ESPN College Football

Minnesota (6-6) vs. Iowa State (6-6)
Dec. 31, 6 p.m. (NFL Network)

The Insight Bowl might not attract much national attention, but you can bet it'll mean a lot in the upper Midwest.

Minnesota and Iowa State haven't played since 1997, but the two schools are separated by only 215 miles and share a hated rival in the Iowa Hawkeyes. Iowa State makes its first bowl appearance since 2005, while Minnesota returns to the Insight Bowl for the second straight year and for the third time in the past four seasons.

This is a very critical game for Gophers fourth-year coach Tim Brewster and a team that broke even despite boasting the Big Ten's most experienced roster. A victory would secure consecutive winning seasons and build momentum for 2010, when Brewster's recruits will occupy most of the key roles. A loss would increase doubts about the program's direction and put Brewster squarely on the hot seat.

The Insight Bowl typically is high scoring, but don't expect too many points on Dec. 31 in Tempe, Ariz. Minnesota has been shut out twice this season and ranks 98th nationally in scoring (21.6 ppg), while Iowa State is even worse, coming in 102nd in scoring (21.1 ppg). Both teams have quarterbacks (Minnesota's Adam Weber, Iowa State's Austen Arnaud) who can do big things, but also hurt their teams with turnovers.

Defense is certainly Iowa State's calling card, as the Cyclones have held opponents to 17 points or fewer in each of their six wins. Minnesota also relies heavily on its defense, particularly linebackers Lee Campbell, Nate Triplett and Simoni Lawrence, but needs some offensive playmakers to emerge at Sun Devil Stadium.

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

The two teams couldn't have been farther apart a year ago, as Kansas was headed to the Orange Bowl while Minnesota completed arguably the worst season in team history at 1-11. Now they meet at Sun Devil Stadium with a chance to finish strong.

Minnesota improved its record by six wins from 2007, but four consecutive losses to close the season tapered optimism in the Twin Cities. Head coach Tim Brewster trumpets his team's one-year improvement but acknowledges some obvious deficiencies along the offensive line.

Quarterback Adam Weber and the Gophers' offense will need to show up against a Kansas team that averages 32.7 points per game. The passing connection between Weber and star wideout Eric Decker fueled Minnesota's early season success, and Kansas, like most Big 12 teams, is susceptible to the pass.

Kansas' passing attack provides arguably the biggest challenge Minnesota has faced all season with quarterback Todd Reesing and wide receivers Kerry Meier and Dezmon Briscoe. Led by All-Big Ten cornerback Traye Simmons, Minnesota's defense racked up a Big Ten-leading 30 turnovers this season and will need to force Jayhawks mistakes to hang around in this one.

Minnesota makes its second trip to the Insight in three seasons. In 2006, the Gophers blew a 28-point halftime lead in what turned out to be Glen Mason's final game as head coach.