(by Jonathan Lewis MN Sports Unlimited contributor)
The
Gopher football team will try for their first Big 10 win at Purdue today.
Coming off a 31-24 loss to Maryland, the Gophers have plenty they can do to
improve today. But Purdue will not be an easy task for the Gophers. The
Boilermakers are 2-2 and coming off a 28-10 loss to Michigan.
Keys
to a Win
One
massive key for the Gophers today is to get the running game back on track.
Maryland dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, preventing
Shannon Brooks and Rodney Smith from getting any sort of impactful yards on the
ground. On the opposite side of the ball the Gophers defensive line must do a
better job preventing Purdue from having success running the ball. Maryland ran
wild against the Gophers defense, and with Purdue being a much more successful
team throwing the football than running it is important to force Purdue to be
one dimensional.
Player
who needs to step up
Connor
Rhoda needs to have a bounceback performance today against Purdue. Rhoda had 2
very critical interceptions in the loss to Maryland and needs to step up today
for the Gophers to win. If the Gophers can find success on the ground that will
open things up for Rhoda and I think he will be able to put together a nice
performance today in a tough road environment.
Final
Prediction
100
yards each for Brooks and Smith and Rhoda throws for 2 touchdowns as the
Gophers win 34-24.
I think this is a must win for the Gophers. With the Maryland game I felt they could win 7 games so they can't afford to lose to Purdue. Connor Rhoda needs to step it up so it should be interesting.
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