Gophers defensive coordinator Joe Rossi grew up as a baseball player in Pittsburgh. In the batter’s box, he could lock in and hit curveballs.

But at age 16, his career on the diamond was derailed when he fouled off a pitch that hit in him in the face. He went legally blind his left eye.

That scary situation led Rossi to focus on football, and his connection to his other boyhood love returned as a theme as Minnesota prepared for the Floyd of Rosedale rivalry game at Iowa last Saturday.

The Gophers wanted to take away certain plays the Hawkeyes have had success with against Minnesota in the past — double-move passing routes, reverses and misdirection handoffs. “Those are kind of like off-speed pitches,” Rossi said.

Minnesota took away those plays, with Iowa having only one explosive offensive play in the Gophers’ 12-10 victory. The Hawkeyes mustered only 11 rushing yards, their lowest total since 2019, and a paltry 127 total yards, a new low since 2017.

When they made a big play, the Gophers planned to mimic swings of a bat in celebration during the game in Iowa City.

Jalen Logan-Redding and Danny Striggow both took big cuts after each sacked quarterback Deacon Hill in the fourth quarter.

“JLR decided to throw a lacrosse stick, which was not elite,” Rossi said. “But Danny, you could tell was an athlete and played baseball, so his was pretty good.”

Pro Football Focus College named Logan-Redding to its defensive team of the week. He felt it was his best game this season, but added there is still room for improvement.

The Gophers had four sacks and three takeaways against the Hawkeyes. In other words, the equivalent of multiple extra-base hits.

Dolphin saw it

Iowa radio play-by-play commentator Gary Dolphin described the invalid fair catch signal punt returner Cooper DeJean used during the return Saturday well before officials on the field arrived on the call after a video review.

“Cooper DeJean was waving for everybody to get away from the ball,” Dolphin said in the moment on the radio. “… I think Minnesota was stunned, and the Coop just flew the coop!”

DeJean’s gesture with his left hand, and possibly an audible command, resulted in one teammate stopping his block for DeJean, and Gophers coverage team member Tariq Watson letting up in his pursuit of DeJean.

“He snookered everybody to getting out of the way; he sold it,” Dolphin said.

Dolphin then sounds as if he grows confused by the invalid fair catch signal, but the intent of the rule, according to the NCAA’s Steve Shaw, is to not give coverage players doubt on whether the returner gave a fair catch signal or a “get away” call.

Hence, why the play was ruled dead before the return.

Oink ink?

Gophers coach P.J. Fleck shared that right tackle Quinn Carroll might get a pig tattoo now that the Minnesotan has won Floyd of Rosedale.

“I might, who knows,” Carroll told the Pioneer Press.

Carroll already has ink, predominately a cross on his left arm, so another one tat would not be far-fetched.

Briefly

Michigan State’s starting right tackle, Spencer Brown, has been suspended for the first half of the Gophers game Saturday at Huntington Bank Stadium. The Big Ten issued the punishment in response to a flagrant personal foul against Michigan last Saturday. … Illinois’ best defensive player, tackle Johnny Newton, will miss the first half of the Gophers game at 2:30 p.m. Nov. 4 due to an ejection for targeting against Wisconsin last Saturday. The Illini are on a bye this weekend, and their appeal of the suspension was denied.

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By GEOFF MULVIHILL (Associated Press)

The total number of abortions provided in the U.S. rose slightly in the 12 months after states began implementing bans on them throughout pregnancy, a new survey finds.

The report out this week from the Society of Family Planning, which advocates for abortion access, shows the number fell to nearly zero in states with the strictest bans — but rose elsewhere, especially in states close to those with the bans. The monthly averages overall from July 2022 through June 2023 were about 200 higher than in May and June 2022.

The changes reflect major shifts after the U.S. Supreme Court in June 2022 handed down its Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling, overturning Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that had made abortion legal nationally. Since last year, most Republican-controlled states have enacted restrictions, while most Democrat-controlled states have extended protections for those from out of state seeking abortion.

“The Dobbs decision turned abortion access in this country upside down,” Alison Norris, a co-chair for the study, known as WeCount, and a professor at The Ohio State University’s College of Public Health, said in a statement. “The fact that abortions increased overall in the past year shows what happens when abortion access is improved, and some previously unmet need for abortion is met.” But she noted that bans make access harder — and sometimes impossible — for some people.

Meanwhile, an anti-abortion group celebrated that the number of abortions in states with the tightest restrictions declined by nearly 115,000. “WeCount’s report confirms pro-life protections in states are having a positive impact,” Tessa Longbons, a senior researcher for the Charlotte Lozier Institute, said in a statement.

Abortion bans and restrictions are consistently met with court challenges, and judges have put some of them on hold. Currently, laws are being enforced in 14 states that bar abortion throughout pregnancy, with limited exceptions, and two more that ban it after cardiac activity can be detected — usually around six weeks of gestational age and before many women realize they’re pregnant.

In all, abortions provided by clinics, hospitals, medical offices and virtual-only clinics rose by nearly 200 a month nationally from July 2022 through June 2023 compared with May and June 2022. The numbers do not reflect abortion obtained outside the medical system — such as by getting pills from a friend. The data also do not account for seasonal variation in abortion, which tends to happen most often in the spring.

The states with big increases include Illinois, California and New Mexico, where state government is controlled by Democrats. But also among them are Florida and North Carolina, where restrictions have been put into place since the Dobbs ruling. In Florida, abortions are banned after 15 weeks of pregnancy — and it could go to six weeks under a new law that won’t be enforced unless a judge’s ruling clears the way. And in North Carolina, a ban on abortion after 12 weeks kicked in in July. The states still have more legal access than most in the Southeast.

The researchers pointed to several factors for the numbers rising, including more funding and organization to help women in states with bans travel to those where abortion is legal, an increase in medication abortion through online-only clinics, more capacity in states where abortion remains legal later in pregnancy and possibly less stigma associated with ending pregnancies.

Nationally, the number of abortions has also been rising since 2017.

The general manager who built the Orioles’ most recent World Series roster and the manager who brought them the closest they have come to a pennant since are both candidates for the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Former Orioles general manager Hank Peters and former Baltimore manager and second baseman Davey Johnson are among the eight candidates on the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee’s Manager/Executive/Umpires ballot, which recognizes those whose contributions to the sport came in 1980 or later. To be elected into the Hall of Fame, nominees must be voted in by 12 of the committee’s 16 members; results will be announced Dec. 3.

Among his 42 years as a front office executive, Peters served as the Orioles’ general manager from 1976 to 1987, a stretch in which Baltimore was the American League champion in 1979 and won the World Series in 1983. The Orioles have not won a title since.

After serving in World War II, Peters worked in the St. Louis Browns’ scouting department and followed the franchise to Baltimore in 1954. He also served as the GM of the Kansas City Athletics and Cleveland Indians during his career. Peters died in 2015.

Johnson, 80, spent seven of his 13 major league seasons as a player with Baltimore, earning three All-Star nominations and three Gold Glove Awards. Two of his 17 years as a manager were with the Orioles, guiding the team to the AL Championship Series in both 1996 and 1997. The same day he was named the AL Manager of the Year for the latter season, Johnson resigned as Baltimore’s manager because of a feud with majority owner Peter Angelos.

Johnson managed the New York Mets to the 1986 World Series title and was National League Manager of the Year with Washington in 2012, making him one of eight to win the award in both leagues.

The other candidates up for election are former managers Cito Gaston, who infamously did not bring in then-Oriole Mike Mussina to pitch in the 1993 All-Star Game at Camden Yards, Jim Leyland and Lou Piniella, who made his MLB debut with the Orioles in 1964; former umpires Ed Montague and Joe West; and former NL president Bill White.

Zimmermann undergoes surgery

Orioles left-hander Bruce Zimmermann underwent core surgery Thursday in Philadelphia and is expected to be ready for spring training, the team said.

An Ellicott City native, Zimmermann, 28, is on Baltimore’s 40-man roster and had a 4.73 ERA in seven relief appearances for the Orioles this year. In 38 major league outings (27 starts) in parts of four seasons, Zimmermann has a 5.57 ERA in 158 1/3 innings.

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