Football season is nearly here. The Golden Gophers kick off their 2016 campaign on September 1st, looking to build on the gains of 2015. Here is your season preview.
Minnesota Football Season Preview: Games 1-6
Game 1: Thursday, September 1 – Oregon State
A year ago, the Gophers underwent baptism by fire, facing highly-touted TCU in their season opener. On September 1st, they’ll open the 2016 season a little differently in a Thursday night game against Oregon State. The Beavers are coming off a 2-10 season in which they failed to win a single conference game in the Pac-12. They also have a lot of newcomers on defense, making this an ideal game for Gopher quarterback Mitch Leidner and his supporting cast to get their feet wet. On offense, Utah State transfer Darell Garretson has been named a team captain; presumably this means he’ll start at quarterback after a bizarre season in which OSU used three different signal callers and averaged just 159.1 yards per game. Three of the Beavers’ six returning offensive starters are wide-outs, but senior Victor Bolden had the best numbers of the three last year, with just 461 yards and three scores.
Bottom line: The Gophers should win this game.
Game 2: Saturday, September 10 – Indiana State
Up next is FCS Indiana State. The only factoid of interest I could find about the Sycamores (other than that they have a cool team name) is that they lost to Purdue last year, 38-14. Bottom line: If the Gophers lose this game, I give up.
Game 3: Saturday, September 24 – Colorado State
After a September 17th bye, Colorado State visits the Twin Cities on the 24th. Remember, Minnesota needed overtime to win this match-up 23-20 a year ago. While the Rams‘ loss of leading receiver Rashard Higgins to the NFL might seem like a point in the Gophers’ favor, recall that Higgins was injured and didn’t play against Minnesota last season. Quarterback Nick Stevens has a full year of experience in head coach Mike Bobo‘s system, and leading rusher Dalyn Dawkins is back. The defense, however, is full of question marks. Only a few starters have returned, and the unit has a new coordinator as well. Minnesota’s offense needs to take advantage. I could see this being a big game for Shannon Brooks.
Bottom line: Don’t overlook the Rams. I expect the Gophers to win, but not big.
Game 4: Saturday, October 1 – at Penn State
October 1st brings the first Big Ten match-up of the season as Minnesota visits Penn State. At this point, neither sophomore Trace McSorley or redshirt freshman Tommy Stevens has been given the nod at quarterback for PSU. With no experienced option under center, expect a heavy dose of running back Saquon Barkley (1,076 yards and 7 touchdowns as a freshman last year). Four starters return on the offensive line, but that may not be good news in Happy Valley– that unit has been horrendous the last few seasons. Minnesota’s defense will have their hands full with Barkley, but I’d expect them to get to the quarterback fairly often as well.
Bottom line: If Minnesota is for real, this is a game they’ll win.
Game 5: Saturday, October 8 – Iowa
The first big challenge for Minnesota will be a visit from Iowa on October 8th. The Hawkeyes, of course, finished 12-2 and won the division a year ago. Iowa has a host of quality starters from that team returning, including eight of 11 on defense. As for the Gophers’ defense, they’ll have their hands full with quarterback C.J. Beathard (2,809 yards and 17 touchdowns in 2015) and a stable of capable running backs. The only possible weakness the Hawkeyes have is special teams, where they’ll be breaking in a new kicker and punter.
Bottom line: A win for Minnesota would be huge, and surprising. A more realistic best-case scenario would be keeping the game within 10 to 14 points.
Game 6: Saturday, October 15 – at Maryland
Rounding out the first half of the season is a trip to Maryland. It seems like every year Maryland is the team where where I think, jeez, I really don’t know what to expect from them. This year is no exception- although, after a three-win season a year ago, I certainly don’t expect anything spectacular. Adding to the confusion is that the Terps have yet another new head coach in D.J. Durkin, and no set-in-stone starting quarterback. The one star on the roster is senior cornerback Will Likely.
Bottom line: This is a good opportunity for the Gophers to get back on track after (presumably) losing to Iowa.
At the Half Way Point
To sum up, I expect Minnesota to be 5-1 at the halfway point, with the loss coming to Iowa. Two losses at this point would be disappointing. As always, the second half of the schedule is the far more rigorous half, and you can check it out here.
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