THE ESSENTIALS
Date: Oct. 26, 2019
Time: 2:30 p.m. CT
Site: Minneapolis. Minn.
Stadium: TCF Bank Stadium
Surface: FieldTurf
Capacity: 50,805
Series: Maryland 3-1
Streak: Maryland W2
Last: Maryland won 42-13 on 9/22/18 at Maryland Stadium in College Park, Md.
DELATTIBOUDERE PLAYING AGAINST HOMESTATE TEAM
MNN Sports Director Mike Grimm talked with Gopher senior DE Winston DeLattiboudere of Baltimore about playing against his homestate team, about the season, and about Casey O’Brien:
ELEVEN THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
1. Minnesota faces Maryland at home on Saturday. Minnesota has won nine straight games (first nine game winning streak since 1941-42), which is tied for the fourth longest winning streak in the nation. Clemson has the longest winning streak at 22 games and is followed by Ohio State (13) and Appalachian State (12). Minnesota follows at nine wins and is tied with Baylor. Minnesota is ranked No. 17 in the AP Poll and No. 16 in the Coaches Poll. Minnesota entered the AP Poll at No. 20 last week and this week’s ranking of No. 17 is the highest Minnesota has been ranked in the poll since it was No. 13 on Oct. 3, 2004.
2. Minnesota is 7-0 this year, 9-0 in its last nine games, 11-2 in its last 12 games and 19-13 overall under head coach P.J. Fleck. The last time Minnesota started a season 7-0 was 1960, when it finished 8-2 and were named National Champions (Gophers last started 8-0 when it won all eight games in the 1941 season and were named National Champions). The last time Minnesota won nine straight games was 1941-42, as it went 8-0 in 1941 and started 1942 season 1-0 (Gophers won 18 straight games from 1939-41. Minnesota ended 1939 1-0, went 8-0 in both 1940 and 1941 and started 1-0 in 1942). The last time Minnesota was 11-2 in 13 games was 1948-49, as it went 7-2 in 1948 and then won the first four games on 1949 (Gophers won final game of 1947 to go 12-2). Fleck’s 19-13 record in his first 32 games is the best for a coach in school history since the legendary Murray Warmath started 19-11-2 from 1954 through the first five games of the 1957 season. Warmath would go on to coach Minnesota for 18 seasons and led Minnesota to a Big Ten championship and national championship in 1960.
3. The Gophers are 7-0 for the first time since 1960 and the ninth time ever (1960, 1941, 1940, 1935, 1934, 1905, 1904, 1903 and 1896). Minnesota is 4-0 in the Big Ten for the first time since 1967 (last started 5-0 in conference play in 1961) and has won five straight Big Ten games for the first time since 1969-70 when it won the final four games of 1969 and the first of 1970 (last won six straight Big Ten games in 1961).
4. Minnesota is 11-2 in its last 13 games (9 B1G games, 1 game vs. ACC and 3 nonconference games) and the Gophers have scored 450 points in that span. Minnesota scored 429 points in 12 games in 2005 and 503 in 13 games in 2003. The only other seasons Minnesota scored more than 400 points were 1905 (542 in 11 games), 1904 (725 in 13 games) and 1903 (618 in 15 games).
5. Minnesota has scored 154 points in its first four Big Ten games, which is the most it has scored in that span since 1916 when it tallied 179. Through seven games, Minnesota is averaging 36.4 points this year. The modern day school record was set in 2003 when the Gophers averaged 38.7 points in 13 games.
6. Tyler Johnson, Rashod Bateman and Chris Autman-Bell form one of the best trios in the nation, as they have combined for 80 catches, 1,426 yards and 15 touchdowns. Those numbers stack up well against the top five teams. No. 1 Alabama’s top three receivers have caught 106 passes for 1,699 yards and 20 TDs. LSU’s numbers are 103 catches for 1,689 yards and 24 TDs, while Ohio State is at 69 catches for 967 yards and 13 TDs. Clemson comes in at 71 catches for 1,147 yards and 9 TDs and No. 5 Oklahoma is at 67 catches for 1,389 yards and 16 TDs.
7. Between six running backs – Rodney Smith, Shannon Brooks, Mohamed Ibrahim, Treyson Potts, Bryce Williams and Cam Wiley – Minnesota has a combined 1,557 carries on its roster for 7,854 yards and 66 touchdowns. Those numbers do not include Seth Green’s 297 yards and 10 TDs as a wildcat QB.
8. Joe Rossi took over as defensive coordinator after Minnesota’s 55-31 loss at Illinois last year. Since then the Gophers are 9-1. In five of those games (2018: Purdue, Georgia Tech: 2019: Illinois, Nebraska, Rutgers) the Gophers have allowed 10 or less offensive points. Minnesota did now allow an offensive touchdown against Illinois. It was the first time the Gophers have held a Big Ten opponent without an offensive touchdown since Nov. 10, 2012 at Illinois. The Gophers did not allow an offensive touchdown against Nebraska until the fourth quarter. That touchdown stopped a stretch of 111:27 without allowing an offensive touchdown for the Minnesota defense. Rutgers did not score until the fourth quarter as well.
9. The Gophers have allowed only 31 points in the past three Big Ten games (17 Illinois, 7 Nebraska, 7 Rutgers). However, only 17 of those points have been allowed by the defense, as Illinois scored two defensive touchdowns. The last time the Gophers allowed 31 or less points in three straight Big Ten games was in 1980 (6 Iowa, 18 Illinois, 7 Indiana) and the last time they gave up 17 or less offensive points was in 1967 (0 Michigan State, 15 Michigan, 0 Iowa).
10. The Gophers held Fresno State to just 57 yards rushing and Illinois to 91 rushing yards. They allowed only 75 passing yards against Georgia Southern and 48 to Rutgers. Prior to this season the defense had not allowed less than 100 yards passing in a game since 2017.The Gophers team pass efficiency of 104.66 is ranked seventh in the entire country and third in the Big Ten. They also rank No. 11 in the NCAA and second in the Big Ten with nine interceptions this season
11. The Gophers have not allowed more than 300 total yards in five straight games. Meanwhile the Gophers offense has gone four straight games with more than 400 yards.
(photo and info courtesy of Gopher Sports)