Buffalo vs Minnesota Prediction 8/28/2025 Today’s College Football Picks

The Buffalo Bulls and the Minnesota Golden Gophers meet Thursday in college football action from TCF Bank Stadium. Here’s a Buffalo vs Minnesota prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Buffalo vs Minnesota pick. We will examine:

The Buffalo Bulls recent form and player performance

The Minnesota Golden Gophers recent form and player performance

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Buffalo Bulls

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Minnesota Golden Gophers

Recent betting trends in games played between Buffalo vs Minnesota

A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Buffalo vs Minnesota game

Buffalo Bulls Betting Preview

All things considered, Buffalo had a pretty darn great season in 2024. The Bulls had plenty of milestones during the campaign, built on pretty much zero expectations (they were picked to finish 10th in the conference by the preseason coaches poll). After a nice 9-4 overall record and a 6-2 run in the Mid-American Conference, the Bulls ended up landing in third place among the standings, behind only Miami-OH and Ohio—both at 7-1. Following a tough 4-4 start that still featured a road win versus No. 23-ranked Northern Illinois, Buffalo rattled off wins in their final five games. That includes a victory over Liberty on January 4 in the Bahamas Bowl, ending the season with an exclamation point.

The expectations for 2025 are considerably higher in head coach Pete Lembo’s second year at the helm. The Bulls were voted into fourth place in this year’s coaches poll, behind only Toeldo, Miami-OH and Ohio. Although Buffalo received no first-place votes there, the separation among the top four was fairly tight. The good—or rather excellent—news for the Bulls is that they’ll retain more production than almost any other team in the conference.

Minnesota Golden Gophers Betting Preview

Over on the Golden Gophers’ side, they didn’t have too bad of a showing last season—especially if you consider their competition. Minnesota ended up at 8-5 overall with a 5-4 record in a very competitive and crowded Big Ten. The Gophers landed behind Oregon, Penn State, Indiana, Ohio State, Illinois, Iowa and Michigan among the standings. Minnesota’s start wasn’t so good either; they went just 2-3 across the first five games, dropping to North Carolina, Iowa and Michigan. The Gophers picked it up on a 6-2 run the rest of the way however, culminating in a Duke’s Mayo Bowl win over Virginia Tech.

Head coach PJ Fleck is back for his ninth year in the job, so Minnesota will retain all the key positions at the top of their coaching staff. The Gophers lost some major talent though: OT Aireontae Ersery (Houston Texans), CB Justin Walley (Indianapolis Colts) and LB Cody Linderberg (Las Vegas Raiders) were all selected in this year’s NFL draft. That said, there’s still plenty of talent on Minnesota’s roster and they’ve only got a couple of games on the schedule that don’t look immediately winnable (road matchups versus Ohio State and Oregon).

Why the Minnesota Golden Gophers will win

• Minnesota has won 32 of its last 35 games against non-conference opponents.
• Buffalo has lost each of its last four road games against opponents from the Big Ten Conference.
• Minnesota has covered the spread in eight of its last nine games as a favorite.
• Buffalo has lost the first half in each of its last three road games against opponents from the Big Ten Conference.

Why the Buffalo Bulls will win

• Buffalo has won each of its last five games against non-AP-ranked teams.
• Minnesota has failed to cover the spread in five of its last six season openers.
• Buffalo has covered the spread in four of its last five games.

Total Points Facts

• Each of Buffalo’s last six games as an underdog against non-AP-ranked teams have gone OVER the total points line.
• Six of Minnesota’s last seven home openers as a favorite have gone UNDER the total points line.

Buffalo vs Minnesota Prediction

I’m going to stay with the Bulls. This isn’t exactly an easy opener for Buffalo, but an optimist would tell you that it’s good to start off with a tough opponent. Provided the Bulls can hang around with Minnesota in this one, the rest of the MAC should look tame in comparison. Bringing back five offensive starters and nine defensive starters (not to mention a consistent coaching staff) should go a long way in keeping the team competitive. Buffalo didn’t blow anyone off the field with their offense last year, however that unit didn’t make many mistakes either (13 turnovers in 13 games). The running game was a big part of their success, and if the Bulls can find some daylight on the ground here then they’ll turn a lot of heads nationally.