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| NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS | Game 11 | MINNESOTA GOPHERS |
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| vs |  |
| Date: | November 22, 2014 | Location: | Lincoln, NE |
| Time: | 11:00 AM Central | Stadium: | Memorial Stadium |
| TV: | ESPN | Radio: | KOOL 108 (107.9 FM) Gophers Radio Network XM Ch 84 Sirius Ch 84 |
| Internet Stream: | ESPN3 | Know Thy Foe: | Corn Nation |
| Weather: | 55 degrees and mostly cloudy (with a chance of Gopher touchdowns) | ||
| Line: | Nebraska -10 | ||
3 Keys, 2 Players to Watch, 1 Prediction
Stick to the Blueprint - Field position...win it. Turnovers? Don't do it. Can we run the ball on these guys? I think so.
Don't Sleep on Kenny Bell - Even with Abdullah having a gimpy knee he is the focus of the Nebraska offense but the secondary can't sleep on Bell who will break off big plays if we do. I love our secondary and am confident that they'll be up to the task.
Stay Out of Early Hole - I did some real, in-depth research and you may be surprised to learn that Jerry Kill has only one win at Minnesota when trailing at haltime. The pattern this year, really dating back into last year is to get down early and then we settle down and get back into the game. TCU, Illinois, Iowa and Ohio State all scored first in the first quarter. Michigan was the first to strike in that game and Purdue took a lead into half-time over the Gophers. I think I actually prefer a 0-0 first quarter rather than jumping out to an early lead, but most importantly just don't get into an early hole.
OPPOSING PLAYERS TO WATCH
- #8 - RB - Ameer Abdullah - slowed by a bothersome knee but has been playing through it. Abdullah is one of the best backs we will see (until next week) and is a significant key to the Cornhusker offense.
- #4 - DE - Randy Gregory - injured last week in the Wisconsin game but has been practicing on a limited basis this week.
PREDICTION
I'm strangely confident in this game. I kinda think we are going to win. Nebraska may come out like a wounded and angry bear today after getting their ass kicked at Wisconsin and think they can take out their anger on the Gophers. Or they are a wounded and broken animal right now that will crumble if pushed just a little bit. A Gopher win today might put that program, particularly the current coaching staff, under a lot more scrutiny than they are already seeing. I think the Gophers are going to play well today, I think Mitch has a better game than last week and this homer is going to predict a Gopher win. Top shelf bourbon for all of us tonight!
Minnesota - 24
Nebraska - 20