.png&width=42&height=42&type=webp)
University of Minnesota Athletics
Game 1: Oregon State at Minnesota
8/29/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
| Oregon State (0-0) at Minnesota (0-0) | |
| Date | Thursday, Sept. 1 |
| Time | 8 p.m. Central |
| Tickets | Game Day Central |
| Location | TCF Bank Stadium (50,805 capacity) |
| Parking | Game Day Central |
| Metro Transit | Get to the Game |
| Television | Big Ten Network l BTN2Go l BTN Gamefinder |
| Radio | KOOL 108 / Gopher Radio Network |
| Internet | Listen Live / I Heart Radio App |
| Live Stats | |
| Game Notes | Minnesota | Oregon State |
| Social Media | @GopherFootball | Facebook l Instagram |
FIVE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
1. Minnesota welcomes the Oregon State Beavers to TCF Bank Stadium on Sept. 1, as both schools begin the college football season. The Gophers are 2-1 all-time against Oregon State and all three of the previous games have been contested in Minnesota. The Gophers beat Oregon State 44-6 on Nov. 6, 1954 and then fell to the Beavers 17-14 on Oct. 7, 1978. The most recent meeting between the schools was in 1981 when Minnesota posted a 42-12 home win in 1981. Minnesota will finally visit Corvallis, Ore., in 2017 when the two team meet one another again on Sept. 9 next season.
2. Minnesota is led by head coach Tracy Claeys, who enters his first full season as the man in charge of the Gophers. Although, this is the first time that Claeys starts the season with the head coach moniker, he is certainly not new to the position. The Clay Center, Kan., native initially joined the Minnesota staff on Dec. 10, 2010, when former Minnesota head coach Jerry Kill hired him as defensive coordinator. Claeys, who served on Kill's staff for 21 years, was Minnesota's acting head coach in 2013 for seven games and led the Gophers to a 4-3 mark, which included consecutive wins against Northwestern, Nebraska, Indiana and Penn State. It was the first time since 1973 that Minnesota won four straight conference games in the same season. Claeys started last season as Minnesota's associate head coach and defensive coordinator. He was named interim head coach on Oct. 28, 2015, when Kill resigned due to health reasons. In that capacity, Claeys led the Gophers against No. 15 Michigan and No. 1 Ohio State. Claeys coached his first game without the Interim title at No. 8 Iowa on Nov. 14, 2015, and won his first game by a score of 32-23 against Illinois on Nov. 21, 2015. He ended the season by leading Minnesota to a 21-14 win in the Quick Lane Bowl, snapping a seven-game bowl losing streak.
3. The Gophers have strong senior leaders in Mitch Leidner, Damarius Travis and Jack Lynn, but also only have 13 seniors/graduate students on its roster. Those 13 represent the third smallest group of seniors/graduate students in major college football (Kentucky has 11, Penn State and Baylor have 12). Of those 13, only three play on the offensive side of the ball in quarterback Leidner, receiver Drew Wolitarsky and offensive lineman Jonah Pirsig. Those three seniors represent the fewest number in major college football (Troy, Old Dominion, Florida and South Carolina have four seniors or graduate students on offense).
4. Minnesota will play five Big Ten road games (Penn State, Maryland, Illinois, Nebraska and Wisconsin) this season. This will be the first time in 33 years and just the fourth time in program history that the Gophers play five conference road games. They also did so in 1980, 1982 and 1983.
5. For the first time since 2012, Minnesota will begin a season coming off a win. The Gophers beat Central Michigan 21-14 in the Quick Lane Bowl to end last season. Minnesota had previously lost the final game of the season in 2014, 2013 and 2012. The Gophers won their final game in 2011 and the started the 2012 season 4-0.
