Gopher-Hawkeye Prediction

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Gold Rush

Gold Rush

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So far, I have been 100 per cent on the Gopher games vs. the pointspread and I think I will be right on this one, too.

The Gophers CAN win this game - they will need to be balanced on offense and QB Morgan will have to have a very good game to have a chance. They will have to outscore Iowa by putting up about 28 points because Iowa will score at least 27 on this defense. I like the fact the Gophers should be healthy in the kicking/punting game. I love the Gopher offensive line even without the 2 big guys Faalele and Dunlap. Iowa's front 7 will be a stiff test, as always and I really like Epenesa gone to the pros because he ate us up last year. Remember, the Gophers almost won last year and if Tyler Johnson catches the TD pass right in his hands we could have brought back Floyd.

But Iowa is Iowa and I like their defense more than I like the Gophers.
Final score - Iowa 28 - Gophers 20

Note -- this is not the hammer play that the Maryland game was but unfortunately this is the way I see it happening.
 

Tanner Morgan was knocked out of last year's game. This time he delivers knockout blow. Ibrahim gets 150 YDs and Tanner gets at least 3 TDs and 300 yards passing. 38-24 Phars. I'm also predicting an 8-minute drive thanks to o-line.
 


Interestingly, PJ has played pretty competitively against the Hawkeyes since he became head coach:
2017: MN 10 - 17 IA
2018: MN 31 - 48 IA
2019: MN 19 - 23 IA

2018 seems not competitive looking at the final score, but I was at the game and remember thinking we were in it until the last 10 or so minutes in the 4th. Per quarter they only scored on average 4.25 points more than us. Due to that, I think it will be a close game regardless of who wins.
 



It's on Friday the 13th so I go with a good omen Gophers 28-13.
 


Unfortunately, I have far more confidence in the Hawkeyes ability to get a big defensive stop when they need one as opposed to the Gophers. The Gophers special teams give me cold sweats, too. On paper this looks like a tough game for the home team without a push from the crowd. It's winnable, but I just don't think we get Floyd back tomorrow.

33-27, Hawkeyes. 🤮
 

Gophers defense is still suspect. I can't think they win tomorrow unless the Gopher defense stops thinking it's a sieve.
 



Iowa -3.5 with O/U 57.5 is
Iowa 30.5
Minn 27

So let's do:
Iowa 28
Minn 31
 

Gopher's defense will have to get A LOT better this week in order to win. I can't see us scoring 30+ on Iowa's defense. Iowa certainly has had better teams than this, but so have we.
 

UncleSam'sMisguidedChild said:
Unfortunately, I have far more confidence in the Hawkeyes ability to get a big defensive stop when they need one as opposed to the Gophers. The Gophers special teams give me cold sweats, too. On paper this looks like a tough game for the home team without a push from the crowd. It's winnable, but I just don't think we get Floyd back tomorrow.

33-27, Hawkeyes. 🤮
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This is called making a prediction with your head and not your heart. We sure are due for a big game vs. Iowa!
 

PJF gives another emotional pep talk and we get Floyd . MN: 24; IO: 21.
 



Gold Rush said:
This is called making a prediction with your head and not your heart. We sure are due for a big game vs. Iowa!
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Yup, that's exactly it.

My head says Iowa 31 - 26. They'll stop the run better than any opponent MN has faced. They'll run it all over this D. Their ST will make a couple big plays.

My heart says MN 34 - 30. 150 on the ground and 250 in the air. Defense plays best game of the year. Iowa turns it over twice.
 

The game is Friday the 13th...in 2020... So something totally unexpected with happen. My prediction: 11-11 tie going into OT. Gophers win in 3OT.
 

Nokomis said:
The game is Friday the 13th...in 2020... So something totally unexpected will happen. My prediction: 11-11 tie going into OT. Gophers win in 3OT.
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Hold that... TCF evacuated due to bomb threat???!!! WTF, 2020!?
 

Like others, I don't think the D has arrived yet and when watching the PU/Iowa game, the Iowa running game looked strong. Plus I think Iowa has better ST and overall D.

Gophers 24
Hogeyes 31
 

same...I feel that Iowa will be more prepared and they are always very solid. The team with the fewest mistakes will win. Gonna say and this pains me...Iowa 45 Minnesota 28.

Iowa will shut down Bateman and will handle Mo. Long day. Hope I'm wrong...;))
 

I am afraid this will look a lot like the Michigan game. Iowa 51 Gophers 30.
 


I think Gopher fans have a far better handle on this team than Vegas does. Vegas has put 3 fairly weak lines out there so far and each one was blown out easily by 3 TD's which is very soft. If the Gophers can pull this one off, Vegas will make some money on it but if Iowa wins by more than 4 (which I think is very likely) they will have lost yet again. I wonder if they have noticed yet because they don't usually miss on a team and lose money this many times in a row.
 


As said above ...... if Iowa plays bracket coverage on Bateman and stacks the box to stop Mo ........ we have to be able to answer that. Throws to CAB, Jackson, and the TEs. Maybe swing passes, screens, jet sweeps. Etc.

Don't just run into a wall of black and yellow, over and over and over. Don't drop back looking for Bateman, seeing that he's double-covered and force throws to him that go incomplete or get picked, or lose valuable time and get sacked (our OL is not great at pass-pro).
 

MplsGopher said:
As said above ...... if Iowa plays bracket coverage on Bateman and stacks the box to stop Mo ........ we have to be able to answer that. Throws to CAB, Jackson, and the TEs. Maybe swing passes, screens, jet sweeps. Etc.

Don't just run into a wall of black and yellow, over and over and over. Don't drop back looking for Bateman, seeing that he's double-covered and force throws to him that go incomplete or get picked, or lose valuable time and get sacked (our OL is not great at pass-pro).
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Bracket coverage and stacking the box should leave favorable numbers all over the place. Morgan is a good enough QB to take advantage of that. Iowa can get away with one or the other, but not both IMO.
 

bfriedrichs10 said:
Bracket coverage and stacking the box should leave favorable numbers all over the place. Morgan is a good enough QB to take advantage of that. Iowa can get away with one or the other, but not both IMO.
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You would think, right?? Maryland seemed to have figured it out though, in the 4th qtr .....

Whatever they did in that qtr, is exactly what I would start out doing against us.
 

MplsGopher said:
You would think, right?? Maryland seemed to have figured it out though, in the 4th qtr .....
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That Maryland 4th quarter seemed to me to be more of an unwillingness to do something different, not necessarily an inability to do so. And then last week we seemed to have overcompensated. Finding the happy medium would be nice.
 

bfriedrichs10 said:
That Maryland 4th quarter seemed to me to be more of an unwillingness to do something different, not necessarily an inability to do so. And then last week we seemed to have overcompensated. Finding the happy medium would be nice.
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Good point. We'll be less conservative, if we don't have a big lead.
 

Still, I feel like the story for opposing defense is pretty simple, right now: take away #0 and #24, and see if they can beat you with someone else.
 

MplsGopher said:
Still, I feel like the story for opposing defense is pretty simple, right now: take away #0 and #24, and see if they can beat you with someone else.
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I agree. But taking them both away, simultaneously, is a tough strategy, because it necessarily leaves some good match-ups for CAB and Jackson. If we want to win against a strategy that overcommits defensive assets to our top offensive assets, the next line of offensive assets must step up ... and the coaches must give the next line of assets the opportunity to step up. We have the best running attack in the Big Ten; Iowa has the best run defense in the Big Ten. Either we, by brute force, beat their run defense at its own game, or our passing game (especially some explosive plays) must make the difference. Iowa has several interceptions this year. Tanner must not take needless chances against this group.
 


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