Minnesota Gophers Football- 17 Days and Counting

Optimism reigned supreme in Minnesota entering the final month of the 2008 season. At that time, the Golden Gophers were 7-1, including 3-1 in the Big Ten Conference with their lone loss being to perennial Big Ten powerhouse Ohio State. We all know how the season would finish for the Gophers, as they would lose to every opponent remaining on their schedule finishing at 7-6 overall and 3-5 in the conference.

Fast forward to 2009. Minnesota returns ten offensive and eight defensive starters. They are armed with Manning Award Watch List Quarterback Adam Weber, Biletnikoff and Maxwell Watch List wide receiver Eric Decker, and sophomore kick returner/wide receiver extraordinaire Troy Stoudermire. The defense is talented, especially the defensive backfield which returns three starters, led by cornerback Traye Simmons.

Tim Brewster’s recruiting skills are legendary. When he came aboard in 2007, he inherited a program that was short in talent and went 1-11 in his first season. Brewster hit the ground running and rounded up the 28 th ranked recruiting class in his first full year of recruiting, according to Scout.com. That class included prized recruit and future program franchise quarterback, MarQueis Grey. This past offseason Brewster finished with the 46 th ranked class, landing JuCo phenom wide receiver Hayo Carpenter and tight end Ra’Shede Hageman. All three players are expected to contribute in a large capacity for the 2009 season.

Even with all of their weapons, Minnesota will be hard pressed to top their record from last season. The “U” of the North is set to embark on a hellacious schedule that includes away games at National Championship contenders Penn State (11-1 in 2008) and Ohio State (10-2). This season may be one of the Gophers most difficult to date as only Syracuse (3-9), Purdue (4-8), and Illinois (5-7) had losing records in 2008. The only “Gimmie” game will be played against the Jackrabbits of South Dakota State University who went 7-5 last season. The schedule is littered with opponents who are looking to build off strong 2008 campaigns. Breaking in the beautiful new TCF Bank Stadium will be Air Force (8-4), California (8-4), Wisconsin (7-5), Purdue, Michigan State (9-3), Illinois, and South Dakota State with road games against Syracuse, Northwestern (9-3), Penn State, Ohio State, and Iowa (8-4).

No matter how hard I attempt to spin this season with absolute optimism, I just cannot see the Gophers topping 8-4, with a sense of realism putting it at 6-6. This team is better than last season and finally has some legit playmakers, but even with Weber, Decker, and Co. it is not feasible to pull off victories against California, Northwestern, Wisconsin, Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan State, and Iowa. Please don’t shoot the messenger.

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