The Minnesota Golden Gophers (6-3) enter this weekend with four straight wins under their belt, an impressive run since narrowly losing to Michigan at the end of September. A fifth win on Saturday would mark the Gophers' longest winning streak since the 2019 season when they won nine straight games to start the season.
Rutgers enters Saturday hoping that a bye week will get the Scarlet Knights back on track. After winning each of their first four games over Howard, Akron, Virginia Tech, and Washington, the Scarlet Knights have loste ach of their last four to Nebraska, Wisconsin, UCLA, and USC.
Here's everything you need to know for Saturday afternoon's matchup.
When, Where, How to Watch:
When: Saturday, November 9, 11:00 a.m. CT
Where: SHI Stadium (55,676 | Piscataway, NJ)
TV: NBC // Jac Collinsworth (PXP), Michael Robinson (Analyst), Caroline Pineda (Reporter)
Radio: KFAN | Mike Grimm (Pxp), Darrell Thompson (Analyst), Justin Gaard (Reporter)
SiriusXM: 383 / SXM App
COACHING MATCHUP
Minnesota - P.J. Fleck (7th year at Minnesota ; 11th overall)
- Career Record: 86-59
- Record at Minnesota: 56-37
- Record against Rutgers: 2-0
- Career accolades: 2x MAC Coach of the Year (2014, 2016), MAC Champion (2016), Big Ten West champion (2019), Big Ten Coach of the Year (2019)
Rutgers - Greg Schiano (16th year at Rutgers (second stint) ; 16th overall)
- Career Record: 91-99
- Record at Rutgers: 91-99
- Record against Minnesota: 0-2
- Career accolades: Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year (2006), George Munger Award (2006), Home Depot Coach of the Year (2006), Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year (2006), Walter Camp Coach of the Year (2006), Big East Coach of the Year (2006)
SERIES HISTORY
The Golden Gophers hold a 3-0 series advantage all-time. The two programs first met in 2016, a narrow 34-32 win for the Gophers. They would then pick up a 42-7 win in 2019 over the Scarlet Knights and a 31-0 win in 2022.
ODDS
WEATHER
It will be a perfect fall Saturday in Piscataway on Saturday with a high of 57. No precipitation is expected, winds will be sustained around 15 mph throughout the day.
PRESS CONFERENCES
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
Five things to know courtesy of the Minnesota athletic department
1. Winners of four in a row, NR/RV Minnesota (6-3, 4-2) goes on the road for the second straight week as it visits Rutgers (4-4, 1-4) Saturday. Kickoff is set for 11:00 a.m. CT on NBC and the Gopher Radio Network.
2. Max Brosmer has been excellent in 2024, completing 191-of-280 passes for 1,989 yards and 13 touchdowns with four interceptions for a rating of 140.3. He's also scored four rushing touchdowns. Pro Football Focus ranks Brosmer tied for eighth among FBS QBs with a passer grade of 86.5 this year, while his overall offensive grade of 86.1 ranks 15th at the position. He's second in the Big Ten in passing grade and third in overall grade. Brosmer's completion percentage of 68.2 percent is on pace to be the best in Minnesota single-season history (min. 100 attempts), ahead of Tanner Morgan's 66.9 percent performance in 2022. In addition, Brosmer's TD:INT ratio of 3.25 is third in Minnesota history. Brosmer has gone four straight games without an interception, the longest streak at Minnesota since Mitch Leidner went five games without a pick over the final three games of 2014 and first two of 2015. More on Brosmer can be found on Pages 4-5 of the notes.
3. A true freshman, Koi Perich has made an immediate impact for Minnesota. As a safety, he's made 16 tackles to go with a Big Ten-best five interceptions (second most nationally) and a forced fumble. His five picks, four of which have come in the last four games, are the most ever by a Gopher freshman. Two of his interceptions came at UCLA, joining Perich with teammate Kerry Brown as the only Gopher freshmen since at least 1990 to have multiple interceptions in a game. For his efforts versus the Bruins, Perich was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, just the second Gopher freshman to ever win the award. On special teams, he's returned 12 punts for a total of 170 yards this season, which is the most by a Gopher since Marcus Sherels had 179 in 2008, while Perich's current average of 14.2 yards per punt return leads the Big Ten, sits seventh nationally and would rank third in Gopher single-season history. In addition, Perich has nine kick returns for 163 yards, putting him fourth on the team in all-purpose yards at 396. Since 2000, Perich is the only freshmen in all of FBS to have recorded over 100 punt return yards, 100 kick return yards and five interceptions in a season. More on Perich can be found on Pages 9-10 of the notes.
4. The Gophers, who became bowl eligible with last week's win at No. 24 Illinois, have won four games in a row. They're looking for their first five-game win streak overall since taking the final three contests of 2021 and first four of 2022, and their first five-game win streak in the Big Ten since winning the final conference game of 2018 and the first six in league play in 2019. Over the four games, Minnesota is winning the turnover battle 10:1, including zero turnovers in any of the last three games, which had not happened since 2003. Several players have stood out over the winning streak, as well (see box on front page of notes).
5. The 2024 campaign is the eighth for Fleck at Minnesota, where his record stands at 56-37. He is fourth in program history in Big Ten wins (33) and is fifth in overall wins and games coached (93). Fleck's .602 win percentage is third best among Minnesota coaches with at least 45 games under their helm behind only Henry L. Williams (.786, 1900-21) and Bernie Bierman (.716, 1932-41, '45-50). In his 12th season overall as a college head coach, Fleck is 86-59 (.593).
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