Hoosier Huddle's Game Day Primer: Indiana (4-4) at Minnesota (3-4)
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The Hoosiers take on the Gophers Friday night at 8pm Image: Sammy Jacobs Hoosier Huddle
Written by T.J. Inman
Week Nine Primer – Minnesota Golden Gophers
What: Indiana Hoosiers (4-4) at Minnesota Golden Gophers (3-4)
Where: TCF Bank Stadium
When: Friday, October 26, 8:00 pm
How to Watch: The game will be broadcast on FS1. You can also listen to the legendary Don Fischer on the radio on any IU Radio Network station.
What’s at Stake: To be blunt, the success or failure of the season likely hangs in the balance on Friday night for both Indiana and Minnesota. The Golden Gophers still have potentially winnable games against Illinois, Purdue, Wisconsin and Northwestern. Beating Indiana gives them four wins and means they just need two of those final four games to go bowling. The Hoosiers are in better shape, with four wins in hand, a victory in Minneapolis places Indiana one victory from bowl eligibility with a matchup at home against Maryland in two weeks. The losing team will be very, very unlikely to make a bowl game this season.
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Things to Watch
1. Dominate in the Trenches
Indiana struggles to stretch the field vertically with Peyton Ramsey at quarterback. That deficiency allows the opposing defense to crash the box and it has made it difficult for the Hoosiers to run the ball effectively on a consistent basis. Stevie Scott has been very impressive all season, particularly for a freshman but last Saturday was the first time IU this year the Hoosiers have dominated in the running game against a high-quality opponent. The offensive line was blasting the Nittany Lions defensive front off the ball and Scott and fellow freshman Ronnie Walker had great success rushing. Minnesota has struggled to defend the run recently. They are currently 108th in rushing defense (S&P+) and they were gashed by Nebraska and Iowa in recent weeks. IU is going to have to find some success in the passing game but the bread and butter of the game plan is likely to be the running game and it will need to be effective.
2. Limit Mistakes
Indiana continues to shoot itself in the foot and find ways to lose important games. Despite the emphasis on special teams this past offseason (Tom Allen devoted more practice time to it and William Inge became the special teams coach), IU has struggled in kickoff coverage. It cost them the Penn State game and big returns have been allowed in other contests as well. In addition, IU has had some big fumbles that have hurt and potentially swung outcomes. Minnesota has been good punting the ball (5th in punting efficiency) but they’ve been only average in every other special teams metric. It is likely to be a bit rainy on Friday night so ball security could be an issue in the contest. The Hoosiers simply have to play a cleaner game in Minneapolis and they must prevent special teams from becoming a storyline yet again.
3. Stopping the Gophers
Despite an injury suffered in last weekend’s game at Nebraska, freshman quarterback Zack Annexstad is expected to be the starting signal-caller for the Gophers. He has been decidedly average in his debut season, completing 52.2% of his passes and throwing nine touchdowns to seven interceptions. Tyler Johnson is by far their most effective wideout, catching 47 passes for more than 700 yards. Rashod Bateman is really the only other scary target but there’s not much depth to be worried about. The running game has been impacted by the loss of Rodney Smith and Shannon Brooks but Mohamed Ibrahim has been a nice surprise, averaging 5.2 yards per carry. IU will have to keep an eye on Wildcat quarterback Seth Green, particularly inside of the red zone. He leads Minnesota with six rushing touchdowns. The offense is ranked only 95th in S&P+ so the Hoosiers defense will have the opportunity to have some success.
What the Sharps are Saying
The Vegas line favors the Hoosiers by 2.5 on the road, however ESPN’s FPI gives Minnesota a 58.2-percent chance of victory.
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