.png&width=42&height=42&type=webp)
University of Minnesota Athletics
Postgame Notes
9/4/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
Recap | Final Stats | Quotes
Sept. 3, 2015
TCF Bank Stadium
No. 2 TCU 23, Minnesota 17
Minnesota Postgame Notes
Team / Series Notes
• Tonight's game was the third all-time meeting in football between Minnesota and TCU, with the Horned Frogs now holding a 2-1 lead in the series after wins in back-to-back seasons.
• Each team has won a game played in Minneapolis. The Gophers defeated the Horned Frogs, 9-7, on Sept. 28, 1974 at Memorial Stadium.
• Head coach Jerry Kill's record at Minnesota fell to 25-27, while his 22nd-year overall record now stands at 152-100. Tonight was the four year anniversary of Coach Kill's first game as head coach of the Golden Gophers.
• Minnesota held TCU to less than 30 points for the first time since Oct. 26, 2013, snapping an 18-game streak for the Horned Frogs. Last year, the Gophers held TCU to a season-low 30 points.
• Tonight's sellout crowd of 54,147 was a new TCF Bank Stadium record attendance. It marked the fourth sellout crowd during head coach Jerry Kill's tenure, and was the first capacity turnout since drawing 53,090 for Wisconsin on Nov. 23, 2013.
• Tonight's game was Minnesota's first against a team ranked No. 2 in the AP poll since Nov. 6, 1999, when the Gophers defeated Penn State, 24-23, on a last-second field goal. Minnesota is 2-4 all-time in games against teams ranked second.
• Dating back to last season, Minnesota has now played five straight games against teams ranked among the AP Top 25. It's the first such streak for Minnesota since the origin of the AP poll during 1936.
• The season-opening loss for the Gophers was the first since a 19-17 loss at USC in Jerry Kill's first game at Minnesota on Sept. 3, 2011.
• Tonight marked the first time since Sept. 14, 1974, that Minnesota opened its season against an opponent ranked among the top five. That season, the Gophers dropped a 34-19 decision to No. 4 Ohio State at home.
• The Gophers held TCU to a FG on its opening drive of the game. Last year, TCU scored a TD on 8-of-13 opening drives.
• Minnesota was held without an offensive touchdown in the first half for the first time since a 28-24 loss at Illinois on Oct. 25, 2014.
Individual Notes
• Junior QB Mitch Leidner completed 19-of-35 passes for 197 yards and a touchdown. His 35 pass attempts surpassed his previous career-high of 32 in the Citrus Bowl loss to Missouri on Jan. 1, 2015.
• Freshman RB Rodney Smith made his first collegiate appearance and rushed 16 times for 88 yards and his first career touchdown in the third quarter.
• Senior Z KJ Maye caught four passes for 73 yards, both career-highs, and scored on a 22-yard pass from Leidner late in the fourth quarter.
• Senior S Antonio Johnson came up with a key fumble recovery early in the second quarter, the first of his career. Johnson also recorded nine tackles (six solo).
• Senior CB Briean Boddy-Calhoun finished with nine tackles (seven solo).
• Senior CB Eric Murray intercepted his second career pass. His previous INT was against San Jose State on Sept. 20, 2014. Murray also recorded eight tackles and forced a fumble.
• Sophomore X Eric Carter finished with four catches for 25 yards, including a 16-yard reception, all of which were single-game bests.
• Sophomore LB Cody Poock had seven tackles (five solo) and one TFL in his first game for the Gophers.
• Senior S Demarius Travis tied his career-high for tackles with a team-best 10. Travis also registered 10 tackles at Wisconsin on Nov. 29, 2014.
• Senior P Peter Mortell boomed a 58-yard punt in the second quarter, and added a 52-yarder early in the final stanza. He now has 38 career punts of 50 yards or more. He punted seven times for an average of 45.4 yards.
• Sophomore K Ryan Santoso made his lone field goal attempt, a 42-yarder, for his fourth career FG of 40+ yards.
• Senior DE Theiren Cockran was credited with two TFLs among his three tackles.
• A total of 12 Minnesota players made their collegiate debuts for the Gophers during tonight's game. They are: KiAnte Hardin, Ace Rogers, Cody Poock, Hunter Register, Jeff Jones, Julian Huff, Melvin Holland Jr., Rodney Smith, Payton Jordahl, Blake Cashman, Emmit Carpenter, and Rashad Still.
• Senior LT Josh Campion missed his first career game due to an injury, snapping a streak of 39 consecutive starts along the offensive line.
TCU Postgame Notes
Team Notes
*TCU improved to 31-3 when taking the field as a top-10 team under Patterson, including a 20-1 mark as a top-5 team.
*The Horned Frogs improved to 95-3 under Patterson when allowing 17 points or less.
*TCU extended its nation's-best streak to 26 consecutive games with a takeaway.
*TCU scored for the 281st consecutive game. It's the nation's second-longest current streak and tied for fourth all-time in NCAA history. The Horned Frogs haven't been blanked since Nov. 16, 1991 at Texas (32-0).
*The Horned Frogs had a 14-play, 55-yard scoring drive, capped by a 53-yard Jaden Oberkrom field goal, on their opening drive. TCU scored on its opening drive in nine of 13 games last season.
*TCU opened its season on a Thursday for the first time since 2004, when it defeated Northwestern 48-45 in double overtime in Fort Worth.
*TCU is 11-4 in season openers under head coach Gary Patterson.
*The Horned Frogs are 5-1 versus Big Ten opponents under Patterson.
*Tonight's attendance of 54,147 was a TCF Bank Stadium record.
*The Horned Frogs played just their second game in the state of Minnesota. The only previous contest was a 9-7 loss to the Golden Gophers in 1974.
*TCU's team captains were Trevone Boykin, Joey Hunt, Derrick Kindred and Mike Tuaua. Boykin and Hunt were captains in all 13 games last season.
*TCU wore a white jersey and white pants with a white helmet.
Individual Notes
*Jaden Oberkrom's 53-yard field goal to cap the Horned Frogs' opening possession tied for the fourth-longest made kick in TCU history. Oberkrom also had a 53-yard field goal in the 2012 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl against Michigan State. Oberkrom now has three of the five longest field goals in TCU history.
*Oberkrom added a 45-yard field goal in the third quarter and a 33-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.
*Terrell Lathan forced a first-quarter fumble with Josh Carraway on the recovery.
*Aaron Curry started at defensive tackle in his first game for TCU. He had a team-best four tackles in the first quarter while totaling five stops for the game. Curry started all eight Big Ten contests for Nebraska, including at Minnesota, in the 2013 season.
*Trevone Boykin's 11-yard touchdown pass to Josh Doctson, on the second play after the Carraway fumble recovery, extended his streak to 16 consecutive games with a scoring toss. It's tied for the third-longest streak in the nation.
*Boykin had a 19-yard touchdown run on the opening possession of the second half. It was the 19th scoring run of his career.
*With a team-high 92 yards rushing, Boykin went over the 1,500-yard mark for his career. He entered the game with 1,437 yards and now has 1,529.
*Boykin finished 26-of-42 for 246 yards passing in the game.
*Desmon White had a career-high five receptions for 61 yards and was one of eight receivers to catch a pass for the Horned Frogs tonight.
