The best time of the year is upon us—college football. As we are only a few weeks away from the season, a new season brings new predictions. Last season, I shared nine bold predictions about the Gophers season. At the end of the year, I revisited those predictions and owned up to them; you can see that right here.
Now enter the 2024 season, P.J. Fleck’s eighth season as the head coach. There are plenty of reasons to be excited for this Gophers team. They have All-Big Ten talent in all three phases of the game, and they return many experienced players from last year. But not so fast; this team does have big enough question marks heading into the season to pause any plans you have for attending a bowl game.
Below are my predictions for the 2024 season. After review, I realized some predictions are reachable and some are bold. Like I said last year, I would not be angry if I was proven wrong on a few of them.
1. Max Brosmer has a Top 10 season for a Gophers quarterback.
Minnesota attacked the portal after last season to find a replacement for QB Athan Kaliakmanis, who along with the passing game struggled last year. The Gophers landed one of the best quarterbacks in the FCS last year in Brosmer. Last year, he led all FCS quarterbacks in 3,498 yards in the air while throwing 29 touchdowns. If he repeated those numbers this year, he would be number one in yards thrown in a season (beating Tanner Morgan’s 2019 record-breaking season), and his 29 touchdowns in one season would be second in school history. Do I expect him to repeat those numbers? Not at all. Bryan Cupito threw for 2,530 yards in 2005 for Minnesota, good enough to be 10th all-time in a single season for Minnesota. Three Gopher players are tied for 10th all-time with 15 touchdowns thrown in a single season. I predict Max will throw more than 2,530 yards this year.
How bold is this? Bold. Recievers behind Daniel Jackson are the X-factor this season for this offense.
2. The Gophers will finish in the top half of the Big Ten in team sacks.
After finishing second to last in the Big Ten in 2022 with 19 sacks, the pass rush improved last year under Winston DeLattiboudere as the team finished 11th in the conference with 26 sacks. They were three sacks away from finishing in the Top 8 last year. The defensive line is one of the strengths of the team entering 2024. Third-team All-Big Ten player Jah Joyner returns after having 7.5 sacks last year. Keep an eye on Jalen Logan-Redding, Danny Striggow, and Anthony Smith too. Gophers have quite a few players that can get into the backfield and wreak havoc. The Gophers will be one of the best teams in sacks this upcoming year.
How bold is this? Very reachable in my opinion.
3. No change in the rivalry trophy case.
There have been a lot of changes in college football over the years. One of them being the Big Ten adding four West Coast teams. With divisions being eliminated, curiosity was turned to how to schedule the new-look Big Ten. With all of the changes, the Big Ten made it a priority to protect rivalries. This means Minnesota will always face Iowa and Wisconsin every year. This means Paul Bunyan’s axe and the Floyd of Rosedale will always be at stake. This year is a big one regarding rivalry trophies for the Gophers. Minnesota has a chance to win them all. The Governor’s Victory Bell and the Little Brown Jug will be at stake with Penn State and Michigan on the schedule this year. Right now, the Gophers only have one trophy out of the four, the Floyd of Rosedale. I predict the Gophers will go 1-3 in their rivalry games this year, with their lone win coming against Iowa.
How bold is this? Eh. Don’t think I am reaching here.
4. The Gophers will have two or more first-team All-Big Ten players for the third year in a row. They will also have nine players named on the All-Big Ten team at the end of the year.
Minnesota has landed two players on the first team All-Big Ten team in the last two years. Last year, Tyler Nubin and Dragan Kesich were the selections, followed by Daniel Jackson being named on the second team. Those three players were the only ones selected for the All-Big Ten by coaches and media. I see that increasing this year, as does Phil Steele. In his College 2024 football preview, Steele had seven Gophers making the All-Big Ten. One surprise was that running back Darius Taylor wasn’t one of them, nor was Jah Joyner. He had Daniel Jackson, Aireonte Ersery, and Dragan Kesich making the first team. Danny Striggow and Justin Walley are making second teams, and Cody Lindenberg is making third teams. My predictions are somewhat similar, with a few exceptions. I have Ersery, Taylor, and Kesich making the first team. The other five players that will be honored? I predict they will be Daniel Jackson, Jah Joyner, Cody Lindenberg, Danny Striggow, Quinn Carroll, and Justin Walley. I also predict Ersery to be an All-American and a Top 25 pick in the NFL Draft.
How bold is this? Bold. A lot has to go right for Minnesota for this to happen.
5. The Minnesota Gophers will rush for over 2,500 yards in 2024.
In six full seasons under P.J. Fleck, the Gophers have only achieved this mark two times, in 2021 and 2022. Of course, it wouldn’t surprise you that Mo Ibrahim was the leading rusher in those two years. Minnesota returns one of the best running backs in the nation this year in Darius Taylor. When healthy, nobody was averaging more yards per game last year than Darius Taylor. The Gophers hit the portal this offseason to bring in-depth behind Taylor. Marcus Major comes to Minnesota with a grad transfer with plenty of experience; he has been catching eyes in fall camp. Don’t sleep on Ohio transfer Sieh Bangura either. He was the 2021 Freshman Player of the Year in the Mid-American Conference, and he was All-Mac last year. He has just under 2,000 yards rushing under his belt the last few years. With Taylor leading the way, I predict the Gophers will rush for more than 2,500 yards this year.
How bold is this? If the players can stay healthy, this is reachable.
6. The Gophers will make a bowl game.
After having one of the toughest schedules in the country last year, the 2024 schedule does “lighten up” on paper this year. Depending on where you look, their schedule ranks around the 40th toughest in the nation. I ranked their opponents here if you want to look. The schedule this year is fascinating and should make for an interesting year. In my opinion, there are two games they will be heavily favored (Nevada and Rhode Island), and there will be two games where they will be major underdogs (Michigan and Penn State). Even though it’s in Dinkytown, USC will be a very tough game too. We all know anything can happen in rivalry games against Iowa and Wisconsin. All that being said, you still have five games (UNC, Illinois, Rutgers, Maryland, UCLA) where the line won’t be huge one way or the other. With a new QB and DC, I am not too surprised that Vegas has the Gophers winning around five games. The passing game improves, and the defense improves enough for them to make a bowl. I have them finishing 7-5 in the regular season, and they will head to a bowl game where they look to improve 6-0 in bowl games under P.J. Fleck.
How bold is this? With Vegas only having the Gophers winning five games this season, it’s not that bold to think they could win two more than that. Right?
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