It’s unlikely tomorrow night’s opening game at TCF Bank Stadium against Eastern Illinois will sellout.
Minnesota’s opening game on August 29 last year against UNLV at TCF drew 44,217 fans. Tomorrow night’s game—unless there is a huge walkup ticket sale—likely will have similar attendance. Eastern Illinois isn’t a strong box office attraction and the Gophers face entertainment competition from the State Fair on a weekday night.
The total number of Gophers season football tickets has increased slightly from last season. As of Monday, the Gophers had sold 5,043 student season tickets compared with 4,175 on the same date a year ago. School hasn’t started yet at the University of Minnesota and more student season tickets will be sold. An additional 800 student season tickets were sold last year after August 25, bringing the 2013 total to 4,975.
The overall season tickets total as of Monday was 33,385—a bit more than the final 2013 total of 33,284. The nonstudent season tickets total is expected to be between 28,000 and 29,000. The 5,043 student number includes many tickets sold as part of packages that includes admission to basketball and hockey games.
With the addition of extra seats at the west end of the stadium, capacity has increased from 50,805 to 52,525. The potential for setting single game attendance records is in play for high demand games against Iowa on November 8 and Ohio State November 15.
Jerry Kill’s fourth season as Gophers head coach begins tomorrow night. He will tell you there’s no question who his No. 1 and 2 quarterbacks are—Mitch Leidner and Chris Streveler.
No doubt Kill wants to see that one-two order continue through a 12-game season and a bowl win. He made it clear to the team months ago that Leidner, the redshirt sophomore from Lakeville South, was the starter. “There is no question Chris Streveler is our No. 2,” Kill said last Saturday.
Either injuries or lack of production have often had the Gophers and fans wondering what to expect from the starting quarterback. The Gophers used four different starters at quarterback during the last three seasons. MarQueis Gray had 10 starts and Max Shortell two in 2011. Those players started three games each in 2012 and Philip Nelson had seven starts. Last year Nelson started nine games and Leidner four.
Can someone play the whole season as the No. 1 guy at the most important position on the team? Leidner is the only quarterback on the roster with gameday experience. Unless he flops—or is injured—he is a heavy favorite to be the starter all year.
Expect the Gophers to design and use their offense to keep Leidner healthy and on the field. That is so much easier said than done, though. The 6-4, 237-pound Leidner is not shy about running and although his legs won’t be the primary weapon in the offense, the Gophers will need rushing productivity from him in the more difficult games including road tests at Nebraska and Wisconsin.
Leidner threw only three touchdown passes last season while completing 55.1 percent of his passes. His passing is likely to be improved and that’s a must for the Gophers who had just 12 touchdown receptions last season and were among the most unproductive passing teams in the country.
Streveler, a redshirt freshman, isn’t the equal of Leidner as a passer. Streveler looks like an athlete playing quarterback, and a teammate said the Illinois native’s greatest strength “definitely” is his running.
Leidner believes he is ready for a productive year leading an offense that includes Doak Walker Award candidate and running back David Cobb (1,202 yards last year), and a group of potential big play receivers. The experience of playing last season and all the preparation during the offseason made it easy for Leidner to answer the question whether there is any comparison with who he is now as a quarterback versus a year ago. “Nah, it’s not comparable at all, I don’t think. It’s a different mindset.”
That might be another way of saying the Gophers are ready to stop the quarterback carousel.
Worth Noting
Eastern Illinois is ranked No. 11 in the country in the FCS coaches poll. Historically, EIU has five wins over FBS programs like the Gophers including a 40-19 victory last year at San Diego State.
Kill predicted the Panthers will be ready to play and said this is a “bowl game” for the EIU program.
Panthers running backs Shepard Little and Taylor Duncan are the top returning FCS rushing twosome. Little had 1,551 yards last season while Duncan had 988 despite missing two games.
The Panthers are expected to play two quarterbacks including Andrew Manley who was the starter after spring practice. He is a transfer from New Mexico State and threw three touchdown passes for the Aggies when they beat the Gophers in 2011 at TCF Bank Stadium. The other quarterback is Jalen Whitlow, a transfer from Kentucky who started 15 games during the last two seasons for the Wildcats.
Near the top of any list for most anticipated Gopher debuts will be that of redshirt freshman running back Berkley Edwards. Fans have heard a lot about his speed and he is the second fastest player on the roster. His roommate, sophomore defensive back Jalen Myrick, is faster.
No Gophers unit is expected to be better in performance and depth than the secondary. Minnesota has six defensive backs who have started a combined 59 games led by Cedric Thompson with 19, Derrick Wells, 16 and Eric Murray, 13.
Last season the Gophers excelled against four of the best receivers in the Big Ten—Jared Abbrederis, Wisconsin; Jeremy Gallon, Michigan; Cody Latimer, Indiana; and Allen Robinson, Penn State. The group had 4,982 receiving yards and 31 touchdowns. Against Minnesota they totaled 224 yards (4.4 percent of season output) and two touchdowns (6.4 percent of their production).
Kill’s 53rd birthday was last Sunday. His three-year record at Minnesota is 17-21 overall, but during the last two seasons he is 14-12. In their previous 26 games prior to the 2012 and 2013 seasons the Gophers were 6-20.
The Vikings, 3-0, play their final preseason game tomorrow night in Nashville against the Titans, 2-1. The last year the Vikings were undefeated in preseason was 2001, winning all four games. The regular season didn’t go so well, though, with a 5-11 record, and Mike Tice replaced Dennis Green as head coach for game No. 16.
Vikings coach Mike Zimmer told the team on Monday Matt Cassel will be the starting quarterback. What stood out, prompting the decision?
“Well, Matt did not do anything to lose the job this preseason. I think he’s played great,” Zimmer said. “The team has a lot of confidence in him. They feel good about his veteran leadership and presence.
“I had to think about the whole football team, it wasn’t just about the quarterbacks. I’ve said this before, it’s not always the best player at (any position)…it’s how everything works together, and at this stage where we are at right now I feel like that’s the best thing to do.
“I told (rookie) Teddy (Bridgewater) that I’m so happy that he’s here with us. I’m glad he’s the guy we picked…and Teddy will be still, in my estimation, a great player for this franchise for years to come.”
Minnesota hockey legend Lou Nanne will speak at the September 11 CORES luncheon at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Bloomington, 1114 American Blvd. Nanne, who left the North Stars in 1991 after serving as team president, has been honored many times for his playing and administrative career including induction into multiple halls of fame. CORES is an acronym for coaches, officials, reporters, educators and sports fans. Reservations (by September 8) for the lunch and program can be made by contacting Jim Dotseth, dotsethj@comcast.net.
Twins rookie Kennys Vargas had one hit in last night’s 2-1 loss against the Royals. He has hit safely in 20 of 24 career Twins games. In his last 10 games the DH-first baseman is batting .395 with two home runs and 11 RBI.