minnesota’s Tim Brewster is 1-8 in his first year with the Golden Gophers and his first season as a head coach. Ron Zook is 33-36 in six seasons as a head coach, including a 10-22 mark at Illinois.
A QUICK LOOK AT THE GOPHERS
With two of its three remaining games at home, Minnesota enters the stretch run of the 2007 season looking to build some positive momentum for the future.
The Golden Gophers head into Saturday’s Homecoming game vs. Illinois at 1-8 overall and 0-5 in the Big Ten. However, four of Minnesota’s setbacks this season have come by less than a touchdown - including a pair of 1-point overtime losses - and with a couple of fortunate bounces the Gophers could just as easily be sitting at 5-4 overall with three games to play.
Minnesota’s offense is led by led by record-setting quarterback Adam Weber. Under Weber’s direction, Minnesota is averaging 415.2 yards and 27.6 points per game. Individually, Weber has completed 195 of 340 passes for 2,145 yards and 19 touchdowns. He already owns Minnesota’s freshman single-season marks for completions, passing yards and passing touchdowns as well as the program’s frosh single-game total offense record of 430 yards set at Northwestern that also stands as the second-best in program history. He is closing in on several of the Gophers’ single-season marks.
Weber’s rapid development has helped him emerge as perhaps the nation’s top all-around freshman signal-caller. Through nine games, he ranks 21st nationally - No. 1 among freshmen - and third in the Big Ten in total offense (286.1 ypg). In fact, only Dan LeFevour of Central Michigan has BOTH rushed and passed for more yards so far this season than Weber. One of just 24 players and the only freshman in the country to have passed for at least 2,100 yards this year, Weber also ranks 15th in the NCAA in both touchdown passes (19) and points responsible for (15.78 ppg).
Weber has taken all 675 offensive snaps for the Gophers and has spread the wealth in the passing game, connecting with 12 different targets thus far. His two primary weapons have been sophomore Eric Decker (56 receptions for 691 yards and 6 touchdowns) and senior Ernie Wheelwright (44 receptions for a 533 yards and 8 touchdowns). The Big Ten’s No. 3 receiver in terms of catches per game, Decker ranks 33rd nationally in receptions (6.2) and 46th in receiving yards (76.8) per game. Wheelwright, meanwhile ranks eighth in the Big Ten in receptions per game (4.9) and is tied for second in receiving touchdowns with eight. Together the duo has hauled in a total of 100 receptions, which ranks No. 2 in the league behind the Purdue tandem of Dorien Bryant and Greg Orton, who have totaled 108 together.
On the ground, Minnesota has taken a by-committee approach to rushing the ball. No less than four Gophers - senior Amir Pinnix, sophomore Jay Thomas, freshman Duane Bennett and Weber) have totaled at least 80 yards in a game this year, though it appears that Minnesota will be without the services of Thomas for the remainder of the season. Pinnix leads the way with 562 yards, followed by Weber with 430, Bennett with 321 and Thomas with 222.
All of this has been made possible by an offensive line that is proving to be one of the nation’s best. In addition to the Gophers’ solid all-around numbers, Minnesota has allowed just nine sacks this season, good for ninth in the nation and No. 1 in the Big Ten.
On defense, Minnesota is yielding an average of 536.7 yards and 37.1 points per game but has been put in a number of tough spots due to the Gophers’ 24 turnovers.
The Minnesota defense continues to look for more consistency. A perfect example occurred in the Gophers’ matchup with Michigan last week. Minnesota held the Wolverines to a pair of field goals through the first 27 minutes of the game before Michigan cashed in a late second-quarter touchdown. Three second-half TDs helped the Wolverines lead reach 24 before it was all said and done.
Senior strong safety Dominique Barber has collected double-figures tackles four times this season and is Minnesota’s leading tackler. He ranks sixth in the Big Ten with 79 total stops. Junior linebacker Deon Hightower has also emerged as a force for the Gophers recently. He ranks 22nd in the Big Ten with 56 tackles and has made 29 stops (13 vs. NDSU, 11 at Northwestern and five at Michigan) in the last three games alone. Hightower also leads the Gophers in tackles for losses with eight and has made six behind the opponent’s line of scrimmage in just the last three games.
In the secondary, freshman safety Kyle Theret and senior cornerback Jamal Harris both have two interceptions to lead the Gophers. Harris also ranks No. 3 in the Big Ten and ranks 24th in the NCAA in passes defended with 12.
BACK ON THE BTN
Minnesota will be making its sixth appearance of the 2007 season on the Big Ten Network this week, when the Golden Gophers take on Illinois. Minnesota is 1-5 when playing on the BTN and has made more appearances on the network than all but Indiana and Northwestern this season. Please check www.gophersports.com later this week for exact channel information for DirecTV and Dish Network subscribers.
IT’S HOMECOMING WEEK AT THE “U”
Since 1914, the University of Minnesota has celebrated Homecoming, a week dedicated to honoring the spirit and energy of the Maroon and Gold. This year's theme is "Golden Oldies" and will feature a week-long series of events, including various competitions, the annual Homecoming parade, royalty coronation and the centerpiece of the weekend, the Gophers’ football game on Saturday night vs. Illinois. For a complete schedule of events celebrating Minnesota’s Homecoming please consult the special Homecoming 2007 web page at www.umn.edu.
GOPHERS TO FACE ILLINOIS FOR 88TH HOMECOMING GAME
Alumni from across the globe will be back on campus this week as the University of Minnesota hosts its 88th homecoming weekend. Minnesota played its first homecoming game during the 1914 season, defeating Wisconsin 14-3. Its second didn’t come until five years later and was played in 1919 against Illinois. The Gophers are 53-31-3 all-time in homecoming games. Saturday’s game will mark the 10th time the Gophers have hosted the Illini for homecoming. It will also be Illinois’ second consecutive trip to the Metrodome as Minnesota’s homecoming opponent. All time, Minnesota is 5-3-1 when facing the Illini on homecoming.
PROTECTING THE HOMECOMING TURF
Minnesota will put a six-game homecoming winning streak on the line when the Gophers square off with Illinois Saturday night at the Metrodome. The Gophers have not dropped a homecoming game since falling to Northwestern, 41-35, in 2000, and last season literally ran Indiana out of the Metrodome in a 63-26 blowout of the Hoosiers. Minnesota’s six-game homecoming winning streak is the program’s longest since it reeled off seven straight homecoming wins from 1951-57. Below is a game-by-game look at Minnesota’s current homecoming streak:
MINNESOTA VS. ILLINOIS: The Last Time (Oct. 23, 2005)
Minnesota compiled 587 yards of total offense behind 138 rushing yards from Marion Barber III and 247 passing yards from Bryan Cupito as the Gophers blanked Illinois 45-0 in the 2005 Homecoming game at the Metrodome.
Minnesota led just 3-0 after the first quarter thanks to a Rhys Lloyd field goal before Barber ripped off scoring runs of 44 and 8 yards to stake Minnesota to a 17-0 halftime lead.
The Gophers added to their advantage midway through the third quarter, when Barber connected with Ernie Wheelwright on a 21-yard halfback pass that made it 24-0. The Gophers tacked on two more touchdowns in the final 2:00 of the quarter on a 5-yard touchdown run by Laurence Maroney and an 82-yard TD pass from Cupito to Paris Hamilton
Amir Pinnix closed out the scoring with a 1-yard touchdown plunge with 12:05 to play to provide the final margin.
The Minnesota defense held Illinois to 231 yards, while forcing two turnovers and eight punts.
RIVALRY ALL MAROON AND GOLD LATELY
Minnesota’s rivalry with Illinois has taken on a decidedly maroon and gold hue in recent years. The Golden Gophers have taken six of the last seven meeting with the Illini, including three in a row. Illinois picked up its only victory in the seven-game stretch with a 25-14 win in Champaign during the 2001 season. Since 1996, Minnesota has outscored Illinois 230-83 over the last seven games, winning by an average of 21 points per game.
MISSING YOU
Due to the Big Ten’s rotating schedule, Minnesota and Illinois have not faced one another in either of the last two seasons. The Gophers also did not play Northwestern in either 2005 or 2006. Currently, Minnesota is in the first year of a two-year rotation that has the Gophers missing both Penn State and Michigan State.
ILLINOIS GOPHERS
Saturday’s game against Illinois may have some special meaning for a number of Golden Gophers. Minnesota boasts five players from the Land of Lincoln. Minnesota’s five Illinois natives include: freshman running back Duane Bennett (Fairview Heights, Ill. - O’Fallon Township HS); sophomore defensive tackle Otis Hudson (Barrington, Ill. - Barrington HS); freshman tight end Curtis Hughes (Chicago, Ill. - Gwendolyn Brooks College Prep); junior tight end Jack Simmons (Libertyville, Ill. - Carmel HS); and junior defensive tackle Eric Small (Naperville, Ill. - Joliet JC).
BREWSTER TO TEE IT UP AGAINST ALMA MATER
Saturday’s game will mark Minnesota head coach Tim Brewster’s coaching debut against his alma mater, Illinois. Brewster was an All-Big Ten Conference tight end at Illinois and lettered for the Illini during the 1982 and 1983 seasons. A captain on Illinois’ 1984 Rose Bowl team, Brewster hauled in 116 catches during his Illini career and is the only tight end currently on Illinois’ career receptions top-10 list, ranking eight. Brewster had 64 catches as a senior in 1983 to lead the nation’s tight ends that season. That figure currently stands as the seventh-most in school history. In addition to Brewster, Minnesota’s director of football operations Randy Taylor is also an Illinois grad. He lettered at Illinois during the 1976, 1977 and 1978 seasons as a center.
To download a PDF of the complete version of Minnesota’s weekly game notes please click the link below or at the top of the page.
