Picks and Parlays has Minnesota winning 23-13 Northwestern is coming off a loss while Minnesota was a winner on Saturday and will pick up another victory next week versus Northwestern but the play here is UNDER. The UNDER has cashed in six of Northwestern's last seven played in Minnesota as well as in seven of Minnesota's last 10 overall against the Wildcats.
Northwestern is scoring an average of only 17.9 points per game and Minnesota is allowing an average of only 14.4 points per game.
The Daily Gopher (SB Nation) is predicting a 24-10 Minnesota win The Wildcats’ secondary has been solid, only allowing 204.7 passing yards per game, which ranks 35th in the country. But they play a lot of Cover 4, which could work to the Gophers’ advantage. The goal of Cover 4 is to keep receivers in front of the defensive backs and allow the defensive backs to make plays on the ball.
But the cushion that creates for receivers could be a blessing in disguise for Minnesota, whose receivers have frequently struggled to get separation against press man coverage. Throwing underneath the coverage, rather than trying to press down field, could be how the Gophers get in a rhythm through the air and keep the chains moving.
I’ll be honest, my biggest concern going into this game is the Nebraska curse. Every team that has beaten the Huskers this season has lost their next game, without exception: Northwestern lost to Duke, Georgia Southern lost to UAB, Oklahoma lost to Kansas State, Purdue lost to Wisconsin, Illinois lost to Michigan State. Can the Gophers break the curse? God, I hope so.
College Football News has Minnesota winning 31-10 Minnesota is fine at keeping things conservative and boring. It wasn’t great against the Huskers, but there weren’t any turnovers, the defense stuffed the Huskers in key moments, and all turned out to be fine.
Northwestern hasn’t forced a takeaway since October 1st – it took a brutal rain storm to come up with five against Penn State.
There won’t be anything flashy about this. The four best Gopher ground games this year were in Huntington Bank – all wins.
Assume 200 rushing yards, assume dominating third downs on both sides of the ball, and assume Minnesota gets a win to make a bigger push into a stronger bowl slot.
The Pioneer Press has Minnesota winning 27-13 MIN Off vs. NW Def: Northwestern’s pass defense is much better (35th in nation) than its rush defense (112th in country), meaning RB Mo Ibrahim could have another big day on the ground. Ibrahim has nearly identical numbers (rushes, yards and touchdowns) this year compared to 2020, when he won Big Ten running back of the year. WR Dylan Wright had two receptions for 54 yards against Cornhuskers, his first grabs since September, and will need to prove he can be consistent. EDGE: MIN
MIN Def Vs. NW Off: The Wildcats also have issues with the health of their starting QB. Brendan Sullivan was knocked out of the Ohio State loss, with previously benched Ryan Hilinski stepping in. Despite the uncertainty at QB, Gophers defensive coordinator Joe Rossi pointed to Northwestern’s close losses to Ohio State and No. 14 Penn State. “This is a good team that is much better than their record indicates.” … RB Evan Hull can makes the offense churn. The Maple Grove native is 12th in the nation in yards from scrimmage (701 rushing, 465 receiving) and has six total touchdowns. EDGE: MIN
Special teams: K Matthew Trickett made 47- and 49-yard field goals to put Minnesota on scoreboard and later give them the lead at Nebraska last week. He won Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week. EDGE: MIN
The Gophers’ backup quarterback is better than Northwestern’s, the U’s defense more well-rounded than the Wildcats’, and Minnesota’s program has found more ways to win this year.
Gopher Illustrated (247 Sports) has Minnesota winning 24-13 It's yet another week where Vegas is bullish on the Gophers, and Minnesota is currently a three-score favorite over the Wildcats of Northwestern. I believe that the spark that Kaliakmanis gave the offense last week, continues here in the Northwestern game, then I'd say the Gophers will cover that.
But I think Northwestern shows up here after gaining some confidence against Ohio State last Saturday. Minnesota's offense gets a late field goal to make it a two-score win.
The Star Tribune is predicting a 24-10 Minnesota victory It might be human nature for the Gophers to look ahead to the trophy games against Iowa and Wisconsin in the following two weeks, but coach P.J. Fleck was guarding against taking Northwestern lightly because of its 1-8 record. Minnesota should be focused and dialed-in, especially if Kaliakmanis is making his first home start.
Expect heavy doses of Ibrahim, who's averaging 32.7 carries over the past three games, especially if the wind is a factor on a day with a high temperature expected to be 30. The Gophers will want to control the clock and set things up for a few downfield passes.
On defense, if the Gophers are a three-and-out machine like they were in the last three quarters at Nebraska, they should have a successful afternoon. The Gophers are workmanlike in their last tune-up before they play Iowa for Floyd of Rosedale on Nov. 19 and Wisconsin for Paul Bunyan's Axe on Nov. 26.
GoAUpher has Minnesota winning 25-5:Is it a coincidence that the Gophers started winning again as soon as I started posting ridiculous scores in these predictions? Almost certainly. Am I going to risk losing to Northwestern by stopping the nonsense? Heck no. Gophers win and there are safeties for everyone.
GopherGuy05 is predicting a 27-10 Minnesota win:This should be comfortable, but you know what you can be if you assume. Hopefully the weather plays a much less factor than Northwestern’s game last week.
GopherNation is predicting a 31-10 win by Minnesota: This is one that gets back to the script of the Michigan State and Colorado games.
HipsterGopher is taking Minnesota 72-6: Did you know the largest margin of victory in the history of this matchup is 72-6? The Gophers won by this amount on November 25, 1905.
Mowe0018 has Minnesota winning 34-10:A tune-up for the only two games that really matter on the schedule.
UStreet is predicting a 17-14 Minnesota win: It’ll be boring and awful.
White Speed Receiver has Minnesota winning 17-0:This one is for the people who complained about the Rutgers game.
WildCatToo is going with Minnesota 10-7:It might be a M00N game for much of four quarters. And yes, it will be exactly that boring.
ZipsOfAkron has Minnesota winning 24-3:Let the Athan Kaliakmanis era begin in earnest. His feet will continue to give this offense just enough of a new wrinkle to give Mo room to work and make for a frosty victory under the second half lights.
