Media Predictions: Minnesota vs Northwestern

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From what I've seen, I like Clark. A little taller and a slightly better arm. That being said, should we have to go with either freshman, the Gophers will gear their offense to run the ball until NW can stop it. We "should" be able to do just that.
 

Could we lose? Sure. However, what we see here is the time honored GH tradition of lofting our opponents pre-game to ridiculous levels. I still remember all the pre-Fresno talk, pre-Maryland talk, etc. Rinse. Repeat.
 

PitinoFan said:
I think some people are way too confident in a pair of true Freshman QBs we haven’t seen play meaningful snaps. It terrifies me, tbh.

We’ve already seen someone say Kramer is the most talented QB in program history, and now there’s a 30-50% chance Clark will be better than Morgan, a legit top 10 QB in the country, next year, with no evidence to back it up, other than maybe a slightly better rating on 247 and Rivals? Crazy times.
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I beilive the “most talented” comment came from Eden Prairie HS coach Mike Grant. And the quote indicated that Kramer was the most talented QB he’s had at EP, not the Gophers most talented ever...
 

Vandy said:
I beilive the “most talented” comment came from Eden Prairie HS coach Mike Grant. And the quote indicated that Kramer was the most talented QB he’s had at EP, not the Gophers most talented ever...
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I remember that, but someone here did say that Kramer is the most gifted QB this program has ever had. It was over the weekend, prior to the changeover to the new forum.
 


Spoofin said:
Could we lose? Sure. However, what we see here is the time honored GH tradition of lofting our opponents pre-game to ridiculous levels. I still remember all the pre-Fresno talk, pre-Maryland talk, etc. Rinse. Repeat.
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You are right, and IIRC I was mildly concerned about FSU but not at all concerned about Maryland. We likely lose at FSU without Morgan and Maryland’s defense is so bad the Kent State/SJSU protocol would have likely been enough.

However as mentioned before without the most important offensive player in my mind it’s an open question how many mistakes may occur, etc. Their defense nearly shut down Wisconsin’s run game. Obviously every week is different and injuries have probably affected them with being out on the field so much but their 20th ranked defense isn’t a complete pushover like Maryland. In a way it makes the game more interesting to me...

If Morgan is out one of the freshman has to be able to function. Chances are the backups make enough plays and there’s an outside chance they are outstanding. NU’s offense is absolutely impotent. I will still bet lunch the Gophers cover despite my mild concerns.
 

USA Today made a prediction of Minnesota winning 35-17
Even if Minnesota's Morgan sits, look for WRs Rashod Bateman (945 receiving yards, 7 TDs) and Tyler Johnson (900 receiving yards, 9 TDs) to have big games.

College Football News has a full prediction with the Gophers winning 30-13
Minnesota won’t suffer a hangover from the Iowa loss, but this is the game of the year now for a Northwestern team in its home finale – it’s going to play at a whole other level. For a quarter. The Gopher running game will take over, the defense will settle in, and there won’t be any problems over the final 45 minutes on the way to a showdown for the Big Ten West against Wisconsin next week.

Athlon Sports has a full prediction, taking the Gophers 30-14
This year's Northwestern team has flaws and issues on both sides of the ball. Injuries, inconsistency, and mistakes have plagued the Wildcats. The offense just hasn't been able to get into a rhythm, the defense has struggled to make stops, and they haven't recovered from last year's talent losses. The Golden Gophers will lean on their ground game and beat the Wildcats for the first time since 2016.

The Detroit Free Press has Minnesota winning 34-3
P.J. Fleck’s crew remains atop the standings in the Big Ten West, while Northwestern is buried at the bottom. The Wildcats have reached the end zone only 17 times this season, and six of those touchdowns were scored last Saturday against a UMass defense that is historically awful.

MLive picked Minnesota to win 27-9
Fortunately for Minnesota, it faces a Northwestern team that has just two wins, none against Big Ten teams. It should be able to rely on its defense, run game and a backup QB throwing to the league's best receivers to pull this out. It's more critical that Morgan is 100 percent for next week's game against Wisconsin.
 

die hard gopher said:
They are out a starting corner, a starting DE, starting DT and 3 of their top 5 backup DL.
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and our defense was out a ton of players against Wash St and our D crushed them. Any given Saturday and you never know how a guy is going to react
 

PJparty said:
A couple positives of having one of the Freshman and the GREEN LINE roll all game and have Morgan sit out is that we will be assured that Morgan will be healthy for Wisconsin, we won;t be putting anything new on film, and the team will have to grind to win another road game. Road game grinds are a great learning experience.
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No guarantee that he’ll get cleared next week if he can’t get cleared this week.
 



True FR QB = Mistakes and turnovers

I have no doubt Clark and/or Kramer can produce, but they can turn it over as well.

Northwestern can't beat the Gophers. But the Gophers can sure hand them the game.
 


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