The vastly improved Minnesota Golden Gophers football team capped off the non-conference portion of their schedule on Saturday, September 20th with a dominating 37-3 victory over the Florida Atlantic Owls. It was Minnesota's 4th win in as many weeks. The undefeated Gophers begin Big Ten conference play in Columbus, Ohio on Saturday, September 27 at 11 A.M. (CST). The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.
Updated 2008 Gophers Football Schedule w/ Times & Broadcast*
(*when available/note all times Central Standard Time)
- August 30 vs. NORTHERN ILLINOIS --------------------(W 31-27)
- September 6 @ Bowling Green---------------------------- (W 35-23)
- September 13 vs. MONTANA STATE-------------------- (W 42-17)
- September 20 vs. FLORIDA ATLANTIC----------------- (W 31-27)
- September 27 @ Ohio State----------11 AM -------- Big Ten Network
- October 4 vs. INDIANA-----------------TBA------------TBA
- October 11 @ Illinois--------------------11 AM----------ESPN, ESPN2, or Big Ten Network
- October 25 @ Purdue-------------------11 AM ---------ESPN, ESPN 2, or Big Ten Network
- November 1 vs. NORTHWEST'RN--11 AM----------ESPN, ESPN2 or Big Ten Network
- November 8 vs. MICHIGAN-----------TBA-------------TBA
- November 15 @ Wisconsin----------- TBA------------TBA
- November 22 vs. IOWA-----------------6 PM-----------Big Ten Network
Gophers Improved in Both Offense and Defense
Against Florida Atlantic the Gophers defense had 4 interceptions, while the offense committed only one turnover, continuing an early-season trend that has the team among the top 3 in the nation in turnover ratio. They are also among the top teams in Red Zone scoring percentage, at 94%, with 15 of 16 touchdowns inside the 20-yard line. Other early season victories came against Northern Illinois, Bowling Green and Montana State, with Minnesota outscoring opponents 145-70.
Offensively, Quarterback Adam Weber has connected with Wide Receiver Eric Decker 32 times for 454 yards and 4 touchdowns. Freshman Running Back DeLeon Eskridge, seeing more playing time due to a season-ending injury to Duane Bennett, has been a nice surprise, scoring 5 touchdowns in the past 2 games.
It is the Gophers' defense, however, that has made much of the difference in 2008, Minnesota having already won 4 times as many games as last year, with two thirds of the season left to play. Third down and goal line stands are becoming more the norm for this team. Every starter in the secondary has at least one interception.
Coach Tim Brewster Stresses Youth
"When you look at the youth of the football team, it’s truly amazing" Coach Tim Brewster commented after the most recent outing, " I even asked some of our staff to take a look to find out if there was a younger football team in America than the University of Minnesota." We started three redshirt freshmen [on the offensive line], two redshirt sophomore, a redshirt sophomore quarterback, a true freshman tailback – I think it’s pretty remarkable what we’re doing offensively. Obviously, I think we’ve got a great deal of youth on the defensive side of the ball as well..."
While the youth of these Gophers bodes well for the more distant future, it's this coming Saturday at Columbus that will be the first big test for the team. The naysayers will point to the relatively weak non-conference schedule, but this young team seems to be growing up quickly. They should not be counted out.
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