Minnesota Golden Gophers vs Colorado Buffaloes Prediction, Odds and Preview - 09/18/2021

Game Time: 1:00 pm ET, Saturday, September 18, 2021

Venue:  Folsom Field, Boulder, CO

Where to Watch:  Pac-12 Network

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Golden Gophers +2, Buffaloes -2; Over/Under:  50 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Golden Gophers +2, Buffaloes -2; Over/Under:  50 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Golden Gophers +2, Buffaloes -2; Over/Under:  50.5 points

 

Minnesota Golden Gophers:  1-1 (4th place, Big Ten West)

Colorado Buffaloes:  1-1 (4th place, Pac-12 South)

 

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Minnesota Golden Gophers:  won 1

Colorado Buffaloes:  lost 1

 

 

 

This season the Minnesota Golden Gophers are averaging a 52.4% completion percentage, 158.5 passing yards, and 1.5 touchdowns per game through the air. They also averaged 191.5 rushing yards and 2.5 touchdowns per game on the ground. The Colorado Buffaloes are averaging a 57.5% completion percentage, 95.5 passing yards, and 0.5 touchdowns per game through the air. They also average 227 rushing yards and 2.5 touchdowns per game on the ground.

 

 

This season the Minnesota Golden Gophers are allowing teams a 54.7% completion percentage, 265.5 passing yards, and 3 touchdowns per game through the air. They also allowed 152.5 rushing yards and 1 touchdown per game on the ground. The Colorado Buffaloes are allowing teams a 52.4% completion percentage, 213.5 passing yards, and 1 touchdown per game through the air. They also allow 61.5 rushing yards and 0 touchdowns per game on the ground.

 

The Minnesota Golden Gophers are coming into this college football game with a 1-1 record overall and a 0-1 record in conference games this season. They lost their first game of the college football season to the Ohio State Buckeyes 45-31. This game will be another non-conference game, they won their last one against the Miami-OH RedHawks 31-26. They looked really good in the first half of their game against OSU as they kept the game close for a while even having a lead in that one. In their last game they did not look too good coming in as a 20 point favorite only to win by 5 against a weak Miami-OH team. Tanner Morgan struggled in that game as he completed 8/17 passes for 112 yards and 2 touchdowns. It was Treyson Potts in the run game who put in most of the work with 178 yards on the rush and 2 touchdowns on 34 carries. Mohamed Ibrahim is out for the year now. No one else on the team had more than 4 rushing yards in that game. Dylan Wright led the receivers with 73 yards and 1 touchdown on 3 receptions. Mariano Sori-Marin led the defense with 3 solo tackles and 7 assisted ones. No one on the defense recorded a sack in that game but Tyler Nubin came away with the only interception for his team. Minnesota's offense is averaging 350 total YPG this season while the defense is allowing 418. They have scored 62 points and have allowed 71 points in their 2 games this season. 

The Colorado Buffaloes are coming into this game with a 1-1 record overall and will be playing their 3rd non-conference game in a row now. They won their first game of the regular season against the Northern Colorado Bears 35-7 and then went on to lose to the Texas A&M Aggies in a low scoring 10-7 game. Brendon Lewis struggled a lot in their last game as he completed 13/25 passes for just 89 yards and 1 interception. The run game did not have much going for them either as he also led the team with 76 rushing yards but it was Jarek Broussard who found the end zone for them on the ground scoring their only TD in the game. The receivers really contributed nothing as Daniel Arias led the way with 37 yards on 3 receptions. Nate Landman had a day on defense though as he led his team with 10 solo tackles. Na'im Rodman recorded the only sack in the game for the team. Colorado's offense is averaging 322.5 total YPG while their defense is allowing 275. They have scored 42 points in their first 2 games while allowing 17 points.

The Buffaloes are coming into this game as a slight favorite here at home. Both teams have an average offense as they can put up some points mainly in the run game. The Buffaloes have a very good defense though while the Golden Gophers are definitely struggling in that department allowing way too many yards and too many points compared to what their offense is doing. The spread is very small here so Colorado should be able to cover it here at home.

 

Golden Gophers Buffaloes Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Saturday, September 18, 2021 (1:00 pm ET start time) is Buffaloes 27 Golden Gophers 20.

Don't miss our champion handicappers free picks and expert football picks today.  And if you enjoyed this Minnesota Golden Gophers Colorado Buffaloes prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our weekly NCAAF predictions and previews.

 

 

Minnesota Golden Gophers: 5-1 ATS off 2 or more consecutive overs. 6-0 ATS after a game where they committed no turnovers.

Colorado Buffaloes: 5-2 ATS when the total is between 49.5 and 56. 6-4 ATS in home games.

 

 

Minnesota Golden Gophers:  C. Autman-Bell (WR) Ques Sat - Leg injury. J. Howden (DB) Ques Sat - Leg injury. M. Ibrahim (RB) out for season - Leg injury.

Colorado Buffaloes:  L. Shenault (WR) out for season - Suspension. C. Miller (S) Ques Sat - Undisclosed injury. J. Broussard (RB) Ques Sat - Undisclosed injury.

 

 

Minnesota Golden Gophers: Trey Potts is one player to watch in this game. He has a team-high 212 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns this season. He is coming off of a massive game where he rushed for over 150 yards so watch for him to be a big deciding factor in who wins this game.

 

Colorado Buffaloes: Dimitri Stanley is one player to watch in this game. He will be looking to get more action in this game and breakout with some big plays as he did not get a chance to in their last game. Look for him to be a difference maker here. 

 

"I think that consistency has a lot to do with being mentally tough. I think people think football is all physical toughness and just hitting each other and it's very violent game, but there's a decision to be made to do that. Your mind's going to tell your body what to do and there's decisions for that, and I'm talking about just overcoming adversity. That next play mentality, being able to not flush the last play and forget about it, learn from it immediately, and then move on. Not about ignoring what happened, but have it be a learning experience and the minute that plays over, learn from it and go to the next play.” - P.J. Fleck on his players needing to be mentally tough.

 

 

 

“There’s no reason to hang our head low for anything. We had a chance to win a game, a significant game, and our locker room is more disappointed about not finishing the game. I thought defensively we played really well, but offensively we had some good moments but struggled at times, couldn’t put anything together in the second half.” - Karl Dorrell after his team lost a close game by 3 to Texas A&M.

 

 

 

 

WR Autman-Bell, Chris 

WR Jackson, Daniel 

WR Brown-Stephens, Mike 

TE Kieft, Ko 

QB Morgan, Tanner 

RB Potts, Trey 

 

WR Arias, Daniel 

WR Rice, Brenden 

WR Stanley, Dimitri 

TE Brady Russell

QB Lewis, Brendon 

RB Broussard, Jarek 

 

 

Passing: T. Morgan (317)

Rushing: T. Potts (212)

Receiving: D. Wright (130)

Touchdowns: T. Potts (2)

Sacks: N/A

Tackles: M. Sori-Marin (6)

 

Passing: B. Lewis (191)

Rushing: J. Broussard (145)

Receiving: D. Arias (37)

Touchdowns:  J. Broussard (2)

Sacks: N. Rodman (2)

Tackles: N. Landman (14)

 

Coaches:

Minnesota Golden Gophers: P.J. Fleck (5th season)

Colorado Buffaloes: Karl Dorrell (2nd season)

 

88 degrees F mostly sunny, 20% humidity, 0% chance of rain, up to 6 mph wind speeds S.