Eric Ellestad News

Tim Brewster could have ripped his players for their disappointing performance with bowl eligibility on the line in Saturday's 35-32 loss to Illinois.

Also See Injury knocks Illinois QB Williams out of game ILL MINN TD 09:41 7 0 TD 00:56 14 0 SECOND QUARTER ILL MINN TD 07:45 14 7 TD 03:51 21 7 TD 00:01 28 7 ILL MINN FG 08:57 Eric Ellestad 26 Yd 28 10 ILL MINN TD 13:49 28 17 TD 09:13 28 25 TD 05:10 35 25 TD 03:05 35 32 MINNEAPOLIS -- Terry Hawthorne returned an interception for a touchdown and ...

Adam Weber had orchestrated second-half comebacks three times this season, but his first-half struggles were too much to overcome in Minnesota's 35-32 loss to Illinois on Saturday at TCF Bank Stadium.

Brandon Green makes a catch in the end zone. AP Photo The Minnesota Golden Gophers held on to defeat the Michigan State Spartans 42-34 at TCF Bank Stadium Saturday.

The Gophers have some good linebackers, particularly middle man Lee Campbell, but their defensive line has struggled.

At least the Gophers made it seem that way after allowing Ohio State's struggling sophomore quarterback to total 343 yards and three touchdowns in Saturday's 38-7 loss to the No.

THE OPPONENT Is this the Penn State paper Nittany Lions? They're 5-1 and ranked No.

Yes, Troy Stoudermire hears it, a lot. He gets text messages from friends, and phone calls, after just about every Gophers football game: "Man, you almost had it that time.'' Or, "Wow, just one guy to beat, again.'' Or, "How could you let the place-kicker push you out of bounds?'' Yes, Stoudermire, the Gophers starting wide receiver and resident ...

Consecutive field goals made by Gophers kicker Eric Ellestad. 5 Times the Badgers have started the season 5-0 in the past 10 years.

The Badgers are 4-0, and the last three times they opened the season with four victories, they won nine, 10 and nine games, respectively .

John Clay rushed for three touchdowns and gained 159 of his 184 yards in the second half, helping Wisconsin hang on for a 31-28 win over Minnesota on Saturday.

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg MINNEAPOLIS -- Greetings from the Big Ten's newest stadium, which definitely lives up to the hype.

A sellout crowd of 50,805 fans crammed into their seats Saturday night for the opening game at TCF Bank Stadium, excited to see a great show.

I'll be writing more about this later in the week, but I get the feeling after listening to coach Tim Brewster today and talking with some players is that Saturday's game with Cal is just the sort of game they all want to have, at least once a year, in nonconference play.

Kyle Theret was hoisted on the shoulders of happy teammates at the end of the Gophersa 20-13 victory over Air Force.

Just another typical Decker performance: 10 catches for 113 yards. He accounted for almost half of the Gophers' 219 yards receiving and has 296 yards through the season's first two games.

The Minnesota Golden Gophers finally have a home of their own. No Twins. No Vikings.

Syracuse , N.Y. - Eric Ellestad kicked a 35-yard field goal in overtime to give Minnesota a 20-17 victory over Syracuse on Saturday, spoiling the debut of Orange quarterback Greg Paulus in the opener for both teams.

Wipe Syracuse University football's past history off the board as the 2009 campaign begins with a new regime - but still some work to do to get back to past glory.

3 Field goals by new Gophers kicker Eric Ellestad, including a 26-yarder with 57 seconds left in regulation and a 35-yarder in overtime.