Minnesota arrives in West Lafayette for Saturday's game with injuries and suspension hampering its roster, making a thin team even thinner.
Yet, the Gophers had overcome in the first three games of the season, all victories, and nearly did in the Big Ten opener, a 31-24 loss to Maryland. To get the latest on the Golden Gophers, we talked to The Gopher Report's E.J. Stevens for Opponent View:
Gold and Black: How much are injuries and suspensions hurting the Gophers right now? P.J. Fleck seems to have had to go younger and younger every week in an effort to add depth.
Stevens: "Depth was already thin at a number of positions for Minnesota coming into the season, but it has gotten worse in the past couple weeks because of multiple suspensions and injuries to key performers. Their third best corner, Zo Craighton, had a season-ending injury against Middle Tennessee, and the next guy in line there is Rey Estes, a true freshman who was playing high school quarterback this time last year. Starting safety Duke McGhee was suspended for last week's game against Maryland and will be held out again this week, and star safety Antoine Winfield Jr. tweaked a hamstring injury and will be more than likely out this week.
