Media Predictions: Minnesota vs Northwestern

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IceBoxGopher

IceBoxGopher

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College Football News has a consensus pick of the Gophers winning with all the writers taking Minnesota.

Cappers Picks is taking the Gophers, 42-10, but with the notion of Morgan is playing.
Assuming Morgan is playing, the Gophers are going to win this game big. They are the better team and they should win this gmae in blowout fashion. They do have a big question mark in this game surronding Tanner Morgan and if he will be able to go in this game after suffering a concussion against Iowa. If he can’t go, it will probably be Freshman Jacob Clark who will get the start, and the Gophers could be in some trouble.
 

IceBoxGopher said:
College Football News has a consensus pick of the Gophers winning with all the writers taking Minnesota.

Cappers Picks is taking the Gophers, 42-10, but with the notion of Morgan is playing.
Assuming Morgan is playing, the Gophers are going to win this game big. They are the better team and they should win this gmae in blowout fashion. They do have a big question mark in this game surronding Tanner Morgan and if he will be able to go in this game after suffering a concussion against Iowa. If he can’t go, it will probably be Freshman Jacob Clark who will get the start, and the Gophers could be in some trouble.
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Morgan has been playing lights out this year, but I don't think the step down from Morgan to Kramer/Clark should be the difference between a 32 point blow out and a close game.
 

I agree. Morgan has looked great and our receivers are fantastic, but I think their success makes some people maybe forget about the talent we have in the backfield. We can put Smith, Brooks and Ibrahim to work.
 

BeerFueledFF said:
Morgan has been playing lights out this year, but I don't think the step down from Morgan to Kramer/Clark should be the difference between a 32 point blow out and a close game.
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Yeah, Northwestern's defense is solid but it is a massive step down in class from Iowa and Penn State. Even without Morgan the offense should be able to put up some points and on the flip side of that, the Northwestern offense is bad, really really bad. They did manage 22 against Purdue in a losing effort but in the 3 conference games prior to that they managed 6 points total.

Pat Fitzgerald will have them ready to go but if we bounce back and play the way we are capable of playing this one won't be close regardless of who is under center.
 

What if Jacob Clark is better than Tanner Morgan?

I realize right now there is a 1% chance of this, but mid-way through next year, perhaps that's a 30-50% chance.
 


If we play an unproven backup QB, NU loads the box and makes said QB beat them things could get interesting in a hurry if the QB struggles. I confess I haven’t followed recent happenings with their injury situation but their defense was pretty good early on. A few turnovers coupled with a stalled offense could be trouble or at least some frayed nerves, low scoring game situation. Fitz will have them as ready as they can be and they tend to improve with time (like everyone). If TM is ready probably a laugher considering their offensive issues.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
If we play an unproven backup QB, NU loads the box and makes said QB beat them things could get interesting in a hurry if the QB struggles. I confess I haven’t followed recent happenings with their injury situation but their defense was pretty good early on. A few turnovers coupled with a stalled offense could be trouble or at least some frayed nerves, low scoring game situation. Fitz will have them as ready as they can be and they tend to improve with time (like everyone). If TM is ready probably a laugher considering their offensive issues.
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They are out a starting corner, a starting DE, starting DT and 3 of their top 5 backup DL.
 

Face The Facts said:
What if Jacob Clark is better than Tanner Morgan?

I realize right now there is a 1% chance of this, but mid-way through next year, perhaps that's a 30-50% chance.
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There’s a 50% chance Jacob Clark will be one of the top 5 to top 10 QBs in the nation next year, despite not even being the #2 this year? That seems optimistic but hey, let’s roll with it. If one assumes it’s the system and not the QB then I suppose could very well be. Make me look like a ? JC.
 

I look at it this way.

Even if Clark and Kramer, as true freshman, play at the level Annexstad and Morgan played last year, they will have a better O-line, better RB's and better receivers and TE's to throw too and a better defense. And Kramer and Clark were just as if not more highly regarded coming out of HS.
 



MNVCGUY said:
Yeah, Northwestern's defense is solid but it is a massive step down in class from Iowa and Penn State. Even without Morgan the offense should be able to put up some points and on the flip side of that, the Northwestern offense is bad, really really bad. They did manage 22 against Purdue in a losing effort but in the 3 conference games prior to that they managed 6 points total.

Pat Fitzgerald will have them ready to go but if we bounce back and play the way we are capable of playing this one won't be close regardless of who is under center.
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Northwestern's net punting is #112 at 36.06 yards per game. A combination of poor offense and poor punting could lead to good field position for the Gophers.
 



Pompous Elitist said:
If we play an unproven backup QB, NU loads the box and makes said QB beat them things could get interesting in a hurry if the QB struggles. I confess I haven’t followed recent happenings with their injury situation but their defense was pretty good early on. A few turnovers coupled with a stalled offense could be trouble or at least some frayed nerves, low scoring game situation. Fitz will have them as ready as they can be and they tend to improve with time (like everyone). If TM is ready probably a laugher considering their offensive issues.
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I agree. This game worries me.
 



I'm pretty confident regardless of who plays QB. Team will obviously lean heavily on the running game to start, and I'm guessing they'll be fairly successful. If NW loads the box as expected, how hard is it to complete a slant, RPO/PA post, or throw up a 50-50 ball for Bateman or Johnson? We'll have NFL WR's running around and an OL blocking mostly backups. The QB doesn't have to complete 75 - 90% of their passes like Morgan. Complete 50% (with a couple for big plays) and I'm sure the Gophers win comfortably.

Oh, and one more thing: I bet we see a few zone reads or designed QB keeps which is another wrinkle we haven't really seen much of this year in order to protect Tanner. That will help a ton with keeping the running game moving.
 

MGGopher said:
I'm pretty confident regardless of who plays QB. Team will obviously lean heavily on the running game to start, and I'm guessing they'll be fairly successful. If NW loads the box as expected, how hard is it to complete a slant, RPO/PA post, or throw up a 50-50 ball for Bateman or Johnson? We'll have NFL WR's running around and an OL blocking mostly backups. The QB doesn't have to complete 75 - 90% of their passes like Morgan. Complete 50% (with a couple for big plays) and I'm sure the Gophers win comfortably.

Oh, and one more thing: I bet we see a few zone reads or designed QB keeps which is another wrinkle we haven't really seen much of this year in order to protect Tanner. That will help a ton with keeping the running game moving.
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And there is a good chance the defense may get a pick six or strip sack or at least have several costly turnovers in their own territory with how poor their QB play has been.
 


MNVCGUY said:
Yeah, Northwestern's defense is solid but it is a massive step down in class from Iowa and Penn State. Even without Morgan the offense should be able to put up some points and on the flip side of that, the Northwestern offense is bad, really really bad. They did manage 22 against Purdue in a losing effort but in the 3 conference games prior to that they managed 6 points total.

Pat Fitzgerald will have them ready to go but if we bounce back and play the way we are capable of playing this one won't be close regardless of who is under center.
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I think either Clark or Kramer will do just fine.
 


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.
 

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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Those people seem quite loony, but the on paper gap between these teams, even without Morgan, should mean a relatively straightforward game.
 

BeerFueledFF said:
Those people seem quite loony, but the on paper gap between these teams, even without Morgan, should mean a relatively straightforward game.
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Their offense is terrible, but we have to be able to throw the ball effectively, or the run game could be shut down. We’ve only averaged 2.9 YPC over the last two games despite a high powered passing attack. I hope whoever plays can get it done, but until I see them play with my own two eyes, I’ll be nervous.
 

PitinoFan said:
Their offense is terrible, but we have to be able to throw the ball effectively, or the run game could be shut down. We’ve only averaged 2.9 YPC over the last two games despite a high powered passing attack. I hope whoever plays can get it done, but until I see them play with my own two eyes, I’ll be nervous.
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Penn State and Iowa both have fantastic run defenses. Northwestern's is not on the same level.
 

The strength of the team by a mile is the Morgan to WR connection. If that’s missing I sort of reset to my wait and see mode in the preseason - no idea what to expect. Could be much ado about nothing, or it could be a tougher game than we expect. The good news is their pass offense is really, really bad. Worse than MN 2017 bad. They might be down to the fifth stringer at RB?

The last NU game I watched was the Wisconsin game and their defense was really good, certainly good enough to win. Their offense gave up a scoop and score and down the stretch Hunter Johnson or the other backup, maybe both, were knocked out of the game and couldn’t move the ball at the end to steal the win.

Perhaps injuries have stolen their mojo since then but color me officially “concerned” if TM2 can’t play. Not throwing up a white flag but this is a Big Ten team and Fitzgerald and unless it’s Rutgers 2019 have to have some respect.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
The strength of the team by a mile is the Morgan to WR connection. If that’s missing I sort of reset to my wait and see mode in the preseason - no idea what to expect. Could be much ado about nothing, or it could be a tougher game than we expect. The good news is their pass offense is really, really bad. Worse than MN 2017 bad. They might be down to the fifth stringer at RB?

The last NU game I watched was the Wisconsin game and their defense was really good, certainly good enough to win. Their offense gave up a scoop and score and down the stretch Hunter Johnson or the other backup, maybe both, were knocked out of the game and couldn’t move the ball at the end to steal the win.

Perhaps injuries have stolen their mojo since then but color me officially “concerned” if TM2 can’t play. Not throwing up a white flag but this is a Big Ten team and Fitzgerald and unless it’s Rutgers 2019 have to have some respect.
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Can never take NU for granted and the QB situation mucks things up some. That said, will be really disappointing if our defense is not able to shut them down for the most part and with our playmakers on offense we should score enough regardless of who is under center.
 

I’m of the mind that the threat of being burned by the pass helps to open up the run for us at times. And, I worry about a completely inexperienced QB throwing vs a pretty good defense and with nothing to lose they may try to generate some turnover opportunities. Maybe those worries are overblown but I think certainly legitimate until we see what we have in Kramer. It’s concerning for me PJF still hasn’t publicly supported a #2 although I understand that’s most likely political to avoid early transfers. It’s a juggling act to keep QBs in the program.

Still feel like this should be a win given their offense, but the margin for error goes way down IMO. Oh well, it makes for a little more game day drama and excitement.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
If we play an unproven backup QB, NU loads the box and makes said QB beat them things could get interesting in a hurry if the QB struggles. I confess I haven’t followed recent happenings with their injury situation but their defense was pretty good early on. A few turnovers coupled with a stalled offense could be trouble or at least some frayed nerves, low scoring game situation. Fitz will have them as ready as they can be and they tend to improve with time (like everyone). If TM is ready probably a laugher considering their offensive issues.
Click to expand...

I'd hope that one of the two can throw a simple slant route. Even teams with upper tier defenses haven't been able to contain it. Go ahead and stack the box. Lots of easy underneath passes to be had.
 

We're gonna get NU's best effort this Saturday. They will come to play. From that point on, that's why we play them
 


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.
 

I'm predicting 10-15 carries for Seth Green in this one.
 

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