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Minnesota Gopher Football: Three keys to beating No. 20 North Carolina and how to watch

How do you watch the Gophers vs No. 20 North Carolina and 3 keys to a Minnesota win

By GopherNation
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Appalachian State v North Carolina Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images

So now the Gopher defense gets to go up against one of the top NFL QB prospects in the country. Can they contain him and beat the No. 20-ranked Tar Heels?

How to Watch

TV: ESPN
Time: 2:30
Stream: ESPN streaming

In a season where the schedule is brutal, a road, non-conference game against a ranked P5 school is on brand.

3 KEYS

  • Gopher secondary needs to be elite - This is going to be one of the great challenges for the Gopher secondary. I’m really looking forward to the chess match of Tyler Nubin against Drake Maye. The Gopher secondary against the Carolina passing game is going to be fun.
  • Keep the run game going - If Darius Taylor can have a repeat performance and the Gopher offense can control the time of possession (assuming they can get into the end zone from inside the 5), that will go a LONG WAY toward a Gopher win.
  • No dumb mistakes - No dumb penalties, no careless turnovers...it doesn’t have to be perfect, but we cannot

OPPOSING PLAYERS TO WATCH

  • #10 QB- Drake Maye - A top 5 pick in next spring’s draft, this guy is a special talent.
  • #33 LB - Cecric Gray - senior linebacker who is making a lot of tackles. Get a hat on Gray so Taylor and Tyler can run free.

PREDICTION

I actually like this matchup for the Gophers. If we can run the ball, I think we can win this one. I can see a path to a Gopher win, but also there’s a reason North Carolina is favored today. This is a talented team and I’ll take the easy prediction.

Minnesota - 17
North Carolina - 24

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