Iceland12
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1. Minnesota welcomes the Buffalo Bulls to TCF Bank Stadium for a 6 p.m. game on Aug. 31, as both teams begin the college football season. The Gophers are 1-0 all-time against Buffalo as the Maroon and Gold posted a 41-17 home win in 2002. Minnesota is 30-4-1 all-time against teams from the Mid-American Conference and is opening the season against a MAC team for the first time since 2008 (Gophers beat Northern Illinois 31-27 at home). Minnesota is playing an August game for the tenth time in school history and is 7-2 in those games. The Gophers were 0-2 in their first two August games in 1997 and 2001, but have since won their past seven games in August. Minnesota is 2-0 on Aug. 31, and has never allowed point on the day. The Gophers beat Southwest Texas State 42-0 in 2002 and Kent State 44-0 in 2006.
2. The Gophers enter the season with head coach P.J. Fleck at the helm. Fleck, who is the second youngest coach in the Power 5 (Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley is the youngest) was named the 30th head coach in school history when he was appointed to the post on Jan. 6, 2017. Minnesota’s previous 29 head coaches were a combined 19-9-1 in their Gopher debut. However, the six most recent head coaches all lost their first game leading the Maroon and Gold. The last Minnesota coach to win in his Minnesota debut was John Gutekunst who led the Gophers to a 31-7 win against Bowling Green in 1986. Fleck is 1-1 against Buffalo. His Western Michigan squad beat the Bulls 38-0 in 2016 after losing 33-0 in 2013, which was Fleck’s seventh game as WMU’s head coach.
3. P.J. Fleck and Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh are the only Power Five conference coaches who have both played and coached in the NFL. Fleck (played for San Francisco and coached receivers for Tampa Bay), Harbaugh and East Carolina’s Scottie Montgomery are the only coaches in the FBS who have played and coached in the NFL.
4. The Gophers are one of the youngest teams in the nation as 50 of their 112 players (44.6%) are freshmen or redshirt freshmen. There are 77 underclassmen (68.7%) on the roster, and Minnesota has only 12 players (4 on offense, 4 on defense and 4 on special teams) who have started 10 games or more in their career. Steven Richardson leads the team with 32 starts, while Rodney Smith paces the offense with 19 starts.
5. Minnesota enters the 2017 season with the least experienced quarterbacks among any Power 5 team, which is one of the reasons why both Conor Rhoda and Demry Croft will play against Buffalo. Rhoda and Croft have combined to make eight appearances and one start during their time in Dinkytown. South Carolina is the only other Power 5 school whose quarterbacks have also combined to make eight appearances, but they have seven starts on their roster. Combined, Rhoda and Croft have completed 15-of-34 passes for 122 yards and one touchdown in their eight appearances.
http://www.gophersports.com/sports/...&utm_content=feature&utm_campaign=GopherDaily
2. The Gophers enter the season with head coach P.J. Fleck at the helm. Fleck, who is the second youngest coach in the Power 5 (Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley is the youngest) was named the 30th head coach in school history when he was appointed to the post on Jan. 6, 2017. Minnesota’s previous 29 head coaches were a combined 19-9-1 in their Gopher debut. However, the six most recent head coaches all lost their first game leading the Maroon and Gold. The last Minnesota coach to win in his Minnesota debut was John Gutekunst who led the Gophers to a 31-7 win against Bowling Green in 1986. Fleck is 1-1 against Buffalo. His Western Michigan squad beat the Bulls 38-0 in 2016 after losing 33-0 in 2013, which was Fleck’s seventh game as WMU’s head coach.
3. P.J. Fleck and Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh are the only Power Five conference coaches who have both played and coached in the NFL. Fleck (played for San Francisco and coached receivers for Tampa Bay), Harbaugh and East Carolina’s Scottie Montgomery are the only coaches in the FBS who have played and coached in the NFL.
4. The Gophers are one of the youngest teams in the nation as 50 of their 112 players (44.6%) are freshmen or redshirt freshmen. There are 77 underclassmen (68.7%) on the roster, and Minnesota has only 12 players (4 on offense, 4 on defense and 4 on special teams) who have started 10 games or more in their career. Steven Richardson leads the team with 32 starts, while Rodney Smith paces the offense with 19 starts.
5. Minnesota enters the 2017 season with the least experienced quarterbacks among any Power 5 team, which is one of the reasons why both Conor Rhoda and Demry Croft will play against Buffalo. Rhoda and Croft have combined to make eight appearances and one start during their time in Dinkytown. South Carolina is the only other Power 5 school whose quarterbacks have also combined to make eight appearances, but they have seven starts on their roster. Combined, Rhoda and Croft have completed 15-of-34 passes for 122 yards and one touchdown in their eight appearances.
http://www.gophersports.com/sports/...&utm_content=feature&utm_campaign=GopherDaily
