Northwestern Football: Can Wildcats avoid Week 12 letdown vs. Minnesota?
Northwestern football hits the road this week to take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers in Week 12. Can the Wildcats avoid a major letdown?
Northwestern has clinched the Big Ten West for the first time ever and has the opportunity to win their first Big Ten Championship since Randy Walker got them that far in 2000. The most interesting factoid to note is that Northwestern could enter the Big Ten Championship Game with a 6-6 record and would be going up against a (most likely) one-loss Michigan or Ohio State team.
Northwestern is coming off of a big win over Iowa in which they laid sole claim to the top of the Big Ten West. Isaiah Bowser had the biggest day for the Wildcats with 165 yards on the ground with a score against an Iowa defense that is no pushover. Clayton Thorson didn’t do too much to help his draft stock in this one by going 15-for-30 with 122 yards with a score and two picks. He lit up for a few weeks this season after the Wildcats lost Jeremy Larkin but since the emergence of Bowser has seemingly reverted back to the old Clayton Thorson.
Defensively, the Wildcats gave Iowa nothing in the air or on the ground. Nate Stanley completed 27 of his 41 total passes for 269 yards (6.59 yards per attempt) for one score. They also held the stable of backs Mekhi Sargent, Toren Young, and Ivory Kelly-Martin to 3.5 yards per carry and didn’t give up much to star tight end Noah Fant in the process.
Minnesota took on Purdue last weekend and held the dynamic Jeff Brohm offense to virtually nothing while also hanging 41 points on them. Mohamed Ibrahim accounted for most of the Gopher offensive yards with 155 yards on the ground but unfortunately couldn’t find the end zone.
Quarterback-turned-tight end Seth Green threw and rushed for a touchdown and even wide receiver Tyler Johnson tried to get a pass in during the game.
Can Minnesota reach bowl eligibility against the Big Ten West division champs?
Date: Saturday, Nov. 17
Time: 12 p.m. ET
Location: Minneapolis, Minn.
Venue: TCF Bank Stadium
TV: Big Ten Network
Live Stream: BTN2Go or FuboTV
Keys to Victory
It’s essentially the same story with different names.
Minnesota needs to slow up Isaiah Bowser and make Thorson throw the ball. The latter has thrown just as many interceptions as he has touchdowns this season and even though he can be an incredible passer at his best, he’s miserable at his worst. If the Gophers can catch him on a bad day then they are off to a really good start.
On offense, Ibrahim needs to carry the workload while Tanner Morgan does just enough to keep the offense opened up and keep the Northwestern defense honest.
Northwestern’s path to victory is very similar. Tanner Morgan was only recently named the starting quarterback for the Gophers due to an injury to Zach Annexstad and he’s the person that has to beat Northwestern.
Commit the front seven to stop the run and make Tanner Morgan throw the ball and make mistakes. Thorson’s inconsistencies can’t be counted on in this game which means that Isaiah Bowser needs to get the ball as much as possible and avoid making mistakes.
Betting Odds
Courtesy of OddsShark
Points Spread: Minnesota -2
Over/Under: 47.5
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Prediction
Both teams are riding high off of wins but Minnesota has more to play for. Northwestern clinched the division last week and no matter what they do they aren’t going to be eliminated from the Big Ten Championship Game and they are nowhere near the College Football Playoff. This one is competitive but PJ Fleck pulls it out in the end.
Final Score: Minnesota 27, Northwestern 23