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Minnesota (0-0) at Middle Tennessee (0-0) Sept. 2, 7:30, ESPNU
Here’s The Deal … There’s a good chance this could be the best Big Ten game of the opening weekend if the Blue Raiders can rally past the adversity of losing its star. Middle Tennessee is coming off a ten-win season and is on a seven-game winning streak going back to last year and were able to beat Maryland while losing to Mississippi State and Clemson, and to start off 2010, getting a win over a BCS Conference team would do wonders for the program and the Sun Belt. However, star QB Dwight Dasher is ineligible meaning the rest of the team will have to pick up the slack (more about that in a moment). Minnesota head coach Tim Brewster is already on a hot seat, and the last thing he needs it to start off the season losing to a Sun Belt team, even one that might be the best in the league by a ten-mile wide margin. Even without Dasher, with a fearsome pass rush and just enough athletes to keep up, it’s all there for MT to come up with the win, while Minnesota has to establish right away that things have changed since an inconsistent and disappointing 6-7 2009. The Gophers have USC coming up in a few weeks, so anything positive they can do now is a must to avoid a rough start.
Why Minnesota Might Win: The pressure is all on Middle Tennessee. Coming off a huge 2009 and with everyone praising the Blue Raider offense all offseason, the expectations are there to not only play well against a BCS conference team, but win. While the Minnesota defense has a ton of issues and concerns, it should be more aggressive this year and should do a solid job in the takeaway department as the year goes on and gets a huge help with the loss of Dasher. Offensively, the Gophers are loaded with veterans and will hardly have a problem going on the road to start the season.
Why Middle Tennessee Might Win: Blue Raider defensive coordinator Randall McCray knows the Gophers. After spending the last four years at Wisconsin, McCray is just familiar enough with Minnesota to know what the offense is going to try to do and should have his athletic defensive front ready. Yeah, there might be a lot of talk around Minnesota about doing more for the running game, but this game will be all about the passing attack trying to click, and that’s going to be hard to do with QB Adam Weber under pressure for most of the game. The Minnesota offensive front should be better than last year, but it’s still going to struggle a bit after finishing 113th in the nation in sacks allowed. Middle Tennessee finished sixth in the nation in sacks last season and second in tackles for loss.
What To Watch Out For: Logan Kilgore vs. the Minnesota linebackers. Dasher was suspended indefinitely for accept a loan when he wasn’t supposed to, and now it’s up to Kilgore, a 6-3, 174-pound bomber from Bakersfield College who throws darts. That means the very, very shaky Gopher linebacking corps will be under fire to keep the gains off the short pass plays to a minimum and keep the yards after the catch to zero. With star defensive back Kim Royston likely out as his injured leg is still healing, the linebackers will have to make most of the big plays.
What Will Happen: Minnesota is fed up, and it’s not going to take it anymore. This won’t be a thing of beauty as QB Adam Weber will be under pressure for most of the game, but the Gopher offensive front will pound away in the second half as the ground game will come up with one of its best performances in the Brewster era. Kilgore will put up big numbers, but he’ll also throw three drive-crushing picks.
CFN Prediction: Minnesota 27 … Middle Tennessee 17 … Line: Middle Tennessee -4
Must See Rating: Season Premiere: Keeping Up with the Kardashians 5 - Eat, Pray, Love 1 … 3
Very, very shaky linebacking corp. . . . . Is the second very really needed?
Here’s The Deal … There’s a good chance this could be the best Big Ten game of the opening weekend if the Blue Raiders can rally past the adversity of losing its star. Middle Tennessee is coming off a ten-win season and is on a seven-game winning streak going back to last year and were able to beat Maryland while losing to Mississippi State and Clemson, and to start off 2010, getting a win over a BCS Conference team would do wonders for the program and the Sun Belt. However, star QB Dwight Dasher is ineligible meaning the rest of the team will have to pick up the slack (more about that in a moment). Minnesota head coach Tim Brewster is already on a hot seat, and the last thing he needs it to start off the season losing to a Sun Belt team, even one that might be the best in the league by a ten-mile wide margin. Even without Dasher, with a fearsome pass rush and just enough athletes to keep up, it’s all there for MT to come up with the win, while Minnesota has to establish right away that things have changed since an inconsistent and disappointing 6-7 2009. The Gophers have USC coming up in a few weeks, so anything positive they can do now is a must to avoid a rough start.
Why Minnesota Might Win: The pressure is all on Middle Tennessee. Coming off a huge 2009 and with everyone praising the Blue Raider offense all offseason, the expectations are there to not only play well against a BCS conference team, but win. While the Minnesota defense has a ton of issues and concerns, it should be more aggressive this year and should do a solid job in the takeaway department as the year goes on and gets a huge help with the loss of Dasher. Offensively, the Gophers are loaded with veterans and will hardly have a problem going on the road to start the season.
Why Middle Tennessee Might Win: Blue Raider defensive coordinator Randall McCray knows the Gophers. After spending the last four years at Wisconsin, McCray is just familiar enough with Minnesota to know what the offense is going to try to do and should have his athletic defensive front ready. Yeah, there might be a lot of talk around Minnesota about doing more for the running game, but this game will be all about the passing attack trying to click, and that’s going to be hard to do with QB Adam Weber under pressure for most of the game. The Minnesota offensive front should be better than last year, but it’s still going to struggle a bit after finishing 113th in the nation in sacks allowed. Middle Tennessee finished sixth in the nation in sacks last season and second in tackles for loss.
What To Watch Out For: Logan Kilgore vs. the Minnesota linebackers. Dasher was suspended indefinitely for accept a loan when he wasn’t supposed to, and now it’s up to Kilgore, a 6-3, 174-pound bomber from Bakersfield College who throws darts. That means the very, very shaky Gopher linebacking corps will be under fire to keep the gains off the short pass plays to a minimum and keep the yards after the catch to zero. With star defensive back Kim Royston likely out as his injured leg is still healing, the linebackers will have to make most of the big plays.
What Will Happen: Minnesota is fed up, and it’s not going to take it anymore. This won’t be a thing of beauty as QB Adam Weber will be under pressure for most of the game, but the Gopher offensive front will pound away in the second half as the ground game will come up with one of its best performances in the Brewster era. Kilgore will put up big numbers, but he’ll also throw three drive-crushing picks.
CFN Prediction: Minnesota 27 … Middle Tennessee 17 … Line: Middle Tennessee -4
Must See Rating: Season Premiere: Keeping Up with the Kardashians 5 - Eat, Pray, Love 1 … 3
Very, very shaky linebacking corp. . . . . Is the second very really needed?
