The Minnesota Golden Gophers will be returning home after a two-game road trip. Minnesota and the Rutgers Scarlet Knights will face off in a Big Ten battle at 2:30 p.m. ET on Saturday at Huntington Bank Stadium. RU will be strutting in after a win while the Golden Gophers will be stumbling in from a defeat.
Minnesota might have drawn first blood against the Penn State Nittany Lions last week, but it was Penn State who got the last laugh. Minnesota found themselves the reluctant recipients of an unpleasant 45-17 punch to the gut against the Nittany Lions. Minnesota was down 38-10 at the end of the third quarter, which was just too much to recover from. No one had a standout game offensively for Minnesota, but they got scores from TE Brevyn Spann-Ford and RB Mohamed Ibrahim.
Meanwhile, RU netted a 24-17 victory over the Indiana Hoosiers last week. The victory came about thanks to a strong surge after the first quarter to overcome a 14 to nothing deficit. RU's RB Samuel Brown V filled up the stat sheet, rushing for one TD and 101 yards on 28 carries. This was the first time Brown V has racked up 100+ rushing yards all year.
Minnesota is the favorite in this one, with an expected 14-point margin of victory. Now might not be the best time to take the Golden Gophers against the spread since they've let down bettors for the past three consecutive games.
Minnesota and RU now sit at an identical 4-3. A pair of defensive stats to keep in the back of your head while watching: Minnesota ranks eighth in the nation when it comes to touchdowns allowed, with only 13 on the season. As for the Scarlet Knights, they come into the matchup boasting the sixth fewest rushing yards allowed per game in the nation at 87.4.