The Illinois State touchdown snapped an impressive streak of nine-plus quarters - 156 minutes, 36 seconds to be exact - of scoreless football for the Golden Gopher defense. To put that into perspective, Minnesota had just eight sacks for the entire 1996 season - the year before Glen Mason's arrival - and only 12 sacks in 1995.ĭid U Know.? Illinois State's touchdown in the third quarter Saturday were the first points allowed by the Golden Gopher defense since Ohio University scored on its first drive of the game in the season opener. Heading into the Big Ten opener at Northwestern, the Golden Gophers have a Big Ten-leading 14 on the season to lead the conference with an average of 4.7 per game. After setting a single-season school record with 41 sacks in 1997, Minnesota's 38 sacks in 1998 ranks second on the all-time U of M records list. Sack Attack: Under the direction of defensive coordinator David Gibbs, Minnesota's attacking style of defense has been successful in putting pressure on the opposing quarterback the past three seasons. He finished the game with a career-high 374 yards in total offense. Cockerham also had a career-high 156 yards rushing on 17 carries (9.2 yard average) and a pair of touchdowns on the ground, including a career-long 56-yarder for a score in the first quarter. In the process, he moved into a tie with Mark Carlson (1976-79) for eighth-place on the all-time school records list with 17 career TD passes. The senior from Clayton, Calif., completed a career-high 18 of 22 pass attempts for a career-high 218 yards and two touchdowns in the game.

Radio: WCCO-AM (also Ray Christensen, play-by-play Dave Mona & Darrell Thompson, color analysts.īig Day For Cockerham: Quarterback Billy Cockerham had a career-day in the 55-7 win over Illinois State. Dick Bremer, play-by-play Keith Fahnhorst, color. The game will be broadcast on MSC (tape-delayed) at 9:00 pm on Saturday night. Last Week: Minnesota routed Illinois State, 55- 7, at the Metrodome, while Northwestern scored a 15-12 overtime win on the road at Duke. 15 Northwestern defeated Minnesota, 26-24, on Oct. The Series at Northwestern: Minnesota leads 20- 15-2.

Rian Field by Krista Wagner