Minnesota
Minnesota vs Illinois Prediction: Gophers finally get past Bret Bielema
It’s another Minnesota Golden Gophers gameday and with that, it’s time to make another game day prediction here at Gophers Nation.
On Saturday, the Minnesota Golden Gophers will look for their fourth-straight win as they take on the No. 24 Illinois Fighting Illini on the road in Champlain. The Gophers in the process will look to also snap a 10-game losing streak against Illinois head coach Bret Bielema in the process.
A win on Saturday would give the Gophers their sixth win of the season as well, officially clinching bowl eligibility.
With that being said, who do we have winning on Saturday? Let’s get into it.
The Minnesota Golden Gophers have been playing strong football for the last five weeks, dating back to their second half performance against the Michigan Wolves in Ann Arbor. After nearly upsetting the Wolverines, the Gophers have won each of their last four games with wins over USC, UCLA, and Maryland, the latter win coming in impressive fashion by a final score of 48-23.
In the process of their four-game winning streak, the Gophers offense has played with a bit more of a spark led by quarterback Max Brosmer while the defense has played some of its best football, allowing just 19 points per game over the winning streak.
Illinois enters Saturday with a 6-2 record and No. 24 in the country after losing last week to No. 1 Oregon 38-9. The Illini’s only losses this season have come to the top-ranked Ducks and No. 3 Penn State. In their six wins this season, the Illini have relied heavily on their defense. In five of six wins, the opposing offense was kept to 350 total yards or less. That being said, the Illini are susceptible defensively.
The Illini defense this season has allowed nearly 400 yards per contest and rank 72nd in the nation in that category. But they’ve done a good job of limiting the overall scoring of opposing offenses, allowing just 23.6 points per contest. The Illini are suspect against opposing ground games, allowing 171 rushing yards per game this season and 4.8 yards per rush. Of course, Minnesota hasn’t been strong in the rushing category this season themselves, averaging just 106.7 rushing yards a game and averaging 3.5 yards per rush. But as we have previously stated this week, the magic number for Minnesota this season is 100 rushing yards. The Gophers are 4-0 when rushing for over 100 yards and are 1-3 when kept under the century mark.
Will they be able to get enough push up front on Saturday? That remains to be seen, however, if they do so, it will be without left guard Tyler Cooper who according to a report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel will be on Saturday with an injury. Redshirt sophomore Tony Nelson is expected to step in to replace Cooper.
The Illini pass defense has been solid this season but can be They have allowed 290+ passing yards three times this season, doing so against Purdue, Nebraska, and Oregon. The Gophers have been solid through the air in recent weeks including Max Brosmer coming off his best game of the season with 320 passing yards last week in the win over Maryland. Expect the Gophers to one again rely on the likes of Brosmer as well as wide receivers Daniel Jackson and Elijah Spencer on Saturday afternoon.
Looking at the Illinois offense and the Gophers defense. The Illini will likely find ways to move the ball but it’s not a great matchup for Illinois, the Gophers have the advantage in most aspects of the matchup.
That being said, this is a smart Illinois offense and one that won’t make too many mistakes. That being said, few defenses in the country have created more chaos in terms of turnovers than the Gophers.
Look for them to get another big turnover or two on Saturday against Luke Altmyer and the Illini offense. Notably, Altmyer has been one of the best players this season in terms of interception percentage with just 1.55% of his passes this season being picked off. Notably, Illinois wide receiver Pat Bryant is a game time decision on Saturday.
Special teams will be a concern in this game, the Gophers haven’t been all too strong in that facet of the game this season while Illinois is one of the better special teams, teams in the country this season. In what will be a close game, special teams could be the ultimate difference between a win and a loss for Minnesota.
So with all that, who is Gophers Nation picking for today’s game?
PREDICTION: Minnesota 23 – Illinois 16
We’re going to go with Minnesota to pick up their fourth straight win of the season, the Gophers are playing their best football at the right time while Illinois could still be feeling last week’s loss to Oregon. This Illinois team is a good one but it’s not a great one and not as good as their 6-2 record may indicate. The Gophers will still need to bring their A-game on Saturday to win but as long as they do so, we anticipate a Minnesota victory. We believe the difference once again will be quarterback Max Brosmer, after throwing a combined three interceptions against iowa and Michigan earlier this season, the transfer quarterback has been tremendous. Look for him to make up for those performances this weekend.
Minnesota
Vikings Have a Dubious Connection to the Dexter Lawrence Trade
Of the many terrible roster decisions Minnesota sports teams have made over the past 30 years, the worst of the bunch may have been trading Randy Moss to the Raiders for the No. 7 pick in the draft and linebacker Napoleon Harris.
Why are we bringing up a trade that happened 21 years ago? Because the New York Giants traded defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence to the Cincinnati Bengals for the No. 10 pick in this week’s NFL Draft. It was the first time a non-quarterback has been traded for a top-10 pick since the infamous Moss trade in 2005.
Minnesota traded Moss for the Raiders’ first-round pick, Harris, and a seventh-round pick on March 2, 2005. The Vikings used the No. 7 pick on wide receiver Troy Williamson, who never panned out in the NFL. He had 24 catches for 372 yards and two touchdowns as a rookie, 37 receptions for 457 yards and zero touchdowns in 2006, and just 18 catches for 240 yards and one touchdown in 2007.
Williams led the league with 11 dropped passes in 2006. Minnesota traded him to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a sixth-round pick after the 2007 season, where he played in 10 games over two seasons and totaled just eight catches for 64 yards. He was cut before the start of the 2010 season, and that was a wrap on the former South Carolina speedster’s NFL career.
Moss didn’t put up jaw-dropping numbers with the Raiders for two seasons, but he set an NFL record with 23 touchdown catches in 2007 with the New England Patriots. He caught 47 touchdowns in 48 regular-season games with the Patriots from 2007 to 2009.
Whether it was trading Moss to the Raiders, the Timberwolves sending Kevin Garnett to the Boston Celtics — or drafting Ricky Rubio AND Johnny Flynn over Steph Curry — or the Twins cutting David Ortiz and watching him become one of the greatest players in MLB history with the Boston Red Sox, Minnesota sports teams have a long history of making terrible decisions.
The Bengals, meanwhile, gave up the 10th overall pick for one of the best defensive tackles in the league. They’ll likely get great production from Lawrence, while the Giants are now under pressure to get the 10th pick right. New York also holds the No. 5 pick in Thursday’s first round of the draft.
By the way, the Vikings had two picks in the first round of the 2005 draft. After taking Williamson, they used the No. 18 pick on defensive end Erasmus James. He was just as much of a bust as Williams, playing in 23 games in three years with the Vikings. He had four sacks as a rookie, but injuries wiped out most of his 2006 and 2007 seasons before he was traded to Washington for a conditional seventh-round pick.
James was cut by Washington in December 2009, marking the end of his NFL career.
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Minnesota
Boldy, Eriksson Ek help Wild cruise past Stars in Game 1 of Western 1st Round | NHL.com
Kirill Kaprizov had a goal and two assists, and Ryan Hartman had a goal and an assist for the Wild, who are the No. 3 seed in the Central Division. Wallstedt made 27 saves in his Stanley Cup Playoff debut, and Zuccarello had three assists.
“I was definitely nervous,” said Wallstedt, a rookie. “I think it shows that it means something to you. I like a little bit of nerves. I think it’s something good. There were definitely some nerves throughout the day and then a little bit extra rolling into the game. But after the national anthem was over and the first couple pucks started coming, you’re good.
“I wanted to play and I felt like I have been going good. I was a little surprised (to get the start). But I was very excited as soon as I got the news. I just wanted to make sure I was ready today.”
Jason Robertson scored, and Jake Oettinger made 23 saves for the Stars, who are the No. 2 seed in the Central.
“We didn’t deserve to win,” Dallas forward Mikko Rantanen said. “I think two power-play goals for them, two a little-bit bounces for them where we had guys in the right spot. Just even keel. Playoffs are like this. Sometimes you lose a game, you can feel like you’re done. But that’s the mentality you need to have, you’ve got to reset and learn from mistakes.
“First 30 minutes, we didn’t win enough battles. They were just that little bit stronger in the battles and that’s why they were able to make us defend more than we want to. Just got to be stronger.”
Game 2 is here on Monday (9:30 p.m. ET; FDSNWI, FDSNNO, Victory+, ESPN, TVAS2, SN360).
“We prepped for a couple days coming into this one. Now, we will gather information from this game and continue to move forward,” Minnesota coach John Hynes said. “For me, it’s game to game and day to day. We want to continue to get better. We won and they [Dallas] lost. It’s not so much being satisfied where you’re at or that’s what it is. We need to continue to find ways to get better.”
Eriksson Ek gave the Wild a 1-0 lead at 5:35 of the first period on the power play. He scored on a one-timer from the left hash marks to finish a tic-tac-toe passing play with Zuccarello and Boldy, who found an open Eriksson Ek with a pass from the goal line.
“I think every team in the playoffs talks about not getting too high or too low. Just enjoy every day and each game and then we will go from there,” Eriksson Ek said. “I think we played pretty good today. The next game is a new game, so we just have to do it over and over every game. We know they are probably not the happiest with that game, so I am sure it’s going to be hard next game.”
Minnesota
ICE agent assault charge marks a ‘milestone’ for Minnesota prosecutors
Minnesota prosecutors charged a federal immigration agent with assault accusing him of involvement in a February road-rage incident.
Trump administration ends Minnesota immigration operation
Border Czar Tom Homan announced the end of Minnesota’s immigration operation after fatal shootings heightened tension and community backlash.
Minnesota prosecutors charged a federal immigration agent with assault, saying the agent was involved in a February road-rage incident during the Trump administration’s Operation Metro Surge.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr., 35, faces two counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, according to April 16 Hennepin County court records. He has a nationwide warrant for his arrest.
On Feb. 5, prosecutors said Morgan allegedly drove illegally on the shoulder of a congested Minnesota highway in an unmarked SUV and pointed his weapon at two people in another car.
Morgan is the first agent charged in Operation Metro Surge, the controversial Minneapolis-area federal immigration operation that resulted in two American citizens fatally shot by federal officials, according to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.
The charges “reflect an important milestone in our efforts to seek accountability for the harms inflicted on our community during Operation Metro Surge,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in an April 16 video statement.
Second-degree assault with a gun has a presumptive sentence of 36 months in prison if convicted, she said.
“Mr. Morgan’s conduct was extremely dangerous,” she said, adding his actions could have led to “another disastrous incident” in the community.
Neither ICE nor the Department of Homeland Security immediately responded to email requests for comment. A cell phone listed for Morgan, identified as a Maryland resident, didn’t immediately respond to a call or text message.
The incident came less than two weeks after two Customs and Border Protection officers shot and killed Alex Pretti, 37, during a protest in Minneapolis. Pretti would be the second American killed during Metro Surge after an ICE agent in early January fatally shot Renee Good, 37, while she drove her SUV in Minneapolis near an immigration operation.
Later in February, the Trump administration drew down Metro Surge, which officials called the largest immigration operation in modern American history.
Investigators said they interviewed Morgan, who identified himself as the driver. Morgan told investigators he and the other ICE employee were returning from a surveillance shift. Morgan said he feared for his life and others’ safety, so he pulled up alongside the vehicle and drew his Glock 19 firearm. He said he identified himself as police.
State investigators said neither Morgan nor the other ICE agent reported the incident to an ICE supervisor.
The April 16 warrant, signed by District Court Judge Paul Scoggin, said there was a “substantial likelihood” Morgan would fail to respond to a summons, and officials couldn’t locate him.
On April 18, Daniel Borgertpoepping, a spokesperson for the county attorney’s office, said there is no knowledge of Morgan being arrested yet.
Eduardo Cuevas is based in New York City. Reach him by email at emcuevas1@usatoday.com or on Signal at emcuevas.01.
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