Here in the rust belt our brains are firmly tuned to the internal combustible.  We at The Rivalry, Esq. say why reject a metaphorical opportunity to shift gears and take the offenses of the Big 10 for a spin?  You look at an offense and see Lycra, calf muscles, and pads.  We see cylinders, gear boxes, and tachometers.

Without further adieu, if your favorite Big 10 offense was a car, it'd be a...

1. 2002 Pontiac Sunfire SE (Indiana Hoosiers)

Looks fast, and so do Kellen Lewis, Marcus Thigpen, and the rest of the defend the rock jocks.  The numbers are showroom shiny, too.  The third best offense in the conference averages 6.1 yards a play and 424 yards a game.  But while this may be an okay ride to inherit as a hand-me-down from your older sister when you're 16, this pseudo sport chassis gets the shakes above 80 mph.  That's the speed, incidentially, of Big 10 conference play.  Despite scoring 31 and 45 points in its opening out of conference games, the Hoosiers have struggled, managing 20, 29, 7, and 9 points against Big 10 opponents.  The good news, there's plenty of cup holders.  Which makes sense, because this offense is better suited for the drive-through than the track.

Indiana Hoosiers.

2. 2007 Ford Mustang Automatic (Wisconsin Badgers)

Great horsepower for the buck, but this modern muscle is overfed, and outdated.  Unlike the 1968 Shelby used by the Dukes of Hazzard, this ride doesn't have a prayer of getting off the ground.  Sounds like Wisconsin's passing game.

3. 1975 Porsche 911 Turbo (Purdue Boilermakers)

Smart looking, and devilishly deceptive.  Don't let Curtis Painter's 10,216 career passing yards fool you -- he's frequently as loose as this Porsche's handling.  With no power steering, many an unsuspecting driver has wrapped this pocket rocket around a tree.  If Curtis Painter's 23 for 51 performance against Ohio State shows anything it's that inaccuracy kills.

Purdue Boilermakers.

4. 1998 BMW Z3 (Illinois Fighting Illini)

Smart, sophisticated, and paper thin, this roadster looks good from a distance but fumbles under pressure.  It's also subject to rollovers turnovers.

5. 1995 Infiniti Q45 (Iowa Hawkeyes)

Nicely balanced, a little worn down, the Hawkeyes have laid down a respectable 1309 yards on the ground and 1399 yards in the air.  Still, this analog effort has seen better days -- just like this sedan that seems to have been relegated to mall parking lots.

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Since the Minnesota Golden Gophers have avoided last year's propensity to get defeated by everyone, Saturday's game against Ohio State should be a showcase for how the Gophers will play against a ranked opponent. Here to discuss this week's match-up in a Q&A format is the Daily Gopher, SBN's official vessel of University of Minnesota athletic knowledge.

Note from The Rivalry and the Daily Gopher: If you are interested in following the OSU-UM game on your laptop, feel free to log onto  http://www.thedailygopher.com/ and join other SBN fans for live blogging during Saturday's game, beginning at 12:00 pm EST.

Let's start with a word association game. I'll give you the name of a person or a concept and you tell me the first thing that pops into your head. First word/concept: 2007 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team. - Perfect storm of everything going wrong (turnovers, adjusting to new schemes, defensive liabilities, coaching inexperience, etc.)

North Dakota State. Embarrassing loss.  This game was not as close as the score indicated, we were dominated.

Tim Brewster. Eternal optimist, excellent recruiter.

Eric Decker. Vastly underrated, incredibly talented.

Adam Weber. Greatly improved.  He had a good freshman year, and has vastly improved in his sophomore season

Alright let's get down to football strategy. Minnesota is undefeated and tied for first in the Big 10. How? 

It has been well chronicled that they are winning the turnover battle (+11) and that has helped a lot.  But equally important is that they are turning those turnovers in to touchdowns.  The defense has generated 13 turnovers in our four games.  On those 13 possessions the Gophers have scored nine touchdowns and one field goal.  Twice they were only stopped by the clock as the turnover came near the end of a half or game.  The swagger of the defense is being coupled with the killer instinct on offense.

Who makes the Gopher offense go: Weber, Decker, or some unseen force?

Weber and Decker are the drivers, with out a doubt.  Offensive Coordinator, Mike Dunbar may be that unseen force as his creative play calling has put Weber and Decker in position to succeed.  Teams have been game planning to cover Decker but Dunbar has moved him around using him out of the slot, in motion, out wide, in the backfield and out of those formations he is getting the ball all over the field.  And this is all possible because Weber has matured, is able to make decisions and handle a more complex playbook.

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