Gophers football: Readers tell us how the West will be won

Star Tribune readers offered up 37 predictions for Saturday's big game, with 25 picking Minnesota. Here are four from each side:

Minnesota will win. I don't know what the score will be, but I'm sure Minnesota will win. I live in Vegas, and I bet against the Gophers when they played tough road games against Michigan and Nebraska. I lost both bets by a mile. Coach Kill and his boys have been killing my wallet. This week, I'm betting Wisconsin. That's why Minnesota will win. Dumb gamblers like me never learn.

Bill Holm, Las Vegas

I've been a Gopher fan since the late '50's. I remember the two Rose Bowls like it was yesterday. It's been a very long dry spell, and while the program is better than it was, I still believe it has a ways to go. My prediction is Wisconsin 31, Gophers 17.

Warren Ries

Not many teams have what it takes to beat the Badgers in Madison. The Gophers are not one of them. Kill has them on an upswing, but an amped-up, high-rated Wisconsin defense will swarm, and mercurial Melvin Gordon will roll. Watch him break several long gainers, for 200-plus yards, three or four TDs. Wisconsin 41, Minnesota 13.

J.R., Katy, Texas

Pat Omdahl, Richfield

It is not what you and I believe how good this Minnesota team is. It is what this team believes. They don't believe they are the underdogs. They believe they will win. You knock this team down — they get up again. They don't quit. They are not a team of superstars. They are a team that is greater than the sum of their parts. All the years of losing Gopher seasons have brought us to this point. A team eager to prove what they believe. They believe they are a team of destiny. Remember the 2014 Golden Gophers. Minnesota 24, Wisconsin 21

Ron Thorson, Blooming Prairie, Minn.

The Gophers over the Badgers and the Camp Randall faithful on Saturday. A sensible prediction? Not really. Yes, the Badgers have the fifth-ranked run defense in the nation. They also rank third in rushing yards, led by a Heisman hopeful. Their overall defense ranks third in points against. On paper, they are a 14-point favorite. Why pick the Gophers? Why not? There is subjectivity in numbers. This is the Big Ten, where any game can go any way. Smashmouth football in November. Axe on the line. West title, and then a showdown with the Buckeyes. I say another week of oxygen for the Gophers. Why not? Ski-U-Mah.

John Ratzloff, Sioux Falls, S.D.

Jack Babbitt

Gophers play with heart and refuse to quit, but can't compete offensively. 24-17 Badgers.