We Speak College Football
GameDay in Bloomington: No. 4 Indiana Hosts a Minnesota Team Built to Frustrate
ESPN’s College GameDay is making its third trip to Bloomington, and the defending national champions intend to give it a better offensive show than the last two weeks. Minnesota (5-2, 3-1 Big Ten) visits No. 4 Indiana (7-1, 4-1) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS, in a game that matters far more to the Big Ten race than the three-touchdown spread suggests.
Indiana’s title defense has been carried by its defense. The Hoosiers allow just 12 points per game and escaped Ann Arbor last week with a 13-6 overtime win over Michigan despite a struggling offense. Quarterback Josh Hoover, the TCU transfer who replaced Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza, played through a throwing-arm injury suffered against Ohio State and finished 8 of 18 for 81 yards with his first interception of the season. Indiana has managed just one offensive touchdown in each of its last two games. Curt Cignetti offered an update Monday: “I expect him to be fine and better this week.”
Minnesota is built to make a wounded offense miserable. The Golden Gophers beat Iowa 13-10 last week and bring a pass defense allowing only 165.1 yards per game, 11th best in the nation, with 15 sacks and seven interceptions against eight touchdown passes allowed. The Gophers average a modest 26.6 points per game, but in a low-possession game, they do not need much.
The matchup that decides it is Hoover’s health against that Minnesota secondary. If Indiana’s quarterback is truly right, the Hoosiers’ talent edge should surface at home on Homecoming weekend. If he is limited again and this turns into another 13-10 rock fight, Minnesota is exactly the kind of veteran, defense-first team that can steal the biggest win of the Big Ten season and blow the conference race wide open.
Kickoff: Saturday, October 31, 3:30 p.m. ET. TV: CBS. Venue: Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, Ind.
On the Blue Turf, No. 20 Boise State’s Playoff Path Runs Through Texas State’s Track Team
No. 5 Notre Dame Comes Off Its Bye to Face Navy — With No Room for Another Slip
No Margin Left: No. 8 BYU Tries to Bounce Back Against Arizona State in Provo
No. 6 Utah Puts the Nation’s Longest Win Streak on the Line at Giant-Killer Cincinnati
No. 22 Arizona at No. 13 Texas Tech: The Loser Falls Out of the Big 12 Race in Lubbock
Dream Season Meets Desperation: No. 20 Northwestern Walks Into Autzen Against Reeling Oregon
Surprise of the ACC: No. 14 Wake Forest Hosts Virginia With a Title-Game Path in Sight
No. 12 Ole Miss Must Beat Auburn Without Its Star Running Back to Keep Playoff Hopes Alive
We Speak College Football
On the Blue Turf, No. 20 Boise State’s Playoff Path Runs Through Texas State’s Track Team
Boise State is the only team outside the power conferences sitting in the AP Top 25, and the Broncos know exactly what that means: win out, and the College Football Playoff door stays open. The next test comes under the lights on the Blue Turf, where No. 20 Boise State hosts Texas State on Saturday at 10:00 p.m. ET on The CW at Albertsons Stadium.
The Broncos (6-1, 3-0 Pac-12) have won six straight since a 34-27 loss at Oregon in the season opener, and last week’s 31-10 win at Washington State showed their finishing kick — three fourth-quarter touchdowns after the game tightened late. Running back Dylan Riley, the national leader with 963 rushing yards, was quiet for three quarters in Pullman before breaking touchdown runs of 33 and 72 yards in the fourth, finishing with 128 yards on 13 carries for his fifth 100-yard game of the season. Quarterback Maddux Madsen has thrown for 1,445 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Texas State (4-3, 2-1) is not built to play a quiet game. The Bobcats rank 18th in the nation in scoring at 37.1 points per game, have won four of their last five, and have hung 66 points on Colorado State and 63 on Incarnate Word this season. Quarterback Brad Jackson has thrown for 1,606 yards and 14 touchdowns against five interceptions and added 382 yards and five scores as a runner — production that had Boise State coach Spencer Danielson raving this week. “That quarterback is big-time,” Danielson said. “He can make every throw. If everything is covered and he takes off, hold your stinkin’ breath, because he is explosive.” Jackson’s backfield mate, Torrance Burgess Jr., has 889 rushing yards of his own, among the top marks in the nation.
The matchup that decides it is tempo against physicality. Texas State, making its first visit to the Blue Turf, just beat Utah State while holding the Aggies to 17 points — the kind of defensive outing it will need again. Boise State allows 20.6 points per game and will try to lean on Riley and its offensive line to shorten the night. If the Bobcats turn it into a shootout, the Pac-12 race flips. If the Broncos control it, their playoff path stays exactly where they want it: in their own hands.
No. 5 Notre Dame Comes Off Its Bye to Face Navy — With No Room for Another SlipNo Margin Left: No. 8 BYU Tries to Bounce Back Against Arizona State in ProvoNo. 6 Utah Puts the Nation’s Longest Win Streak on the Line at Giant-Killer CincinnatiNo. 22 Arizona at No. 13 Texas Tech: The Loser Falls Out of the Big 12 Race in LubbockDream Season Meets Desperation: No. 20 Northwestern Walks Into Autzen Against Reeling OregonSurprise of the ACC: No. 14 Wake Forest Hosts Virginia With a Title-Game Path in SightNo. 12 Ole Miss Must Beat Auburn Without Its Star Running Back to Keep Playoff Hopes Alive
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