Fiesta Bowl

official home of the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, Insight Bowl and Festival of College Football

About the Insight Bowl

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Date:             Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Site:              Sun Devil Stadium (56,000)
Kick-Off:        4:00 p.m. MST (6:00 p.m. EST) 
Television:    NFL Network (Paul Burmeister, Mike Mayock and Lindsay Soto)
Radio:           Sports USA Radio Network
                     Jayhawk Radio Network (Bob Davis, David Lawrence and Nate Bukaty)
                     Golden Gopher Radio Network (Dave Lee, Dave Mona and Darrell Thompson)
Series:          The series is tied 3-3.

Team Information
Kansas will wear its white jerseys and use the west side bench on game day. Minnesota will wear its dark jerseys and use the east side bench on game day.

The Match-Up
This will be the seventh meeting between Kansas and Minnesota in a series that began in 1893. The series is tied 3-3 but the teams haven’t played each other since 1973. The scores in the series are listed below (* - designates home team):

    Date                 Score
    Oct. 14, 1893     *Minnesota 12, Kansas 6
    Nov. 28, 1896     Minnesota 12, *Kansas 0
    Oct. 1, 1966       Kansas 16, *Minnesota 14
    Oct. 2, 1971       *Minnesota 38, Kansas 20
    Oct. 7, 1972       Kansas 34, *Minnesota 28
    Sept. 29, 1973    *Kansas 34, Minnesota 19

This Season
Kansas will be making its fourth bowl appearance in the past seven years and will play in a bowl game in consecutive seasons for the first time in school history. The Jayhawks won at least seven games in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1960-61 after going 12-1 a year ago. Minnesota finished the regular season 7-5, and was ranked as high as No. 17 in the BCS standings, after winning just one game the previous year.  The Golden Gophers will be making their eighth bowl appearance in the past 10 years and second Insight Bowl appearance in the last three years.

KANSAS (7-5, 4-4 Big 12)                                      MINNESOTA (7-5, 3-5 Big Ten)
8/30      Florida International      W       40-10            8/30        Northern Illinois         W       31-27
9/6        Louisiana Tech            W       29-0              9/6          at Bowling Green      W       42-17
9/12      at South Florida           L        34-37             9/13        Montana State         W        35-23
9/20      Sam Houston State     W       38-14             9/20        Florida Atlantic         W       37-3
10/4      at Iowa State               W      35-33              9/27       at Ohio State            L         21-34
10/11    Colorado                     W       30-14             10/4        Indiana                    W        16-7
10/18    at Oklahoma                L        31-45             10/11      at Illinois                  W       27-20
10/25    Texas Tech                  L        21-63             10/25      at Purdue                W        17-6
11/1      Kansas State              W       52-21             11/1        Northwestern           L         17-24
11/8      at Nebraska                 L        35-45             11/8        Michigan                 L         6-29
11/15    Texas                          L        7-35               11/15      at Wisconsin           L         32-35
11/29    vs. Missouri                 W       40-37             11/22      Iowa                        L         0-55

Kansas in the Insight Bowl
The Kansas Jayhawks will be making their first appearance in the Insight Bowl.

Minnesota in the Insight Bowl
The Minnesota Golden Gophers will be making their second ever appearance in the Insight Bowl. The Golden Gophers lost in overtime to Texas Tech, 44-41, on Dec. 29, 2006, in the first Insight Bowl played at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe.

Coach Mangino in the Insight Bowl
Kansas head coach Mark Mangino will be making his second appearance in the Insight Bowl and his first as head coach. He was the assistant head coach at Kansas State University in 1993 when the Wildcats defeated Wyoming, 52-17, when the game was called the Copper Bowl and played in Tucson. He appeared in three bowl games as the assistant head coach/offensive coordinator at the University of Oklahoma and six bowl games as an assistant at Kansas State.

Coach Brewster in the Insight Bowl
Minnesota head coach Tim Brewster will be making his first appearance in the Insight Bowl. It’s his first bowl appearance as a head coach in just his second season with the Golden Gophers. He appeared in four bowl games as the tight ends coach at the University of Texas and six bowl games as the tight ends and special teams coach at the University of North Carolina.

The Sponsorship
Insight Enterprises, Inc. is in its 12th year as the title sponsor of the Insight Bowl. 

Team Payout
The teams participating in the Insight Bowl will each receive $1.25 million.

Network Television
NFL Network will televise the Insight Bowl for the third consecutive year with Paul Burmeister and Mike Mayock calling the action from the booth and Lindsay Soto on the sidelines. 

Radio
Sports USA Radio will broadcast the Insight Bowl nationally. The broadcast can be heard locally on KKNT Radio 960.