It'll be a Peden Stadium first when Big 10 member Minnesota takes the field to battle Ohio Saturday afternoon in Athens. The Gophers (2-0) come in having cruised past Tulsa (49-10) and Troy St. (48-7) in its first two games. The Bobcats followed up their home-opening win over Southeast Missouri St. with a disappointing 48-20 loss at Iowa State. Ohio, however, does hold a win over Minnesota when the teams last met in 2000. The Cats rushed for 363 yards as Chad Brinker rushed, caught and threw touchdowns on the way to a 23-17 win in the Metrodome.

But the 2003 edition of Ohio football has not proved it can dominate running the football. The Bobcats ran for a decent 227 yards against SEMO but was limited to 167 yards last week with 68 of those coming on one Fred Ray run. The running game has also been responsible for all six of the team's turnovers thus far. An improved passing attack against Iowa State saw Ohio throw for the most yards in a decade. It's a much needed option but head coach Brian Knorr knows his team must run better to sustain drives, control clock and keep the defense off the field.

That Ohio defense will be tested by a Minnesota offense that has posted back-to-back 40-point games to open the season for the first time since 1927. The Gophers average 273 yards rushing, 7th-best in the NCAA. Not good news for an Ohio squad that allowed Iowa State to run for 271 yards. Depth at linebacker looked to be strength for Ohio this year but injuries are starting to take a toll. Linebacker Charles Terry is out 6-8 weeks with a separated shoulder while fellow linebackers Spencer Tatum (hip surgery) and Ricky Cherry (bicep injury) are lost for the year. The secondary will be bolstered by the return of cornerback Chip Cox. Freshman T.J. Wright started against Iowa State as Cox sat out a 1-game suspension.