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University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers, Spartans Set for Halloween Tilt
10/29/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Minnesota Game Notes - vs. Michigan State
GOPHERS RETURN HOME TO HOST MICHIGAN STATE SATURDAY
The Minnesota Golden Gophers, coming off back-to-back road losses to nationally-ranked opponents, will be back at TCF Bank Stadium Saturday. Minnesota hosts Ohio State on Halloween night in a 7:02 p.m. contest.
Saturday’s matchup is the 42nd in the series between Michigan State and Minnesota. The Spartans hold a 25-16 advantage in the all-time series. Minnesota has won five of the last seven, but the two teams haven’t faced off since 2006.
Michigan State will be looking to bounce back from a last-second loss to Iowa last week.
The Big Ten Network will televise the game. Wayne Larrivee will call the play-by-play. Chris Martin will be in the booth as the analyst. Rebecca Haarlow will handle reports from the sideline.
SCOUTING MICHIGAN STATE
Michigan State comes into this week’s game with a 4-4 overall record and a 3-2 mark in the Big Ten. The Spartans started slow, losing three in a row after winning their opener. MSU rebounded to win three straight before losing to Iowa last week on the last play of the game.
Michigan State is coached by Mark Dantonio, who is in his third season as the head coach in East Lansing, Mich. Dantonio came to the Spartans after three seasons at Cincinnati. He was an assistant at Michigan State from 1995-2000 as well.
Offensively, Michigan State has struggled a bit running the ball. The Spartans are No. 82 in the nation in rushing offense. But MSU is still a highly-rated offense, ranking No. 22 in passing, No. 39 in total offense and No. 57 in scoring. Defensively, Michigan State is in the upper half of the Big Ten. The Spartans rank No. 24 in the country in rush defense (14.0), No. 39 in pass defense and No. 39 in scoring defense.
QUICK HITTERS
> Minnesota ranks No. 4 in the nation in punt return average, going for 19.0 yards per return. However, the Gophers have only returned three punts in eight games this season.
> The Gophers are No. 7 in the nation in net punting, averaging 40.34 yards of field position per punt.
> Minnesota dropped from 17th in the nation in kickoff returns to 44th this week.
> One year after finishing the season ranked No. 16 in the nation in turnover margin (+0.92), the Gophers currently rank No. 90 (-0.50).
> Despite being 96th in rushing defense, 77th in passing defense and 95th in total defense, the Gophers have found a way to allow just 25.1 points per game to rank No. 70 in scoring defense.
> Minnesota has come from behind in all four of its victories this season.
THE MICHIGAN STATE SERIES
Saturday’s game will be the 42nd gridiron meeting between the University of Minnesota and Michigan State University. Michigan State leads the series 25-16.
The Gophers and Spartans will be meeting for the first time since Nov. 11, 2006. Minnesota won the last two meetings between the Gophers and Spartans. Those two victories were by an average score of 36-18. Minnesota has won five of the last seven vs. Michigan State.
NOTHIN' BUT NET
Through the first nine games of the 2009 season, Minnesota’s net punting average (punt yardage-minus return yards/touchbacks) ranks No. 7 in the nation. The Gophers’ net punting average is 40.34 yards per punt. The Gophers have punted 41 times with 10 punts of 50-plus yards, 14 fair catches and 13 punts downed inside the 20-yard line. Opponents are averaging just 4.5 yards per return against the Minnesota punt coverage team and have only returned 16 of the 41 Gopher punts.
FIRSTS FOR WHALEY
Red-shirt freshman running back Kevin Whaley recorded the first start of his career last week at Ohio State. For the third straight week, Whaley had the most rushing yards of any Gopher running back. He rushed for a career-high 79 yards against Purdue in Minnesota’s last home game. He ran for 31 yards on seven carries last week at Ohio State. Whaley also pulled down the first reception of his collegiate career at Ohio State for a six-yard gain.
NO SMALL CONTRIBUTION
Senior defensive tackle Eric Small tallied a career-best six tackles last week at Ohio State. His previous career-best was five stops at Wisconsin last season and at Florida Atlantic in 2007. Small leads the Gophers’ defensive line with 23 total tackles. He leads the team with 3.0 sacks and ranks No. 4 on the team with 4.0 tackles-for-loss.
CAMPBELL'S M'MM M'MM GOOD
Senior linebacker Lee Campbell has led the Gophers in tackling in five of their eight games this season, including last week at Ohio State. For the second straight week, Campbell recorded a game-high 13 tackles. He also picked up another stop behind the line of scrimmage and now leads the team with 9.0 tackles-for-loss.
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