Sid Hartman: Gophers, Vikings each face pivotal test at home

This a crucial weekend at TCF Bank Stadium for both the Gophers, who play host to Northwestern on Saturday, and the Vikings, who play Detroit at home on Sunday.

The Gophers must win this game if they want to be a real factor in the Big Ten race after beating Michigan 30-14 on Sept. 27. And the Vikings face a Lions team that, before it lost to Buffalo on Sunday on a last-second 58-yard field goal, was sixth in the NFL in defense and 12th in offense. The Lions have one of the league's best quarterbacks in Matthew Stafford.

This will be the only time this season that the Gophers and Vikings will play back-to-back regular-season games at TCF Bank Stadium.

The Vikings are counting on returning quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, who was a great performer in the 41-28 victory over the Falcons, then missed the 42-10 loss to the Packers on Thursday because of an injured ankle.

It's becoming more apparent that the Vikings are going to struggle as they try to win without running back Adrian Peterson, playmaking tight end Kyle Rudolph and outstanding right guard Brandon Fusco. And on defense, they are going to miss their leader Chad Greenway — even if the star linebacker can play, he will be handicapped because of a bad wrist and ribs. They certainly missed Greenway's tackling against the Packers.

Following that horrible showing Thursday, coach Mike Zimmer was asked what he can do to make sure the team doesn't have a similar performance with three extra days to get ready for the Lions.

"We're going to start looking at some of the things we do offensively, defensively and special teams and kind of evaluate where we are," Zimmer said. "What's good and what's bad. Try to get a little self-scout."

The Vikings running game might not be able to succeed against strong NFL defenses since the team is missing not only Peterson, but his longtime backup, Toby Gerhart, who is now with Jacksonville.

Still, the NFC North remains a wide-open division. So when Detroit comes to town, the Vikings will have a chance to get their season back on track and get back into the playoff hunt.

Another thing to keep an eye on is that Detroit might be hampered by a number of injuries next week, just like the Vikings. Star wide receiver Calvin Johnson left the Buffalo game in the second quarter after reinjuring his right ankle. Running back Reggie Bush also suffered an ankle injury and his backup, Joique Bell, did not play because of a concussion.

The standings in the Big Ten West Division all of a sudden have opened up, with Nebraska and Wisconsin both losing Saturday. Northwestern's 20-14 victory over the Badgers moved the Wildcats to 2-0 in conference play. Meanwhile, the Gophers and Iowa, who were both idle, sit at 1-0.

So when the Gophers face the Wildcats, they will have a chance to move into first place in their division just two games into conference play. But after losing its first two games to Northern Illinois and California, Northwestern went on the road to upset Penn State and then at home defeated a Wisconsin team that was considered a contender for the Big Ten title.

Northwestern might be the surprise team in the Big Ten so far, scoring the two big victories following a streak in which they went only 2-7 dating to last season.

"I've never been part of something like that before," Godwin Igwebuike told the Chicago Tribune after the freshman safety intercepted three Wisconsin passes. "Nobody saw it coming. I didn't see it coming."

The Gophers will have had two weeks to prepare for Northwestern, and it's worth noting Texas Christian had an extra week to get ready for the Gophers, and so did San Jose State.

National pundits are starting to take notice. ESPN ranked them fourth in their Big Ten Power Poll on Sunday, writing: "Minnesota has a chance to be 8-1 midway through November. The one loss, a 30-7 defeat to TCU, looks much better after the Horned Frogs knocked off Oklahoma this weekend."

On top of that, the Gophers also received votes in the both the Associated Press and coaches polls.

• Letroy Guion, the former Vikings defensive lineman now with the Packers, finished with four tackles, 1 ½ sacks and three quarterback hits in helping his new team defeat the Vikings. Guion, who played six seasons in Minnesota, said the game was payback for his view that the Vikings lowballed him on a contract offer before this season. "There's always going to be a little extra when you're facing your former team," Guion told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "You're going to be juiced up. You're going to be ready to go. You want to get out there and play your best."