Are playing ourselves this week?

[GlideCat]

Solid defense, struggling offense, heavy injuries

What other similarities between NU and Minny?

What is dissimilar? I would have said special teams was a toss-up before Ball State but we did not have a good special teams day compared to the Duke game. Minny may come in with an advantage there.

These are two very evenly matched teams.

 

[gocatsgo2003]

At least when we were clicking in the third quarter, our offense can be a LOT more explosive than Minnesota.

 

[EvanstonCat]

Upon reflection, you have a point. We saw some upside with Thorson and the O yesterday. It was very, very promising.

 

[GlideCat]

At least when we were clicking in the third quarter, our offense can be a LOT more explosive than Minnesota.

I liked the third quarter but am keeping in mind that one good quarter and one okay quarter (fourth) against the Ball State defense is not proof that they have turned the corner yet. We will know a lot more after we see them against the Minny defense which is - in my totally ignorant opinion - the best defense that we have seen to date.

 

[rmndcat]

Solid defense, struggling offense, heavy injuries

What other similarities between NU and Minny?

What is dissimilar? I would have said special teams was a toss-up before Ball State but we did not have a good special teams day compared to the Duke game. Minny may come in with an advantage there.

These are two very evenly matched teams.

Duke looked a lot like us going into that game, too.

 

[gocatsgo2003]

I liked the third quarter but am keeping in mind that one good quarter and one okay quarter (fourth) against the Ball State defense is not proof that they have turned the corner yet. We will know a lot more after we see them against the Minny defense which is - in my totally ignorant opinion - the best defense that we have seen to date.

So when I said "can," that's exactly what I meant.

 

[GlideCat]

Duke looked a lot like us going into that game, too.

Good point. And that game ended up turning on turnovers and special teams. Two very evenly matched teams. If we are behind on turnover margin with Minny, we likely lose.

 

[MRCat95]

I liked the third quarter but am keeping in mind that one good quarter and one okay quarter (fourth) against the Ball State defense is not proof that they have turned the corner yet. We will know a lot more after we see them against the Minny defense which is - in my totally ignorant opinion - the best defense that we have seen to date.

I don't think Minny's defense is any better than Duke or even Stanford.

 

[mybrotha]

Solid defense, struggling offense, heavy injuries

What other similarities between NU and Minny?

What is dissimilar? I would have said special teams was a toss-up before Ball State but we did not have a good special teams day compared to the Duke game. Minny may come in with an advantage there.

These are two very evenly matched teams.

I think we are much better than Minnesota right now. They are barely beating Mac teams at home. Granted it's not like we fair much better against the Mac either. I'd bet, no pun intended that we are 6.5 to 7.5 favorites next Saturday

 

[GlideCat]

I think we are much better than Minnesota right now. They are barely beating Mac teams at home. Granted it's not like we fair much better against the Mac either. I'd bet, no pun intended that we are 6.5 to 7.5 favorites next Saturday

I will be interested in the lines. I would anticipate it being closer than that due to concerns about our offense.

 

[NJCat83588]

I will be interested in the lines. I would anticipate it being closer than that due to concerns about our offense.

Early lines have NU favored by 6. I didn't see an O/U....

I'll take Minny and 6 in a close game one way or the other.

 

[Katatonic]

Might come down to STs or TOs, or might come down to which O-line is healthier and plays better.

 

[fencejumpers]

A view from the other side . . . I have been saying that these two teams are very similar as well. I think this game comes down to which team fares better in recovering from all their injury hits this week and turnovers. Northwestern has played very well this year, excepting last week's blip, and has earned their ranking. Minnesota has been slower out of the gate in part due to being hit with numerous injuries to their offensive line and tight ends (games 2 and 3, we were missing our expected top 3 te guys returning for the season). That being said, I still think these two teams match up very similar, and the game could go either way.

 

[pawildcat]

I think we are much better than Minnesota right now. They are barely beating Mac teams at home. Granted it's not like we fair much better against the Mac either. I'd bet, no pun intended that we are 6.5 to 7.5 favorites next Saturday

Minny's D will keep the game close. NU needs to tighten up on the turnovers. Our D should be able to keep them mostly in check, even if Godwin doesn't play.

 

[hdhntr1]

Solid defense, struggling offense, heavy injuries

What other similarities between NU and Minny?

What is dissimilar? I would have said special teams was a toss-up before Ball State but we did not have a good special teams day compared to the Duke game. Minny may come in with an advantage there.

These are two very evenly matched teams.

That said, they are both run oriented teams but they are without the solid running attack that they have had in the past couple years. I give us the advantage there. Glad it is here. Looks like it may rain on Sat so the running game and ball security will be even more important. They will likely have an advantage at QB if CT cannot clean up the mistakes.

 

[Sheffielder]

I'd say we played ourselves last week, as evidenced by the 24-19 final score.

I honestly believe we are better than Minny right now, but that doesn't mean we'll win the game (or cover if we do). But as far as "easy" conference wins go, this one is on the list...can't let it slip through our fingers.

 

[fencejumpers]

I'd say we played ourselves last week, as evidenced by the 24-19 final score.

I honestly believe we are better than Minny right now, but that doesn't mean we'll win the game (or cover if we do). But as far as "easy" conference wins go, this one is on the list...can't let it slip through our fingers.

I suppose it depends on your definition of "easy", and it is all relative to the rest of your schedule, but I never go into the Northwestern game thinking it will be an easy conference game whether at home or on the road. The Gophers have won the last two years (by 7 and 3 points). Northwestern won the previous 3 years (by 8, 1, and 14 points). So in the last 5 years, there has been only won game that was decided by essentially more than one td. I expect this game to be nothing less than a close dogfight with 2 very good defenses, and two inconsistent offenses that have both shown some signs of life.