Bo Pelini hopes his Huskers can upset the Gophers in Lincoln on Saturday.
Five Things You Need To Know
1. Minnesota heads to Nebraska this weekend as the Gophers battle the Cornhuskers. This will be Minnesota’s first trip to Nebraska with the Cornhuskers being a member of the Big Ten. The Gophers lead the overall series 29-21-2, but have lost 15 straight to the Cornhuskers, which includes a 41-14 home setback last season. The Gophers are 8-9 all-time at Lincoln’s Memorial Stadium, and their most recent win was a 26-14 victory in 1960. Since then the Gophers have dropped six straight games at Nebraska, with a 56-0 result being the most recent in 1990.
2. The Gophers improved to 6-4 on the season last Saturday after a 17-3 win at Illinois. Minnesota had six wins combined in 2010 and 2011. The win made Minnesota bowl eligible for the first time since 2009. Minnesota will compete in its 15th bowl game at the end of the season. The specific bowl and opponent will be announced in the future. The Gophers are 5-9 all-time in bowl games, with their most recent being a 14-13 loss to Iowa State on Dec. 31 in the 2009 Insight Bowl. Minnesota’s last bowl win was a 20-16 victory against Alabama on Dec. 31 in the 2004 Music City Bowl.
3. Minnesota’s 17-3 win at Illinois last Saturday snapped a six-game Big?Ten road losing streak. It was Minnesota’s first Big?Ten road win since the Gophers topped Illinois, 38-34, on Nov. 13, 2010. The Gophers have now won four straight games at Illinois. It is the first time that Minnesota has had a four-game Big?Ten road winning streak since it won four straight at Northwestern from 1985-1993. Minnesota is 2-2 on the road this year and a win on Saturday would give Minnesota a winning record on the road for the first time since 2008. That year the Gophers went 3-2 on the road as they won at Bowling Green, Illinois and Purdue and lost at Ohio State and Wisconsin. Minnesota was 0-5 on the road last season.
4. Eleven different players have scored a touchdown for Minnesota this season (same as last season), as A.J. Barker (7 touchdowns), Donnell Kirkwood (5), John Rabe (4), MarQueis Gray (3), Isaac Fruechte (2), Drew Goodger (2), Derrick Engel (1), Brandon Green (1), Rodrick Williams (1), James Gillum (1) and Michael Carter (1) have all scored. Seven of those players – Barker, Fruechte, Goodger, Engel, Williams, Gillum and Carter – scored their first career touchdowns this year. That number is tied with Colorado for the seventh-most in college football this season. Navy leads with 14 players scoring their first career touchdown this season and is followed by Colorado State (11), Marshall (10), TCU (10), Tennessee (10) and Georgia Tech (8).
5. Philip Nelson passed for 78 yards in Minnesota’s 17-3 win last Saturday at Illinois. He was 9-for-15 and did not thrown an interception or a touchdown. Nelson had previously thrown for a touchdown in his first three starts as a Gopher. The last time Minnesota won a game while passing for less than 78 yards was Nov. 10, 2010, against Purdue. On that day Adam Weber was 5-for-9 and passed for 74 yards. MarQueis Gray was 0-for-1, as Minnesota beat the Boilermakers 35-20 at home.
A Gopher Victory would …
• snap a six-game losing streak at Nebraksa and be the Gophers first win in Lincoln since a 26-14 victory on Sept. 24,
1960.
• be their second straight Big Ten road win, which is something Minnesota has not accomplished since 2008
• be their seventh of the season, which would be the most for Minnesota since it won seven games in 2008
• be their third in Big Ten play, which would be the most for Minnesota since it won three Big Ten games in 2008
• improve Jerry Kill’s record at Minnesota to 10-13
• improve Minnesota’s all-time record against Nebraska to 30-21-2 and to 9-9 on the road
• be the program’s 653rd victory
A Gopher Loss would …
• be Minnesota’s fifth of the season
• be their 22nd all-time loss to Nebraska and seventh straight in Lincoln
• be the program’s 466th loss