Minnesota vs. Northwestern football preview

17th-ranked Golden Gophers host Wildcats on Saturday

Minnesota sophomore quarterback Adam Weber leads by example. He’s fearless and borderline reckless. But he wants to win and that quality is rubbing off on his teammates.

A beat up nose in last week’s 17-6 win at Purdue revealed his determination in a game the Gophers never controlled until midway through the fourth quarter. Weber used a 39-yard run to set up a touchdown pass to tight end Jack Simmons.

“When you want to win and have the opportunity to win the game on the last scoring drive, it’s one of those things where the only thing you have on your mind is scoring,’’ Weber said.

The sneak-up factor for the Gophers is probably now a thing of the past. Weber and the Gophers probably care little. They are in the middle of the Big Ten race and whispers of playing in a Jan. 1 bowl are surfacing. But coach Tim Brewster maintains his mantra of one game at a time. The bowl can wait.

With road wins at Illinois and Purdue, Minnesota starts the second half of Big Ten play Saturday at the Metrodome against banged up Northwestern. And the homecoming phenomenon continues. After being the homecoming opponent for the past two games, Minnesota has made the Wildcats their homecoming opponent.

Few can argue what’s led to this 7-1 start – an opportunistic defense. Minnesota leads the country with 24 takeaways and also leads in turnover ratio (+1.88). The team has converted 16 into 92 points. The Gophers grabbed four against the Boilermakers.

Team speed has improved in the secondary with hard hitters like safeties Tramaine Brock and Kyle Theret and a defensive line that is getting better led by Willie VanDeSteeg and Eric Small.

Although the defense will surrender its share of yards, it has collected 22 sacks and 52 other tackles for loss.

That would appear to be a perfect set up for them to ravage Northwestern. The Wildcats committed five turnovers in last week’s loss to Indiana, lost running back Tyrell Sutton for the season with a wrist injury. Quarterback C.J. Bacher also pulled a hamstring and is questionable.

Coach Pat Fitzgerald will turn to senior Omah Conteh in place of Sutton and Mike Kafka should Bacher not be able to play. Kafka is a better option quarterback so his elusiveness could be a problem. Conteh has been dependable.

“We understand that we are going to get their absolute best shot,’’ Brewster said. “They are highly motivated because they are playing for a bowl.’’

There will come a time when the Gopher defense doesn’t get the turnovers and the offense is going to have to earn it. The offense has been fairly poor in the conference play by scoring 21 or fewer points (in the 27 points against Illinois, the defense scored a TD) in all of its conference games.

It’s been a two-fold problem. The mix-and-match offensive line is not giving Weber much help by yielding 17 sacks and causing the running game to misfire.

The other issue is finding a second wide receiver becomes critical because teams are locking down on All-America candidate Erick Decker. Brandon Green had a 100-yard receiving game Saturday. Offensive coordinator Mike Dunbar just needs Green or somebody to be credible for the last four games.

There is a feeling of confidence at the U. However, the Wildcats have broken Gopher fans’ hearts before in the Metrodome, especially in 2000. A Hail Mary was answered as the Wildcats rallied from a 35-14 deficit to win, 41-35.

Minnesota’s defense can set the tone but the offense can make enough drives. Chances are that will happen.

Prediction: Minnesota 22, Northwestern 16

Notable for the Gophers:

• 6-11 (.353) – That is combined Big Ten record and winning percentage of Minnesota’s final four conference opponents, Northwestern, Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa.
• Wide receiver Ralph Spry will serve the second of his two-game suspension Saturday. Spry did not play last week at Purdue.
• The Gophers are 6-0 in games when they score first.

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