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University of Minnesota Athletics
Postgame Notes
11/28/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 28, 2015
Recap | Final Stats | Quotes | Photo Gallery
Nov. 28, 2015
TCF Bank Stadium
Wisconsin (9-3, 6-2 Big Ten) 31, Minnesota (5-7, 2-6) 21
Team / Series Notes
- Today's game was the 125th all-time meeting in football between Minnesota and Wisconsin, with the Gophers now holding a 59-58-8 lead in the series. It is the most-played rivalry in the Football Bowl Subdivision of NCAA Division I.
- This was the 68th time the teams played for Paul Bunyan's Axe. Minnesota owns a mark of 24-41-3 in those contests. Prior to the Axe, the teams had played for the Slab of Bacon trophy.
- Head coach Tracy Claeys' record at Minnesota fell to 1-4. Three of those five games were against teams ranked among the Top 15 in the Associated Press poll.
- Minnesota turned the ball over five times (two fumbles, three interceptions), leading to a 17-7 advantage in points off turnovers for the Badgers.
- Today's crowd of 52,850 was Minnesota's fifth sellout of the season. The five sellout attendance figures this season are the most since all seven games were sold out during TCF Bank Stadium's inaugural season in 2009. Total attendance at Minnesota's seven home dates was 366,484, for an average of 52,355 per game (capacity is 52,525).
- This afternoon's temperature at kickoff was 32 degrees, the seventh-coldest at TCF Bank Stadium, but seemingly balmy compared to the 18-degree temperature at the outset of the Nov. 23, 2013 game between these two teams.
- The University of Minnesota football program said goodbye to 24 student-athletes this afternoon as part of Minnesota's senior day festivities. Participating in their final game today were seniors Joe Bjorklund, Brian Bobek, Briean Boddy-Calhoun, Foster Bush, De'Vondre Campbell, Josh Campion, Jon Christenson, Theiren Cockran, Antonio Johnson, Alex Keith, KJ Maye, Peter Mortell, Eric Murray, Robert Ndondo-Lay, Miles Thomas, Peter Westerhaus and Rodrick Williams. Seven redshirt juniors also took part in their final home game at TCF Bank Stadium this afternoon. They are Cedric Dicke, Isaac Hayes, Jacob Kirsch, Ben Lauer, John McKelvey, EJ Sardinha and Louis Tuszynski.
Individual Notes
- Mitch Leidner completed 16-of-37 passes for 223 yards and a touchdown, but was intercepted three times. He ends his season with totals of 218 completions for 2,478 yards and 13 touchdowns. His single-season completion total ranks third all-time (first among juniors), while his yardage total is ninth (fourth among juniors).
- Leidner's career passing totals now stand at 383 completions in 692 attempts for 4,895 yards and 27 TDs. He has also rushed 326 times for 1,108 yards and 22 touchdowns. Leidner's passing yardage and completions totals both rank seventh all-time at Minnesota, while his passing TDs mark is eighth.
- Drew Wolitarsky had two catches for 44 yards, including a 27-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. It was Wolitarsky's third touchdown catch of the season.
- KJ Maye led the Gophers with five catches for 45 yards, and wound up his final season with team-leading totals of 65 catches for 706 yards and four TDs. Maye's reception total ranks fourth all-time on Minnesota's single-season list, while his yardage total ranks 20th.
- Maye finishes his career with 99 receptions for 1,123 yards and five TDs. The reception total ranks 13th on Minnesota's all-time list, while the yardage total ranks 22nd. He also had career totals of 51 rushes for 266 yards and two TDs.
- Shannon Brooks had three catches for a career-high 53 yards.
- Nick Hart had career-highs with three receptions for 45 yards. One of his catches went for a career-long gain of 30 yards.
- Rodney Smith scored his second career touchdown, and his first against a Big Ten opponent, with a six-yard burst in the second quarter. Smith's first rushing TD came during the season-opener against TCU on Sept. 3. Smith finished with seven carries for 35 yards.
- Briean Boddy-Calhoun came up with an interception on Wisconsin's first play from scrimmage, returning it 16 yards for a touchdown. It was Boddy-Calhoun's third INT of the season, and his second career TD. He had an interception return for a TD vs UNLV on Aug. 29, 2013.
- The interception for Boddy-Calhoun was the ninth of his career, which ties for seventh all-time at Minnesota.
- Boddy-Calhoun tied his career-high with two pass breakups.
- It marked the second time this season that Boddy-Calhoun intercepted an opponent's pass on the first play of the game, as he also had an interception on the first play at Colorado State on Sept. 12.
- De'Vondre Campbell tied his career-high by leading the Gophers with 13 tackles (seven solo). He also had 13 tackles against Michigan on Oct. 31. Campbell ended his final season ranked third on the team with 89 tackles (50 solo), including 4.5 tackles for loss and two sacks.
- Campbell wraps up his career with 205 tackles (126 solo), including 14 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, three fumble recoveries and a pair of interceptions.
- Duke McGhee tied his career-high with 12 tackles. Over the final two games this season, McGhee registered 24 tackles.
- Antonio Johnson finished with 11 tackles, and ends his final season in Maroon and Gold with a team-leading total of 99 tackles (57 solo).
- Cody Poock tied his career-high with 11 tackles, and ends his season ranked second on the team with 95 tackles (53 solo), including 4.5 tackles for loss.
- Peter Mortell punted five times for an average of 45.6 yards, including two punts of 50+ yards (long of 51) and two downed inside the 20 yard line. For the season, Mortell punted 70 times for an average of 43.3 per punt. His long punt covered 66 yards, and he had 20 punts of 50-plus yards and 26 downed inside the 20.
Players Mentioned
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Wide Receiver
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Linebacker
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