Eric Snyder, assistant professor in the University of Minnesota's School of Kinesiology, said the Gophers football team should feel limited effects from playing at altitude Saturday against Colorado State.
Snyder said the amount of oxygen in the air is about the same in Minneapolis (800 feet above sea level) as in Fort Collins, Colo., (5,000 feet), but the driving pressure into lungs is lower.
Lower pressure could have an effect on the players' sleep quality, Snyder said, as their breathing might slow down and approach a state similar to sleep apnea.
"They might experience some sleep disturbance," Snyder said.