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University of Minnesota Athletics
Blog: Under the Lights
9/21/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
University of Minnesota head coach Tim Brewster loves night games.
Now, Coach Brewster would also tell you that he loves the game of football enough that if they asked him to play at 4 o'clock in the morning, he'd be there and be ready to roll. But if he had his druthers, Brewster would like to play under the lights as often as possible.
"We're very excited about the fact we're going to play Saturday night in TCF Bank Stadium," Brewster said Tuesday in his weekly meeting with the media. "In my mind, that's the most exciting time of the day to play a college football game."
Brewster said part of the reason he enjoys night games so much is that it "takes him back" to Friday night high school football.
The coach also referenced last year's tilt with Michigan State, when discussing the experience of TCF Bank Stadium for a night game. It was a very entertaining contest and Gopher fans were definitely involved in the game. The Gophers topped the Spartans 42-34 behind five touchdown passes from Adam Weber.
"We all remember last year playing Michigan State on Halloween night," Brewster said. "What an exciting night that was. What a great atmosphere that was."
As for this week's opponent, Coach Brewster was very complimentary of Northern Illinois. Brewster has been especially impressed with Chandler Harnish, the Huskie quarterback. Harnish played his first-ever collegiate game against Minnesota on Aug. 30, 2008 at the Metrodome. He passed for 326 yards and a pair of scores in that game. Despite Harnish's performance, the Gophers were able to prevail 31-27.
"Chandler Harnish is their key to it offensively," Brewster said. "He throws the football well. We saw Chandler three years ago in his first start. He's a good football player. It's going to be very important for our defense to do a good job at lining up and adjusting and doing the things we need to do to slow down Chandler."
Meanwhile, Brewster believes his team's experience in this year's season-opener will help them prepare for the defense they will see from Northern Illinois.
"Defensively they're a lot like Middle Tennessee," Brewster said. "They're a slant‑and‑angle front. They move. They do not sit still. Very similar to what Middle Tennessee did against us. They do a nice job of matching their coverage behind it."
-By Associate Athletic Communications Director Andy Seeley
