Minnesota vs michigan game preview

Michigan @ Minnesota game preview. Michigan's 3-1 record tells their story almost too well.

The Wolverines have now won a game they probably should have lost. Then they lost one they should have won, a gut-wrenching defeat to Iowa last week in which a sure win slipped away late. This team has an extremely accurate record; good enough to win, not yet clean enough to close. That's the theme for Saturday's trip to Minneapolis, a game that the Wolverines absolutely need to win.

The defense held Iowa scoreless through three quarters. The offense, by most accounts, took real steps forward moving the football. Those are the building blocks of a good team. What's missing is the connective tissue: timely football, and the killer instinct to put opponents away. On the road, in a hostile building, a team that lets opponents hang around eventually gets burned. The pieces are on the table. Now they have to work together and at the right times to put teams away. With the ball in his hand one first down away from victory, this Michigan offense failed to cash in againt Iowa late. The offense will need timely production when it matters as Big Ten play begins.

Minnesota: The Archetypal Team Nobody Wants to Play

The Gophers are 3-1 and coming off a win that mattered. Last week at Washington, Minnesota earned its first road victory in over two years. The defense piled up seven sacks, which tells you the front seven is legitimate. That group is led by preseason Defensive Player of the Year Anthony Smith, who tallied 38 tackles and 12.5 sacks a year ago for the Gophers. This front seven will make life hard on Michigan's offensive line.

If you want a comparison, think Iowa. Minnesota is similarly coached and plays a similar brand of football. It's not going to beat itself, so you can't count on gifts. But it's also not going to light you up on offense. Quarterback Drake Lindsey is efficient rather than explosive, and the Gophers have a deep stable of capable running backs. Lindsey comes into the matchup with 951 yards, 7 TDs, and 2 int's. Lindsey has played at an average level for the Gophers to start the year. The plan is to stay balanced, play it safe, and win the field-position fight. That's a frustrating opponent for a Michigan team that just failed to do exactly that and lost to Iowa.

The History Factor

History leans heavily toward Michigan. The Wolverines have won 27 of the past 29 meetings in the Little Brown Jug rivalry, and they haven't lost in Minneapolis since 1977. Streaks like that don't guarantee anything, but they do mean Minnesota is chasing a ghost.

The Bottom Line

Expect a low-scoring, physical game. Michigan has more talent and more firepower, so it should win. But the Wolverines have shown they can make any game closer than it needs to be. If they play their best football for four full quarters, this is a comfortable road win heading into the bye. If they play it in bursts, expect a nail-biter in the final minutes. Michigan has the history, the talent, and the right ingredients. Saturday is about proving it can put them all together, and head back in the right direction after last week.