IOWA HAWKEYES	Game 5	MINNESOTA GOPHERS
	vs

3 Keys, 2 Players to Watch, 1 Prediction

Stop Big Plays - I really like this Gopher defense...most of the time. They force teams to run a lot of plays, they force a lot of third downs but they also give up way too many big plays and converted 3rd downs. They are not yet consistently doing what they are supposed to be doing on an individual basis and trusting that the other 10 guys are doing exactly what they are supposed to be doing. Correctable mistakes and I hope we see

Plays Through the Air - I think Iowa is going to be very keen on stopping the run, which means they'll be stacking the box, forcing Mitch to throw it. We get Stills back, I already like how our receivers have developed this year and I think we can beat them through the air if they dare us to. Need to hit on a couple big ones in the first half to open up the ground game in the second.

Control Lines of Scrimmage - Both of them, if we lose up front then it won't matter what else happens. Iowa's OL hasn't been great and perhaps we can get some pressure on their QB. Offensively we need to create just enough of a crease to give our backs room to operate. Just have to win the point of attack.

OPPOSING PLAYERS TO WATCH

• #16 - QB - C.J. Beathard - Senior QB who can make big plays, but can also look flustered if we get to him.
• #14 - DB - Desmond King - Last year's top defensive back in the country, he's pretty good.

PREDICTION

I'm not nearly as confident as I probably should be considering how bad Iowa has looked for the last 3 weeks. As usual as the game gets closer I find things to convince myself that we will win. I really do think the offense (if the OL can play well) is going to make a lot of plays and run up some yards, particularly through the air as they put all efforts into stopping the run. The question is, can we prevent big plays from happening. That's the key.

Minnesota - 31
Iowa - 25