In a lot of ways, Big 10 Football is looking like the Big 10 of old. It’s an extremely tough conference once again. The Ohio State Buckeyes, Wisconsin Badgers, and Penn State Nittany Lions could all be fighting for a playoff berth. And the Michigan Wolverines are looking better over the last couple of seasons than they have in a few years.
So where does that leave the Gophers? Well, when we refer to online betting powerhouses like Bovada we see that Minnesota is expected win around six games. These types of numbers are always good to check out because Las Vegas and its online counterparts are historically great at predicting sporting event outcomes. And with New Jersey and Delaware legalizing sports betting, with a bunch more states soon to follow, we’ll see a lot more of this information on major sports channels like ESPN, FOX, YAHOO, and CBS.
Gophers Week 1 Preview
UM Opens their season against the New Mexico State Aggies at home. Though not really a tune-up game for the Gophers, Minnesota is still expected to win handily. The point spread has been set at 18 points. Although I do think the Aggies will put up a bit more fight than this —probably a two-touchdown game— it is entirely possible that the Gophers blow them out.
I say this because Mexico State will be playing on little rest. They open their season just five days earlier against a tough Wyoming Cowboys squad. Even though the Aggies get the Cowboys at home in Aggie Memorial Stadium, the boys from Wyoming are still listed as six-point favorites, and the game should be a battle to the final whistle. With that thought, the Aggies could still be a bit banged up and tired without having the extra day or two of rest. On the flipside of that coin, they’ve already started to shake off the offseason rust with a competitive battle.
I expect the Gophers to dominate in the trenches against the Aggies. The offensive line should be able to impose their will against New Mexico State and create plenty of running room for Rodney Smith. They’ll also allow plenty of time for Zack Annexstad to pass the ball. But Annexstad is a true freshman and despite Coach Fleck’s confidence in the young QB’s cool head and resilience to getting ‘rattled,’ this will still be his first game in front of 50,000 screaming fans. Zack shows a lot of promise, but I expect his youth and inexperience will make for some mistakes early on in the season.
But at the end of the day, the offensive line will hold, and the defense will do their job. The Gophers start their season off with a win. I predict the score to be in the 27 to 17 or 27 to 13 range.
Are the Gophers Digging for a Bowl?
The bulk of a stout defense is coming back mostly intact. But the one thing that concerns me there is depth. Despite a couple of 3-Star transfers from Florida and Alabama at corner and defensive tackle that will be able to play this season, if we see a couple of injuries in the secondary or on the defensive line, there will be a lot of young, inexperienced defenders out on the field all at once. That said, the defense is looking tough and should improve upon their 22.8 points per game allowed last season.
If the Gophers can win six games or more, there is a good chance we’re going bowling! When we dig further into point-spreads, the Gophers have nine games that are expected to be within one touchdown. So with the Gophers 2018 schedule, a seven-win season and a decent bowl game are entirely possible.