San Jose State @ Minnesota preview

Minnesota looks to move to 4-0 for the first time since 2008 when it hosts San Jose State on Saturday. The Golden Gophers, who knocked off New Mexico State at home last week, will aim to rally around head coach Jerry Kill, who left that game on a stretcher after suffering a seizure at halftime. Kill is expected back on the Minnesota sideline against the Spartans.

San Jose State is coming off of a bye following a loss at No. 4 Stanford in Week 2 that snapped the Spartans' eight-game winning streak. Senior wide receiver Noel Grigsby hauled in a game-high six catches for 55 yards and a touchdown against the Cardinal, becoming San Jose State's all-time leader with 36 straight games with at least one catch. Grigsby is the active FBS leader with 237 career receptions.

TV: Noon ET, ESPN2. LINE: Minnesota -4.

ABOUT SAN JOSE STATE (1-1): The Spartans opened the season with a 24-0 win over Sacramento State before the setback against Stanford. The shutout in the opener helped propel San Jose State near the top of the Mountain West Conference in total defense and senior linebacker Keith Smith leads the conference with 30 tackles. Senior quarterback David Fales is 12-3 as the Spartans' starting quarterback, ranking him third all-time with an .800 winning percentage among Spartans with 10 or more career starts under center.

ABOUT MINNESOTA (3-0): The Gophers turned to Mitch Leidner in the second quarter against Western Illinois when starting quarterback Philip Nelson went down with a hamstring injury and the redshirt freshman didn't miss a beat, completing 7-of-8 passing attempts for 108 yards. Offensive coordinator Matt Limegrover has indicated that both signal callers will see playing time moving forward, though Nelson's status against San Jose State is up in the air. Sophomore defensive end Theiren Cockran leads the Big Ten with three sacks and five tackles for loss.

EXTRA POINTS

1. The Golden Gophers finished the 2008 season with six losses in their last nine games after a 4-0 start.

2. San Jose State has not won coming off of a bye week since a 30-7 decision over Utah State in 2008.

3. Minnesota is averaging 41.3 points through its first three game but ranks last among Big Ten teams in passing offense, accounting for 116.7 yards per game.

PREDICTION: Minnesota 31, San Jose State 24