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University of Minnesota Athletics
Blog: Gophers Excited To Start Big Ten Play
9/28/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nobody around the University of Minnesota football program is happy to come out of the non-conference schedule with a 1-3 record. But head coach Tim Brewster is looking forward to getting the Big Ten season started this weekend with a Homecoming clash against Northwestern at TCF Bank Stadium.
Part of Brewster's excitement and optimism about getting the Big Ten season under way is that he believes his team is very close to putting together the sort of play it will take to score victories in conference play.
"We just as easily could be 4-0 at this point as 1-3," Brewster said in his weekly meeting with the media Tuesday. "In the three losses that we had, I think that we, as much as the opponent, determined the outcome of the football game. We had opportunities in each of those three losses to win the game."
As is the case with virtually every college football team in the country, the Gophers' goal is to win their conference championship. Non-conference records have no bearing on the race for a conference crown and that race begins Saturday in the Big Ten.
"Reality is that we're a 1-3 team, and that's very disappointing," Brewster said. But as I told our football team on Sunday, right now the most important record is that we're 0-0. We're 0-0 in the Big Ten, and we're working like crazy to be 1 and 0 in the Big Ten on Saturday.
"I think stay the course is a great term, a great term," Brewster added about his philosophy for the team moving forward. "When you believe in what you're doing, when you believe in your process - which I do to the core of who I am - you're not going to change drastically."
In order to fulfill their intention of being 1-0 Saturday, Brewster said his defense will need to contain Northwestern quarterback Dan Persa, while the offense continues its dominance in time of possession.
"It all starts and ends with Dan Persa, their quarterback," Brewster said of the Wildcat offense. "They're much more option oriented with Persa as the quarterback than they were last year. They're more committed to the running game with Persa as the quarterback. They've got four runners that all play, but again, like I said, I think Persa is the key to making Northwestern go.
"I think it's going to be critical for us to do a good job of staying on the field, time of possession in this football game, and continuing to do the things that we're doing," Brewster added of his offense.
The last three matchups - all in Coach Brewster's tenure - have each been decided in the fourth quarter or later. In 2007, the Wildcats won a wild, two-overtime shootout 49-48 when Minnesota elected to try for a two-point conversion in the second overtime. In 2008, another Homecoming game, Northwestern returned an interception for a touchdown in the final minute to steal a 24-17 victory. Last year, the Wildcats led 24-21 midway through the fourth quarter. But the Gophers scored a pair of TDs in the final 8:35 to pull away for the 35-24 victory.
Brewster expects more of the same from this year's Gopher-Wildcat matchup.
"They're a good football team," Brewster said of Northwestern. "They're a team in which three years in a row we've had great battles with. So our kids will go into this game with great confidence in our ability to play hard and play well against Northwestern. We expect it to be a great battle, as have the last three games against those guys."
Notes:
> Coach Brewster announced during Tuesday's press conference that junior Troy Stoudermire had been reinstated to the team. Stoudermire appeared on the depth chart and punt returner and kick returner.
"He's been very remorseful about the situation and how he handled it, and he's expressed it properly to me and to our football team," Brewster said. "And so with that, we allow him to come back and be part of our football team and most importantly be a good teammate."
> There were no other notable changes on this week's depth chart. Brewster said there were no players he would rule out due to injury at this point in the week.
-Andy Seeley, Associate Athletic Communications Director
