If it makes the Gophers feel any better, Northwestern is banged up, too.
These two teams meet Saturday in Evanston, Ill., in the Big Ten opener, after taking different paths through their nonconference schedules.
Northwestern (4-0) upset Stanford at home and beat Duke on the road before surviving a scare Saturday night against Ball State. The Wildcats are ranked No. 16 and have been one of the Big Ten's early surprises.
But they lost some key players in the 24-19 victory over Ball State. Safety Godwin Igwebuike suffered an unspecified upper-body injury, and his replacement, Kyle Queiro, broke an arm. Left tackle Geoff Mogus suffered a head injury.
The Gophers (3-1) can relate. Their injury list is "a mile long," coach Jerry Kill said Sunday, after a slew of players went down in the 27-24 win over Ohio.
Kill said All-Big Ten cornerback Briean Boddy-Calhoun would undergo an MRI for a knee injury, adding, "Briean's one I'm concerned about."
Kill said senior safety Damarius Travis will remain out this week with his hamstring injury. Antonio Johnson, the other senior starter at safety, and wide receiver Drew Wolitarsky suffered concussions against Ohio. Cornerback KiAnte Hardin turned an ankle, and linebacker Cody Poock injured his ribs.
Kill said he thinks Poock has a chance to play at Northwestern, depending how quickly he heals.