Northwestern at Minnesota 12/5/20 - College Football Picks & Predictions

The No. 8 ranked Northwestern Wildcats visit TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Saturday for a Big Ten showdown with the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Northwestern fell from the unbeaten ranks on Saturday following a 29-20 loss to the Michigan State Spartans and the Wildcats are now 5-1 but remain in first place in the West division of the Big Ten. Northwestern gained just 285 yards of total offense and committed four costly turnovers including a fumble in the end zone that was recovered by Michigan State for a touchdown. 

Peyton Ramsey has passed for 926 yards with eight touchdowns, four interceptions and has been sacked five times. The leading rusher for Northwestern is Drake Anderson with 211 yards and two touchdowns and the leading receiver is Ramaud Chiaokhiao-Bowman with 290 yards and four touchdown receptions. On defense, linebacker Blake Gallagher is the leading tackler with 48 and defensive lineman Eku Leota is the leader in quarterback sacks with 4.0.

Minnesota is 2-3 following a 34-31 victory over the Purdue Boilermakers on Friday November 20th. The Golden Gophers were scheduled to play Wisconsin this week but that was cancelled due to covid. In the victory over Purdue, Minnesota gained 394 yards of total offense as quarterback Tanner Morgan passed for 264 yards and running back Mohamed Ibrahim rushed for 102 yards and three touchdowns.

Tanner Morgan has passed for 1,034 yards with four touchdowns, four interceptions and has been sacked 11 times. The leading rusher for Minnesota is Mohamed Ibrahim with 817 yards and 13 touchdowns and the leading receiver is Rashod Bateman with 472 yards and two touchdown receptions. On defense, linebacker Mariano Sori-Marin and defensive back Tyler Nubin each have 29 tackles to lead Minnesota. Defensive lineman Boye Mafe is the leader in quarterback sacks with 3.5.