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University of Minnesota Athletics
Saturday, October 29
Huntington Bank Stadium
1:30 PM
University of Minnesota
vs
Rutgers
Players Mentioned
Photo by: Brad Rempel
Game 8: Minnesota vs. Rutgers
10/26/2022 3:30:00 PM | Football
THE ESSENTIALS
Date/Time: Oct. 29, 2022 / 1:30 p.m. CT
Site: Minneapolis
Stadium: Huntington Bank Stadium
Surface: FieldTurf
Capacity: 50,805
Series Overall: Minnesota Leads 2-0
Streak: Minnesota Won 2
Series in Minnesota: Minnesota Leads 1-0
Streak: Minnesota Won 1
Last Meeting: Minnesota won 42-7 in Piscataway (10/19/19)
Television: BTN // Cory Provus (PXP), Matt Millen (Analyst), Rick Pizzo (Reporter)
Radio: KFAN | SiriusXM: 121 or 196 | SXM App: 958 // Mike Grimm (PXP), Darrell Thompson (Analyst), Justin Gaard (Reporter), Tanner Hoops (Host), Dan Rowbotham (Engineer)
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
1. Looking to snap a three-game losing streak, Minnesota (4-3, 1-3 B1G) welcomes Rutgers (4-3, 1-3) to Huntington Bank Stadium Saturday. Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m. on BTN with radio coverage on KFAN. After a bye week and two consecutive road games, it'll be Minnesota's first home game in 28 days. That's the team's longest stretch between home contests since 2013 when the Gophers also went 28 days between hosting a game.
2. Mohamed Ibrahim has rushed 134 times in six games for 796 yards (5.9 average) and 10 touchdowns. He's posted those numbers despite missing the Purdue contest and not playing beyond the opening drive of the second half in any of the first three contests this season. In the process, he's extended his streak of 100-yard rushing games to 15 straight dating back to the 2020 Outback Bowl. According to ESPN Stats & Info, Ibrahim's streak is the longest by any FBS player since Ezekiel Elliott also posted a streak of 15 straight games for Ohio State from 2014-15. During the current stretch, Ibrahim has rushed 385 times for 2,175 yards and 28 touchdowns. He's averaging 5.65 yards per rush and 145.0 yards per game over that span and has added 13 catches for 91 yards.
3. Minnesota boasts one of the best and most well-rounded defenses in the nation under defensive coordinator Joe Rossi. The Golden Gophers rank 12th in the country by allowing 294.4 total yards per contest. They also have the No. 9 defense in terms of scoring (16.4 ppg), the 15th-ranked unit for passing yards allowed (179.9) and the No. 26 rush defense (114.6). Minnesota joins Boise State, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Iowa State, Michigan and Ohio State as the only teams in the nation that rank in the top 26 of each of those categories.
4. Redshirt freshman quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis made his first career start Saturday at Penn State's White Out in place of the injured Tanner Morgan, completing 9-of-22 passes for 175 yards with one touchdown and one interception, and rushing seven times for 45 yards. Over the last 45 seasons, 31 different QBs have started for the Gophers. Kaliakmanis' 19.4 yards per completion ranked third best among those signal-callers. Saturday marked the first time in 45 games that Morgan did not start. The last Gopher quarterback to make his first career start on the road before Kaliakmanis was Conor Rhoda at Maryland on Oct. 15, 2016, while the last Gopher QB to make his first career start against a ranked team was MarQueis Gray at then-No. 25 USC on Sept. 3, 2011. With Penn State ranked 16th, Kaliakmanis' start was against the highest ranked opponent for a first career start since Andy Persby started against then-No. 13 Penn State on Oct. 10, 1998. Morgan's status for Saturday is still to be determined.
5. The 2022 campaign is the sixth for head coach P.J. Fleck at Minnesota, where he holds a record of 39-26. He is already tied for fifth in program history for wins, sixth in Big Ten wins (22), and is seventh in games coached (65). Fleck's .609 win percentage is third best among the 11 Minnesota coaches with at least 45 games under their helm behind only Henry L. Williams (.786, 1900-21) and Bernie Bierman (.716, 1932-41, '45-50). A win Saturday would make Fleck the fifth coach at Minnesota to reach 40 wins and he is on track to do it in the third fewest games (66). In his 10th season overall as a college head coach, Fleck is 69-48 (.590).
You can read Minnesota's complete game notes here.
Date/Time: Oct. 29, 2022 / 1:30 p.m. CT
Site: Minneapolis
Stadium: Huntington Bank Stadium
Surface: FieldTurf
Capacity: 50,805
Series Overall: Minnesota Leads 2-0
Streak: Minnesota Won 2
Series in Minnesota: Minnesota Leads 1-0
Streak: Minnesota Won 1
Last Meeting: Minnesota won 42-7 in Piscataway (10/19/19)
Television: BTN // Cory Provus (PXP), Matt Millen (Analyst), Rick Pizzo (Reporter)
Radio: KFAN | SiriusXM: 121 or 196 | SXM App: 958 // Mike Grimm (PXP), Darrell Thompson (Analyst), Justin Gaard (Reporter), Tanner Hoops (Host), Dan Rowbotham (Engineer)
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
1. Looking to snap a three-game losing streak, Minnesota (4-3, 1-3 B1G) welcomes Rutgers (4-3, 1-3) to Huntington Bank Stadium Saturday. Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m. on BTN with radio coverage on KFAN. After a bye week and two consecutive road games, it'll be Minnesota's first home game in 28 days. That's the team's longest stretch between home contests since 2013 when the Gophers also went 28 days between hosting a game.
2. Mohamed Ibrahim has rushed 134 times in six games for 796 yards (5.9 average) and 10 touchdowns. He's posted those numbers despite missing the Purdue contest and not playing beyond the opening drive of the second half in any of the first three contests this season. In the process, he's extended his streak of 100-yard rushing games to 15 straight dating back to the 2020 Outback Bowl. According to ESPN Stats & Info, Ibrahim's streak is the longest by any FBS player since Ezekiel Elliott also posted a streak of 15 straight games for Ohio State from 2014-15. During the current stretch, Ibrahim has rushed 385 times for 2,175 yards and 28 touchdowns. He's averaging 5.65 yards per rush and 145.0 yards per game over that span and has added 13 catches for 91 yards.
3. Minnesota boasts one of the best and most well-rounded defenses in the nation under defensive coordinator Joe Rossi. The Golden Gophers rank 12th in the country by allowing 294.4 total yards per contest. They also have the No. 9 defense in terms of scoring (16.4 ppg), the 15th-ranked unit for passing yards allowed (179.9) and the No. 26 rush defense (114.6). Minnesota joins Boise State, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Iowa State, Michigan and Ohio State as the only teams in the nation that rank in the top 26 of each of those categories.
4. Redshirt freshman quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis made his first career start Saturday at Penn State's White Out in place of the injured Tanner Morgan, completing 9-of-22 passes for 175 yards with one touchdown and one interception, and rushing seven times for 45 yards. Over the last 45 seasons, 31 different QBs have started for the Gophers. Kaliakmanis' 19.4 yards per completion ranked third best among those signal-callers. Saturday marked the first time in 45 games that Morgan did not start. The last Gopher quarterback to make his first career start on the road before Kaliakmanis was Conor Rhoda at Maryland on Oct. 15, 2016, while the last Gopher QB to make his first career start against a ranked team was MarQueis Gray at then-No. 25 USC on Sept. 3, 2011. With Penn State ranked 16th, Kaliakmanis' start was against the highest ranked opponent for a first career start since Andy Persby started against then-No. 13 Penn State on Oct. 10, 1998. Morgan's status for Saturday is still to be determined.
5. The 2022 campaign is the sixth for head coach P.J. Fleck at Minnesota, where he holds a record of 39-26. He is already tied for fifth in program history for wins, sixth in Big Ten wins (22), and is seventh in games coached (65). Fleck's .609 win percentage is third best among the 11 Minnesota coaches with at least 45 games under their helm behind only Henry L. Williams (.786, 1900-21) and Bernie Bierman (.716, 1932-41, '45-50). A win Saturday would make Fleck the fifth coach at Minnesota to reach 40 wins and he is on track to do it in the third fewest games (66). In his 10th season overall as a college head coach, Fleck is 69-48 (.590).
You can read Minnesota's complete game notes here.
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