The Gophers close out their non-conference schedule
The Minnesota Golden Gophers (1-1) will wrap up non-conference play when they host the Nevada Wolf Pack (1-2) on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT at Huntington Bank Stadium.
Can Nevada score on offense?
Nevada starting signal caller Brendon Lewis should be a familiar face to Gopher fans, as Saturday will be his third career matchup against Minnesota. Before transferring to Nevada, he was a quarterback at Colorado, where he was on the wrong end of two blowout losses to the Gophers in 2021 and 2022. Lewis was a combined 10-of-22 for 69 passing yards.
He is off to a solid start under first-year head coach Jeff Choate, completing 66.7% of his passes (54-of-81) for 561 passing yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions. Lewis also has 44 rushing attempts for 208 yards and one touchdown. The Wolf Pack want to run the ball with their pistol option offense, which means the Minnesota defense can expect a healthy dose of Lewis carrying the rock in addition to running backs Savion Red (34 carries, 254 rushing yards, 1 touchdown) and Patrick Garwo III (19 carries, 87 rushing yards, 2 touchdowns).
In the passing game, Nevada lacks explosive playmakers. When they do pass the ball, you can expect it to end up in the hands of one of three receivers: 6’6” sixth-year senior Jaden Smith, West Virginia transfer Cortez Braham Jr., or the undersized but elusive UTEP transfer Marcus Bellon.
To shut down this offense, the Gophers will need to be disciplined in their run fits. Put the brakes of the Wolf Pack’s ground game and force Lewis to beat you through the air.
Please tell me the Gophers will be able to score
Through their first three games of the season, Nevada ranks 58th in rushing defense (111 rushing yards allowed per game), 103rd in passing defense (250.3 passing yards allowed per game), and 93rd in scoring defense (25 points allowed per game).
I expect Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck and offensive coordinator Greg Harbaugh Jr. to challenge their offensive line to establish the run early, before allowing quarterback Max Brosmer to pick apart a porous Wolf Pack secondary if the ground game can’t gain any traction.
Multi-year starting linebackers Drue Watts and Tongiaki Mateialona will be waiting at the second level of the defense to try and bottle up running backs Darius Taylor and Marcus Major. Mateialona is tied with defensive end Henry Ikahihifo for the team lead in tackles for loss with 3.5. Nevada had to replace a number of starters in the secondary from a year ago but are led by senior safety Kitan Crawford and senior cornerback Michael Coats Jr.
The Nevada defense has struggled to pressure the quarterback (averaging 0.6 sacks per game) and force turnovers (one interception and zero forced fumbles).
But who will score more points on Saturday?
All three of Nevada’s games have been decided by three points or less, but Minnesota will be the most talented team they’ve faced. The Gophers will need to be disciplined on defense, but all eyes will be on an offensive line that struggled to stifle an FCS defensive front a week ago. This will probably be closer than fans would like, but Minnesota should prevail to close out their non-conference slate with a win. Minnesota 24, Nevada 13.