Vikings rookie quarterback Christian Ponder makes his second career start on Sunday.  Ponder was the No. 12 pick in the 2011 NFL draft while Newton was the No. 1 overall choice.  Sunday will be the first time in the 51-year history of the Vikings franchise that two rookie quarterbacks have started a game.

Gophers athletic director Joel Maturi said his Minneapolis home has been on the market for about a month.  He characterized the potential sale as a downsizing move by him and wife Lois.  The sale isn’t related to his future as athletic director, he said.

Now that he and new University of Minnesota president Eric Kaler have been working together for awhile, the two must determine intentions on whether Maturi continues as athletic director when his contract expires in June next year.  Maturi said both he and Kaler need to say “yea or nay” but wouldn’t predict whether an announcement will come before year-end, nor would he say what he wants to do beyond June of 2012.

Maturi said the Memorandum of Agreement that initially bound football coach Jerry Kill to the Gophers before signing a contract this fall was a legal document.  The agreement was only a “couple pages” while the contract is about 16 pages, according to Maturi.  Kill’s annual compensation of $1.2 million is the same in both documents.

Minnesota native Justin Gaard, who attended the University of Iowa, will be working the sidelines for the Gophers football radio network when Minnesota hosts his old school at TCF Bank Stadium.  But he doesn’t “expect too many emotions” on Saturday and he will be there to do his job – “eavesdrop on the coaches,” report on injuries and more.

Gaard, who played tennis for the Hawkeyes after graduating from Edina High School in 2001, grew up following Gophers and Iowa teams.  Both his parents are Iowa natives.  His first Iowa bowl experience came at the 1991 Rose Bowl.  “I was a little spoiled early,” he said.  “There’s no doubt about it.”

Gaard, who followed the Gophers basketball team to the Final Four in 1997, said the 1998 Vikings are “probably” his all-time favorite sports team.  “I am a bandwagon guy,” he said.  “I kind of go with the wind.”

He makes his feelings about Wisconsin clear: “I want the Hawks to win.  I want the Gophers to win.  I never want Wisconsin to win. …”

Through seven games the 1-6 Gophers have established themselves among the least productive teams in major college football and their national statistical rankings support that view.  Minnesota ranks 109^th in passing offense, 114^th in pass efficiency, 112^th in total offense and 110^th in scoring offense.  The Gophers are 115^th in scoring defense and 100^th in total defense.

Gophers redshirt defensive end Ben Perry, who is 6-foot-5, said he considered attending the Air Force Academy but there were concerns about his eyesight meeting the standards needed for flying and also whether he was too big for a cockpit.  His father attended West Point and both parents were career military people.

Kill praised senior tight end Collin McGarry earlier this week.  “If I said someone who is playing the most consistent football on our offensive team, Collin McGarry.  Never says a word, just goes and plays.”

Ed Rauen, Rochester broadcaster and Gophers historian, said Kill’s roster includes 23 redshirt freshmen.  That’s a credit to coach Tim Brewster and his staff for holding back most of the 2010 class to gain maturity last fall.

Iowa athletic director Gary Barta oversees a 24-sport program that has exceeded the Academic Progress Rate for three consecutive years in each sport.  He was born in Minneapolis and was a quarterback for North Dakota State.

Congratulations to prep football coaches Dwight Lundeen (Becker), Leo Pohlkamp (Pierz) and Jeff Williams (Owatonna) who respectively won their 299^th, 200^th and 100^th career games this week.

Prep basketball authority Ken Lien emailed that Champlin native Kyle Washington, a junior at Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Connecticut, has been offered a scholarship by Florida.

Minneapolis-St. Paul is No. 14 among 271 cities ranked by Sporting News Magazine in its annual listing of America’s best sports towns.  Dallas-Fort Worth, Boston and Philadelphia ranked first, second and third respectively in the magazine’s October 10 issue.

Former Gopher Phil Kessel, now with Toronto, is tied for the NHL lead in goals (9) and is tops in points (16).  Another former Gopher, Thomas Vanek, is off to a productive start with Buffalo and is second in the league in goals (7) and points (14).

The MIAC Men’s Hockey Showcase will have all nine conference teams playing games starting tonight, Saturday and Sunday at Fogerty Arena in Blaine.  Admission is $5 per person with children five and under admitted free.

Condolences to former Gophers fullback Jim Carter on the death of his mother, and also to the family of St. Paul community sports leader Kwame McDonald who passed away this week.