Northwestern
Minnesota
Wildcats Head North to Minnesota for Showdown with Gophers
11/17/2016 9:38:00 AM | Football
| NORTHWESTERN FOOTBALL: GAME DAY INFORMATION | |||||
| DATE | OPPONENT | TIME | LOCATION | BROADCAST | LIVE STATS |
| Saturday, November 19 | Minnesota | 2:30 p.m. | TCF Bank Stadium Minneapolis, Minn. |
TV: BTN RADIO: WGN 720 |
Gameday Central |
| BTN: Cory Provus (play-by-play), Glen Mason (analyst) and Ali Lucia (sideline) WGN 720: Dave Eanet (play-by-play), Ted Albrecth (analyst), Adam Hoge (sideline) Social: Twitter (@NUFBFamily and @NU_SportsLive) | Instagram (@nufbfamily) | Facebook Game Notes: Northwestern | Minnesota | Big Ten |
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Weekly Press Conference
EVANSTON, Ill. — Needing just one win to earn bowl eligibility for the 13th time in program history, the Northwestern football program will look to stay hot on the road when it travels to Minnesota for a Big Ten West showdown.
Chicago's Big Ten Team picked up a 45-17 win at Purdue last week, improving to 3-1 on the road this season. Sophomore quarterback Clayton Thorson threw for a career-high 352 yards and three touchdowns while senior wide receiver Austin Carr caught five passes for 92 yards and a pair of scores.
The Wildcats (5-5, 4-3 Big Ten) and Gophers (7-3, 4-3 Big Ten) will square off on the Big Ten Network and BTN2Go at 2:30 p.m. CT with Cory Provus, Glen Mason and Ali Lucia. As always, the game will also be broadcast on WGN 720 with the voice of the Wildcats Dave Eanet, his partner Ted Albrecth and Adam Hoge on the sideline.
TALE OF THE TAPE
Minnesota Notes
SIGNAL CALLER
Mitch Leidner has played in 44 career games (26-18 record) and started 38 (streak of 27 straight starts ended when he missed the Maryland game with an injury). He's 22-16 as a starter and has rushed 1,395 career yards (third in school history for a QB) and 31 career touchdowns (most in school history for a QB, fifth for any player) and has passed for 6,803 yards (fourth most in school history) and 33 touchdowns (tied for sixth in school history). He ranks tied for second all-time in school history in completion percentage (57.0), second in completions (546) and second in attempts (958). Leidner is the only Minnesota quarterback to pass and rush for at least 30 career touchdowns.
PITCH AND CATCH
Drew Wolitarsky has caught 53 passes for 669 yards and has scored three touchdowns this year. Wolitarsky had a career day against Indiana State, as he caught all eight balls thrown his way for a career high 125 yards and two touchdowns. He has caught a pass in 23 straight games (9/3/15 - 11/12/16), which ties him for seventh with Chris Gaiters in program history. The last game he did not catch a pass in was the 2015 Citrus Bowl (missed the final four games of the regular season with an injury). Wolitarsky has 117 career catches (10th in program history) for 1,468 yards (12th in program history). He needs to 69 yards to be tied for tenth in yards with Dwayne McMullen (1981-84).
LAST TIME THEY MET
Last season, the Gophers were shutout on the road 27-0 by the Wildcats. The game marked the first time that Minnesota had been blanked since it lost 58-0 at Michigan in 2011.
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