Meineke Car Care Bowl Live Blog

Dec 28, 2012; Houston, TX, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers running back Donnell Kirkwood (20) rushes against the Texas Tech Red Raiders during the first quarter of the Care Care Bowl at Reliant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

UPDATE: Texas Tech beats Minnesota, 34-31. The Red Raiders have a game winning 28-yard field goal as time expired.

UPDATE: Minnesota is tied at the end of the third quarter, 24-24. The third quarter was a crazy one as a potential Texas Tech touchdown was reversed, followed by multiple penalties and a blocked field goal opportunity by the hands by Briean Boddy. Gophers tied the game with a touchdown by the arm of Philip Nelson to the hands of Devin Crawford-Tufts.

UPDATE: Minnesota trails at halftime, 24-17. Texas Tech is led by quarterback Seth Doege. He notched a rushing touchdown with seconds remaining in the first half to take the lead. Touchdowns for the Gophers are from the running back tandem; one each from Donnell Kirkwood and Rodrick Williams.

UPDATE: Minnesota trails Texas Tech 14-10 after the first quarter. Lone Gopher touchdown by Rodrick Williams with a 2-yard rushing touchdown.

Who: Minnesota Golden Gophers (6-6) v. Texas Tech Red Raiders (7-5)

What: Meineke Car Care Bowl; first bowl for Minnesota since 2009; rematch of the Insight Bowl that got Glen Mason fired.

When: Tonight, Friday, Dec. 28. 8 pm.

Where: Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas. ESPN.

"A 2-6 Big Ten conference record is not the prettiest to look at, but when a team is able to go undefeated in non-conference play…it’s time to go bowling. In Jerry Kill’s second season at Minnesota, the Gophers are going bowling. The team is playing Texas Tech, a team who finished 5th in the Big 12."

Keys to victory:

The secondary must be primary

The Red Raiders have a prolific passing offense, led by the arm of Seth Doege. The quarterback will notch his four thousand passing yards on the season tonight and is likely to have two receivers with over one thousands yards each. The secondary for Minnesota has to step up once again to keep the team in the game. Seniors Michael Carter and Troy Stoudermire will determine the facet of the game.

If it works, don’t fix it

With game time looming, the public is not sure who the starting quarterback is for the Gophers tonight. When the offense takes the field, everyone will finally found out. Whoever it may be, the coaching staff should stick with its selection if it works during the game. The worst thing for freshman Philip Nelson would be to start him, but pull him for MarQueis Gray if he scuffles early. This is a team looking more towards the future than the present.

Act like you have been there

The youth of Minnesota is likely to be shown tonight against Texas Tech. While seniors lead multiple positions, especially on the defensive side of the ball, the Gophers play a lot of true freshman. The amount of total underclassmen that Jerry Kill puts on the field is more than several.

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