Minnesota vs. Indiana prediction, pick, odds, spread: Hoosiers hoping offense wakes up against Gophers
The Hoosiers are big favorites, but can they get the offense on track against a quality Minnesota defense?
• 4 min read
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.
Minnesota vs. Indiana: Need to know
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. Indiana has that in Charlie Becker and Nick Marsh, but the question is whether Josh Hoover can get them the ball on time and on target regularly enough to take advantage of their mismatches.
Indiana has no such questions, and they'll start by trying to take away Minnesota's ground game and dare Drake Lindsey to beat them through the air.
Can Drake Lindsey protect the football? There's a world where the Gophers hang around in this one and are a live dog on the road to pull a stunning upset. However, that only happens if Lindsey protects the football, something he's not excelled at this season. Lindsey leads the Big Ten with six interceptions and has thrown at least one in each of Minnesota's last five games.
The Gophers have to maximize every possession to have a chance against Indiana, and given the Hoosiers have an elite defense, there won't be any room for error on Lindsey's part. He came into the season with NFL Draft buzz because of his physical tools, but he's got to manage risk better in the second half of the season to boost that stock. Saturday will be his biggest test yet on the road.
Where to watch Minnesota vs. Indiana live
Date: Saturday, Oct. 31 | Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
Location: Memorial Stadium -- Bloomington, Indiana
TV: CBS | Live stream: CBSSports.com, CBS Sports App
Streaming on Paramount+ Premium
Minnesota vs. Indiana prediction, picks
If it ain't broke, don't fix it. The Hoosiers are quite simply an under machine right now. It's not just that they have an elite defense and a sputtering offense, but it's the way Curt Cignetti is managing games. The lack of trust in Hoover is never more apparent than when he trots the punt unit out on a fourth-and-short at midfield without hesitation. Even if Indiana dominates, it's hard to see them piling up points on a good Minnesota defense, and there's a real world where the Gophers keep this close throughout. Either way, it'll come down to the team that converts opportunities into touchdowns rather than field goals, and this total is a bit too high at 40. Pick: UNDER 41.5
 Tom Fornelli |  Chip Patterson |  Brandon Marcello |  John Talty |  Richard Johnson |  Shehan Jeyarajah |  David Cobb |  Brad Crawford |  Chris Hummer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IU -19.5 |  |  | |||||||
| SU |
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