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University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Host Penn State Saturday
10/18/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Minnesota Game Notes - vs. Penn State
GOPHERS OPEN TWO-GAME HOMESTAND WITH PENN STATE
The University of Minnesota football team will return to TCF Bank Stadium for the first of a two-game homestand Saturday.
The Golden Gophers play host to the Nittany Lions of Penn State. Both squads are looking for their first Big Ten victory.
Penn State leads the overall series by a 7-4 count. Minnesota lost the first four games of the series, before winning the next four. The Nittany Lions have won the last three. Minnesota is 2-3 in home games vs. Penn State, but this will be the teams’ first meeting at TCF Bank Stadium.
ESPNU will air the game with Rob Stone and David Pollack calling the action. This week’s game will also air on Sirius/XM satellite radio (90/196).
QUICK HITTERS
> Minnesota is 4-7 in its short history vs. Penn State since the Nittany Lions began Big Ten play in 1993.
> Minnesota is in its 127th season of college football in 2010. Only three other schools -- Rutgers (141), Michigan (131) and Navy (130) will have played more at the end of this season.
> Minnesota ranks No. 3 in the Big Ten and tied for No. 18 in the nation in red zone scoring percentage. The Gophers come away with points 89 percent of the time (17-of-19) in the red zone.
> Minnesota is only allowing 1.14 sacks per game, ranking No. 25 in the nation.
> Despite a school record time of possession of 45:34 in the season -opener, the Gophers have slipped to No. 3 in the Big Ten in average possession time after ranking No. 1 through the first six weeks.
HORTON NAMED INTERIM HEAD COACH
Co-offensive coordinator Jeff Horton has been named interim head coach for the remainder of the 2010 season, effective Oct. 17.
Horton is in his first season with the Gophers and is the only member of the Gopher coaching staff with head coaching experience. He came to Minnesota after spending four seasons coaching in the National Football League. He coached with the Detroit Lions (2009) and the St. Louis Rams (2006-08).
Prior to his time in the NFL, Horton had spent 22 years in collegiate coaching, including six years as a head coach. Horton coached Wisconsin’s quarterbacks from 1999-2005. He was the head coach at UNLV from 1994-98 and guided the program at Nevada in 1993.
Horton was on staff at Nevada in 1992, coaching the wide receivers. He was the assistant head coach at UNLV from 1990-91 and was an assistant at Nevada from 1985-89. His first collegiate coaching job was as a graduate assistant at Minnesota under Lou Holtz in 1984.
PAPER OR PLASTIC?
The Gopher offensive line has only allowed 1.14 sacks per game to rank No. 25 in the nation in that category.
For the big men in the trenches, that’s a vast improvement over the 2009 season. Last year, Minnesota allowed an average of 3.15 sacks per contest, ranking No. 113 in the nation. The Gophers return four of five starters on the offensive front.
AYE, CAPTAIN!
The Golden Gophers elected four captains prior to the 2010 season. One of those captains -- senior quarterback Adam Weber -- made history with his selection. Weber became the only three-time captain in the history of the Gopher program.
He’s one of a select group in FBS football to have earned recognition as a captain three times. Our research shows only 11 other players in the history of NCAA Division I (FBS) who have been so honored.
The Gophers’ other three captains are junior DT Brandon Kirksey, senior S Kim Royston and senior FB Jon Hoese.
WORLD WIDE WEB-ER
Adam Weber could become just the fifth quarterback in the history of the Big Ten to pass for more than 10,000 career yards this week. He needs just 100 yards to accomplish that feat. Weber would join Iowa’s Chuck Long (10,461), Northwestern’s Brett Basanez (10,580), Purdue’s Curtis Painter (11,163) and Purdue’s Drew Brees (11.792) in that exclusive club.
TINSLEY'S TENS
Junior linebacker Gary Tinsley has now reached double digits in tackles four times in seven games this season. He tallied 10 tackles at Purdue last week. It was his fifth career double-digit-tackle game. The first time he cracked the double-digit barrier in tackles was in the 2009 regular-season finale at Iowa.
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