Minnesota at Wisconsin Preview: Odds, TV Schedule, HATE, HATE, and HATE

Opening Thoughts

I lived in Madison, WI for 10 years. I once had a beer poured on me at The Dry Bean in Fitchburg (i.e. long way from campus) for having the temerity to wear a Gopher t-shirt to a Tuesday karaoke night in June. I saw a 10 year old Purdue fan get hit with a cup of beer thrown at his father (think that through, nothing about that is right or makes sense). I've been to games at Camp Randall under Mason (where UW fans said they hoped he didn't get fired), under Brew (where UW fans said they REALLY hoped he didn't get fired), and under Kill (where people mostly wondered who Philip Nelson was and if it was a trap). There's a reason UW fans aren't saying the same things about the Gophers under Coach Kill. It's because these aren't the same old Gophers. That may or may not translate into a win tomorrow, but it certainly has me excited. Everything else I mentioned? That's just some of where the HATE comes from.

Gnome #TAKES

The one, the only, the original Gopher gnome is back. The other gnomes demanded it following the road win against Nebraska. His message is simple:

Feel it, channel it, win that Axe!

Light Pre-Preview Reading

***TDG Links - Regular Posts***

Models and Bottles - Wisconsin

Mitch Leidner - The Key To Beating UW?

TBT: The Badgers Are Bacon Thieves

HATE WEEK Q&A With Bucky's 5th Quarter

Gophers Depth Chart Versus Wisconsin

***TDG Links - Axe Posts***

Gary Andersen Wants To Hide The Axe

Gary Andersen Retracts The Stupid Thing He Said, Kind Of

Wisconsin's Goal Post Plan Still Has A Problem

The Murky History Of The Goal Post Chop

***Enemy Links From Bucky's 5th Quarter***

Who Will Win The Big Ten West?

Q&A With TDG

Badger Players Displeased With Andersen's Axe Plan

And..........

Why is the Wisconsin hockey team so bad?

When/Where

Date: 11/29/14

Kickoff Time: 2:30 PM CST

Where: Camp Randall Stadium, Madison, WI

Watch/Listen

TV: Big Ten Network

Streaming Video: BTN2Go

Radio: KFAN (100.3 in the Twin Cities) and the Gopher Radio Network (Radio Affiliates).

Streaming Audio: Locate KFAN on IHeartRadio.com (or the IHeartRadio app for your mobile device)

Satellite Radio: SiriusXM 135; Sirius 196; XM 196

Odds

Spread: Wisconsin by 14.5

Over/Under: 50

Weather Forecast

Low 30's for the tailgate.

Mid to upper 30's for the game.

Staying just as "warm" for the postgame party.

Cloudy or mostly cloudy the whole time.

TL;DR? A gray cold day in Madison.

The Enemy

Where Are They From?

Madison, WI

Ok, that might be a bit hyperbolic and it is also a little light on the cheese curds.

All Time Series: Minnesota leads 59-56-8. Yes, Wisconsin finally stopped trying to claim they could tie the series after this season.

Last Season: 9-4 (6-2). The losses included the "Kneel Down" game against Arizona State and the end of the season loss to Penn State that made everyone laugh.

2014 To Date: 9-2 (6-1). An enjoyable loss to LSU to open the year and a loss to Northwestern. If you ignore all the big runs by Melvin Gordon the Badgers rushed really terribly in that loss.

Head Coach: Gary Andersen, hater of rivalries.

Little Known Gary Andersen Facts:

Gary Andersen has lots of thoughts on ladders. Lots of ‘em. Don’t go under ‘em, don’t step above the 5th rung.

— Matt Humbert (@MVofDT) November 25, 2014

Gary Andersen doesn't allow YouTube videos to be shared on mobile devices.

— Elliot Mann (@elliotmann) November 25, 2014

Gary Andersen thinks @BadgerMHockey plays an exciting brand of hockey.

— Fake Don Lucia (@FakeDonLucia) November 25, 2014

Gary Andersen asks for socks for Christmas.

— Steve B. (@zipsofakron) November 25, 2014

Players To Watch:

No players, just HATE VINE:

Keys To The Game

- Mitch: We probably aren't going to see David Cobb. This game is going to come down to Mitch's ability to pass the ball when UW sells out on the run.

- No turnovers: We're on the road, no getting into a turnover based hole. I'm a broken record with this. Don't care.

- BELIEVE: These are not the same old Gophers. I think the players buy into that, but I don't think they can buy into it enough.

- Slow Gordon down: You aren't going to stop him. Just hold him in check enough to take advantage of the inevitable Badger QB mistake.

How Afraid Am I?

On a scale of 1 to 5 "Brewsters on his face" (1 being not a afraid, 5 being very afraid)?

NO FEAR. ONLY HATE.

Completely Worthless Prediction

I'm selling out for the homer. The head says we lose by ten. The heart says Minnesota 24, Wisconsin 23.