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Northwestern has an opportunity to become bowl eligible with a victory this week, but the Wildcats will have to win without senior linebacker Jaylen Prater.
The Ohio native will miss his third straight game after the injury he suffered in the Ohio State game. Prater is second on the team and 13th in Big Ten in tackles per game with 7.6.
Brett Walsh played nicely in Prater’s spot a week ago, and remains a starter on the depth chart. But, he’ll face a more physical offensive line and running attack against Minnesota this week; Gopher running back Rodney Smith has averaged over 100 yards per game this season.