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Minnesota has lost three straight games and has seen their once promising season be halted in its' tracks. The Gophers will look to get back on track this weekend against the 4-3 Rutgers Scarlet Knights. Greg Schiano's program continues to show improvements and has been competitive most of the season. This Scarlet Knights team doesn't present much offensively but their defense can go toe-to-toe with the best in the Big Ten.

Here's what you need to know about the Scarlet Knights.

Rutgers picked up win No.4 last weekend against Indiana, their first win since starting the season 3-0. The Scarlet Knights totaled 300 total yards of offense in the game including 187 rushing yards on 49 carries. Their defense was strong as it has been all season, allowing just 272 yards in the game including just 62 rushing yards on 19 attempts.

1. Will the Gophers' offense find any success?

The Gophers' offense over the last few weeks has hit a brick wall. While putting up 340 yards last week against Penn State, the Gophers managed just 17 points in their 45-17 loss. They were unable to run the ball on the ground consistently, only averaging 3.6 yards per carry and while quarterback Athan Kalikmanis showed some promise and looked calm and collected, for the most part, it was still an inefficient day through the air for the Gophers.

2. Can the Gophers' defense bounce back after back-to-back poor performances?

As the season has gone on, the Gophers' defense has progressively given up more and more yards; 91, 194, 226, 240, 359, 472, 479. PJ Fleck and Joe Rossi are hoping that trend does not continue against Rutgers' weak offense this week. If it does, there are some major concerns and issues in Dinkeytown.

Rutgers maybe 4-3 but it's not because of their offense. The Scarlet Knights this season are averaging just 23 points per game, which is among the bottom 30 in all of college football.

The offense has been balanced in success, they're averaging 164 yards per game both on the ground and through the air, though they're enjoying a tad more success on the ground overall, averaging just over four yards per carry. While they have used three different quarterbacks this season, the likely starting quarterback is Evan Simon who has completed 57.7% of his passes for 740 yards and four touchdowns, he also has six interceptions. Other quarterbacks the Gophers may see are Noah Vedral and Gavin Wimsatt, both are completing less than 50% of their passes so far this season. No matter whose under center for the Scarlet Knights on Saturday, the chances of them having consistent success are extremely low.

The two playmakers on this offense are freshman running back Samuel Brown who has totaled 386 yards from scrimmage this season and wide receiver Aron Cruickshank. The Scarlet Knights rely on those two to make a majority of their big plays, so if you shut down one or both of them, the Scarlet Knights' chances of offensive success already go from low to super low.

The Gophers have faced a tough stretch of dynamic offenses over the last few weeks but Rutgers is not part of that group. This should be an offense that Joe Rossi's defense can rebound against and have a good deal of success on Saturday night.

The Scarlet Knights' offense may be well below average but the defense has actually been one of the better defenses in the country. The Scarlet Knights are only allowing 21.3 points and 283.9 yards per game this season. They've been dominant in stopping the run, allowing just 87.4 yards per game and 2.9 yards per carry. Opposing quarterbacks are not having much success either, completing 59% of their passes for 196 yards a game.

Outside of No.2 Ohio State, no team this season has put up more than 312 total yards on the Scarlet Knights. Boston College and Nebraska are the only other programs to top the 300-yard mark so far.

The Scarlet Knight is beatable, however, including on the ground. Ohio State proved that and with the Golden Gophers having one of the better offensive lines in the country, expecting a bit more success out of the Gophers' backfield this weekend shouldn't be too big of an ask. However, when they choose to throw the ball, they'll have to be wary of Christian Braswell, one of the country's top performing corners this season with three interceptions and five pass deflections so far this season.

Rutgers is an underrated tough matchup for the Gophers, the Scarlet Knight's ability to slow down the run could create a massive issue for a Minnesota passing attack that has been underwhelming this season especially since Chris Autman-Bell was lost for the season. That being said, I have the Gophers just doing enough offensively and having enough success defensively against a poor Rutgers offense to pull out a victory.

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