Gophers at Indiana, 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Memorial Stadium, BTN, 100.3-FM. Line: Gophers by 7 ½
In two short weeks, the Gophers (6-4, 4-3 Big Ten) went from a one-game lead in the Big Ten's West Division to a third-place tie, one game behind first-place Wisconsin and Iowa. Minnesota will have plenty of opportunities to get well against Indiana (2-8, 0-7), which is on a six-game losing streak.
Three big story lines
Playing for bowl positioning
Though the Gophers remain alive in the West race, they'll need much help to realize that goal. With a 2-0 finish against Indiana and Wisconsin, they could at least salvage an 8-4 regular season and move up in the postseason pecking order to possibly the Music City or Las Vegas bowl.
Touchdowns over field goals
The Gophers have been among the better teams in the Big Ten in red zone performance, ranking third with 30 scores in 33 red zone possessions (90.9%). At Iowa, however, they settled for three field goals on three trips inside the Hawkeyes 15-yard line, which was telling in the 27-22 defeat.
Indiana's revolving door at quarterback
Michael Penix Jr., a second-team All-Big Ten QB last year, suffered a shoulder injury on Oct. 2 and hasn't played since. Jack Tuttle replaced Penix, but he suffered a lower leg injury. True freshman Donaven McCulley started last week. As of Thursday, coach Tom Allen hadn't announced his starter among those three.
