Minnesota vs. OSU Preview Part 2

Minnesota vs. OSU, October 28, 3:36 PM

ABC Regional with Mark Jones (play-by-play), David Norrie (analyst), Stacey Dales (sideline)

Scouting the Golden Gophers
Minnesota is 3-5 this season, 0-4 in the Big Ten. They have victories at Kent State, versus Temple and North Dakota State. They have losses at California, at Purdue, against Michigan, against Penn State and at Wisconsin. Minnesota has shut out two opponents, but their other victory, 10-9 over Division I-AA North Dakota State looked ugly. The Golden Gophers had to block a field goal in the last seconds to escape with the victory over NDSU. They have not fared well against ranked teams, 42-17 against No. 22 California, 28-14 against No. 6 Michigan and 48-12 against No. 25 Wisconsin. They average 25.9 points/game while limiting teams to 22.75 points. They average 359.5 yards/game, 161 rushing and 198.5/passing.

Quarterback
The Golden Gophers are lead by fifth year senior Bryan Cupito. He has started 31 of the last 32 games, ranks second in school history with 44 touchdown passes and in the top five for passing yards, attempts and completions. So far this season he is 59% for 1,548 yards, eleven touchdowns and four interceptions. He is ranked fourth in the nation, second in the Big Ten behind Troy Smith, with 7.33 yards/play.

Running Backs
The Golden Gophers have started three different players at running back. Junior Amir Pinnix has started the last five games and will get the nod on Saturday. He has 747 yards and six touchdowns in the eight games this season. He has appeared in a total of 30 games, rushing for 1,351 yards and nine career touchdowns. Pinnix will also catch the ball, with 79 yards so far this season. Also running for the Gophers are freshman running back EJ Jones, sophomore running back Alex Daniels, junior full back Justin Valentine and senior receiver Logan Payne.

Receivers
Lining up at receiver are senior Logan Payne and junior Ernie Wheelwright. Payne leads the team with 468 yards and six touchdowns. Wheelwright has 175 yards. Coming in as third receiver is red-shirt freshman Eric Decker with 205 yards and two touchdowns. Minnesota will sorely miss their second leading receiver, 6-7, fifth-year senior Matt Spaeth at tight end. He is out with a shoulder injury. He will be replaced by sophomore Jack Simmons.

O-Line
At center is junior Tony Brinkhaus, guards are red-shirt freshman Nedward Tavale and senior Tyson Swaggert and at tackles are junior Steve Shidell and senior Joe Ainsilie. This unit does a decent job, only allowing 1.63 sacks/game.

Kickers
Sophomore Joel Monroe handles the kickoffs, averaging 62.3 yards with 15 touchbacks. Sophomore Jason Giannini handles the place kicking and field goals, he is 6 of 9 on field goals with a long of 49 yards. Punting for the Gophers is sophomore Justin Kucek, who averages 38.9 yards with 13 inside the 20 yard line.

Linebackers
At LB are Junior Mike Sherels, senior Mario Reese and sophomore Deon Hightower. Sherels and Reese had starting experience last year. Sherels leads the team with a total of 64 total tackles, including 40 solo.

Defensive Backs
At the corners are sophomore Dominic Jones and junior Jamal Harris. At strong safety is Duran Cooley and free safety is junior Dominique Barber. Harris has three interceptions this season, two were in one game. Fifth year senior Trumain Banks, who has started all 41 games that he has played, had a season ending injury in the Wisconsin game.

D-Line
At the ends are sophomores Willie VanDeSteeg and Steve Davis. At tackles are juniors Todd Meisel and Neel Allen. Davis leads in this unit with 9.5 career sacks. VanDeSteeg leads this season with 4 sacks.