Iceland12
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Written before the injury report was published and Ogee, they love our punter! The Gophers D-Coordinator has gotten burned too many times when he depended on a four man rush. The blitz will come early so I hope they're wrong about a big First Half for the Bison.
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North Dakota State (2-0) at Minnesota (1-2) Sept. 24, 7:00, BTN
Here’s The Deal … Minnesota tends to have problems with all things Dakota.
Last year, the Gophers gagged 41-38 against South Dakota. In 2009, they needed everything in the bag to get by South Dakota State 16-13, lost to North Dakota State 27-21 in 2007, and beat NDSU 10-9 in a fantastic battle in 2006.
Expect yet another great game against a Dakota.
North Dakota State is expected to be just a middle of the pack Missouri Valley team, but it made the playoffs last year and started out the season red hot beating Lafayette and St. Francis by a combined score of 98-9. The Bison beat Kansas last year and couldn’t be playing at a higher level now. It also helped that Minnesota has been struggling.
Any team that can lose at home to New Mexico State can lose to an FCS team. Minnesota started out the season playing well against USC in a road loss, stunk against NMSU, and last week finally gave head coach Jerry Kill his first win in his new gig with a 29-23 victory over Miami University. Next week comes a trip to Michigan followed up by a date at Purdue, but the Gophers need to be 100% fully focused this week.
Why North Dakota State Might Win: The Minnesota secondary has been awful. Matt Barkley and Robert Woods had record-setting days for USC, Miami was able to move the ball with 325 passing yards, and New Mexico State - New Mexico State - was able to throw for 288 yards and three scores. The lack of a pass rush has been the biggest problem with just one sack in the first three games, and while NDSU is more of a running team, it’s No. 4 in the FCS so far in pass efficiency and should be able to move the ball effectively if the Gophers can’t get into the backfield
On the defensive side, the Bison aren’t having any problems getting to the quarterback with a whopping ten sacks and 22 tackles for loss in two games. Minnesota has mobility in the backfield in quarterback MarQueis Gray, but the offense hasn’t been air tight at keeping quick defensive players from doing bad things behind the line.
Why Minnesota Might Win: Don’t get too caught up in North Dakota State’s stats so far. St. Francis has one of the worst defenses in the FCS and Lafayette has problems offensively. The Bison might be aggressive up front, but Minnesota’s raw bulk should be enough to pound away with the running game when it has to. Against Miami, the Gopher O helped a struggling D by holding on to the ball for 35 minutes as Gray ran for 171 yards and Donnell Kirkwood had an effective 55 yards. The Gophers should be able to hang on to the ball and control the clock.
Field position should be a plus for the Gophers thanks to punter Dan Orseske, who’s coming off a strong day against MU averaging 46 yards per kick. Rock steady, he’s been getting the Gophers out of jams all season long, and he should give the Bison plenty of long fields to work with.
What To Watch Out For: Gray has been awesome after a rough start against USC, leading the team with 328 rushing yards. Now he needs more help, and it has to come from Donnell Kirkwood, who has only come up with 90 yards and a touchdown so far on 31 carries. The 5-10, 215-pound redshirt freshman has star power, and now he’s 100% back from a bad leg injury last year. Senior Duane Bennett is also back from injury, having knee problems in the past, but he only has 31 carries so far for 90 yards and a score. The 5-9, 210-pounder has workload potential, and soon he has to show it.
What Will Happen: North Dakota State will come up with a hot first half and Minnesota will have to scramble. The Gopher defense will settle down, and Gray will go off, running for 200 yards and scoring two times, while getting the passing game moving in the second half. Da’Jon McKnight will go off with several big catches including the game-winner to cap off a thrilling dogfight.
CFN Prediction: Minnesota 34 … North Dakota State 31
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North Dakota State (2-0) at Minnesota (1-2) Sept. 24, 7:00, BTN
Here’s The Deal … Minnesota tends to have problems with all things Dakota.
Last year, the Gophers gagged 41-38 against South Dakota. In 2009, they needed everything in the bag to get by South Dakota State 16-13, lost to North Dakota State 27-21 in 2007, and beat NDSU 10-9 in a fantastic battle in 2006.
Expect yet another great game against a Dakota.
North Dakota State is expected to be just a middle of the pack Missouri Valley team, but it made the playoffs last year and started out the season red hot beating Lafayette and St. Francis by a combined score of 98-9. The Bison beat Kansas last year and couldn’t be playing at a higher level now. It also helped that Minnesota has been struggling.
Any team that can lose at home to New Mexico State can lose to an FCS team. Minnesota started out the season playing well against USC in a road loss, stunk against NMSU, and last week finally gave head coach Jerry Kill his first win in his new gig with a 29-23 victory over Miami University. Next week comes a trip to Michigan followed up by a date at Purdue, but the Gophers need to be 100% fully focused this week.
Why North Dakota State Might Win: The Minnesota secondary has been awful. Matt Barkley and Robert Woods had record-setting days for USC, Miami was able to move the ball with 325 passing yards, and New Mexico State - New Mexico State - was able to throw for 288 yards and three scores. The lack of a pass rush has been the biggest problem with just one sack in the first three games, and while NDSU is more of a running team, it’s No. 4 in the FCS so far in pass efficiency and should be able to move the ball effectively if the Gophers can’t get into the backfield
On the defensive side, the Bison aren’t having any problems getting to the quarterback with a whopping ten sacks and 22 tackles for loss in two games. Minnesota has mobility in the backfield in quarterback MarQueis Gray, but the offense hasn’t been air tight at keeping quick defensive players from doing bad things behind the line.
Why Minnesota Might Win: Don’t get too caught up in North Dakota State’s stats so far. St. Francis has one of the worst defenses in the FCS and Lafayette has problems offensively. The Bison might be aggressive up front, but Minnesota’s raw bulk should be enough to pound away with the running game when it has to. Against Miami, the Gopher O helped a struggling D by holding on to the ball for 35 minutes as Gray ran for 171 yards and Donnell Kirkwood had an effective 55 yards. The Gophers should be able to hang on to the ball and control the clock.
Field position should be a plus for the Gophers thanks to punter Dan Orseske, who’s coming off a strong day against MU averaging 46 yards per kick. Rock steady, he’s been getting the Gophers out of jams all season long, and he should give the Bison plenty of long fields to work with.
What To Watch Out For: Gray has been awesome after a rough start against USC, leading the team with 328 rushing yards. Now he needs more help, and it has to come from Donnell Kirkwood, who has only come up with 90 yards and a touchdown so far on 31 carries. The 5-10, 215-pound redshirt freshman has star power, and now he’s 100% back from a bad leg injury last year. Senior Duane Bennett is also back from injury, having knee problems in the past, but he only has 31 carries so far for 90 yards and a score. The 5-9, 210-pounder has workload potential, and soon he has to show it.
What Will Happen: North Dakota State will come up with a hot first half and Minnesota will have to scramble. The Gopher defense will settle down, and Gray will go off, running for 200 yards and scoring two times, while getting the passing game moving in the second half. Da’Jon McKnight will go off with several big catches including the game-winner to cap off a thrilling dogfight.
CFN Prediction: Minnesota 34 … North Dakota State 31
