If only we could be great like the juggernaut South Dakota State. Alas, a top-10 FCS team would beat the brakes off of us. Sigh.
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I tried to tell y'all we would get smoked by LSU AND Minnesota and wouldn't score more than one offensive TD in either game. Get ready for the message boards to overreact to what should be another predictable L.
The REAL season starts against ULL.
35 - 7 Minnesota.
If only we could be great like the juggernaut South Dakota State. Alas, a top-10 FCS team would beat the brakes off of us. Sigh.
Correct. Doesn't really matter either way... any appeal decision would be handed down at the last minute by the NCAA and even if the decision was in our favor and Kennedy would probably be sitting at home. Wouldn't shock me if they grant the appeal and then we receive a telegram at halftime.
My biggest concern regarding this game is that its on the road. If this was home I'd just about guarantee a victory. But, being a road game travelling west...I'm leary.
I know transitive property isn't a good metric to use in any sport. But #3 SDSU competed with Minnesota MUCH better than #6 Maine did with us. Even with the numerous times we shot ourselves in the foot, we were still leading Maine 23-3 at one point, and anyone who watched knows we left a ton of points on the field. Minnesota had no fumbles (lost or self-recovered) and 1 INT, and were losing 21-20 late into the 4th. SDSU is a good FCS team, but based on rankings so is Maine.
Simply put, it took a late 4th quarter touchdown for Minnesota to beat SDSU (who is arguably on the same level as Maine), and double OT for them to beat a G5 that lost the 2nd most starters of any team in the country.
A loss wouldn't worry me at all, but if we get blown out I'll be officially concerned.
I do not usually predict scores. 100 - 99 or 2 - 0 --- I do not care. Just find a way to win.
See my logic on the score prediction below:
South Dakota State (1-1) and San Diego State (0-2) are not exactly top tier. Based upon their games with Minnesota:
Minnesota is averaging 94.5 rushing yards/game on an average of 34.5 rushing attempts/game ... 2.74 YPC
Minnesota is averaging 232 passing yards/game.
Minnesota is giving up 3 sacks/game.
Minnesota is averaging 2.5 turnovers/game.
Minnesota is scoring 33 points/game.
* Minnesota beat San Diego State in OT. They scored 10 points in OT. In regulation, they are averaging 28 points/game.
Minnesota is giving up 160 yards/game rushing on an average of 44 rushing attempts/game ... 3.64 YPC
Minnesota is giving up 213.5 passing yards/game.
Minnesota is giving up 28 points/game.
Our defense will surrender no more than 20 points with 5 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, and 2 interceptions. Their QB will complete ~ 65% of his passes and they will rush for less than 100 yards on a 2.5 YPC average. We have performed well against the rush, but not very well against the pass. Minnesota has a huge OL, but mobility is not great. Heck, they have very narrow splits (out of necessity). Our ILB's will have a huge game.
Offense is where I struggle. If we play like last week, we will lose the game. I am taking an optimist approach. If we clean up our fumbles (7 last week ... largely from bad snaps) and improve in the red zone, I feel good about our scoring. We will average 5.0 YPC and will complete 2 long passes (20+ Yards). I predict 34 points. This game will be a huge win for our young men and Eagle Nation.
Let's see how insane I am.
Minnesota - 20
Good Guys - 34
gsu57
They have the 15th fewest passing attempts in the FBS, but are successful when they throw do. 10 YPA and 71% completion. Ironically, they have the 10th most rushing attempts in the FBS, but it hasn't been successful at all. They're averaging 3.0 YPC, good for 112th in the country.
Defensively, they're not much more impressive. On the ground, they're giving up 3.8 YPC, which is just below average in comparison to the rest of the FBS. Surprisingly, their defense is giving up more YPA than Southern has even with the LSU game. 7.9 YPA 103rd in the FBS, and an average QB rating of 138.7 (93rd).
And to reiterate what gsu57 said, these stats are from playing an FCS team and a G5 who lost 64% of last years production. As I said before, this game is very winnable.
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