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From the International Business Times! 
But Minnesota isn’t intimidated by TCU’s high-powered offense. The Golden Gophers have two starting defensive backs that were named to the watch list for the 2015 Chuck Bednarik Award, which is given to college football’s best player. Few teams were able to slow down TCU last season. But Minnesota believes it has a chance to do so on Thursday night.
“I think when they had to drop the ball in the long field [last season], I don’t think they scored one time,” Minnesota cornerback Briean Boddy-Calhoun said, via the Minneapolis Star Tribune, referring to TCU’s win over Minnesota in 2014. “I think if we eliminate some of those mistakes, continue to play hard on defense, continue to get a rush on the quarterback and play good on the outside, I think we have a great chance of winning this week.”
TCU didn’t have much trouble against Minnesota in their second game of last season, winning 30-7. Despite losing by three scores, Minnesota was able to hold TCU to their lowest scoring output of the year. Boykin was limited to his third-lowest passer rating of the season.
Minnesota couldn’t beat TCU on the road, but they’ll be at home in Thursday's contest. TCU was undefeated at home last year, going 7-0 with all but one victory coming by at least 21 points. As good as TCU was on the road, they did manage to lose one game and win two more by a total of just five points.
“I heard Coach Kill talk about them being a fast-paced offense,” Boddy-Calhoun said. “It kind of slows down the communication the louder [the fans] are. When you’re away, the crowd is usually quiet on third down because they want their quarterback to succeed. That’s the biggest difference between being home and away.”
Even if Minnesota’s defense does step up, they might not be good enough offensively to have a chance at pulling off the upset. The Golden Gophers committed five turnovers in their loss to TCU, and they have a lot of questions surrounding their offense this season. Quarterback Mitch Leidner is looking to play better than his three-interception performance against the Horned Frogs last season.
But Minnesota isn’t intimidated by TCU’s high-powered offense. The Golden Gophers have two starting defensive backs that were named to the watch list for the 2015 Chuck Bednarik Award, which is given to college football’s best player. Few teams were able to slow down TCU last season. But Minnesota believes it has a chance to do so on Thursday night.
“I think when they had to drop the ball in the long field [last season], I don’t think they scored one time,” Minnesota cornerback Briean Boddy-Calhoun said, via the Minneapolis Star Tribune, referring to TCU’s win over Minnesota in 2014. “I think if we eliminate some of those mistakes, continue to play hard on defense, continue to get a rush on the quarterback and play good on the outside, I think we have a great chance of winning this week.”
TCU didn’t have much trouble against Minnesota in their second game of last season, winning 30-7. Despite losing by three scores, Minnesota was able to hold TCU to their lowest scoring output of the year. Boykin was limited to his third-lowest passer rating of the season.
Minnesota couldn’t beat TCU on the road, but they’ll be at home in Thursday's contest. TCU was undefeated at home last year, going 7-0 with all but one victory coming by at least 21 points. As good as TCU was on the road, they did manage to lose one game and win two more by a total of just five points.
“I heard Coach Kill talk about them being a fast-paced offense,” Boddy-Calhoun said. “It kind of slows down the communication the louder [the fans] are. When you’re away, the crowd is usually quiet on third down because they want their quarterback to succeed. That’s the biggest difference between being home and away.”
Even if Minnesota’s defense does step up, they might not be good enough offensively to have a chance at pulling off the upset. The Golden Gophers committed five turnovers in their loss to TCU, and they have a lot of questions surrounding their offense this season. Quarterback Mitch Leidner is looking to play better than his three-interception performance against the Horned Frogs last season.