THE ESSENTIALS
Date/Time: Oct. 30, 2021 / 2:30 p.m. CT
Site: Minneapolis, Minn.
Stadium: Ryan Field
Surface: Natural Grass
Capacity: 47,129
Series Overall: Minnesota Leads 54-36-5
Streak: Minnesota Won 1
Series at NU: Minnesota leads 24-21-2
Streak: Minnesota Won 1
Last Meeting: Minnesota won 38-22 at Northwestern (11/23/19)
FIVE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
1. Minnesota and Northwestern meet for the 96th time on Saturday. The Golden Gophers lead the all-time series, 54-36-5. The only teams Minnesota has beaten more than the Wildcats are Iowa (62) and Wisconsin (60). Excluding Rutgers, whom Minnesota has only faced twice, the Gophers’ .595 win percentage against Northwestern is its second best against Big Ten schools behind only a .596 mark versus Indiana (39-26-3). In Evanston, Minnesota holds a 24-21-2 record. The 24 wins are the most for the Gophers on the road against one opponent, while the .532 win percentage at Northwestern is their highest against all Big Ten schools (aside from a 1-0 mark at Rutgers) and versus any current FBS team where they’ve played at least five road games.
2. The Golden Gophers have one of the strongest rush defenses in the country, ranking fifth nationally and second in the Big Ten by allowing just 85.7 rushing yards per game this year. The national average for rushing yards per game through Oct. 23 is 164.9 yards per game; only one Gopher opponent has gone above 136 yards rushing this year and only two have had more than 104 rushing yards. In fact, Minnesota had a two-game stretch of just 3 yards allowed (-19 at Colorado, 22 vs. Bowling Green). The -19 rushing yards allowed at Colorado on Sept. 18 are the fewest by any FBS team this year with the next fewest coming when Wisconsin held Purdue to -13 on Oct. 23. Minnesota is second nationally in fewest opponent rush attempts (190) and fourth in opponent rush yards (600).
3. Minnesota is 2-0 on the road this year, shutting out Colorado, 30-0, in Boulder on Sept. 18 and winning at Purdue, 20-13, on Oct. 2. A win Saturday would mark the fourth time since 1961 that Minnesota has won its first three road games of a season, also winning its first three in 2019 and its first four in 2003 and 1999. The Golden Gophers are 11-3 in their last 14 games away from home, including bowl games, beginning with a 37-15 victory at Wisconsin on Nov. 24, 2018. During that stretch, only Ohio State (15-2) has a better mark away from home among Big Ten teams.
4. Saturday against Maryland, redshirt freshman RB Ky Thomas set career highs in both rushes (21) and rushing yards (139), while true freshman Mar’Keise Irving added a career-best 105 rushing yards on 15 carries. Their performances, which included rushing TDs for each, marked the first time since at least 1942 that two Minnesota freshmen both ran for at least 100 yards in the same game. In addition, they became the fourth and fifth individuals to run for 100 yards this year for the Gophers. Going back to at least 1942 again, Minnesota has never had five individuals record 100-yard rushing games in the same season. In fact, Minnesota is the only FBS team this season to have five different individuals reach 100 yards.
5. Minnesota enters Saturday’s game with the No. 17 total defense in the country, allowing just 312.0 yards per game. That’s on pace to the be the second-best mark the program has had since 1977, bested only by the 2019 squad that gave up 306.6 yards per game and finished 10th nationally. The Gophers are also holding opponents to 19.6 points per game. The unit is looking to post a scoring defense below 20 points per game for the season for the first time since 1999 (16.3). The last time before that was 1977 (15.5). Minnesota has held its last five opponents to 23 points or fewer, the team’s longest such streak since the last four games of 2013 and the 2014 opener. The last time it was done in one season was the first five games of 2004, and the last such streak of six games came in the first six games of 2003.
AXEL HAPPY TO HELP
Gopher offensive lineman Axel Ruschmeyer spoke with MNN sports director Mike Grimm:
Axel Ruschmeyer
(info and photos courtesy of Gopher Sports)