The Syracuse defense takes down a Minnesota ball carrier during its matchup with the Golden Gophers last season.
Shafer Breaks Down Minnesota
12/17/2013 3:19:00 PM | Football
The Syracuse football team is gearing up to take on Minnesota next week in the Texas Bowl. This will be the fifth time the Orange matches up with the Golden Gophers and the third time since 2009, giving head coach Scott Shafer some experience against the Big Ten opponent.
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The game is set to kickoff at 5 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 27 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas.
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"Minnesota is a well-coached football team," Coach Shafer said. "[Minnesota head coach] Jerry Kill is a great football coach who I've known for years and I have always had respect for the job he did. We were both at Northern Illinois under head coach Joe Novak and I'm really proud of the job that we did there."
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Stopping the Minnesota run game will be a big key to victory next Friday. As a team, the Gophers rank 34th nationally and fifth in the Big Ten in rushing offense, averaging 200.9 yards per game. David Cobb leads the way with 1,111 yards on the season which averages to 92.6 yards per game, the 26th best performance in FBS.
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"They're a tough, physical football team that runs the football well. Cobb is a good running back. He's a 1,000-yard rusher this season. They play two quarterbacks in situational-type looks. They both have good feet and the ability to throw and run the ball. Per Minnesota, they have big, burly offensive linemen that get after you and it's the same thing on the other side of the ball.
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The Gopher defense operates well under pressure, ranking 17th in FBS and second in the Big Ten in red zone defense, stopping opponents from scoring 26.1 percent of the time. It also holds its opponents to 22.3 points per game, the 27th best mark in the nation. Lineman Theiren Cockran adds a spark to the Minnesota defense, ranking 10th nationally and first in the Big Ten in forced fumbles, averaging 0.33 per game. He also ranks second in the Big Ten in sacks with an average of 0.6 per game.
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"Defensively, they play a good, physical brand of football. They're sound with what they do. They have some big kids up front that can get vertical push and they have some secondary players that can run. It will be a great challenge for us. To put it in a nutshell, it's a well-coached football team coming in from the Big 10."
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The team travels to Houston on Dec. 23. Tickets and travel packages for the 2013 Texas Bowl are available at SUAthletics.com/bowlcentral.
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The game is set to kickoff at 5 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 27 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas.
Â
"Minnesota is a well-coached football team," Coach Shafer said. "[Minnesota head coach] Jerry Kill is a great football coach who I've known for years and I have always had respect for the job he did. We were both at Northern Illinois under head coach Joe Novak and I'm really proud of the job that we did there."
Â
Stopping the Minnesota run game will be a big key to victory next Friday. As a team, the Gophers rank 34th nationally and fifth in the Big Ten in rushing offense, averaging 200.9 yards per game. David Cobb leads the way with 1,111 yards on the season which averages to 92.6 yards per game, the 26th best performance in FBS.
Â
"They're a tough, physical football team that runs the football well. Cobb is a good running back. He's a 1,000-yard rusher this season. They play two quarterbacks in situational-type looks. They both have good feet and the ability to throw and run the ball. Per Minnesota, they have big, burly offensive linemen that get after you and it's the same thing on the other side of the ball.
Â
The Gopher defense operates well under pressure, ranking 17th in FBS and second in the Big Ten in red zone defense, stopping opponents from scoring 26.1 percent of the time. It also holds its opponents to 22.3 points per game, the 27th best mark in the nation. Lineman Theiren Cockran adds a spark to the Minnesota defense, ranking 10th nationally and first in the Big Ten in forced fumbles, averaging 0.33 per game. He also ranks second in the Big Ten in sacks with an average of 0.6 per game.
Â
"Defensively, they play a good, physical brand of football. They're sound with what they do. They have some big kids up front that can get vertical push and they have some secondary players that can run. It will be a great challenge for us. To put it in a nutshell, it's a well-coached football team coming in from the Big 10."
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The team travels to Houston on Dec. 23. Tickets and travel packages for the 2013 Texas Bowl are available at SUAthletics.com/bowlcentral.
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