Nebraska returns to the road on Saturday to take on Minnesota

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) -Nebraska returns to the road on Saturday when it travels to Minneapolis to take on Minnesota in a Big Ten West Division battle. The contest at UM’s Huntington Bank Stadium will kick off at 11 a.m. CT with the game televised on ESPN2 and heard on the Huskers Radio Network.

The matchup with Minnesota wraps up a stretch of eight games in eight consecutive weeks for the Huskers, and marks Nebraska’s second-to-last road game of the 2021 season. Nebraska is off next week, before returning to Lincoln for a two-game homestand against Purdue (Oct. 30) and Ohio State (Nov. 6).

The Huskers stand at 3-4 overall and 1-3 in Big Ten play after a third heartbreaking loss in the past four weeks against a ranked opponent. Nebraska put together an impressive second-half performance against No. 9 Michigan on Saturday night, before the Wolverines kicked a field goal with 1:24 remaining to escape with a 32-29 victory.

“All you can do is work your tail off, you know?” said Nebraska QB Adrian Martinez. “Continue to work. Continue to push forward and have faith that things will work out.”

Minnesota enters the game with a 3-2 record and a 1-1 mark in Big Ten play.

The Gophers were off last week, and posted a 20-13 victory at Purdue in their most recent game on Oct. 2. Minnesota lost its season opener to then-No. 4 Ohio State, but has won three of four games since that contest. Coach P.J. Fleck’s team boasts one of the Big Ten’s best defenses, ranking second in the conference and fifth nationally in rushing defense at 77.0 yards per game. The Gophers are also strong in scoring defense (19.6 ppg) and total defense (307.8 ypg).

Offensively, Minnesota features a strong run game and is among the nation’s best in ball control, averaging nearly 34