gophers

If it seemed like a foregone conclusion that the Big Ten would expand to eventually add more teams besides Rutgers and Maryland -- hold that thought.

Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany told The Sporting News on Tuesday that further expansion is unlikely. There had been speculation that the conference was targeting ACC schools such as North Carolina, Virginia and Georgia Tech.

But this week, the ACC adopted a new TV rights deal that ties all 14 teams and Notre Dame into a revenue sharing agreement through 2026-2027. The deal reportedly forces ACC teams to relinquish TV revenue back to the ACC throughout the 14-year contract if they leave the conference.

Asked if that deal would cement the lineups in the five major conferences -- Big Ten, SEC, ACC, Pac 12 and Big 12 -- Delany told the Sporting News, "Given everything that has gone on, yes."

Rutgers and Maryland will join the Big Ten in 2014, making it a 14-team conference. In coming days Big Ten presidents and chancellors are expected to scrap the Legends and Leaders divisions and divide into East and West divisions for 2014:

East: Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, Rutgers

West: Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue, Wisconsin.

I'm not convinced the Big Ten is finished expanding. The Rutgers and Maryland developments came out of the blue last year. It's possible, for example, the Big Ten could convince Missouri to leave the SEC, which hasn't tied teams to a long-term TV contract. There are other possibilities, too, but at the very least, the ACC deal should cool the rampant speculation for a while.

The Gophers have been stuck indoors throughout spring practice, but the forecast looks terrific for Saturday, so the team is sticking with its plan to hold the annual spring game at TCF Bank Stadium.

At last look, the forecast on Weather.com calls for a high of 70 degrees.

Admission to the spring game is free, but the Gophers are asking for a $1 donation toward the Gary Tinsley Memorial Scholarship Fund.

The University will sell beer, as it did at Gophers games last season. Here's a list of the events:

9 a.m. -- Maroon, Gold & Ski-U-Mah lots open for tailgating
10 a.m. -- Doors open / Gopher Fan Fest
10:45-11:30 a.m. -- Gopher Alumni Flag Football Game (featuring Rickey Foggie and MarQueis Gray)
11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. -- Warm-ups
1-2:30 p.m. -- Spring Game
2:30-3:00 pm -- Player autographs on the field

Gophers running back Donnell Kirkwood set the tone for Saturday’s full-contact scrimmage on the second play, when he burst through a huge hole for a 46-yard gain.

It was the first of five runs for at least 20 yards in the team’s second scrimmage of the spring. David Cobb had a 38-yarder, Cole Banham had a 64-yarder and quarterback Mitch Leidner had runs that went for 21 and 24 yards.

“I was encouraged we popped some big plays because we didn’t have much of that last year,” offensive coordinator Matt Limegrover said.

It was less encouraging for the defense, which made big strides overall last year but still needs work against the run.

“I don’t mind seeing a run break every now and then because then we get a tackle in the secondary,” defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys said. “But at the same time, it shouldn’t get there.”

Nelson looks solid

Philip Nelson completed eight of 14 passes for 80 yards, including a 14-yard touchdown strike to Isaac Fruechte capping the first drive.

“He made some hot throws against blitzes, he kept the chains moving, he made a great touchdown throw early,” quarterbacks coach Jim Zebrowski said. “I thought he got in a great rhythm."

Leidner had some impressive runs but finished just 1-for-5 passing on the day.

“I thought Mitch played well in the [April 12] scrimmage,” Zebrowski said. “I felt like he got more reps in some tougher situations [Saturday] and did some really good things. He still ran well ... and made some good decisions.”

Etc.

* Chris Hawthorne hit field goals from 28 and 36 yards during the scrimmage. Afterward, Coach Jerry Kill invited about 300 spectators onto the field to add chaos for Hawthorne’s last two kicks, and he drilled both 42-yarders, finishing a perfect day.

* Claeys said he will limit the reps for defensive tackle Ra’Shede Hageman, safety Brock Vereen and cornerback Derrick Wells through the April 27 spring game. The coaching staff knows their abilities and wants to be sure they are healthy heading into fall camp.

* Very cool moment at the end of practice. The crowd on the field included about 60 kids from the Epilepsy Foundation of Minnesota. Kill shouted encouragement to the group, telling the kids never to give up chasing their dreams. "You can do it!" Kill said. "And don't let anybody tell you that you can't do it!"

Big Ten presidents and chancellors will vote next week on a proposal to adopt new East and West football divisions for 2014, when Rutgers and Maryland join the conference, ESPN.com reported Friday night.

The proposal would scrap the current Legends and Leaders divisions and divide teams by geography.

The Gophers would be in the West, along with their two closest rivals -- Wisconsin and Iowa -- as well as Nebraska, Illinois, Northwestern and Purdue.

The East division would have Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State and Rutgers.
There has been speculation for months that the Big Ten would divide into eastern and western divisions, but the one question was whether Indiana or Purdue would be the team moving west.

By 2014, the conference will have eight schools in the Eastern time zone and six schools in the Central time zone, so one Eastern team had to flip, and under this proposal it will be Purdue.

Wisconsin athletics director Barry Alvarez also told CBSSports.com that the Big Ten is expected to approve a nine-game conference schedule for 2016.

The Gophers football team moved Saturday's 10 a.m., practice from TCF Bank Stadium to the Gibson-Nagurski indoor complex, but they still plan to hold their second full-contact scrimmage.

Like all spring practices, it'll be open to the public.

"It'll be similar to [last] Friday night," Coach Jerry Kill said. "Maybe not as long, a little shorter, but we’ll get some crisp work and get out."

The Gophers have been stuck inside for every spring practice, but there is still hope of playing the April 27 Spring Game at TCF Bank Stadium.

The Gophers have given Philip Nelson and Mitch Leidner a large majority of the snaps this spring, and it figures to be more of the same through the spring game. Third stringer Chris Streveler still has a lot to learn as an early enrollee.

"Chris is right where we need him to be right now as a kid coming in," Kill said. "He’s learning what to do and so forth. Right now, Philip and Mitch need to get as many reps as they can get. And really, Chris is like they were a year ago."

Continued injury concerns

Kill noted that 16 players did not practice Thursday. Unofficially, from my observation, that list included offensive linemen Ed Olson (ankle surgery), Zach Mottla (broken leg), Jonah Pirsig (knee-cap injury) and Brian Bobek (illness). All were there wearing orange non-participation jerseys.

Two players who'd been out -- LB Nick Rallis and CB Jeremy Baltazar -- were back in action.

But others wearing orange jerseys were WR Devin Crawford Tufts (reason uncertain) and WR Devon Wright (shoulder surgery), and I don't recall seeing DT Cameron Botticelli. RB James Gillum will miss the rest of the spring with a knee injury. CB Marcus Jones is recovering from knee surgery.

Kill didn't want to go through the entire list of everyone who was out and why, but it's clearly on his mind. Heading into the 11th spring practice, there were signs on the wall that said "10-0 PERSISTENCE."

"We’ve practiced well throughout spring," Kill said. "The coaches feel good about the players. The kids have worked hard and we’ve got a lot done and we’ve gotten better.

"I think the biggest concern right now is we had 16 guys not practice today. We’ve got flu, strep throat, you name it, we’ve had it. Nothing that’s going to keep us out until Aug. 1, but we’ve gotta let those kids heal. ... You want to get more physical, and you want to improve your football team, but you want to get as healthy as you can. We’re limited on some things we can do because of health issues, but every school has that in the spring."