Minnesota (7-3) at Nebraska (8-2) Nov. 22, 12:00, ESPN 

Here’s The Deal: Both teams suffered big, tough defeats last week, but both teams are still alive and kicking in the Big Ten championship chase. It’s going to take Wisconsin losing twice for Nebraska to potentially win the West, and Minnesota will have a lot to do with that. 

The Gophers, unlike the Huskers, control their own destiny, winning the West if it beats Nebraska this week and Wisconsin next week in Madison. Can they get the ground game going again after losing in the snow and cold against Ohio State last week? Even in defeat, they looked strong and showed that they’re good enough to hang around with anyone in the conference. Can they set up a showdown with Bucky by beating Nebraska for the second year in a row after dominating 34-23 last year? 

Nebraska is trying to pick itself up off the mat after becoming a part of history. Going into the game with Wisconsin, the Huskers were still in the College Football Playoff hunt, needing to win out with a win over Ohio State to go 12-1 to get the job done, instead they were absolutely destroyed by Melvin Gordon and his record-setting 408-yard day in the brutally ugly 59-24 loss. There’s still time to come up with a great season, beating Minnesota and Iowa would mean a 10-2 season with a chance at an 11-win campaign with the bowl game – no matter what happened in Madison, double-digit victories would be a success. But can the defense start to tackle again? Will it rise to the challenge against the power running game of the Gophers? The attitude and toughness will have to turn around in a week’s time, or else the season could go south in a hurry. 

Just 400 miles apart, this has the potential to grow into a good yearly rivalry, and it’s going to keep on growing – along with the dates with Iowa and Wisconsin for both programs – as a key part to the Big Ten West seasons. 

Why Minnesota Might Win: It wasn’t just Gordon, the Badgers ran for 581 yards and seven touchdowns as the trickle turned into a flood as the Nebraska defensive front had no hope against a UW offensive line that put on a clinic. One of the best running teams in the country, Minnesota has the potential to do the same if Nebraska doesn’t start to wrap up better and get far more physical up front. The Gophers have rushed for over 200 yards in three of the last four games, including 218 yards and almost five yards per carry against Ohio State. They’re perfectly built for a road game like this in bad weather in Lincoln – they have the potential to grind out drives and yards, controlling things from the start. 

Why Nebraska Might Win: How does Nebraska get past the problems of last week? Run, run, and run some more. The Gopher run defense has been excellent at times, but it couldn’t handle J.T. Barrett and the Ohio State ground attack, and now it has to deal with Ameer Abdullah and a Nebraska running game that couldn’t seem to find any room to move against the terrific Wisconsin defensive front. It’s been tough lately finding room to move – shockingly having a few problems against Purdue, too – but at home, Nebraska has to get physical and find the power it didn’t have against Wisconsin. Minnesota can’t throw well, and it’s not going to bomb away. 

Who To Watch Out For: Nebraska QB Tommy Armstrong has been a disaster over the last two weeks. Just when it seemed like the light had gone on, hitting over 60% of his passes against Northwestern and Rutgers, he completed just 8-of-21 throws against Purdue and was awful against Wisconsin, hitting 6-of-18 throws for just 62 yards. He’s not running too much, but he should start to take off a little more here and there just to take the pressure off of Abdullah and get the Nebraska offense moving. He ran 20 times against the Badgers for just 17 yards – he has to keep trying to take off when the opportunities are there. 

What’s Going To Happen: Will this be a new and jacked up Nebraska team, or will the same problems it had against Wisconsin carry over to this week? Minnesota will have problems early on, but slowly, the ground game will start working more and more to make this a game. It’ll be Abdullah who comes through, running with a new sense of purpose as he carries the offense to a rebound win. It’ll be a fight, though. 
Prediction: Nebraska 31 … Minnesota 24
Line: Nebraska -10 o/u: 56.5 
Must Watch Factor: 5: HBO’s State of Play – 1: Euros of Hollywood … 4