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University of Minnesota Athletics
Insight Bowl Approaching for Gophers, Cyclones
12/21/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
GOPHERS TO BATTLE CYCLONES IN VALLEY OF THE SUN
The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers are playing in back-to-back bowl games for the seventh time in their history. Minnesota will face off with the Iowa State Cyclones at the Insight Bowl in Tempe, Ariz. Kickoff is slated for 4 p.m. Mountain Time.
The Insight Bowl matchup will be the 26th meeting between Iowa State and Minnesota on the college gridiron. While the Cyclones and Gophers have met 25 times, 22 of those meetings were prior to 1924.
Iowa State enters the contest with a 6-6 mark. The Cyclones lost their regular-season finale, 34-24, at Missouri. The Gophers are also 6-6 and are coming off a 12-0 loss at Iowa.
The NFL Network will televise the game. Paul Burmeister will call the play-by-play. Mike Mayock will serve as the analyst in the booth, while Stacey Dales will be the sideline reporter.
SCOUTING IOWA STATE
Iowa State comes into this game with a 6-6 overall record. The Cyclones were 3-5 in Big XII play this season.
Iowa State is coached by Paul Rhoads, who is in his first season as the head coach in Ames, Iowa. Prior to taking over the reigns at Iowa State, Rhoads spent one season as the defensive coordinator at Auburn and was the D.C. at Pittsburgh for eight years from 2000 through 2007. Rhoads was an assistant at Iowa State from 1995-99. He also has coaching experience at Pacific, Ohio State and Utah State.
Offensively, Iowa State averages 21.1 points per game to rank No. 102 in the nation. The Cyclones average 359.4 yards per game, ranking No. 75 in the country. Defensively, Iowa State allows 22.6 points per game to rank No. 43 in the Football Bowl Subdivision. The Cyclones allow 414.3 yards per game to rank No. 99 in the nation. They are No. 27 in the country in turnover margin (+0.5 per game).
QUICK HITTERS
> Minnesota is taking part in a bowl game for the second consecutive season. This is just the seventh time the Gophers have been to bowl games in back-to-back seasons.
> Minnesota ranks No. 6 in the nation in punt return average, going for 14.7 yards per return. However, the Gophers have only been credited with nine punt returns in 12 games this season.
> The Gophers are No. 12 in the nation in net punting, averaging 38.42 yards of field position per punt.
> Iowa State is the closest NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision team to Minnesota in terms of proximity at 215 miles. Yet the Gophers and Cyclones haven’t played since 1997.
> Minnesota has come from behind in all six of its victories this season. The Gophers have trailed in the fourth quarter of four of those wins.
THE IOWA STATE SERIES
Minnesota and Iowa State have a fairly lengthy history for non-conference foes. The Cyclones and Gophers have faced off 25 times prior to the 2009 Insight Bowl.
Minnesota leads the all-time series by a 22-2-1 count. But the two teams have only played each other three times in the last 85 years. The Gophers won the three meetings that have taken place in the modern era, including a 53-29 victory in the last meeting (Sept. 13, 1997).
BACK-TO-BACK BOWLS
With a victory over South Dakota State, Minnesota picked up its sixth win of the 2009 season. The win over the Jackrabbits made the Gophers bowl-eligible and put Minnesota in a bowl game for the second consecutive season.
That would make Gopher head coach Tim Brewster just the third coach in University of Minnesota history to take his team to consecutive bowl games. Only Murray Warmath and Glen Mason had accomplished that feat prior to Brewster.
It is just the seventh time in Gopher history that the program has gone to bowl games in consecutive seasons.
Minnesota has been to 13 bowl games in its long and storied history and has a 5-8 mark in posteseason play.
GOPHER BLOCK PARTY
The Gophers blocked a punt for a touchdown in Week 10. Keanon Cooper blocked a punt attempt by Illinois’ Anthony Santella. Ben Kuznia scooped the ball up at the three-yard line and returned it for the score. It was the first blocked punt for a touchdown for Minnesota since Dom Barber blocked a punt and Alex Daniels returned it for a score against Colorado State on Sept. 10, 2005.
The block vs. Illinois was the second blocked kick for a touchdown for Minnesota this season. Lee Campbell blocked a punt against Purdue, which was returned for a TD by Traye Simmons. Campbell blocked his second kick of the season in the regular-season finale, blocking an Iowa PAT attempt.
WEBER WIPING UP RECORDS
Gopher quarterback Adam Weber continues to re-write the Minnesota record book. Three weeks ago, Weber became Minnesota’s all-time passing yardage leader. He broke Bryan Cupito’s career mark of 7,446 yards midway through the fourth quarter when he hooked up with Da’Jon McKnight for a 14-yard gain. In Week 2, Weber set the Minnesota record for career completions (his total is now 672). The previous record of 539 completions was held by Cory Sauter (1994-97). He also set the Gopher career record for passing attempts this season. Weber set single-season records for passing yards (2,985), completions (258), attempts (449), touchdown passes (24) and total offensive yardage (3,512) in 2007.
LEE-DING THE WAY
Senior linebacker Lee Campbell has been among the nation’s leaders in tackles and solo stops for much of the season. He recorded six stops last week, all of the assisted variety. He now has 65 solo stops and 112 total tackles this season. Campbell ranks No. 1 in the Big Ten and No. 16 the nation in solo stops. He is No. 3 and No. 25, respectively, in total tackles.
MINNESOTA BOWL HISTORY
With Minnesota traveling to Tempe, Ariz. this year, the Insight Bowl has now moved into a tie for the top spot among bowl games the Gophers have played in most.
The Music City Bowl was the previous leader in Minnesota bowl game destinations. The Gophers played in Nashville in 2002, 2004 and 2005. Minnesota had a 2-1 record at the Music City Bowl.
The Gophers are 0-2 at the Insight Bowl and will look to pick up their first win ever at Sun Devil Stadium when they face Iowa State on New Year’s Eve. Minnesota played a non-conference game with Arizona State back in 1969 and suffered a 48-26 loss.
Minnesota is 5-8 all-time in bowl games. The Gophers’ first-ever bowl appearance was in the 1961 Rose Bowl, a 17-7 loss to Washington. Minnesota turned the tables in the Rose Bowl the next season, taking a 21-3 win over UCLA.
Minnesota won just one of its five bowl games between 1977 and 2000. But the Gophers put together a three-game bowl winning streak from 2002-04. Minnesota defeated Arkansas 29-14 in the 2002 Music City Bowl, toppped Oregon 31-30 in the 2003 Sun Bowl and stopped Alabama 20-16 in the 2004 Music City Bowl.
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