No game will be bigger for the psyche of this team than the B1G opener. Conference openers can set a tone for the rest of the season. Lose this, and the Gophers are staring 0-2 right in the face with the next game @ Purdue. Gophers will be playing a talented, but young and size-challenged MSU squad playing its first B1G road game. The crowd needs to be big (at least 13,000), and it needs to be engaged from the get-go.
Bummer that it conflicts with the bowl game. That's certainly not going to help the crowd, but I have a sneaking suspicion a 12-1 record with Sparty & Izzo coming to town will get a lot of people in the seats.