YOUR GUIDE TO THE TWIN CITIES
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Phil Miller is returning to his Big Ten roots to follow Minnesota’s football fortunes for the Star Tribune after a decade of chronicling the NBA and Major League Baseball. The Illinois native began his writing career by covering Utah football for six seasons, and still insists that 12-1 Florida stole the 2009 BCS Championship from the unbeaten Utes.
Email Phil to talk about the Gophers.
NCAA considers moving touchbacks to 25
Posted by: Phil Miller under College football, NCAA: football, NCAA Updated: February 16, 2012 - 6:25 PM
There's an interesting column on espn.com today that details the new rules that have been proposed for next season, all of them dealing with safety. (The NCAA is currently receiving feedback from member schools about the rules, and will be voted upon next Tuesday.)
The rule sure to be most controversial is one that matches last year's NFL rule change -- moving kickoffs forward by five years, to the 35-yard line. But the colleges are adding a twist that the NFL doesn't have, one that it hopes will cut down on the number of kickoff returns even more. Under the new rule, touchbacks would be placed at the 25, rather than the 20.
The impetus of this, of course, is to reduce the number of kickoff returns, which produce more violent, high-speed collisions -- and thus more injuries -- than any other play. It seemed to work in the NFL, so colleges are quick to move in that direction, too. Minnesota's opponents downed only eight of the 58 Gopher kickoffs they received, one of the lowest rates in the Big Ten. By contrast, Purdue's senior kicker Carson Wiggs produced 23 touchbacks in 89 kickoffs.
Other changes include protecting punt returners from devastating hits as they catch the ball, and requiring any player whose helmet comes off during a play to sit out a play, just as if he had been injured.
NCAA considers moving touchbacks to 25
Posted by: Phil Miller under College football, NCAA: football, NCAA Updated: February 16, 2012 - 6:24 PM There's an interesting column on espn.com today that details the new rules that have been proposed for next season, all of them dealing with safety. (The NCAA is currently receiving feedback from member schools about the rules, and will be voted upon next Tuesday.)
The rule sure to be most controversial is one that matches last year's NFL rule change -- moving kickoffs forward by five years, to the 35-yard line. But the colleges are adding a twist that the NFL doesn't have, one that it hopes will cut down on the number of kickoff returns even more. Under the new rule, touchbacks would be placed at the 25, rather than the 20.
The impetus of this, of course, is to reduce the number of kickoff returns, which produce more injuries than any other play. It seemed to work in the NFL, so colleges are quick to move in that direction, too. Minnesota's opponents downed only eight of the 58 Gopher kickoffs they received, one of the lowest rates in the Big Ten. By contrast, Purdue's senior kicker Carson Wiggs produced 23 touchbacks in 89 kickoffs.
Other changes include protecting punt returners from devastating hits as they catch the ball, and requiring any player whose helmet comes off during a play to sit out a play, just as if he had been injured.
Gophers OK moving UNLV game to Thursday
Posted by: Phil Miller under College football, Gopher road games Updated: February 16, 2012 - 11:46 AM The Gophers have agreed to open the 2012 season two days early.
At Nevada-Las Vegas' request, the Gophers will play UNLV in Sam Boyd Stadium on Thursday, Aug. 30, rather than the originally scheduled Sept. 1 kickoff.
"It is customary in college football for the visiting team to do its best to accommodate these types of requests," Marc Ryan, senior associate athletics director, said in a statement. "Coach [Jerry] Kill felt that there were a number of positives for our program in agreeing to the move."
Among those is a chance for some TV exposure, if the Rebels can reach an agreement with a carrier. UNLV has made contact with some broadcasters, director of media relations Mark Wallington said last week, but has not yet agreed to a deal.
Kickoff time has not been determined, but the Gophers wanted the new date announced quickly in order to minimize the impact on fans planning to travel to Las Vegas for the first game between Minnesota and UNLV.
It's the fifth time since 2001 that the Gophers have opened their season on a Thursday. Minnesota's home opener against New Hampshire is scheduled for Sept. 8.
UNLV wants to move up football opener
Posted by: Phil Miller under College football, Gopher road games Updated: February 8, 2012 - 7:34 PM Nevada-Las Vegas has asked to move its season-opening game with Minnesota ahead by two days, a UNLV spokesman said Wednesday, and is waiting for an answer from the Gophers.
The game in Sam Boyd Stadium, the first ever between the Rebels and Gophers, is currently scheduled for Sept. 1, the first Saturday of the 2012 college football season. But that's the start of Labor Day weekend, UNLV director of media relations Mark Wallington said, and the school would prefer to avoid the busy weekend for its fans.
UNLV's athletic department has asked the Gophers for permission to play the game on Thursday, Aug. 30 instead, Wallington said, "and we're waiting to hear back from Minnesota." Moving the game could save Gopher fans some money, too, he pointed out, because Las Vegas fills up during long holiday weekends. Air fares and hotel rates will be considerably lower for a weekday game.
The Rebels have explored television possibilities for a Thursday game -- non-conference games are the property of the home team -- but Wallington said their desire to move the game is not contingent of finding a carrier for the game.
If the game is moved, it would mark the second time in three seasons, and fifth time in a dozen years, that the Gophers have kicked off their season on a Thursday.
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recent posts
- NCAA considers moving touchbacks to 25
- NCAA considers moving touchbacks to 25
- Gophers OK moving football season opener at UNLV to Thursday night
- UNLV wants to move up football opener with Gophers
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- Hopkins' McDonald to reassess Gophers this weekend
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