Northwestern football: Wildcats prep for Big Ten showdown with Minnesota

The Northwestern Wildcats and Minnesota Golden Gophers are both coming off tough conference losses last week, and now the onus is on the Wildcats to make sure they aren't the team to leave Saturday's game with a sub-.500 Big Ten record. Over at SB Nation's Northwestern blog, Sippin' on Purple, the staff has put forth predictions for the game, and most people agree the Cats will emerge with a win.

Will Northwestern be able to stop the short passing attack on Saturday? That's the big question over at Sippin' on Purple:

I really don't think the Gophers have what it takes defensively to stop Northwestern's offense. Pat Fitzgerald knows there are about a dozen right ways to use Kain Colter, and that he didn't pick any of them Saturday against Penn State. I think he'll be a little multifaceted, but this game will remind us of the Indiana matchup more then PSU. For me, the question is whether Northwestern can stop the dink-and-dunk that killed them against Penn State.

Northwestern and Minnesota are scheduled to clash on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT at TCF Bank Stadium in Minnesota. The Wildcats will then round out their Big Ten slate with games vs. Nebraska, vs. Iowa, at Michigan, at Michigan State and vs. Illinois.