CFN Preview Week 2: Minnesota (1-0) v Middle Tennessee (1-0)

Sparlimb

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Middle Tennessee (1-0) at Minnesota (1-0) Sept. 6, 3:30, Big Ten Network

Here's The Deal: Middle Tennessee and Minnesota won their openers going away versus overmatched FCS teams. Now they’ll use one another to get a better read on how much work needs to be done before the start of league play. The Gophers weren’t overly impressive on Thursday, getting outgained by Eastern Illinois. The Blue Raiders rolled through Savannah State, 61-7, in a far less demanding matchup.

Why Middle Tennessee Might Win: There are a lot of playmakers in Murfreesboro, which is a worry for the Gopher staff. The Blue Raiders can get into space with a wave of different skill position players, led by RB Jordan Parker and WR Marcus Henry. Plus, Minnesota can be flexed on defense, even more so now that the D-line has been depleted by Week 1 injuries.

Why Minnesota Might Win: Yeah, the Blue Raiders are opportunistic defensively, but they’ll be worn down by a Big Ten offensive line. Zac Epping & Co. will pound the Middle Tennessee front, springing feature back David Cobb and agile QB Mitch Leidner. If the Blue Raiders sell out to stop the run, Leidner will play-action his way to seam-busting connections to TE Maxx Williams and WR Donovahn Jones.

Who To Watch Out For: The Gophers can survive early-season games without much contribution from the passing game. But what happens when the schedule gets prickly, like next week’s trip to Fort Worth? Coordinator Matt Limegrover likes to ground-and-pound, but at some point defenses will stack the box to stop Cobb.

What’s Going To Happen: While Middle Tennessee has been steady under Rick Stockstill, it’s generally flopped in the face of quality Power Five teams. Such will be the case on Saturday, with the Minnesota running game controlling the clock and ultimately the scoreboard.

Prediction: Minnesota 38 … Middle Tennessee 21
Line: Minnesota -16; o/u: 51.5
Must Watch Factor: (5: Hacked and Leaked Photos of Kate Upton ... 1: Hacked and Leaked Photos of Kate Upton and Justin Verlander) – 2.5
 


Eastern Illinois outgaining us means nothing. If you look at yards per play we averaged 5.83 yards to their 4.26. And theirs would be lower if not for some garbage-time plays at the end.
 

Eastern Illinois outgaining us means nothing. If you look at yards per play we averaged 5.83 yards to their 4.26. And theirs would be lower if not for some garbage-time plays at the end.

Moreover, EI had 4th quarter drives of 75, 75 and 46 AFTER the score was already 35-0. That's a SIZABLE chunk of their total yards. The game was already in hand, and it was against many second-teamers.
 

Moreover, EI had 4th quarter drives of 75, 75 and 46 AFTER the score was already 35-0. That's a SIZABLE chunk of their total yards. The game was already in hand, and it was against many second-teamers.

Well that's good for people that actually watched. The rest of America only looks at the stats. Anyway, we know not to be worried about being outgained. I don't ever care what the yardage is in a game we lead 35-0.
 



I will be astonished if only 31 pts are put up in this game. I'd say that's a far more likely half time than full game score

The guy is from Iowa, it's probably as high as he can count.
 

Well that's good for people that actually watched. The rest of America only looks at the stats. Anyway, we know not to be worried about being outgained. I don't ever care what the yardage is in a game we lead 35-0.

The only time I cared about being out gained last week was when the score was still 0-0 and we were down in the yardage game 50-20 or something like that. Then we scored. Then I didn't care about the other stats anymore.
 

The only time I cared about being out gained last week was when the score was still 0-0 and we were down in the yardage game 50-20 or something like that. Then we scored. Then I didn't care about the other stats anymore.

Stats are for losers like wren.
 



Well that's good for people that actually watched. The rest of America only looks at the stats. Anyway, we know not to be worried about being outgained. I don't ever care what the yardage is in a game we lead 35-0.

Right. We need to consider that two of our touchdown drives came on about five total yards (punt block, fumble recovery).
 




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