The Gophers had the football for 40 minutes, 9 seconds during Saturday's 41-14 victory at Northwestern, a total that kept growing throughout the game as Minnesota's run game pounded away with 53 carries for 306 yards.
That came a week after the Gophers controlled the football for 37:35 against Maryland by rushing 56 times for 326 yards.
That clock-munching prowess has served Minnesota (6-2, 4-1 Big Ten) well in a four-game win streak that has it sitting atop the Big Ten's West Division by one game over Wisconsin, Iowa and Purdue. The Gophers lead the conference in time of possession and rank fifth nationally at 35:40, behind service academies Army, Air Force and Navy, plus Western Michigan.
With the offense holding the football so much — 70 plays to Northwestern's 53, and 69 to Maryland's 50 — the Gophers defense isn't seeing the field as much. It's a good situation to have, with opposing offenses having a heck of a time scoring from the sideline, though coach P.J. Fleck relayed a humorous anecdote about his team's defense.
"We had guys last week, two weeks ago, and they weren't complaining, but they were upset, they were sad. I said, 'Well, why are you sad? Why are you sad?' '' Fleck said. The players responded, ''We only played 40 snaps.''
"… I said, 'Well, then it's good for us to only have 40 because there are going to be times where we have to have 90,' '' Fleck continued. "But that's what I love about this team. They want to play.''
Strength vs. strength
Illinois, the Gophers opponent on Saturday at Huntington Bank Stadium, is in the first year of a rebuilding job under new coach Bret Bielema, the former Wisconsin coach who's using a Badgers-like approach in Champaign.
