The Call: Everything to know ahead of Gophers vs. Michigan State

Time: 2:30 p.m., Saturday

Where: Huntington Bank Stadium

TV/Radio: BTN, 100.3-FM

Line: Gophers by 3½ (44.5 over/under)

The Gophers and Spartans meet for the third time in four years, and Minnesota has a two-game win streak in the series, beating the Spartans 34-7 in East Lansing in 2022 and winning 27-12 in Minneapolis in 2023. Michigan State has lost five consecutive games, while the Gophers will try to rebound from the 41-3 beating they absorbed in Iowa last week.

Which Gophers team will show up?

Will it be the one that dominated Nebraska 24-6 two weeks ago or the one that didn’t show up last week at Iowa? If the Gophers want to avoid a mediocre season, they must show the effort they did against the Huskers. Actually starting fast — instead of just saying they want to start fast — would be a good first step to show the Iowa debacle was an outlier.

Darius Taylor was limited to three plays and one carry against Iowa, and the running back’s status won’t be known until the availability report is released at 12:30 p.m. Saturday. Fame Ijeboi has been next man up this season, while Xavier Ford led the team with 25 rushing yards at Iowa. Regardless of who carries the ball the most, the Gophers need a better push from their offensive line.

How will Drake Lindsey rebound from the Iowa game?

Redshirt freshman quarterback Drake Lindsey endured the worst game of his career, going 16-for-28 for 109 yards with three interceptions, one returned for a TD. The first-year starter has been poised throughout the season, and now he faces the challenge of responding after a poor game. He rebounded well after losses to California and Ohio State with a combined five TD passes vs. Rutgers and Purdue.

MSU QB Aiden Chiles vs. Gophers defensive line

The Gophers face a mobile quarterback in Chiles, who has rushed for 227 yards and six touchdowns. Defensive end Anthony Smith and Co. will need to contain Chiles in the pocket as they did with Nebraska’s Dylan Raiola, whom they sacked a program-record nine times. Consistent pressure will go a long way toward securing a win.

Rossi, Michigan State’s defensive coordinator, and Harbaugh, Minnesota’s offensive coordinator, are good friends from their days on the Gophers staff, and both need a strong performance from their team. The Spartans are giving up 38 points per game in Big Ten play, while the Gophers offense was AWOL last week in a 41-3 blowout loss at Iowa.

5-0 | The Gophers’ record this season at Huntington Bank Stadium, site of this game. They’re 0-3 on the road, being outscored 110-20.

This feels like a prove-it game for the Gophers, who’ll try to enter their second bye week on a positive note. A win would put them at 6-3 overall and 4-2 in the Big Ten entering the closing stretch of games at Oregon, at Wrigley Field vs. Northwestern and at home vs. Wisconsin. They’ve yet to win on the road, so beating the Spartans would remove “securing bowl eligibility’’ from their to-do list. That’s a minimum requirement for this season. A strong effort Saturday ensures they still can chase better goals.