MINNESOTA AT COLORADO STATE
Kickoff: 3:30 p.m. ET/12:30 p.m. PT
TV: CBS Sports Network
Las Vegas Line: Colorado State +5; O/U 54.5
Minnesota head coach Jerry Kill suggested the Golden Gophers’ Week 2 visit to Fort Collins might be their toughest game of the season. Given Minnesota is one week removed from facing Top 5-ranked TCU, and the Gophers travel to Ohio State in November, Kill’s certainly putting Colorado State in rarefied air.
While Kill might have been overstating things — GASP! A coaching exaggerating! — the trek to Fort Collins does pose intriguing challenges. A week after facing (and doing an admirable job against) arguably the best quarterback in college football, the Gopher defense is tasked with containing arguably the best wide receiver in the nation, Rashard Higgins.
Minnesota flourished defensively with a bend-don’t-break model. You look at the final stats Trevone Boykin managed — 246 yards passing, 92 rushing — and expect more to show for it than 23 points.
Safety Damarius Travis played a huge role in Minnesota’s defensive effort against TCU. He’s “very questionable” for Saturday, which means one less thing for Rams head coach Mike Bobo to worry about in his second game at the helm.
Nick Stevens threw for five touchdowns in Week 1, albeit against perennial awful Savannah State. He’ll find much tougher sledding against the Minnesota secondary, even sans Travis.