Just how dangerous is Middle Tennessee?
After getting stuffed by Vanderbilt in the first week, the Blue Raiders came out and ripped up Syracuse in a stunning Week 2 win. They’re good enough to win the Conference USA title, and if last week was any indication, they’ve got the defense humming to go along with Brent Stockstill and the passing attack.
Minnesota got over a sluggish performance against Buffalo to destroy Oregon State on the road. The 48-14 win showed off the ground game that carries over from the former regime, and now head coach P.J. Fleck might have the pieces in place to keep on progressing going into the Big Ten opener against Maryland.
But again, Middle Tennessee is good enough to screw everything up.
The third time these two have met, Minnesota won the other two times, but both games were battles. The Gophers won the 2010 opener 24-17, and got by 35-24 in 2014....
One Reason Why Minnesota Will Win
The passing game is coming through when it has to – at least it did against Oregon State.
Conor Rhoda can’t carry the offense by himself, but he hit 7-of-8 passes for 158 yards and a score, averaging close to 20 yards per completion against the Beavers.
The 1-2 rushing punch of Rodney Smith and Shannon Brooks might not be dynamic, but it wears teams down. Minnesota is third in the nation in time of possession. The longer this goes, the more effective the ground game will be.
What’s Going To Happen
Middle Tennessee will provide a nice scare for the Gopher home crowd that’s used to them.
Minnesota isn’t going to run away and hide with this, but as always, it’ll crank up the ground attack just enough in the second half to survive.
Minnesota vs. Middle Tennessee Prediction
Minnesota 23, Middle Tennessee 14
http://collegefootballnews.com/2017/09/minnesota-middle-tennessee-prediction-game-preview
After getting stuffed by Vanderbilt in the first week, the Blue Raiders came out and ripped up Syracuse in a stunning Week 2 win. They’re good enough to win the Conference USA title, and if last week was any indication, they’ve got the defense humming to go along with Brent Stockstill and the passing attack.
Minnesota got over a sluggish performance against Buffalo to destroy Oregon State on the road. The 48-14 win showed off the ground game that carries over from the former regime, and now head coach P.J. Fleck might have the pieces in place to keep on progressing going into the Big Ten opener against Maryland.
But again, Middle Tennessee is good enough to screw everything up.
The third time these two have met, Minnesota won the other two times, but both games were battles. The Gophers won the 2010 opener 24-17, and got by 35-24 in 2014....
One Reason Why Minnesota Will Win
The passing game is coming through when it has to – at least it did against Oregon State.
Conor Rhoda can’t carry the offense by himself, but he hit 7-of-8 passes for 158 yards and a score, averaging close to 20 yards per completion against the Beavers.
The 1-2 rushing punch of Rodney Smith and Shannon Brooks might not be dynamic, but it wears teams down. Minnesota is third in the nation in time of possession. The longer this goes, the more effective the ground game will be.
What’s Going To Happen
Middle Tennessee will provide a nice scare for the Gopher home crowd that’s used to them.
Minnesota isn’t going to run away and hide with this, but as always, it’ll crank up the ground attack just enough in the second half to survive.
Minnesota vs. Middle Tennessee Prediction
Minnesota 23, Middle Tennessee 14
http://collegefootballnews.com/2017/09/minnesota-middle-tennessee-prediction-game-preview
