The Call: Gophers head to the friendly confines of Wrigley Field to play Northwestern

Where: Wrigley Field

When: Saturday, 11 a.m.

TV, radio: Big Ten Network, 100.3-FM

Line: Northwestern by 3½ (41.5 over/under)

The Gophers completed the final game against the toughest trio of their schedule last Friday with a 42-13 loss at Oregon, leaving them outscored by a combined 125-19 in road games vs. the Ducks, Ohio State and Iowa. Now Minnesota (6-4, 4-3 Big Ten) closes the season with games against teams more in their weight class in Northwestern (5-5, 3-4) and Wisconsin (3-7, 1-6). The Wildcats are up first at Wrigley Field, where they lost 24-22 to Michigan on a last-second field goal Saturday. Since 2010, Northwestern is 0-6 at Wrigley.

Can the Gophers finally win on the road?

Minnesota is 0-4 on the road this season, being outscored by a combined 152-33. Saturday’s game is considered a Northwestern home game even though it’s not on campus. Maybe playing in a ballpark will be an advantage for the Gophers, who are 2-0 in such venues, beating West Virginia in the 2021 Guaranteed Rate Bowl at Chase Field in Phoenix and Syracuse in the 2022 Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium.

Lindsey, the Gophers’ redshirt freshman quarterback, has a 4-0 record when his completion percentage is 66.7% or better. He was at his best in Minnesota’s best game, the 24-6 win over Nebraska on Oct. 17 in which he was 16-for-20 (80%) for 153 yards and a touchdown. In the Gophers’ last win, against Michigan State on Nov. 1, Lindsey was 26-for-39 (66.7%) for 197 yards.

Can the Gophers force some turnovers?

The Gophers have a plus-7 turnover margin in their six wins and a minus-4 margin in their four losses. Problem is, they haven’t forced many turnovers as of late, getting only one in the past two games. That came when Oregon fumbled while attempting a trick play. The Gophers lead the Big Ten at 3.3 sacks per game yet have forced only five fumbles this season.

Gophers RB Darius Taylor vs. Northwestern DB Robert Fitzgerald

Taylor returned to the Gophers lineup at Oregon and led the team with 57 yards on 10 carries and four catches for 40 yards on nine targets. Look for his touches to increase. Fitzgerald ranks second in the Big Ten with 9.2 tackles per game, and his 5.9 solo stops per game lead the conference and rank second nationally.

This is a matchup of players on NFL teams’ radar. Smith leads the Big Ten and is tied for seventh nationally with 9½ sacks, and his 12½ tackles for loss are tied for 15th nationally. Tiernan, 6-feet-7 and 325 pounds, has been named to Pro Football Focus’ national team of the week twice this season. He has an 87.8 pass-blocking grade, third-best in the nation.

75.8 Completion percentage for opposing quarterbacks when the Gophers play on the road. That ranks 135th among the 136 FBS teams, ahead of only Wisconsin (77.5%).