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The Northwestern Wildcats and the Minnesota Golden Gophers will face off in a Big Ten clash at 3:30 p.m. ET Nov. 12 at Huntington Bank Stadium. Minnesota will be strutting in after a victory while the Wildcats will be stumbling in from a defeat.
It was all tied up 7-7 at halftime, but Northwestern was not quite the Ohio State Buckeyes' equal in the second half when they met last week. Northwestern fell to OSU 21-7. The losing side was boosted by RB Evan Hull, who rushed for one TD and 122 yards on 30 carries. Hull's performance made up for a slower matchup against the Iowa Hawkeyes two weeks ago.
Meanwhile, Minnesota bagged a 20-13 win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers last week. It was another big night for the Golden Gophers' RB Mohamed Ibrahim, who rushed for two TDs and 128 yards on 32 carries.
Minnesota's defense was a presence as well, as it got past Nebraska's offensive line to sack the QB four times total. It was a group effort with five guys contributing.
Northwestern is the clear underdog, so they're hoping it's the size of the fight that determines this one. Those who got lucky with them against the spread last week might want to hold off on placing bets this time since the team has yet to string together back-to-back wins against the spread.
Northwestern is now 1-8 while Minnesota sits at 6-3. Two defensive stats to keep an eye on: The Wildcats come into the game boasting the 35th fewest passing yards allowed per game in the nation at 204.7. But the Golden Gophers are even better: they rank fourth in the nation when it comes to passing yards allowed per game, with only 162.9 on average. We'll see if that edge gives Minnesota a route to victory.
