BleedGopher
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per the Detroit Free Press:
Know the foe: Minnesota began the P.J. Fleck era with three straight wins, but the Gophers have dropped their first two Big Ten games under the former Western Michigan coach. The Gophers led 14-13 after three quarters at Purdue before the Boilermakers erupted in the weather-delayed final period, including two TDs in the final 1:17, en route to a 31-17 victory. Minnesota’s defense gave up 439 yards, including 307 yards passing, in the loss. Running backs Rodney Smith and Shannon Brooks combine for 158.4 yards per game on the ground, while QB Connor Rhoda is completing 55.7% of his passes for 786 yards with five TDs and four interceptions.
Three things to watch
• Expectations rising: Don’t look now, but the Spartans are back in the top-25 rankings, have more wins than they did a year ago and sit two away from being bowl eligible. After MSU’s first trip out-of-state to Minnesota, the Spartans’ following five games are against teams they lost to a year ago – Indiana, at Northwestern, Penn State, at Ohio State and Maryland. There are significant challenges ahead, but MSU is again a contender for the Big Ten title, quickly making last year’s 3-9 record look like merely a blip.
• Fleck factor: It was a little more than 10 short months ago that Fleck was the darling of southwest Michigan. He led WMU to a Mid-American Conference title and perfect regular season, earning a New Year’s Six bowl berth in the Cotton Bowl Classic. Then he rowed his boat into the lakes of Minnesota, where he was the subject of a Big Ten Network/ESPN documentary series going into the season. Fleck’s WMU team lost to MSU in the 2015 opener in Kalamazoo, and his first game as a head coach was a loss to the Spartans in 2013.
http://www.freep.com/story/sports/c...-state-football-michigan-minnesota/744283001/
Go Gophers!!
Know the foe: Minnesota began the P.J. Fleck era with three straight wins, but the Gophers have dropped their first two Big Ten games under the former Western Michigan coach. The Gophers led 14-13 after three quarters at Purdue before the Boilermakers erupted in the weather-delayed final period, including two TDs in the final 1:17, en route to a 31-17 victory. Minnesota’s defense gave up 439 yards, including 307 yards passing, in the loss. Running backs Rodney Smith and Shannon Brooks combine for 158.4 yards per game on the ground, while QB Connor Rhoda is completing 55.7% of his passes for 786 yards with five TDs and four interceptions.
Three things to watch
• Expectations rising: Don’t look now, but the Spartans are back in the top-25 rankings, have more wins than they did a year ago and sit two away from being bowl eligible. After MSU’s first trip out-of-state to Minnesota, the Spartans’ following five games are against teams they lost to a year ago – Indiana, at Northwestern, Penn State, at Ohio State and Maryland. There are significant challenges ahead, but MSU is again a contender for the Big Ten title, quickly making last year’s 3-9 record look like merely a blip.
• Fleck factor: It was a little more than 10 short months ago that Fleck was the darling of southwest Michigan. He led WMU to a Mid-American Conference title and perfect regular season, earning a New Year’s Six bowl berth in the Cotton Bowl Classic. Then he rowed his boat into the lakes of Minnesota, where he was the subject of a Big Ten Network/ESPN documentary series going into the season. Fleck’s WMU team lost to MSU in the 2015 opener in Kalamazoo, and his first game as a head coach was a loss to the Spartans in 2013.
http://www.freep.com/story/sports/c...-state-football-michigan-minnesota/744283001/
Go Gophers!!