- Northwestern blog Lake the Posts gives an analysis of Northwestern’s backup quarterback Mike Kafka:

I don’t recall many deep balls by Kafka in these four games, but I do remember him running all over Nevada before getting injured with the hamstring pull. I expect Minnesota to be cramming the line and throwing blitz packages based on QB runs early and often. For the Cats to win, they’ll need to throw downfield early to get the DBs and LBs to respect the pass.

- According to the Chicago Sun-Times, it looks like CJ Bacher still hasn’t been ruled out.

- Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald discusses the Wildcats’ status as a homecoming opponent in the Chicago Tribune.

- Adam Rittenberg of ESPN’s Big Ten Blog comments on the Gophers’ schedule:

Only one of Minnesota’s seven victories has come against a team with a winning record (Northern Illinois). Minnesota’s road win at Illinois was solid, but the Illini have been a major disappointment this season. And the Gophers could run the table and go 11-1 without beating a ranked opponent, which is mind-boggling.

- Dave Revsine of the Big Ten Network breaks down the statistics of Minnesota’s turnaround in this article.

- Rachel Blount of the Star Tribune has a feature article on Gopher tackle Garrett Brown.

- Jim Souhan writes a feature article on Tim Brewster.

- Sid Hartman discusses the relationship between Tim Brewster and Vikings’ coach Brad Childress:

Vikings coach Brad Childress and Gophers coach Tim Brewster have been close friends for a long time, so Childress has followed the success of the Gophers this year with great interest.

- Kent Youngblood expects Northwestern to be a tough matchup.

- Tom Powers of the Pioneer Press writes:

“We lost to every Big Ten team on our schedule last year,” tight end Jack Simmons said. “We use it as a revenge factor. I think even people in this state are surprised.”

The Gophers say they’ve seen that “deer in the headlights” look from the opposition during several of their upset victories. But Brewster says they are going to be seeing a lot less of it. He said the Gophers have gone from being the hunters to the hunted.

“We’ve been hunting the bear,” he said. “We’ve somewhat now become the bear.”

- Marcus Fuller encourages Gopher Nation to fill the dome in this blog entry.

- The Denver Post has a great interview/article on Tim Brewster and the Gophers:

I called him Monday and asked what his timetable was for making Minnesota competitive.

“Yesterday,” he said. I laughed. He didn’t.

“I’m not a patient guy,” he continued. “Anybody who knows me understands that. I truly believe that the only limits you put on what you can accomplish are from yourself.”

- Bob Sansevere interviews Deleon Eskridge.

- Golden Gopher Football blog notes:

Anyway, we’re talking about Northwestern, and I do not mean to imply that this game is only as important as practice. On the contrary, this is an incredibly important game for the Gophers, and considering that the final three games of the season are all trophy games, where team record doesn’t amount to a hill of beans, this N’Western game could almost (I said ALMOST) be called a must win.

- The Daily Gopher interviews Northwestern blogger Lake the Posts.

- Gopher Gal found out that ticket prices for tomorrow are going up.  A larger Gopher Nation has a price.

- Dr. Saturday writes of Minnesota:

In lieu of this week’s “Life on the Margins,” I give you Gophers. Less than a year removed from closing out one of the truly rotten campaigns in Big Ten history, Minnesota’s win at Purdue Saturday means the Gophers are entering November 7-1, 3-1 in the Big Ten, and one Penn State mishap from hoarding in on the Lions’ path to the Rose Bowl.

- Blogs Michigan Sports Center, The Buckeye Battle Cry, The Nittany Line, Black Shoe Diaries, and Maize & Blue Nation predict Minnesota victories.

- Ohio State blog Our Honor Defend writes:

Minnesota is one Penn State national title game, one Ohio State loss, and 4 wins away from… gulp… a trip to Pasadena!

- Michigan blog Varsity Blue questions Minnesota’s strength of schedule.

- Penn State blog Happy Hour Valley writes:

The Caddyshack Gophers are well on their way to a bowl bid (and perhaps a very respectable one) after beating Purdue last weekend and Tim Brewster, who was much maligned in these power rankings last year, should be the front-runner for numerous “Coach Of The Year” awards.

I’d like to conduct a poll of the predictions that readers have for the Gophers’ record at the end of the season.  The remaining games are against Purdue, Northwestern, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa.  After the poll I’ve attached several video for your enjoyment.

Tim Brewster pregame:

Part 2 of Brewster’s day at Illinois:

Here’s a highlght compilation of talented tight end Ra’Shede Hageman of Minneapolis Washburn.  He’s yet to commit and has several offers on the table:

Bryce McNeal of Breck has also listed Minnesota as a potential destination.  Imagine McNeal and Hageman together as receiving targets in Mike Dunbar’s spread offense.  I don’t think it’s a stretch to predict that records could be shattered:

Matt Garin is another top recruit from Minnesota who remains uncommitted:

Here’s one of the funniest videos I’ve seen in a long time.  The caller towards the end of the clip reacts to the firing of Tommy Bowden at Clemson:

In my prior post, I promised to review Ohio State media and blogs prior to Saturday’s matchup.  I’ll make that post before Saturday.  For now, let’s briefly review overall team offense and defense statistics for Big Ten teams heading into conference play. 

Statistical comparisons of Big Ten teams are not entirely fair since non-conference schedules were of different difficulty levels.  While the Gophers were playing Montana State, Ohio State was playing USC.  Regardless of the strength of schedules, there are some interesting statistical observations to be made amongst Big Ten teams.

Let’s start with the offenses:

* Statistics for teams that have only played three games have been prorated

The Gophers are tied for second in the Big Ten with 36.3 points per game.  The Gophers have solid passing numbers with 967 yards placing them fourth in the conference.  The running game is eighth in the conference.  Hopefully the running game will continue to improve as Deleon Eskridge and Shady Salamon continue to pick up where Duane Bennett left off.

And now for the defense:

Despite last week’s stellar performance, the Gophers are seventh in the conference for total points allowed.  Middle of the pack performance in the Big Ten is definitely an improvement from last year.  Tying for first place with eight interceptions is likely not a fluke, as the revamped secondary appears to be the real deal.  With a new coordinator and several new and young players, expect the defense to continue to improve over the course of the year.

Look for a new post tomorrow reviewing Ohio State blog and media predictions.

3-0.  At the end of the season, that will be the only relevant statistic from this week.  After an emotional win on the road versus Bowling Green, the youth and inexperience of the Gopher Football team was apparent versus the Montana State Bobcats.  Despite numerous mistakes, Minnesota was still able to walk away with a win.  Perhaps a disappointing win versus Montana State will build character for the Gopher squad.  Here’s a few observations from Saturday:

Youth and Inexperience – The Gophers are one of the youngest teams in Division IA football.  In fact, they have the third fewest seniors of any Division IA team.  I can count ten true freshmen who have seen the field.  Most notable is that the offensive line has started and played a few redshirt freshmen.  Of any position in football besides quarterback, the offensive line benefits most from age and experience.

Defensive Chemistry – I’m able to count eight players who have seen the field on defense who were not wearing maroon and gold last year.  There is undoubtedly an upgrade in talent on the field with the addition of Tramaine Brock, Traye Simmons, Simoni Lawrence, Marcus Sherels and Cedric McKinley among others.  On several of the successful Montana State passing plays, including the first quarter touchdown, there were breakdowns in zone coverage.  The good news is that our defensive players were not beat by better athletes.  They made mistakes in coverage assignments.  It’s important to remember that many of these players have only been working together since August.  As the season progresses and players acclimate themselves to the system and to each other, expect fewer breakdowns in coverage.

Wide Receivers – Eric Decker is having an All American season.  Additional wide receivers need to step up and become threats before entering Big Ten play.  I’m still optimistic that the true freshmen quartet of Brandon Green, Xzavian Brandon, Brodrick Smith and Da’Jon McKnight are learning the complex Gopher spread offense and fine tuning their skills.  Adam Weber will need more options than Eric Decker and Jack Simmons to be successful in the Big Ten.

Deleon Eskridge – Deleon Eskridge had a great game with 114 yards rushing and three touchdowns.  When he was hit, he would continue to move forward.  He made great cuts and has Division I speed.  My previous post analyzed the options for replacing Duane Bennett, and it appears that the answer is Deleon Eskridge.

After last week’s victory at Bowling Green, it was easy to overlook that the Gophers are a young and inexperienced team.  Expect the Gophers to improve as the year progresses, but expect growing pains along the way.  The Golden Gopher Football blog gives a nice gameday recap including a statistical analysis.  Rome wasn’t built in a day.  Here’s a great video recap of the game: