By Marty Gordon
The bowl game has a giant mayonnaise jar as its mascot, which is commonly known as “Tubby.”
His height is 61 Duke’s mayo jars. All of this leads to the winning coach being doused by mayo shortly after the game.
Back on the field, the Golden Gophers average 3.6 yards per carry (104th in college football) compared to the 3.9 per attempt the Hokies give up (43rd in the FBS).
The Hokies average 192.8 passing yards per game (102nd in the FBS). It will play Minnesota’s defense that ranks 15th, giving up 178.3 yards per game through the air.
Minnesota has outscored opponents by 8.8 points per game this season, and Virginia Tech has outscored opponents by 6.9 per game.
While Minnesota ranks 19th-worst in college football in rushing offense with 111.3 yards per game, it’s been a different story on the other side of the ball, ranking 20th-best (112.6 yards per game allowed).
In terms of points scored Virginia Tech ranks 53rd in college football (29.7 points per game), and it is 44th on defense (22.8 points allowed per game).
The Gophers and Hokies have never faced each other before and the bowl game in Charlotte, North Carolina will be the first meeting, and thanks to opt-outs and the transfer portal, both teams will have different starting lineups.
Minnesota head coach P-J Fleck says this has been a difficult preparation so far as it is hard to tell what each team will look like in a few weeks.
Facts and figures
Minnesota has outscored opponents by 8.8 points per game this season, and Virginia Tech has outscored opponents by 6.9 per game.
While Minnesota ranks 19th-worst in college football in rushing offense with 111.3 yards per game, it’s been a different story on the other side of the ball, ranking 20th-best (112.6 yards per game allowed).
In terms of points scored Virginia Tech ranks 53rd in college football (29.7 points per game), and it is 44th on defense (22.8 points allowed per game).
Last regular season game for both teams
Minnesota won 24-7 over Wisconsin. Max Brosmer threw for 191 yards on 17-of-26 attempts (65.4%) with two touchdowns and no interceptions. He also carried the ball four times for -8 yards and one rushing touchdown. Darius Taylor had 143 rushing yards on 32 carries, adding two receptions for 13 yards. Elijah Spencer put up 75 yards on five catches.
Virginia Tech beat Virginia 37-17. William Watson III led the Hokies with 254 yards on 14-of-21 passing (66.7%) for one touchdown and no interceptions. He also carried the ball 11 times for 48 yards and one rushing touchdown. Bhayshul Tuten carried the ball 18 times for 124 yards and scored two touchdowns. Jaylin Lane had four receptions for 91 yards and one touchdown.
Players to watch
Minnesota: Max Brosmer has 2,617 passing yards (218.1 per game) while completing 66.8% of passes (250 for 374), with 17 touchdowns and five interceptions. Darius Taylor has 185 carries for 873 rushing yards (72.8 yards per game) and nine touchdowns. He also has 50 catches for 333 yards and two touchdowns. Daniel Jackson has 863 receiving yards (71.9 per game) on 75 catches with four touchdowns.
Virginia Tech: Kyron Drones has 1,562 passing yards (173.6 per game) while completing 60.7% of passes (136 for 224), with 10 touchdowns and six interceptions. He has 337 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns, averaging 37.4 per game. Tuten has 183 carries for 1,158 rushing yards (105.3 yards per game) and 15 touchdowns (14th in CFB). He also has 22 catches for 79 yards and two touchdowns. Stephen Gosnell has 27 receptions for 497 yards (41.4 per game) and has one touchdown.
Other points of interest
Three of the Minnesota’s losses were very close, 19-17 to North Carolina, 26-25 to Penn State and 27-24 to Michigan.
The NFL scouts said Brosmer has a solid build for the position, standing in the 6-1 range with a solid build at roughly 220 pounds. The report says he isn’t particularly mobile and has average-at-best arm strength, and you’ll almost exclusively see him throw within the pocket with a fair number of check downs.
Alongside his ability to read defenses, the Gopher QB has a quick release, throws a tight spiral with decent velocity, and has above average accuracy.
Coach PJ Fleck should be known to many Hokie fans as he was considered a candidate to replace Frank Beamer. Instead, he stayed at Western Michigan one more year before moving to Minnesota.
Fleck came to Minnesota after spending four years as the head coach at Western Michigan, where he was 30-22 overall and 21-11 in the Mid-American Conference. While leading the Broncos, Fleck authored one of the most memorable turnarounds in college football history.
The Broncos were 1-11 in his first year in 2013, but ended the 2016 season with a No. 12 ranking, a 13-1 record, a conference championship and a berth in the Cotton Bowl.
The Broncos were 12-0 in the 2016 regular season and posted wins against Big Ten opponents Northwestern and Illinois. Fleck then led his team to a 29-23 win against Ohio in the Mid-American Conference championship game before ending the season with a narrow bowl game defeat to Wisconsin.
He has a career record of 80-56 and is 50-34 at Minnesota.
Fleck was busy in the transfer portal, landing as many as 10 new faces including a familiar name to Hokies. QB Zack Pyron is transferring from Georgia Tech. The dual threat signal caller gave the Hokies all kinds of trouble in last year’s game against the Yellow Jackets. Minnesota’s incoming class ranks fourth best in the entire country.
