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College Football Preview - Michigan Wolverines vs Minnesota Golden Gophers

September 30, 2006

GAME NOTES: The Little Brown Jug is up for grabs, as the sixth-ranked Michigan Wolverines head to the Twin Cities for a bout with the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Minnesota is the current holder of college football's oldest trophy following last year's thrilling 23-20 win at Michigan Stadium. The victory snapped a 16-game losing streak to the Wolverines and if the Gophers prevail in this contest, it will mark their first-ever win over Michigan at the Metrodome (0-10). Minnesota has alternated wins and losses through the first four games of the 2006 season, blanking both Kent State (44-0) and Temple (62-0), but losing to California (42-17) and Purdue (27-21). As for Michigan, it is a perfect 4-0 following wins over Vanderbilt (27-7), Central Michigan (41-17), Notre Dame (47-21) and Wisconsin (27-13). The victory over the Badgers last week was the Wolverines' 24th in their last 25 Big Ten openers. The active leader in conference wins, Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr is seeking his 70th Big Ten victory. Carr is 8-1 in his career versus Minnesota, 4-0 at the Metrodome.

The Michigan offense boasts the Big Ten's leading rusher in Mike Hart, he of 477 yards and five TDs. Hart finished with 91 yards and a TD on 23 totes in last week's win over Wisconsin. As good as Hart has been this year, it has been the Mario Manningham show of late, as the talented wideout picked up his second straight Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week award after hauling in seven balls for 113 yards and two TDs in the win over Wisconsin. Manningham had three TD grabs in the blowout victory at Notre Dame the week before. Chad Henne threw for 211 yards and a pair of scores against the Badgers, but was intercepted three times. He had thrown just one pick in the three games prior. A 59.1 percent passer who averages 169.8 ypg through the air, Henne ranks seventh in the conference. His seven TD passes are among the league leaders. Despite converting just 2-of-13 third down chances and punting nine times against the Badgers, the Wolverines scored on 3-of-4 red zone opportunities.

Coming into the game, it was Wisconsin's P.J. Hill who led the Big Ten in rushing, but the Wolverines stood their ground and held Hill to just 54 yards on 20 carries. The Maize and Blue also did a tremendous job rushing the passer, logging four sacks and 10 TFLs. David Harris, who heads the UM tackles list with 26 for the year, paced Michigan with 10 tackles, nine of which were solo efforts and two coming behind the line of scrimmage. Prescott Burgess made seven stops. LaMarr Woodley, who finished with just one tackle (a sack), leads the team with five sacks on the year. Michigan leads the nation in rushing defense, allowing just 18.5 ypg on the ground, and none of its four opponents has run for more than 50 yards.

The Minnesota offense does the bulk of its damage on the ground as evidenced by the 226.8 ypg it averages (second-most in the conference). Despite that gaudy figure, the Gophers' leading rusher, Amir Pinnix, checks in at sixth on the Big Ten rushing chart (386 yards). Pinnix, who is only 10 yards shy of becoming the 38th player in school history to reach 1,000 career rushing yards and is coming off a 173-yard effort in last week's loss to Purdue, has just two rushing TDs. As for QB Bryan Cupito, he currently ranks fifth in the league with 185.5 passing ypg. He is completing 63.3 percent of his passes and has thrown seven TDs while being intercepted three times. Minnesota's top options in the aerial game are WR Logan Payne (19 receptions, 245 yards, five TDs) and TE Matt Spaeth (15 receptions, 202 yards, one TD). Spaeth is just seven grabs away from becoming the top pass-catching TE in school history. The duo each caught a TD pass in the loss to Purdue.

The Gophers have won 34 straight games when holding the opposition to 20 or fewer points, an impressive feat to say the least. Holding the potent Michigan offense to that mark may be unrealistic, but head coach Glen Mason knows his defense will need to step up if Minnesota is to make it two in a row over the Wolverines. The Gophers are led by Mike Sherels and his 25 total tackles. John Shevlin checks in just one off that pace, while Jamal Harris has two INTs. Purdue and Minnesota finished with identical total yardage (421) last week, with the Boilermakers amassing 178 yards on the ground and 243 through the air. Sherels collected eight tackles (all unassisted) in the game, while Dom Barber posted seven stops and broke up a pair of passes. Minnesota made just one tackle in the backfield, a fact that will need to be remedied as it stares down the balance of a daunting Big Ten schedule.

It took a little while for Michigan to get going in last week's Big Ten opener, but in the end the Wolverines prevailed and that's all that matters. Expect Minnesota to be fired up in front of the hometown faithful, but when push comes to shove, Mason's club simply lacks the horses to go the distance with a team as talented and well-rounded as Michigan. The Gophers will hang around for a while, but come up short in their upset bid.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Michigan 37, Minnesota 20

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