The Minnesota Golden Gophers (1-0) will look to pad their undefeated record to start the season when they host the Northwestern State Demons (1-0) at 11 a.m. CST on Saturday, Sep. 6, at Huntington Bank Stadium.
Can Northwestern State score on offense?
Redshirt freshman quarterback Abram Johnston is their best playmaker on offense, with the caveat that his legs are more dangerous than his arm. He was 9-of-18 for 85 passing yards with one touchdown and one interception in the Demons’ season opener last week. Northwestern State leaned heavily
on their ground game, finishing with 40 rushing attempts, including Johnston’s team-high 17 carries for 69 rushing yards.
The Demons have a trio of running backs led by Furman transfer Myion Hicks, who recorded seven carries for 53 rushing yards against Alcorn State last week (though 51 of those 53 rushing yards came on one carry). Sixth-year senior Kolbe Burrell and senior Zay Davis will both split the load with Hicks.
Northwestern State lost three of their top four pass catchers from last season and it definitely showed in the season opener, as only two players recorded more than one reception. Redshirt senior Ty Moore and redshirt junior Kody Finley are likely to be Johnston’s top targets, with the latter a big target at 6’5”.
Defensive end Anthony Smith and the rest of the Minnesota defensive line should feast up front. The key will be pressuring and collapsing the pocket on Johnston without allowing him to escape and extend plays.
Please tell me the Gophers will be able to score
Northwestern State may have outscored Alcorn State last week, but they were outgained by the Braves. What doomed Alcorn State were three turnovers (including two interceptions in the red zone), not only going 5-for-17 on third down but also 1-for-4 on fourth down, and a total of 15 penalties.
If the Gophers can avoid a catastrophic self-destruction, they should be okay.
The Demons return a handful of starters and a few key underclassmen reserves from a defense that allowed 45.4 points per game a season ago. They surrendered a staggering 241.8 rushing yards per game.
It would be safe to expect Minnesota to impose their will on the Northwestern State defense up front and hand the ball to running backs Darius Taylor and A.J. Turner, but redshirt freshman quarterback Drake Lindsey will be making his first career road start next week at Cal, and the Gophers need to continue to build his confidence.
But who will score more points on Saturday?
This Northwestern State program is in bad shape. Their season-opening 20-10 win over Alcorn State snapped a 20-game losing streak that stretched back to 2022 and included five contests that were forfeited in 2023 due to the shooting death of a player. The Gophers should roll. Minnesota 44, Northwestern State 0.
