Minnesota vs. Northwestern Free Pick

Northwestern is now a flawless 5-0 and will surely see its AP ranking go up after entering this game as the No. 16 team in the country.

The Boilermakers (1-4, 0-1) turned the ball over three times in the first half.

“To chew up that amount of time with (Minnesota) having the wind was critically important for second-half success, ” Fitzgerald said.

“We played them previous year (a Pittsburgh loss) and certainly know about them”, Chryst said. “They controlled the football game from a standpoint of all three phases”, Kill said.

Leading 27-0 in the fourth quarter, the Wildcats are looking for their second shutout this season.

The Wildcats finished 5-7, posted an identical record in 2014, and came into this season with little fanfare.

“Those games are very valuable because they prepare us to play at the stage and at the level where we believe we can win our division”, Gibson said. Minnesota’s win against a ranked team on the road was 28-24 at Nebraksa last season. The Wildcats also sustained their fair share of defensive injuries last week as well, losing safety Godwin Igwebuike and defensive end Ifeadi Odenigbo; Igwebuike (upper body injury) is listed as questionable for this weekend. Before converting on 4 of 9 against Ohio, Minnesota also went 4 of 20 against Kent State.

As a unit, the Cats held Minnesota starting quarterback Mitch Leidner to 10 completions on 21 attempts before later limiting backup Demry Croft to an even worse 5-11 stat line.

“That’s something we felt we probably should have (done) last week, just to get him a few repetition and see what he can do”, Kill said. The game will be broadcast on Big Ten Network. “500 in those non-conference games and building confidence as a whole unit”. Miles Schuler set up the score with a 55-yard punt return, giving the Wildcats the ball at the Minnesota 5.

But for Minnesota wide receiver KJ Maye, the Gophers inability to execute had more to do with the final result than Northwestern’s defense.

Minnesota might not be as good as folks assumed in the preseason, as the Gophers’ offense continues to struggle mightily. But a replay review overturned the play, and Northwestern ended that drive with a field goal. It will be rare that the Bulldogs face a defense as strong as Alabama’s, which showed that Georgia might not have the ability or players to adjust when one part of its offense is taken away.

Boddy-Calhoun injured his right knee in the 27-24 win over Ohio last week and did not make the trip.

Defense. It’s been Northwestern’s forte all year and on Saturday, the story was no different. Jerry Kill’s squad has never been able to develop quality depth during his five year tenure with the team, much like his predecessors Tim Brewster and Glen Mason.

Why You Need To Care Northwestern has done the exact same thing for four straight games, and it keeps on working. The team’s rushing average sank from 225.5 ypg in 2012 to 172.4 in 2013 to 136.6 ypg last season. Thorson had plenty of help from his ground game as well, with sophomore Justin Jackson racking up 120 yards on the afternoon. Each has thrown four touchdown passes and Thorson has three interceptions compared to only two for Leidner.