Buckle up everyone who likes a high-paced, spread offense that runs a mile-per-minute while putting up staggering amounts of points and yardage, this is a throwback Big Ten game.
All-time, the Michigan Wolverines have dominated the Minnesota Golden Gophers, with the Wolverines taking a stunning 74-25-3 advantage over the Gophers. In a battle for the Little Brown Jug that has raged since 1892, this will hearken back to the old-school days of Big Ten football, when both teams put their trust in the defense far more than in their quarterbacks.
Both of these teams have very poor, low-scoring offensive squads that have to find a way to put points on the board. This game will come down to turnovers and who can score with the extra opportunities.
Rough Offense
The redshirt freshman quarterback Brandon Peters will be making his first start against the Gophers after a solid showing against Rutgers, putting on three scoring drives after taking over for John O’Korn.
Peters has played two-and-a-half quarters of football and Michigan is just trying to put someone on the field that can find the end zone. While he might be just what the Michigan’s offense is looking for — which ranks 91st in college with 375 total yards per game and 26.4 points per game — the sample size is small. To this point, he has also only played against the Rutgers defense.
The real problem for the Wolverines offense is their turnover margin. They currently sit with a minus-4 turnover margin this season, which ranks them No. 98 in the country.
The Gophers also have had their quarterback trouble. While they have a turnover margin of plus-5, they will need the quarterback to play well against a sack-dependent defense.
And while quarterback Demry Croft has not looked stunning in the last two starts, he is still the starter over Conor Rhoda, and his mobility will be important against the Wolverines.
Since both teams can only find roughly 20 points on a given weekend, every possession is very important. Which means that Croft must dig deep and find some part of himself that does not turn the ball over in the red zone.
Croft’s play must be particularly efficient because of the way Michigan will load the box against the running game of the Gophers. Last week, Iowa did a great job playing their linebackers down to fill the gaps and clog up their opponent’s running game. Croft will have this game squarely on his shoulders.
Getting the ball to receivers Tyler Johnson and Eric Carter would be even better. This is going to force the passing attack to grow, and quickly.
Elite Defense
Both sides of the matchup have top-level defenses, which excel in different areas. The Gophers defense is ranked 22nd in total defense, giving up 18.8 points per game while Michigan is ranked fourth, allowing 18 points.
Both teams will also force the quarterbacks to win the game, with the Gophers allowing 132.8 rushing yards per game paired with the Wolverines 104.1 let up.
However, there are two big differences between these squads: The Wolverines rush the passer incredibly well, while the Gophers create plenty of turnovers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U94L3wj5Oe0
In one corner, the Michigan defense ranks No. 5 in the country with 27 sacks along with 23 quarterback hurries. The front of the Wolverines is a truly vicious bunch, tearing into the pocket of opposing offenses like, well much like an actual Wolverine.
Not only does the front persecute the quarterback, they also get after the running game by racking up 65 tackles for loss. Defensive lineman Chase Winovich has taken down opposing quarterbacks seven times while taking down 10 tackles for loss. Linebacker Devin Bush is hot on his heels with five sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss.
Croft will spend most of this game running for his life, with a stifled running attack as his only bailout.
The Minnesota defense has been the Road Runner of college football, with anvils thrown at them time and again, somehow dodging every obstacle and finding success. This team has racked up eight interceptions and 11 forced fumbles, repeatedly coming up with the football for their offense.
Not only have they done a tremendous job despite injuries to key players in the secondary — Kiondre Thomas, Antonio Shenault and Antoine Winfield Jr. — they have managed to stay consistent despite repeated blunders from the offense. Plugging players like Jacob Huff and Kan Handy-Holly in for success has been major.
It helps that their linebacker corps of Jonathan Celestin, Thomas Barber, Kamal Martin and Carter Coughlin have been the backbone of the defense, a group with three interceptions and five forced fumbles.
One defense will try to choke out the offense, while the other will look to gain extra possessions. This will be all about which offense can make the most of the opportunities their top-tier defenses give them.
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