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University of Minnesota Athletics
Blog: More Accolades for Decker
10/20/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Phil Steele, publisher of Phil Steele's College Football Preview, has released his 2008 Midseason All-America team. Minnesota wide receiver Eric Decker brough home first-team honors on Steele's Midseason All-America list.
Decker is currently leading the Big Ten in receiving yards per game (111.7) and receptions per game (8.43). He ranks No. 3 and No. 5, respectively, in those two categories in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision statistical rankings. With 59 receptions and 782 receiving yards through seven games, Decker is on pace to smash the Gopher records for both single-season receptions and single-season receiving yards.
Decker and the Gophers are back in action again Saturday, when they put their brand-new national ranking on the line at Purdue. Minnesota hasn't won at Purdue's Ross-Ade Stadium since Oct. 6, 1990.
Speaking of Decker and awards, we shouldn't have to wait too much longer to see if he's been named a Biletnikoff Award Semifinalist. Those semifinalists are usually announced in late October.
If the Top 25 ranking this week wasn't enough to satisfy your hunger for proof of the Gophers' resurgence, ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg ranked Minnesota at No. 3 in his weekly Big Ten Power Ranking.
With the Gophers bowl-eligible, we've seen all kinds of predictions about where Minnesota could be bowling over the holidays. I've seen predictions with the Gophers in the Outback Bowl, the Capital One Bowl and the Alamo Bowl (and that's just doing a quick perusal of some of those websites today). It will be interesting to see how the rest of the season plays out and against whom/where the Gophers might play in a bowl this winter.
-AS
