Northwestern is falling in the rankings and will look to rebound after a shellacking in last week’s matchup at Camp Randall Stadium, when they host the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Saturday in Evanston.
***(Write-up assumes…AP plays —- with the terrible news we’ve learned Friday)
Both of these teams have struggled so far this season, especially Minnesota who made the playoffs last year and has been totally flat all season long. The trouble has been at the quarterback spot which is why they acquired Josh Freeman after he was jettisoned by the Bucs…anything is an improvement over Christian Ponder.
Both Minnesota and Ohio State have lost 3 of their last 4 games and their last one. The Buckeyes 3 losses have come against ranked teams and they are favored to get back on track tonight with a W. Minnesota has 18 wins, but they are at 6-7 in Big 10 play and they need a few more wins to get off the Big Dance bubble.
Wisconsin has won 3 straight games and in their last game they scored a HUGE upset with a win over Michigan. .
Minnesota got over their 4-game losing streak, as they have won 2 straight, but if they lose this game they will only be .500 in Big 10 play.
Minnesota has lost 2 straight games with both coming against top 10 teams and they look to get back in the W column facing a Northwestern team that has lost 2 of their last 3 games.
Headline: Packers Host Vikings in First NFC Wild Card – Will AP Do It Again?
The first of the NFC Wild Card games goes this Saturday from Lambeau Field and features a rematch of a scintillating Week 17 game in which the Vikings qualified for the postseason with a 37-34 win. While the Vikings come into Saturday’s matchup as arguably the hotter of the two teams, there is no doubt which is the better all around squad.
This game is a big one, as the loser is likely out of the playoff picture. The Vikings snapped a 2-game losing streak in their last game, but they are only 1-4 on the road this season while the Rams are 4-3 at home.
The Bears have lost 3 of their last 4 games and with their slide they are tied with the Packers for first place in the NFC North.
Headline: Surprising NFC Teams Clash – Vikings at Seahawks in Week 9
Two of the nicest stories in the NFC write another chapter on Sunday when the 5-3 Minnesota Vikings travel to Seattle to take on one of the best home teams in the league – the Seattle Seahawks. Although it is still early in the season, both teams are coming off Week 8 losses and both absolutely need wins to stay in the NFC Wild Card picture.
Headline: Viking Look to Add Washington to their List of Casualties in Week 6
The surprising Minnesota Vikings look to go 5-1 on the season when they pay visit to the improving but banged up Washington Redskins on Sunday afternoon. Minnesota hasn’t exactly lit the world on fire offensively but Washington has stopped nobody on defense.
With their solid play as of late the Suns are now only 1 game behind the Nuggets for the last playoff spot in the Western Conference and they have a good chance to gain more ground facing a Timberwolves’ team that has lost 5 straight.
Minnesota is still trying to remember the time, not that long ago, when they were the darlings of the Western Conference. With point guard Ricky Rubio deftly dishing the ball they were firmly in the playoff picture.
In the finals of the NIT tournament tonight at Madison Square Garden 2 teams that missed out on the Big Dance have a chance to add to their trophy collection.
The Washington Huskies will make their second trip of the year to the Big Apple on Tuesday, where they will hope to have better results when they take on the No. 6 seeded Minnesota Golden Gophers for a chance to play either Stanford or UMass in Thursday’s NIT championship game.
Minnesota really struggled down the stretch in the regular season, which cost them a shot at the Big Dance, but they looked good in their opening round win in the NIT.
