Sports are not always kind. I may not be over the loss at Indiana last week, but the team better be.
How to Watch
TV: Fox
Time: 11:00 am
Stream: FoxSports.com
The 2026 Gophers have given us a couple of elite memories this season and a couple of forgettable games in the state of Indiana. But we have another chance at a ranked win at home. Can the Gophers give the Bruins their first loss of the season?
KEYS TO A GOPHER WIN
Stop the run – This Gopher defense contained Iowa’s Kamari Moulton and Indiana’s Turbo Richard. But
Fame Ijeboi ran for 195. They must contain Wayne Knight, who is the third leading rusher in the Big Ten. He is dangerous and cutting off their run game only puts more pressure on back-up quarterback Ty Dieffenbach.
Win the turnover battle – This has been used as a “key” many times, but it matters more this week. UCLA leads the Big Ten with 16 interceptions and they lead the Big Ten with 10 recovered fumbles. On a per-game basis, they are +1.88, which leads the Big Ten by a wide margin. Minnesota is +0.63, which is fourth in the conference. Being negative in the turnover margin on Saturday will be tough to overcome.
Win the red zone – Both defenses are in the top five in the Big Ten in the red zone. UCLA leads the league by allowing points 73.7% of the time while the Gophers are fifth at 79.2%. The gap is on the offensive side. To no surprise, Minnesota ranks 4th, scoring on 92.6% of drives into the red zone. But that number is inflated by a lot of field goals. They are 14th in touchdowns scored when in the red zone. Finding the end zone is always important, especially when we get close.
OPPOSING PLAYERS TO WATCH
- #14 QB – Ty Dieffenbach – The backup QB who is now the starter after the injury to Nico Iamaleava. The senior transfer from Cal Poly is disproving the theory that you can’t have a reliable backup QB in the portal era.
- #27 LB – Ta’Shawn James – Senior safety transfer from Iowa State who is third on the team in tackles and leads the team with four interceptions.
PREDICTION
I’m feeling rather confident (overconfident?) that the Gophers are going to pull off this upset. UCLA is undefeated and currently ranked eighth in the CFP rankings. They beat Oregon on the road, which is looking less impressive and here are the rest of their wins…
- @ Cal (3-6)
- San Diego State (4-5)
- Purdue (3-5)
- @ Maryland (2-6)
- Wisconsin (5-3)
- Michigan State (2-6)
- Nevada (3-5)
The Badgers are their second-best win of the season and their only road game outside of the west coast was Maryland.
I do believe that they have an elite coach, they have an elite running back and that defense is also…elite.
Nothing tells me that this is going to be an easy win for Minnesota or that the offense is going to magically figure out a way to appear competent. But this feels very much like the Iowa, Michigan and Indiana games. So with the Gophers being at home and UCLA having to play an 11 am game in the midwest, I feel confident that the Gophers win.
And it wouldn’t hurt if the offense was feeling some pressure and decided to be competent.
Minnesota – 16
UCLA – 10
