Minnesota got back in the win column this past Saturday, using a 21-point outburst in the second quarter on their way to a dominant 35-14 win at Indiana. The Gophers are now 7-4 on the season, 5-3 in the Big Ten, and find themselves still with a path to Indianapolis.
However, they'll have to deal with a red-hot Wisconsin Badgers (8-3 overall, 6-3 in Big Ten) team, who is currently on a seven-game winning streak and boast the second-best defensive unit in the country.
Offensively, the Badgers are led by freshman running back Braelon Allen, who is coming off a 228-yard, three touchdown performance last week against Nebraska and has 1,062 yards on the season while averaging 7.6 yards per carry.
However, the Badgers are missing a key component to their running game in Chez Mellusi, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in the Badgers 52-3 win over Rutgers three weeks earlier. Mellusi had tallied 815 yards and five touchdowns before his injury.
Badgers quarterback Graham Mertz has struggled this season, completing 59% of his passes for 1,650 yards with nine touchdowns and nine interceptions.
However, the sophomore signal-caller has been efficient the past two weeks, completing 18-of-23 passes for 216 yards and two touchdowns against Northwestern two weeks ago while going 12-of-18 for 145 yards and a score against Nebraska last week.
Wisconsin's prolific defense is led by junior linebacker Leo Chenal, who leads the team with 92 tackles and 15.5 tackles for loss. He is second on the team in sacks with 6.5.
The Badgers two other starting linebackers, senior Jack Sanborn and sophomore Nick Herbig, have also tallied double-digits in tackles for loss. Sanborn with 14 and Herbig 12.
Seniors Collin Wilder and Caesar Williams lead the Badgers secondary with three interceptions a piece. Wilder picked off Nebraska's Adrian Martinez twice last week.
Minnesota has not beaten Wisconsin at home since November 8th, 2003 - a 37-34 win. A streak the Gophers are hoping to end on Saturday.
Fleck on what stands out about Wisconsin's defense:
"Everything. All of them. Their linebackers are better than they've ever been. They are very, very good. That (Jack) Sanborn kid is really good. The (Leo) Chanel kid is very good. He's 260-pound, but he moves like he's 220. He's thick and he'll hit you and he's strong. He could play defensive end for you, but he's running like a linebacker. Their secondary is intelligent and smart. They keep everything in front of them."
"Maybe one of the best defenses we've played against in our time here."
Gophers still in the West race:
- The Gophers do not control their own destiny in the Big Ten West. They lost that privilege after their 27-22 loss at Iowa two weeks ago. Minnesota still has a path to make the trek to Indianapolis but they need to beat Wisconsin on Saturday and hope for an Iowa loss to Nebraska on Friday along with a Purdue win against Indiana in their rivalry game.
Minnesota/Wisconsin Team Stats:Â
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