BleedGopher
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per Colten:
It doesn’t have the pedigree or tradition of some of its Big Ten Conference counterparts, but the Minnesota football team’s offensive line has been producing top-tier results this season.
The No. 9 Gophers have a program record-setting quarterback, 1,000-yard rusher and two 1,000-yard receivers heading into Saturday’s showdown with the University of Wisconsin. With Paul Bunyan’s Axe and a berth into the conference title game on the line at TCF Bank Stadium, along with major bowl and College Football Playoff implications, Minnesota will ask its line to handle one of the country’s best defensive fronts in UW.
Minnesota (10-1, 7-1 Big Ten) won that interior battle last season, rushing for 201 yards and three touchdowns when it reclaimed the Axe for the first time since 2003. This year, Rodney Smith has been on the receiving end of the line’s effort up front; he has 1,096 yards and eight touchdowns on 201 carries.
Discussing the Minnesota offensive line starts with its sheer size: The starting five’s average height is 6-foot-6 and average weight is 340 pounds. That group has been clearing the way for the Gophers’ run-pass option plays effectively, and UW’s defense knows controlling the line may determine Saturday’s Border Battle.
“They’re a vertical running team. It’s always hard when you have a big dude right in front of you, and then a hard-running running back right behind them,” UW senior linebacker Chris Orr said. “You’ve just got to muscle up, put some hair on your chest and get under people’s chins and make it happen. This is going to be a fun football game for people that love real gritty, Big Ten football. This is going to be fun.”
www.iosconews.com
Go Gophers!!
It doesn’t have the pedigree or tradition of some of its Big Ten Conference counterparts, but the Minnesota football team’s offensive line has been producing top-tier results this season.
The No. 9 Gophers have a program record-setting quarterback, 1,000-yard rusher and two 1,000-yard receivers heading into Saturday’s showdown with the University of Wisconsin. With Paul Bunyan’s Axe and a berth into the conference title game on the line at TCF Bank Stadium, along with major bowl and College Football Playoff implications, Minnesota will ask its line to handle one of the country’s best defensive fronts in UW.
Minnesota (10-1, 7-1 Big Ten) won that interior battle last season, rushing for 201 yards and three touchdowns when it reclaimed the Axe for the first time since 2003. This year, Rodney Smith has been on the receiving end of the line’s effort up front; he has 1,096 yards and eight touchdowns on 201 carries.
Discussing the Minnesota offensive line starts with its sheer size: The starting five’s average height is 6-foot-6 and average weight is 340 pounds. That group has been clearing the way for the Gophers’ run-pass option plays effectively, and UW’s defense knows controlling the line may determine Saturday’s Border Battle.
“They’re a vertical running team. It’s always hard when you have a big dude right in front of you, and then a hard-running running back right behind them,” UW senior linebacker Chris Orr said. “You’ve just got to muscle up, put some hair on your chest and get under people’s chins and make it happen. This is going to be a fun football game for people that love real gritty, Big Ten football. This is going to be fun.”
Gophers follow big offensive line into Saturday's showdown with Badgers
Minnesota's starting line, which averages 6-6 and 340 pounds, has been clearing the way for the Gophers’ run-pass option plays effectively, and UW’s defense knows controlling the line might decide
Go Gophers!!