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University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota-Montana State Game Notes
9/13/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
GAME NOTES
Series Notes
∙Today’s game marked the first meeting between the two schools on the gridiron.
∙The Minnesota-Montana State contest marks just the second time the Gophers have met a Big Sky Conference foe. Minnesota defeated Montana State’s archrival Montana 62-17 in 1985 in the only other game against a Big Sky opponent.
Team Notes
∙For the third consecutive week, Minnesota won the coin toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff.
∙Minnesota forced three Bobcat turnovers and did not turn the ball over for the second consecutive week. The Gophers are +8 in giveaway/takeaway ratio this season.
∙Minnesota has scored 45 points off turnovers through three games this season. The Gophers scored just 41 points off turnovers all last season.
∙The Gophers picked off Montana State quarterbacks three times this afternoon, marking the first time a Minnesota team has done that since Nov. 18, 2006 when the Gophers intercepted Iowa’s Drew Tate and Jake Christensen four times.
∙The Gophers have at least one rushing touchdown in 62 of their last 69 games.
Individual Notes
∙DeLeon Eskridge rushed for 114 yards and three touchdowns. It was the first 100-yard rushing performance for the Gophers since Duane Bennett ran for 106 yards at Michigan last year.
∙Eskridge’s three touchdown performance marked the first time a Minnesota freshman has scored three TDs in a game since Justin Valentine tallied two rushing TDs and a receiving score against Northwestern on Sept. 25, 2004.
∙Eskridge’s three rushing scores are the first time a Minnesota freshman has hit paydirt on the ground three times in exactly 22 years. Minnesota legend Darrell Thompson scored four rushing touchdowns in a game against Bowling Green on Sept. 13, 1986.
∙Adam Weber hooked up with Eric Decker on a 3-yard scoring strike in the second quarter. The duo has now connected for touchdowns in each of the Gophers’ first three games. It was the 12th Weber-to-Decker touchdown since Weber took the reigns of the offense to start the 2007 season.
∙The touchdown was the 15th career TD catch for Decker, moving him into fourth on the Minnesota all-time receiving touchdowns list.
∙Decker finished the game with nine catches for 157 yards. Decker’s performance today was his second 150+ receiving day of his career. Decker caught 12 balls for 162 yards last season at Florida Atlantic.
∙Decker’s 44-yard reception in the second quarter was a season-long.
∙Weber’s 3-yard second quarter touchdown run was his second rushing score of the season and the seventh of his career.
∙With 201 passing yards today against Montana State, Weber surpassed Scott Schaffner (1987-91), Billy Cockerham (1996-99), and Tony Dungy (1973-76) on the Gophers’ career passing yards list. Weber is now 8th in Minnesota history with 3,618 yards through the air.
∙Willie VanDeSteeg blocked a 41-yard field goal attempt by Montana State’s Jason Cunningham in the first quarter. It was Minnesota’s first blocked field goal since Mike Sherels blocked a Purdue attempt on Sept. 22, 2007.
∙VanDeSteeg also blocked a PAT attempt following the Bobcats’ first quarter touchdown.
∙The blocked kicks were the third and fourth of VanDeSteeg’s career. The senior had previously blocked a Michigan State (11/12/05) field goal attempt and had stuffed an Indiana PAT try (11/4/06).
∙VanDeSteeg recorded his first sack of 2008 when he tackled Bobcat signal caller Cody Kempt in the third quarter.
∙VanDeSteeg finished the game with 1.5 sacks. The senior captain now has 12.5 sacks in his career, tying the Silver Lake, Minn. native for seventh on the Gophers’ all-time list.
∙Traye Simmons snatched the first interception of his career in the second quarter.
∙Marcus Sherels recorded the first interception of his career when he picked off MSU’s Mark Iddins in the third quarter.
∙Kyle Theret snagged his first interception of 2008 in the fourth quarter. Theret led the Gophers with three picks in 2007.
∙Senior punter Justin Kucek landed five of his nine punts inside Montana State’s 20-yard line. Kucek still averaged 41.4 yards per boot today, including a 50-yarder in the third quarter. Kucek has had 8 of his 20 punts (40.0%) this season downed inside the opponent’s 20-yard line.
∙Freshman running back Shady Salamon got the start for the Gophers at running back. It was his first career start.
∙Redshirt freshman center Trey Davis recorded his first career start.
∙Sherels’ 19-yard punt return in the third quarter was a season-long.
