No. 4 Indiana will host Minnesota on Saturday afternoon on CBS (3:30 p.m. ET), as the Hoosiers try to calm the nerves of fans in Bloomington who have grown antsy watching an offense struggling to get going. While the Hoosiers remain ranked inside the top 5, there's plenty of anxiety in Indiana about an offense that's been sputtering with just 48 points combined in the last three games.
A 13-6 win in overtime against a listless Michigan team didn't assuage those concerns, and now they welcome a Minnesota team that has proven to be a thorny opponent. The Gophers come in at 5-2 fresh off a 13-10 win over Iowa to hoist the Floyd of Rosedale trophy, as PJ Fleck is 2-for-2 in rivalry games this season. Minnesota will need to step up their level in the next two games against top-10 foes in Indiana and UCLA, but if the Hoosiers get caught looking ahead to a trip to USC, they can quickly find themselves in a dogfight with the Gophers despite being 20.5-point favorites.
Will the Hoosiers' offense come to life back at home and re-establish themselves as one of the nation's elite? Can Minnesota pull off another stunner by dragging Indiana into the mud? We'll find out on Saturday afternoon in what could be another thrilling, tense Big Ten battle.
Hoosiers need more from Hoover: Indiana's still a top 5 team, but this is clearly not a squad at the same level as last year. That's largely due to an offense stuck in the mud, with a quarterback who has not clicked with the scheme despite two highly talented receivers on the outside. Josh Hoover has been dreadful the last few weeks, and when the Hoosiers have won, it's been in spite of their quarterback's play.
That might not need to change to win this week specifically, but the Hoosiers are desperate to establish some form of offensive rhythm in the back half of the season before the College Football Playoff. The Gophers present challenges, but this is the caliber of team Indiana should be able to handle with ease. They've not proven to have that gear so far this season, and it's incumbent on Hoover to be both more dynamic and more efficient throwing the football for them to find that next level.
DE-FENSE [clapclapclap]: The defenses for both teams are their point of strength, and both teams will be looking to their defensive playmakers to help them out. The Hoosiers and Gophers put forward defensive masterclasses in low-scoring wins a week ago, but Minnesota is the team with the greater questions on that side of the ball. There have been games where Minnesota looks fantastic defensively (like last week against Iowa), but they have struggled against teams that can stretch the field and have high-level athletes on the outside.
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