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University of Minnesota Athletics
Game 3: Kent State at Minnesota
9/15/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
| Kent State (1-1) at Minnesota (1-1) | |
| Date | Saturday, September 19 |
| Time | 11 a.m. Central |
| Tickets | Game Day Central |
| Location | TCF Bank Stadium (52,525 capacity) |
| Parking | Game Day Central |
| Metro Transit | Get to the Game |
| Television | Big Ten Network l BTN2Go l BTN Gamefinder |
| Radio | KFAN / Gopher Radio Network |
| Internet | Listen Live / I Heart Radio App |
| Live Stats | |
| Game Notes | Minnesota | Kent State l Press Conferences |
| Social Media | @GopherFootball | Facebook l Instagram |
Five things you need to know
1. Minnesota hosts Kent State on Saturday at TCF Bank Stadium. The Gophers and Golden Flashes have met once previously and that was on Aug. 31, 2006, when Minnesota won 44-0 at Kent State. Current Gopher linebacker coach Mike Sherels made seven tackles in the game and recovered one fumble and current recruiting assistant Dom Barber made six tackles in the win. The 44-0 win was the last time that a Minnesota team shutout an opponent on the road and is also the Gophers' second most recent shutout. Minnesota's last shutout was a 62-0 win against Temple a few weeks later on Sept. 16, 2006. Kent State is the first of three teams from Ohio that Minnesota will play this year, as they also play Ohio on Sept. 26 and travel to No. 1 Ohio State on Nov. 7. Minnesota is also in the midst of playing three home games against teams from Ohio, as they hosted Ohio State in its final home game last season on Nov. 15, 2014, and now host Kent State on Saturday and Ohio a week from Saturday. Minnesota hosted No. 2 TCU between its Ohio opponents.
2. Minnesota's first two opponents this year (TCU and Colorado State) combined for a 22-4 record last season. That mark for wins is the most that any team faced in its first two games of the 2015 season. Only five other schools (Arkansas State, BYU, Michigan State, Oregon and Tulane) opened their season against two opponents who combined for 20 wins last year. Including last season, Minnesota's last six opponents - Ohio State, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Missouri, TCU and Colorado State - combined for a 67-15 record last year. Minnesota was 2-4 in that span, but was competitive in every game. The Gophers won at Nebraska and Colorado State and lost to TCU by six, Ohio State by seven, Wisconsin by 10 and to Missouri by 16. Colorado State was the first non-ranked foe Minnesota faced since Nov. 8, 2014 (beat Iowa 51-14).
3. Quarterback Mitch Leidner has not thrown an interception in his last 153 passing attempts. His last interception came in the fourth quarter against Ohio State on Nov. 11, 2014. Since then he has completed 79 passes for 946 yards (11.97 yards-per-completion) and four touchdowns. Leidner's streak of 153 passes is believed to be the third-longest active streak in the nation behind West Virginia's Skyler Howard who has not tossed an interception in 161 attempts spanning 18 quarters. Troy's Brandon Silvers is second at 155 attempts.
4. KJ Maye (16 catches for 298 yards and one touchdown), Drew Wolitarsky (10 catches for 106 yards) and Eric Carter (1 catch for 4 yards) combined to catch 27 balls for 408 yards and one touchdown last year. Through two games this year, they have caught 29 balls for 345 yards and three touchdowns. Wolitarsky has 12 catches for 161 yards and one touchdown, while Maye has 10 reception for 127 yards and two touchdowns. Carter has 57 yards on seven catches.
5. Minnesota is the only team scheduled to play both No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 TCU (L, 23-17 on Sept. 3) in the regular season (TCU ranking at time of game). The last time Minnesota played the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the same year was 1986. Minnesota lost 63-0 at No. 1 Oklahoma, but then won 20-17 at No. 2 Michigan.
Minnesota's complete game notes can be found here.
Message From The Big Ten Network
With a full slate of action on Saturday, including two games at noon, one at 3:30 PM ET and two in prime time on the Big Ten Network, we want to make sure you can find your team. The best resource to locate your game is to go to BTN.com/Gamefinder, enter your zip code and your cable, satellite or telco provider and you will see the channel number for the BTN game you want to watch. Most providers offer at least one Extra Football Game Channel for when BTN televises more than one game at a time. All games are also offered on BTN2Go, the digital extension of BTN which allows you to watch on your tablet, smartphone or the internet.
