Minnesota vs. Purdue fearless prediction and game preview.
Minnesota vs. Purdue Broadcast
Date: Saturday, September 28
Game Time: 3:30 ET
Venue: Ross-Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, IN
Network: ESPN2
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Minnesota (3-0) vs. Purdue (1-2) Game Preview
Why Minnesota Will Win
The Gopher backfield is loaded with all the parts.
Rodney Smith will still be the main man, Mo Ibrahim will still bring the thump when needed, and now, Shannon Brooks returns after missing all of last year hurt. That’s just in time to potentially blast away on the Purdue defense.
TCU hammered on the Boilermaker defensive front, and it hammered some more, running for 346 yards and three scores in the blowout win a few weeks ago, and now it’s time for the Gophers to finally realize that they’re a running team with a solid offensive line.
It’s been a struggle. The ground game is averaging out 2.6 yards per carry, but it’s been able to come through in the clutch time and again late in games. On the flip side, Purdue doesn’t have any rushing attack whatsoever. It’s second-to-last in the nation averaging just 50 yards per game on the ground, but …
Why Purdue Will Win
Minnesota hasn’t faced anyone with a passing game yet.
Fresno State’s offense is the only one so far that can throw a forward pass, and it gave the Gophers a hard time with 288 yards and several downfield plays.
The Boilermaker offense sputtered and coughed against TCU, but Minnesota’s D isn’t that. With two weeks off to rest up and get ready, Purdue should be able to bomb away and come up with 300 yards as long as it can keep control of the ball and get more accuracy out of Jack Plummer – assuming Elijah Sindelar is still not able to go after getting past a concussion suffered a few weeks ago.
Minnesota doesn’t have a great pass rush, and it’s not great at bringing enough pressure to give the Boilermaker quarterbacks a problem. Quick hits, get the ball out of the hands in a hurry, and get Rondale Moore and company going again. But …
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What’s Going To Happen
Not having a 100% healthy Sindelar is a problem.
Purdue doesn’t do anything to control the clock, and that’s Minnesota’s game – it should have the ball for at least 35 minutes. The Gophers will bash away with the ground game to keep the Purdue offense on the sidelines, and they’re not going to turn the ball over enough.
Minnesota will be a +2 in turnover margin and will bend but not break just enough defensively to survive a fun game that goes down to the final drive.
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Minnesota vs. Purdue Prediction, Line
Minnesota 34, Purdue 30
Bet on UM vs. Purdue with BetMGM, or for latest line
Minnesota -2, o/u: 55.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 2
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Must See Rating: 3.5
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NEXT: Each Team’s Schedule, Predictions So Far
Each Team’s Schedule, Predictions So Far
2019 Minnesota Football Schedule
2019 Record: 3-0
2019 Preseason Prediction: 8-4
2019 Preseason Big Ten Prediction: 5-4
2018 Record: 7-6
Aug. 31 South Dakota State W 28-21
Sept. 7 at Fresno State W 38-35 2OT
Sept. 14 Georgia Southern W 35-32
Sept. 21 OPEN DATE
Sept. 28 at Purdue W
Oct. 5 Illinois W
Oct. 12 Nebraska W
Oct. 19 at Rutgers L
Oct. 26 Maryland W
Nov. 2 OPEN DATE
Nov. 9 Penn State L
Nov. 16 at Iowa L
Nov. 23 at Northwestern L
Nov. 30 Wisconsin W
2019 Purdue Football Schedule
2019 Record: 1-2
2019 Preseason Prediction: 6-6
2019 Preseason Big Ten Prediction: 4-5
2018 Record: 6-7
Aug. 31 at Nevada L 34-31
Sept. 7 Vanderbilt W 42-24
Sept. 14 TCU L 34-13
Sept. 21 OPEN DATE
Sept. 28 Minnesota L
Oct. 5 at Penn State L
Oct. 12 Maryland W
Oct. 19 at Iowa L
Oct. 26 Illinois W
Nov. 2 Nebraska W
Nov. 9 at Northwestern L
Nov. 16 OPEN DATE
Nov. 23 at Wisconsin L
Nov. 30 Indiana W
