Media Prediction Thread: Northwestern at Minnesota

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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BleedGopher said:
Campus Insider is first out of the gate:

Northwestern vs. Minnesota Prediction

Jackson and Smith both go over 100 yards and score twice, and it comes down to the final possession where Carpenter’s field goal gives Minnesota the win.

Northwestern vs. Minnesota final score prediction: Minnesota 30, Northwestern 28

https://campusinsiders.com/news/northwestern-vs-minnesota-prediction-game-preview-11-15-2016/

Go Gophers!!
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Always been one of my favorite websites.
 











Steve Greenberg - Chicago Sun-Times:

Northwestern at Minnesota

The facts: 2:30 p.m., BTN; 720-AM.

The records: Northwestern 5-5, 4-3 Big Ten; Minnesota 7-3, 4-3 Big Ten.

The line: Wildcats by 1½.

The story line: Hey, look, Austin Carr is open again. Seriously, is the Wildcats’ No. 1 receiver ever not open? Minneapolis is a tough place to play, though, and the Gophers have been consistently good this season. Not great, mind you, but dangerous and opportunistic. That’s a pretty apt way to describe Northwestern, too, since its awful start to the season. This one should go down to the wire.

Greenberg’s pick: Northwestern, 34-31.
 

Iceland12 said:
Steve Greenberg - Chicago Sun-Times:


The story line: Hey, look, Austin Carr is open again. Seriously, is the Wildcats’ No. 1 receiver ever not open? Minneapolis is a tough place to play, though, and the Gophers have been consistently good this season. Not great, mind you, but dangerous and opportunistic. That’s a pretty apt way to describe Northwestern, too, since its awful start to the season. This one should go down to the wire.

Greenberg’s pick: Northwestern, 34-31.
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Not trying to denigrate The Bank or our fans, but why is it tough to play in Minneapolis? Lots of empty seats and not much of a crazy atmosphere that would generally make a place difficult to play in.
 

WindyCityGopher said:
Not trying to denigrate The Bank or our fans, but why is it tough to play in Minneapolis? Lots of empty seats and not much of a crazy atmosphere that would generally make a place difficult to play in.
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Just a guess, but could be because a lot of teams that were expected/favored to win easily up here haven't. The %(T%^EW!!! is they still have won, but not easily.
 



WindyCityGopher said:
Not trying to denigrate The Bank or our fans, but why is it tough to play in Minneapolis? Lots of empty seats and not much of a crazy atmosphere that would generally make a place difficult to play in.
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Iowa found it tough at TCF. Unfortunately, the Gophers found it a bit tougher that day. On the flip side, Purdue and Rutgers found it pretty friendly offensively. Go figure.
 

College Football News

Minnesota hasn’t been able to pull off the tough win against any good teams, collapsing to Penn State 29-26 in overtime, and losing to Iowa and Nebraska by seven points each, but it’s got the shot to screw up Wisconsin next week and, for the most part, it’s been a good year.

It might be a season full of missed opportunities, but the program looks on track to being a player for a while if it can ever get a passing game going.

Running the ball hasn’t been a problem, but even with a fringe NFL backup QB in Mitch Leidner, there’s nothing happening through the air, and the Gophers are getting exposed when the good defenses are slowing down the run.

Northwestern’s passing game has been just fine, with Clayton Thorson bombing away and the offense rolling in the freespace win over Purdue last week, but the team is still a win away from bowl eligibility. That shouldn’t be a problem with Illinois up next week, but a win over the Gophers would be a strong statement in a year that started off awful and could close strong.

The Wildcat defense has been excellent over the last month, holding down Indiana, Ohio State and Wisconsin along the way, led by a defense that’s only allowing 145 rushing yards per game.

Minnesota has survived on turnover margin, but Northwestern doesn’t give the ball away enough to make that a problem.

Even though the Gophers averaged close to 40 points per game over a four-game run of bad teams, the ground game isn’t going to work like it’s supposed to against the Wildcats.

It’ll be a close, tough, well-played defensive game, with Minnesota pulling it off in the final moments at home.

Northwestern vs. Minnesota Prediction

Final Score

Minnesota 26, Northwestern 23

http://collegefootballnews.com/2016/northwestern-vs-minnesota-prediction-game-preview
 


InsideNU writers chime in:

Sam Brief: Northwestern 21, Minnesota 17
Zach Pereles: Northwestern 27, Minnesota 17
Will Ragatz: Northwestern 24, Minnesota 13
Tristan Jung (random number generator): Northwestern 25, Minnesota 22
Josh Rosenblat: Northwestern 31, Minnesota 20
Ian McCafferty: Northwestern 27, Minnesota 17
Rob Schaefer: Northwestern 27, Minnesota 13

http://www.insidenu.com/2016/11/18/...s-football-2016-clayton-thorson-mitch-leidner

Go Gophers!!
 

Athlon chimes in:

Final Analysis The Gophers have home-field advantage and the better record, but it just feels like Northwestern is the better team here. I like the variety of offensive weapons that the Wildcats bring to the table, and I feel like they'll be able to do more damage in this back-and-forth tilt. It should be close for a half or so, but eventually Mitch Leidner's inability to convert on third downs as a passer will give Northwestern the extra possessions it needs to pull away. Prediction: Northwestern 31, Minnesota 23

http://athlonsports.com/college-foo...ta-golden-gophers-preview-and-prediction-2016

Go Gophers!!
 

I like the Nebby guys better than those dinks at jNU.


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