The Gophers suspended four players, including cornerbacks KiAnte Hardin and Ray Buford, for a violation of team rules, heading into Saturday's game against Indiana State.
Gophers suspend KiAnte Hardin, Ray Buford, two others for violation of team rules
The Gophers suspended four players, including cornerbacks KiAnte Hardin and Ray Buford, for a violation of team rules, heading into Saturday's game against Indiana State.
September 10, 2016 at 4:06PM
It's unclear who the other two players are, but the word is that neither would have played today. Coach Tracy Claeys will have a chance to address it after the game.
With Hardin and Buford out, Antonio Shenault will start at cornerback.
Hardin, a sophomore from Webb City, Mo., played the majority of last week's opener against Oregon State, recording six tackles and two pass breakups. Buford, a redshirt freshman from Detroit, battled Hardin for the starting job during training camp but did not play in the opener.
Other notables
The game starts at 11 a.m., on ESPNNews. One trend worth following, is Minnesota's success in the red zone.
The Gophers went 4-for-4 with touchdowns on all four trips inside Oregon State's 20-yard line last week.
Last year, the Gophers ranked 105th in the nation in red zone touchdown percentage, at 52.78 (19-for-36).
The red zone has been a strength for new Gophers offensive coordinator Jay Johnson. In 2014, his Louisiana-Lafayette scored TDs on 63.16 percent (36-for-57) of its trips inside the opponent's 20.
Indiana State is coming off a 41-25 win over Butler in its season opener. Sycamores sophomore QB Isaac Harker had a great debut in that game, passing for 315 yards (with 2 TDs and zero INTs) against Butler. But as Mike Hendrickson of the Minnesota Daily notes, Butler had the second-worst passing defense in the FCS last year.
Update: TE Brandon Lingen (shoulder) appears set to go.
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Penn State, a winner by 56 against the U last season, is next up in the now-brawnier conference.
