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University of Minnesota Athletics
Golden Gophers Host No. 10 Ohio State Saturday
10/25/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Minnesota Game Notes - vs. Ohio State
GOLDEN GOPHERS HOST NO. 10 OHIO STATE SATURDAY
The University of Minnesota football team will its second Top 10 team in as many seasons at TCF Bank Stadium Saturday.
The Gophers play host to Ohio State, which enters the game ranked No. 10 in both major college football polls. Ohio State is the Big Ten team Minnesota has had the least success against in its history.
The Buckeyes lead the overall series by a 42-7 count. Minnesota’s last victory over Ohio State came back in 2000. Ohio State has won the last seven meetings and 23 of the last 24 in the series. Ohio State’s margin of victory in its current seven-game winning streak is nearly 23 points.
ABC will air the game on a split-national basis. Mike Patrick and Craig James will call the action, with Ray Bentley patrolling the sideline. This week’s game will also air on Sirius/XM satellite radio (90/196).
QUICK HITTERS
> Minnesota is 7-42 in its history vs. Ohio State, worst of any Big Ten opponent.
> 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 is tied for No. 3 in the Big Ten and tied for No. 15 in the nation in red zone scoring percentage. The Gophers come away with points 90 percent of the time (19-of-21) in the red zone.
> Minnesota is only allowing 1.13 sacks per game, ranking No. 26 in the nation.
> Despite a school record time of possession of 45:34 in the season -opener, the Gophers have slipped to No. 2 in the Big Ten in average possession time after ranking No. 1 through the first six weeks.
> Adam Weber became just the fifth Big Ten signal-caller to pass for 10,000 career yards last week.
A FRESH SET
Minnesota is among the Big Ten leaders in first downs. The Gophers have racked up 172 fresh sets of downs, ranking No. 3 in the league. Minnesota is No. 40 in the nation at garnering first downs. Minnesota has received a league-best 21 first downs via opponent penalty.
WORLD WIDE WEB-ER
Adam Weber became just the fifth quarterback in the history of the Big Ten to pass for more than 10,000 career yards last week. Weber joined 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. He could pass Long to move into No. 4 all-time this week.
ESKRIDGE EXPRESS
Before Minnesota’s game with Northwestern, junior running back DeLeon Eskridge hadn’t rushed for 100 yards or more in nearly two years. Now, he’s done it twice this season. Eskridge ripped off 119 yards vs. the Wildcats for his third career 100-yard game. He then went for 111 last week vs. Penn State. Eskridge now has a total of four 100-yard games to his credit.
McKNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR
Losing Eric Decker, who is now in the National Football League with the Denver Broncos may have seemed to cost Gopher quarterback Adam Weber his go-to receiver. But Da’Jon McKnight has stepped up and has filled that role nicely through much of this season. McKnight has turned in back-to-back 100-yard receiving games, including a career-best three-touchdown performance last week vs. Penn State. McKnight now has nine receiving touchdowns in 2010, just two short of the Minnesota single-season record. Ron Johson (2000) and Omar Douglas (1993) each had 11 touchdown receptions in a seaosn to share the current record.
G.T.-OH!
Junior linebacker Gary Tinsley has now reached double digits in tackles four times in eight games this season. He tallied 10 tackles at Purdue two weeks ago. 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.
THERET'S A THREAT
Senior defensive back Kyle Theret missed the first two games of the season after a suspension for violation of team rules and policies. But he has made the most of his time back on the field in the last six outings. Theret is already No. 2 on the team in total tackles (47) and solo stops (33). Theret also has an interception and a forced fumble this season.
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