Gopher Football
In all likelihood, Minnesota will have no problem winning this game. This is Florida Atlantic’s first season in division 1-A, and just their fifth season in existence. The program has been created and nurtured by Howard Schnellenberger, the former Miami Hurricane head coach. FAU’s first season in existence was in the 1-AA level in 2001. In only two years, FAU became a 1-AA power, going 11-3 in 2003, and then 9-3 last season. Included in two wins last year were victories over Hawaii and North Texas, both of them bowl teams.
Unfortunately for FAU, many of players from last year’s team were seniors, so this year they’re almost back in a starting over phase. Even though the Owls may very well not be favored in any of their games this season, it hasn’t stopped them for playing hard. In their opener at Kansas, the Owls trailed just 9-7 at halftime before losing 30-17. Then last weekend, FAU hosted Oklahoma State, and kept the game relatively close, losing 23-3.
Was does this mean for Minnesota? It means that the Gophers can’t come in too over confident, or they just might let FAU into this game. However on paper, it means that this is a game the Gophers should dominate. There shouldn’t be one match up on the field that Minnesota should not win, and they should win most of them handily. Florida Atlantic might be able to keep things interesting for a quarter or so, but Minnesota’s large physical advantages and experience should wear down the Owls pretty fast.
Minnesota’s Keys to the game
1. Stay Focused. With the Big Ten opener against Purdue looming on the horizon, it will be nearly impossible to get all of the players to concentrate on Florida Atlantic. The problem is we all remember what happened last year when Minnesota played a seemingly inferior opponent. Illinois State gave Minnesota a much closer game than they bargained for, and it took Minnesota until the second half to really wake up and realize what was happening to them. Even though the Gophers hold large edges all over the field, FAU is talented enough to make a close game of it if the Gopher are not focusing on the task at hand.
2. Put the Game Away Early. The last thing you want to do to an inferior team is to give them hope. If the game becomes one”¦ two quarters old and FAU is hanging in there, they might just start thinking they have a chance to win it. Perhaps even worse, is Minnesota might start to think, “Is there a chance we could lose this?” I doubt any coaches, players or fans want to have those thoughts racing through their head, so Minnesota needs to come out with some fire and dominate from the start.
3. Concentrate on Fundamentals. I’m going to contradict myself here, but Minnesota does have a big game coming up next week against Purdue. As we all know, the Gophers don’t exactly have a great history with the Boilermakers. For Minnesota to have a chance in that game, they will need to play hard, fundamental, and mistake free football. This game against FAU gives the Gophers a chance to have a mini dress rehearsal if you will. A mistake free game this week would setup a good week of practice next week, and a good week of practice next week means the team should ready to go against a good Purdue team. Also, if Minnesota can do the little things well against a team like FAU, there’s no question they should be mentally prepared for Purdue.
This is a game Minnesota should win, the biggest question should be by how much. There is really very little chance for Florida Atlatic to slow down the Minnesota offense, but like most teams do, you can bet that the first way they’ll try will be to stack up against the run. Even if they are able to disrupt the Gopher running game, Minnesota has too many weapons through the air to be held back.
Prediction: Minnesota 48 ““ Florida Atlantic 13
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