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The Northwestern Wildcats and the Minnesota Golden Gophers are even-steven against one another since November of 2016 (2-2), but not for long. Northwestern and the Golden Gophers will face off in a Big Ten battle at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday at Ryan Field. Minnesota should still be riding high after a victory, while Northwestern will be looking to right the ship.
Northwestern's and the Michigan Wolverines' contest last week was up for grabs at halftime, but Northwestern was thoroughly outmatched 23 to nothing in the second half. The Wildcats found themselves the reluctant recipients of an unfortunate 33-7 punch to the gut against the Wolverines. Northwestern was down 27-7 at the end of the third quarter, which was just too much to recover from. A silver lining for them was the play of RB Evan Hull, who punched in one rushing touchdown. That touchdown -- a 75-yard rush in the second quarter -- was one of the highlights of the matchup.
Meanwhile, the Maryland Terrapins typically have all the answers at home, but last week the Golden Gophers proved too difficult a challenge. Minnesota captured a comfortable 34-16 win. They can attribute much of their success to RB Ky Thomas, who rushed for one TD and 139 yards on 21 carries, and RB Mar'Keise Irving, who rushed for one TD and 105 yards on 15 carries. That nimble footwork stands out as the first time Irving has hit the 100-yard rushing mark this season.
The Wildcats are expected to lose this next one by 7.5. Those burned by picking them against the spread last week might want to keep in mind that the squad has not yet dropped back-to-back games against the spread this season.
Northwestern is now 3-4 while Minnesota sits at 5-2. A pair of defensive stats to keep an eye on: Northwestern is 224th worst in the nation in rushing touchdowns allowed, with 14 on the season. Minnesota has experienced some struggles of their own as they are stumbling into the game with the 154th most passing yards allowed per game in the nation, having given up 232.5 on average. It's possible one of these Achilles' heels will wind up tripping the losing team up.
