The Minnesota Golden Gophers and Northwestern Wildcats meet Saturday in week 11 Big Ten college football action from TCF Bank Stadium. Northwestern is fresh off a game versus Ohio State. The Wildcats would go on to lose by 14 points. As for the Gophers, they played Nebraska in their last game. In that one Minnesota got a victory by one TD. Check back all season long for free college football picks at Sports Chat Place.
Northwestern won their first game of the year 31-28 over Nebraska. The Wildcats would hit a bad losing streak after that however, falling to Duke, Southern Illinois, Miami-OH, Penn State, Wisconsin, Maryland and Iowa over the next seven outings.
In the Ohio State game, the Wildcats had an early lead but couldn’t score over the final three quarters in a 21-7 loss. QB Brendan Sullivan posted 79 yards on 10-of-14 passing, and Evan Hull carried 30 times for 122 yards and one score.
Over on the Minnesota side, they won their first four games this year versus New Mexico State, Western Illinois, Colorado and Michigan State. After losses to Purdue, Illinois and Penn State over the next three, the Gophers would beat Rutgers in a shutout.
Matched up against Nebraska, Minnesota faced a 10-0 deficit going into the third quarter. The Gophers outscored the Huskers 20-3 in the second half for a 20-13 win. QB Athan Kaliakmanis notched 137 yards, and Mohamed Ibrahim added 128 yards and two touchdowns.
The Wildcats are 2-6 ATS in the last eight road games and 1-5 ATS in the last six on turf. Northwestern is 0-6 ATS in their last six after an ATS win.
Meanwhile, the Gophers are 6-1 ATS in their last seven at home and 4-1 ATS versus a team with a losing record. Minnesota is 1-4 ATS in their last five overall.
PICK: I’m going to stay with Northwestern. The Wildcats did an admirable job against a very good Ohio State team over the weekend despite posting just 285 yards (206 rushing), 17 first downs and 3.8 yards per play. Northwestern held the Buckeyes to 283 total yards, 13 first downs and 4-of-15 on third downs on the other side.
As for the Gophers, they got the win over Nebraska in their last outing but it wasn’t pretty. Minnesota finished with 300 total yards, 18 first downs and 3-of-11 on third downs. This should be an interesting matchup, and I think the Wildcats can keep the pace.