Picks and Parlays has Minnesota winning 42-17 The game here is one that the Golden Gophers will have a good showing in. The offense for Minnesota will finally get it put together to pull out the win, but also be able to get the defense to show up on the field and keep the Rhode Island offense in check as well.
College Football News has Minnesota winning 40-13 This is where Max Brosmer starts to look the part. The veteran transfer quarterback from New Hampshire didn’t do much against the Tar Heels, but he should get more time to work, he’ll spread the ball around, and Minnesota will pull away after a rocky first 20 minutes.
The Daily Gopher (SB Nation) has Minnesota with a victory, 34-7 Up front, the Rams’ defense is led by nose guard Westley Neal Jr. and defensive end Malachi Burby, both of whom are fifth-year seniors and multi-year starters. Junior A.J. Pena is their stud linebacker, though former Michigan State and Cincinnati linebacker Devin Hightower bested him in total tackles in the season opener.
Redshirt senior Fredrick Mallay is their top cornerback and tied with redshirt senior safety Emmanuel Gomes for the team lead in tackles against Holy Cross.
Rhode Island operates out of a base 4-3 defense. They weren’t very disruptive in Week 1, only registering three tackles for loss and no sacks. The Rams also failed to force a turnover.
Holy Cross ran for 170 rushing yards and averaged 4.7 yards per carry in the season opener.
I would expect we’ll see a healthy dose of Darius Taylor (if he is cleared to play) and Marcus Major on Saturday, though I do hope head coach P.J. Fleck and offensive coordinator Greg Harbaugh Jr. allow quarterback Max Brosmer to find a rhythm in the passing game. But who will score more points on Saturday? God, I hope it’s the Gophers.
Wolverines - Sports Illustrated is predicting a 27-7 Minnesota victory Week 1 wasn't the start PJ Fleck was looking for. Being the lone Big Ten team to lose its opener, Minnesota is looking for a big bounce back in Week 2. The Gophers can hone in on their offense with Max Brosmer at the helm with a much easier task at hand.
The Star Tribune is picking Minnesota, 38-13 The North Carolina game was an opportunity lost for the Gophers, mainly because they missed out on making a good impression with their fanbase to start the season. They can’t reverse that outcome with a win over Rhode Island. Instead, they need to be sharp in all phases to point themselves in the right direction.
It would be surprising to see Taylor play in this game, so the Gophers will continue to develop depth behind him. On defense, expect much better tackling and a better pass rush against an overmatched opponent.
My expectation: The Gophers have more than enough talent to dominate Rhode Island — if they avoid the mental mistakes and frustrations that follow.
*The Gophers have a six-game winning streak against FCS teams, and coach P.J. Fleck is 2-0 at Minnesota against FCS squads, beating Western Illinois 62-10 in 2022 and South Dakota State 28-21 in 2019.*
The Pioneer Press has Minnesota winning 30-10 Minnesota Offense vs. Rhode Island Defense: At New Hampshire last season, QB Max Brosmer went 41 of 60 for 430 yards and two touchdowns against Rhode Island. He and offensive coordinator Greg Harbaugh have been working on incorporating some things he did versus Rams a year ago into Saturday’s game plan. While Minnesota’s offensive line gave up five sacks, Rhode Island’s defense didn’t register one in Week 1 Edge: Gophers
Minnesota Defense vs. Rhode Island Offense: Rhode Island had six fumbles and lost three last week, including Farrell putting four on ground and losing one. The Gophers nearly had two fumble recoveries a week ago, but a penalty and a lucky bounce got in the way. DC Corey Hetherman mentioned this as an area to exploit this week. Edge: Gophers
Prediction: The Big Ten went 6-0 against FCS schools by an average margin of 39-4 in Week 1. Minnesota gets in on the gravy train against the lower level teams this week. More importantly, the U cleans up mistakes that hurt all three units in opener.
Gopher Illustrated has Minnesota coming out victorious, 38-9 If PJ Fleck and Minnesota are going to walk out of Huntington Bank Stadium with a win, it comes down to the same formula as with most Gopher victories. Dominate time of possession, win the explosive play margin, and don't miss as many tackles as the other team. Welcome to the 78% that Fleck is constantly referencing.
Last week against North Carolina, you lost time of possession. They lost the explosive play margin and missed far more tackles. It's tough to win many football games when you lose all three.
With peace and love to the Rhode Island Rams of the CAA, this game should not be close by 2:30 PM on Saturday afternoon. They're currently an unranked FCS team, so it's not like the Bison or Jackrabbits are coming to town.
I don't believe that the Rams have the bodies to hold up for 60 minutes, and the Gophers start to clean up their mistakes from last week to get their first win of the season.
With that said, PJ Fleck has a well-chronicled history of going vanilla in these games and making them much closer than they need to be. So be prepared to do a little sweating. Brosmer faced the Rams a year ago and threw for over 300 yards in an overtime loss. Don’t expect the loss or many passing yards.
Husker Extra has Minnesota winning 33-10 Gopher quarterback Max Brosmer lost to the Rams last season while quarterbacking New Hampshire. He’ll get revenge this weekend, insomuch as a Minnesota player could against URI.
