Two banged up Big Ten teams will do battle in Evanston when the Golden Gophers open up conference play with a huge road test against the undefeated Northwestern Wildcats.
The good news? The Minnesota Golden Gophers survived their non-conference schedule with a 3-1 record, which is the outcome most of the fans on here expected, I believe. The bad news? The Gophers are banged up, and a formidable challenge awaits them on the road in the form of the Northwestern Wildcats. Fans won't have to wait long to find out if Minnesota is going to contend again in the Big Ten West, as this Saturday's game pits them against one of the few Big Ten teams that has had an impressive start to the season.