Minnesota vs UCLA Picks and Prediction – 10/13/2024

On October 12th, P.J. Fleck and the Minnesota Golden Gophers will head to Pasadena, California to take on Deshaun Foster and the UCLA Bruins. Get our free College Football Picks all season long! Minnesota comes into week 7 going on the road for the second time this season. The Golden Gophers have a 3-3 record so far and are averaging 25.7 points per game. On defense Minnesota is giving up 15.7 points per game ranking 16th in the country. Last week, Max Brosmer powered into the end zone for Minnesota from the 1-yard line with 56 seconds left, his third rushing touchdown of the game for a 24-17 win over 11th-ranked Southern California on Saturday night. Darius Taylor had 200 yards from scrimmage for Minnesota, including 144 yards on 25 rushes to lead the comeback that culminated with a crowd storming on the field in celebration of the Gophers' first win against the Trojans since 1955. Minnesota defenders Koi Perich and Devin Williams both had interceptions and good performances against USC. Minnesota held USC to their lowest score in three seasons under coach Lincoln Riley. The Trojans' longest gain was only 21 yards.

The UCLA Bruins will play their third home game of 2024 at 1-4 following a 27-11 loss on the road at Penn State last Saturday. Drew Allar threw for 237 yards with a touchdown and ran for another score to lead the Nittany Lions to the victory. The Bruins have played hard on defense, but aren’t getting help on the other side of the ball. The UCLA offense entered its first Big Ten road game ranked 127th nationally in total offense. The unit was averaging just 262 yards per game, and without starting quarterback Ethan Garbers, who sat out with a leg injury, couldn’t get anything going against Penn State. The Bruins average only 14.0 points per game on offense. On defense UCLA allows 30.0 points per game so far this season. 

The Minnesota Golden Gophers are the much better team in this matchup and have the number one ranked defense against the pass which will give UCLA trouble scoring because they are already having a hard time running the ball against opponents. Minnesota quarterback Max Brosmer will have a good performance against UCLA and will score enough points to cover the spread and win the game. Final Score Prediction, Minnesota wins 23-7.