The Minnesota Golden Gophers will travel to Kinnick Stadium on Saturday afternoon to take on the 20th-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes in a non-conference matchup.
The Golden Gophers are 6-3 this year and are coming off a 14-6 home loss against the Illinois Fighting Illini. Senior quarterback Tanner Morgan finished 15-of-27 for 180 yards with two interceptions.
The Hawkeyes are 7-2 so far and are coming off a 17-12 road win over the Northwestern Wildcats. Sophomore quarterback Alex Padilla went 18-of-28 for 172 yards.
Minnesota at Iowa Betting Preview
Minnesota Golden Gophers Preview: Noisy with Potts
Sophomore running back Trey Potts has been doing a decent job in the backfield for the Golden Gophers this season as he has 112 rushing attempts for 552 yards (4.9 yards per rush) with six rushing touchdowns and a pair of catches for 14 yards (seven yards per catch).
In his last game against the Boilermakers, he had 15 carries for 78 yards (5.2 yards per run) with a touchdown.
The Minnesota Golden Gophers have been a very good defensive program as they are allowing 18.3 points per game this year. In their previous game against the Illinois Fighting Illini, the Golden Gophers gave up 14 points on 265 total yards of offense (80 passing, 185 rushing).
Minnesota needs to improve on stuffing the running game as they allowed the Fighting Illini to average 3.9 rushing yards per attempt. Their secondary did a good job as they limited Illinois to just 80 passing yards for the entire game.
Iowa Hawkeyes Preview: Better than Good
Junior running back Tyler Goodson has been playing extremely well for the Hawkeyes this season. He has recorded 170 runs for 754 yards (4.4 yards per attempt) with six touchdowns on the ground and 22 receptions for 207 yards (9.4 yards per catch) with another touchdown.
In his last game against the Wildcats, Goodson had 21 rushes for 141 yards (6.7 yards per carry) with a rushing touchdown as well as three receptions for 25 yards (8.3 yards per catch).
The Iowa Hawkeyes have been a phenomenal defensive unit this season as they are giving up just 15.7 points per game. In their previous game against the Northwestern Wildcats, Iowa allowed 12 points on 363 total yards of offense (270 passing, 93 rushing).
Iowa needs to stop third and fourth down conversions as Northwestern went 6-of-18 on third down tries and converted both of their fourth down opportunities. The Hawkeyes had a great sense for the football as they forced three turnovers (all interceptions) as well.
Who to Bet on Golden Gophers at Hawkeyes
The top sportsbooks in the nation have this game as under a touchdown in the spread, so it is expected to be close. Both programs have a solid defense, but the offenses are where things begin to shift. Potts is dealing with an undisclosed injury, and his availability is up in the air, so that will definitely hinder Minnesota’s offense a bit.
Also, Tanner Morgan has two touchdowns and five interceptions in his previous four games. The Golden Gophers are currently 0-4-1 against the spread in their last five games against the Hawkeyes so go with Iowa to cover at home.
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