That’s why I think MSU will squeak one out. They’ll be able to severely limit the Minnesota run game. The question then becomes, can the gopher qb make the necessary plays through the air? One thing going for him is that he’ll have a lot of wide open options to choose from.
Penix diced up MSU’s secondary in part because he unloaded the ball quickly, rendering MSU’s pass rush ineffective. I suspect that, if we get the running game going, then quick hitting RPO passes might be there for us. Slow developing dropback passes? Maybe will work out in the heavy protect package, but our WRs must get separation. If Dylan W, BSM, MBS, Jackson and Geary have a good day at the office, and our defense isn’t a paper tiger, we should leave Spartan Stadium with a victory. If we are forced to rely on the running game too much, because passing is ineffective, MSU probably wins.