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University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers, Falcons To Christen The Bank Saturday
9/10/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Minnesota-Air Force Notes
GOPHERS, FALCONS SET TO CHRISTEN TCF BANK STADIUM
The Minnesota Golden Gophers play their first game in TCF Bank Stadium Saturday, welcoming the Air Force Falcons to Minneapolis. Kickoff is set for 6:02 p.m. (CDT).
There will be great pomp and circumstance surrounding the contest, which will be the first collegiate football game to be played on campus at the University of Minnesota since 1981.
It’s the first meeting between the United States Air Force Academy and Minnesota. Included among the festivities will be an Air Force F-16 fighter jet flyover prior to kickoff. For more information on the festivities surrounding the opening of TCF Bank Stadium, see Page 3.
The Big Ten Network will televise the game. Wayne Larrivee will call the play-by-play with Chris Martin as the analyst in the booth. Charissa Thompson will report from the sidelines for the BTN.
SCOUTING MINNESOTA
Minnesota opened the 2009 campaign with a hard-fought, 23-20 overtime victory at Syracuse last week. The Gophers return 53 letterwinners from last season, including 18 starters (10 offense, 8 defense). In fact, the Gophers have more returning starters than any team in the Big Ten.
Junior quarterback Adam Weber returns after taking nearly every snap for the last two seasons. Weber holds numerous school records and is on pace for even more. He set the Minnesota single-season records for passing yardage (2,895), TDs passing (24), completions (258) and attempts (449) in 2007. He is now just seven completions away from the career record. Senior wide receiver Eric Decker set a new Minnesota record for receptions for the second consecutive season, grabbing 84 in 2008. Decker was a Biletnikoff Award finalist and an All-Big Ten selection in 2008. Decker picked right up where he left off, grabbing nine receptions for 183 yards vs. Syracuse.
Defensively, the Gophers were opportunistic last season, ranking No. 11 in the nation in turnovers, creating 31. Minnesota created a pair of takeaways in the season-opening victory at Syracuse. Up front, Eric Small and Garrett Brown will anchor the middle of the line. The linebacking corps includes returning starters Lee Campbell and Simoni Lawrence. The secondary returns three starters -- CBs Marcus Sherels and Traye Simmons and safety Kyle Theret.
SCOUTING AIR FORCE
Air Force comes into TCF Bank Stadium sporting a 1-0 record after running up a 72-0 win over Nicholls State in its season-opener. Both the Falcons’ 72 points scored and 474 yards rushing were the most in the nation in games played through Saturday.
Air Force is coached by Troy Calhoun, who is in his third season after taking over the for the legendary Fisher DeBerry. Calhoun has taken the Falcons to back-to-back bowl games in his first two seasons at the helm.
Air Force saw five different players rush for more than 50 yards in its blowout of Nicholls State last week. The Falcons were led by Connor Dietz, who went for 83 yards. Jared Tew scored three touchdowns for Air Force last week, ranking him in a tie for the third-most TDs in week one. The Falcon defense was paced by John Falgout, who made seven stops. Five different Air Force defenders made five tackles or more.
QUICK HITTERS
>After last week’s victory, Minnesota moved to 2-2 under Tim Brewster in overtime games (3-7 overall).
> After allowing 20 points and 190 first half yards, the Gopher defense shut Syracuse out and allowed just 67 yards after halftime Saturday.
> The Gophers went undefeated (4-0) in non-conference play in 2008. It was the first time Minnesota won all its regular-season non-conference games since 2005, when the Gophers went 3-0.
> Minnesota trailed 20-14 at halftime against Syracuse and came back to take the victory. It was the first time under Brewster that the Gophers have won a game when they trailed at halftime (1-5).
> Minnesota ranked No. 16 in turnover margin last season, creating 31 and losing just 18. The Gophers were even in turnover margin in last week’s victory over the Orange, creating two and allowing two.
AYE, CAPTAIN!
The Golden Gophers elected six captains prior to the 2009 season. Seniors Garrett Brown, Lee Campbell, Eric Decker, Simoni Lawrence and Eric Small join junior Adam Weber with that distinction this season.
Weber was the first sophomore ever to serve as a team captain at the University of Minnesota last season and is now a two-time captain. Decker is also a two-time team captain.
The Gophers have only had 13 players ever earn the distinction of captain twice in their career. Weber would be the first-ever three-year Gopher captain should he be voted as such next season.
FREE FOOTBALL
For the second time in three years, Minnesota went to overtime in its season-opener. The Gophers dropped a 32-31 overtime decision to Bowling Green in the 2007 season-opener. In just 26 career games as a head coach, Tim Brewster is no stranger to overtime. The Gophers have played four games that went beyond regulation in Brewster’s tenure and are now 2-2 in those contests.
DOUBLE DECKER
Senior wide receiver Eric Decker was a semi-finalist for the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top receiver in 2008. For the second consecutive season, Decker set a new Minnesota single-season record for receptions. He hauled in 67 passes in 2007 and smashed that record with 84 receptions last season. Decker became just the fourth Gopher receiver ever to compile a 1,000-yard season in 2008, finishing with 1,074 yards to rank No. 2 on the school single-season chart. Decker missed spring football in 2008 and 2009, while playing baseball for the Gophers. He batted .319 with 13 doubles, three triples and four home runs in just his second season of collegiate baseball. Decker was an all-tournament selection at the 2009 Big Ten Baseball Tournament and was drafted in the 27th round of the MLB Entry Draft.
CAMPBELL'S MMM MMM GOOD
Senior linebacker Lee Campbell led the team in tackling in 2008, recording 80 tackles. In last week’s season-opener, Campbell recorded a career-high 13 tackles, including 11 solo stops, 1.5 tackles for loss and half a sack. He also broke up a pass. That effort earned Campbell his first career Big Ten Conference Defensive Player of the Week honor.
EAZY-E
Junior placekicker Eric Ellestad made it look easy with the pressure on last week at Syracuse. Playing in his first collegiate contest, Ellestad hit a 26-yard field goal with 57 seconds remaining to force overtime. He then hit a game-winning 35-yarder in the extra period. He also made a 26-yarder earlier in the second half. Ellestad earned Big Ten Co-Special Teams Player of the Week honors for his efforts.
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