#8 Cal @ Minnesota - Game 2 at "the Bank"

Minnesota (2-0) will be hosting the # 8 Cal Golden Bears (2-0) this Saturday, while coming off an emotional win over Air Force and opening their new on-campus stadium. And while the nickname for the new digs is still up in the air (The Bank, the Vault, and the Brickhouse have all been thrown out there, but none have formally stuck yet…), what Minnesota needs to do to have a chance to beat Cal is not. Slow down running back Jahvid Best.

Best, one of the fastest backs in the NCAA, will likely end up a Doak Walker and Heisman Trophy finalist and has rushed for 280 yards in his first two games of 2009. The responsibility of slowing Best falls largely on the Gophers trio of senior linebackers, Simoni Lawrence, Lee Campbell, and national defensive player of the week, Nate Triplett. If they can keep themselves free to roam and shed blockers effectively as they did against Air Force, the Gophers can give themselves a chance to win. If they can’t and Best runs wild – it could easily be 28 – 0 by the half. The Gopher secondary has shown itself to be fairly competent, but hasn’t really been tested much as of yet. They could be the wild card in this game, particularly ifMinnesota has some success in slowing Best down.

Offensively, quarterback Adam Weber and Co. has to show up for more than 1 quarter this week to make this a game.Both in the Air Force and Syracuse games, it took Adam Weber 3 quarters to shake off the hangover he appeared to have and move the ball. Wideout Eric Decker continues to pile up big numbers, but has yet to find the end zone in 2009.Look for him to get in this week, possibly multiple times. If the Gophers fall behind early, look for him to have even more inflated numbers while the team plays catchup. The ball-carrying duties will be shared by RB duo D’uane Bennett and DeLeon Eskeridge again. Their success is largely predicated on how well the offensive line can continue to gel. If the running game is stalled in the first half, the Gophs may fall back into their shotgun formations early. MarQuis Gray may or may not show up in the ‘Wildcat’ formation again. It all depends on whether Brewster is willing to have him on the field again this week after a bad fumble at a key point in the Air Force game.

Emotions should ride high again for the Gophers this week, as they try and pull out a signature win for Coach Brew.Unfortunately, they may just be outclassed for this year’s matchup.

Predictions: Cal 31 – Minnesota 20

Cal Player of the Game: Jahvid Best rushes for 135 yards and 2 TDs

Minnesota Player of the Game: Adam Weber throws for 310 yards and 2 TDs