JOTTINGS

• Conor Rhoda didn't get asked to do much Saturday, but what he did was good enough in the Gophers' much-needed 31-10 victory at Maryland to end their two-game Big Ten losing streak. Filling in for injured quarterback Mitch Leidner, Rhoda threw only 15 passes, completing seven for 82 yards. But he threw a screen pass that went for a 17-yard touchdown by Shannon Brooks. "[Rhoda] has great command, he really does. He knows what he's doing," Gophers coach Tracy Claeys told ESPN after the game. "Backup quarterback on a week's prep and you go on the road and win in the conference, it's a great job by him."

• The Gophers football team might have suffered a big loss when quarterback Jacques Perra, the 2013 Star Tribune Metro Player of the Year at Roseville, decided to transfer to St. Thomas. Perra has completed 20 of 31 passes for 298 yards, six touchdowns and one interception in four games for the No. 4 Division III team in the country, which was off Saturday.

• Brian Lankford-Johnson was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week last week after he rushed for 127 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries in Purdue's 34-31 victory over Illinois. He used to play at Cretin-Derham Hall but transferred to Palm Bay Magnet High School in Melbourne, Fla., to gain more recruiting attention. Saturday, he ran only three times for 9 yards but also caught three passes for 47 yards in the Boilermakers' 49-35 loss to Iowa.

• Gophers cross- country standout Hamza Ali ran the fastest time in program history at the Twin Cities 5K last weekend. The 18-year-old from Minneapolis Washburn finished in 14 minutes, 47 seconds to win the event.

• The Twin Cities Dunkers distributed some $110,000 Thursday night to 14 Twin Cities public schools to help fund athletics programs.

• Former Vikings center John Sullivan didn't take any snaps on offense for the Redskins last week but did see four snaps on special teams.