Finishing Predictions?

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fmlizard

fmlizard

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We've seen the schedule, there's going to be a season. How does it go?

*Minnesota 6-2
Wisconsin 6-2
Purdue 5-3
Iowa 4-4
Illinois 4-4
Northwestern 2-6
Nebraska 1-7

*Ohio State 8-0
Penn State 6-2
Michigan 6-2
Indiana 4-4
Maryland 3-5
Michigan State 1-7
Rutgers 0-8

Gophers lose to Michigan and Purdue but get back Floyd and the Axe and make their first trip to Indy! (and none of us get to go watch them lose to Ohio State 48-21)

(this is being optimistic that all the games get played)
 

Shooter chimes in:

Perusing the Gophers’ Big Ten football schedule released Saturday, it looks like a 6-2 record for Minnesota, with losses to Michigan and Wisconsin.

www.twincities.com

Charley Walters: MLB wants the Saints to be a Twins’ affiliate

The St. Paul Saints could be closer to becoming the Triple-A franchise of the Minnesota Twins. Major League Baseball’s working agreement with Minor League Baseball expires on Sept. 30. People who k…
www.twincities.com www.twincities.com

Go Gophers!!
 

I'm going bold. 8-1. West division champs outright, loss to OSU in the championship setting up a 2021 night game season opener rematch of the reigning division champs in the B1G (which would pull Gameday?)
 

I'm concerned about:
  1. Loss of tons of offensive production in NFL'er TJ, along w/ Smith, Brooks. Possibly perhaps the best Gopher player in our lifetime in Bateman.
  2. Loss of tons of defensive production in NFL'ers Winfield, CC, Martin, along with Barber.
  3. New OC with shortened Spring and Fall camps.
  4. OL depth -- especially if either or both of Dunlap and Faalele aren't ready as rumored.
  5. Likely to see several Frosh and rsFrosh playing on both sides. First meaningful snaps for many of them.
As such, I'm going with 5-3. If all of Bateman, Dunlap, and Faalele play most of the snaps, I'd say 6-2.
 

^^

1 - Bateman will be back. And Mo Ibrahim will make us forget all about Smith&Brooks. I think he is due for an MVP like season.
2 - no doubt, defense will be the story of our season.
3 - they're going to run the same scheme, maybe with a couple tweaks. It's just going to be the "personality" of the play calls that is different. Oh and, some TE passes now and then.
4 - yep again, this will be critical.
5 - I don't think this is true on offense, except maybe Jackson and/or Emilien at WR behind Bateman and CAB. On defense however, particularly LB, you could be correct.


Let's do 6-2. Game @Wisc determines who plays Ohio State.
 


I love the early enthusiasm from everyone, I hope you are all correct. I am going to wait on my prediction until we get closer to the season, see how things unfold....

Here are a few of my keys for a great season:

1. Can the defense keep from going backwards with the key losses of Winfield, Martin etc.....Winfield single handedly won 2 games a year for us, his leadership and football acumen is off the charts, hope we can replace that. AWjr is the biggest loss for the defense going forward, can you imagine if he was still a Gopher?

2. Mo Ibrahaim will make everyone quickly forget about Smith and Brooks, which is quite a statement. He should have been getting the bulk of all carries last year. He will easily surpass 1000 yards, even with a 8 game schedule.

3. Offensive line play must continue to improve.......

4. Tanner Morgan continues to improve....

5. The defense is the biggest question mark for me, I think we actually get more athletic on this side of the ball. I think our secondary is really going to need great defensive line play as pressure the QB will be extremely important.

So great to actually be talking about football....
 

I’d like to see the Gophers win every game, but I think I “care” less this year than ever. I’m just delighted they are playing. It’ll be a weird season for everyone with lots of unexpected wins/losses happening, IMO.
 

The Gophers are going to win the national championship this year. The universe favors entropy, and with all the chaos of 2020, it would be rather fitting.
 

Personally I believe we have great potential to do well in every game. What concerns me however is how we played the first 4 games last year. Perhaps Fleck will just step on it and start faster this year. I darn near had a heart attack trying to survive those preseason games last year.
 



#2Gopher said:
Personally I believe we have great potential to do well in every game. What concerns me however is how we played the first 4 games last year. Perhaps Fleck will just step on it and start faster this year. I darn near had a heart attack trying to survive those preseason games last year.
Click to expand...

At least we have alot more experience on offense this year, if Bateman gets his waiver I like our chances. Should be good, strength vs strength against Michigan.
 






BilldGopher said:
Listening to the Vikings post-game Fan Line show I think this may be the year the Gophers make this a Minnesota Gophers town instead of the forever Minnesota Vikings town.

Here's to wishful thinking...
Click to expand...

I am already done with the Vikings, Gophers start good and it could happen. Biggest thing holding them back is the difficulty many have actually watching the game. Having to buy an extra bundle hurts them.
 



My season expectations will be more than FULL if

we get all three trophies back and go 3-5

BEAT Michigan, Iowa and Wisconsin! That’s ALL I care about! Hey...if this happens...still a record breaking AND a history made season 😝
 


MplsGopher said:
1 - Bateman will be back. And Mo Ibrahim will make us forget all about Smith&Brooks. I think he is due for an MVP like season.
2 - no doubt, defense will be the story of our season.
3 - they're going to run the same scheme, maybe with a couple tweaks. It's just going to be the "personality" of the play calls that is different. Oh and, some TE passes now and then.
4 - yep again, this will be critical.
5 - I don't think this is true on offense, except maybe Jackson and/or Emilien at WR behind Bateman and CAB. On defense however, particularly LB, you could be correct.

Let's do 6-2. Game @Wisc determines who plays Ohio State.
Click to expand...

HoustonTXGopher said:
I love the early enthusiasm from everyone, I hope you are all correct. I am going to wait on my prediction until we get closer to the season, see how things unfold....

Here are a few of my keys for a great season:

1. Can the defense keep from going backwards with the key losses of Winfield, Martin etc.....Winfield single handedly won 2 games a year for us, his leadership and football acumen is off the charts, hope we can replace that. AWjr is the biggest loss for the defense going forward, can you imagine if he was still a Gopher?

2. Mo Ibrahaim will make everyone quickly forget about Smith and Brooks, which is quite a statement. He should have been getting the bulk of all carries last year. He will easily surpass 1000 yards, even with a 8 game schedule.

3. Offensive line play must continue to improve.......

4. Tanner Morgan continues to improve....

5. The defense is the biggest question mark for me, I think we actually get more athletic on this side of the ball. I think our secondary is really going to need great defensive line play as pressure the QB will be extremely important.

So great to actually be talking about football....
Click to expand...

So we agree on most things. Good reasons for tempered expectations, but excitement!

Defense is my biggest concern. Agreed there's likely more raw ability and athleticism than we've had in the past (the past two recruiting classes have been filled with stud defenders), but how quickly will they adjust to the speed of the B1G and do the little things like communicate, read their keys, etc? I bet we'll see more inconsistency this year. More spectacular plays (esp from the front 7), but more breakdowns and big plays surrendered.

OL depth is my second concern. The top 6 are set if Dunlap and Faalele are ready, but I'm not sure what we've got after 6. Former walk-on in Ruschmeyer? rsFr Guedet? So if one of Dunlap and Faalele is out, an injury could be disastrous.

Oh, and I agree with both of you that Ibrahim is the best back we've had in many years -- and on the whole, he's better than Brooks and Smith. That said, we've seen that you need a stable of backs the past 3 years, so I'm more worried about what's behind Ibrahim. Seems there's talent in Thomas, Williamson, Potts, Wiley, but will any of them have the "it" to carry the load if Ibrahim goes down -- or is limited to 12 - 15 touches per game?
 

Wally said:
I am already done with the Vikings, Gophers start good and it could happen. Biggest thing holding them back is the difficulty many have actually watching the game. Having to buy an extra bundle hurts them.
Click to expand...
I'll keep watching the Vikings like I always do, but man, it's going to be a LOOONG season. They're absolutely brutal in every facet of the game other than FG kicking, lol! One can only hope there's a long-term plan and that the youth at CB and OL (and Jefferson at WR) develops quickly and gets the team back into contention next year.
 

Lot of LBs, DEs, and DTs in the 2019 and 2020 classes. Not sure if any true freshman are ready to step in and compete this year, with how weird it has been and no true spring ball. However, we have had a very extended fall "practice season". So maybe that helps.

If Braelen Oliver is out for this year (has never been confirmed??), then someone is going to have to step up at LB.

Need two solid backup DE's as well. Purely from a size perspective, I'm interested to know if Gage Keys could be ready to contribute. But again, true freshman.

DT I'm really interested to see what Cheney, Carter, and Richter can provide for depth behind MDT, Teague, and Schad.
 

*Minnesota 7-1 Loss at Wisconsin
Wisconsin 6-2
Iowa 5-3
Purdue 4-4
Illinois 4-4
Northwestern 2-6
Nebraska 2-6

Gophers Vs OSU for B1G title! Gophers win 35-33!​
 


Some vegas win totals have come out for the big ten. These include the 9th champions week game factored in:


Ohio St: 8.5
Penn St: 7.5
Wisconsin: 7
Michigan: 6.5
Minnesota: 6.5
Indiana: 5.5
Iowa: 5
Nebraska: 5
Northwestern: 4
Illinois: 3.5
Michigan St: 3.5
Purdue: 3.5
Maryland: 2.5
Rutgers: 1.5
 

No idea.

Reasons for excitement: another season of TM2 in action; Bateman pending reinstatement, CAB, and the emergence of ??; Mo at full strength; athletic highly touted newcomers on defense. Potential new look on offensive line. Awesome corners. Tight ends ie #88.

Reasons for pause: we’re lying if we say we know how it’s going to all come together particularly early on. Loss of Kirk; loss of TJ/Winfield/Martin/Williamson. Potential upheaval on offensive line with opt outs (or drop outs) and depth.
 



Pompous Elitist said:
You didn’t like our #7 (nationally) offense?
Click to expand...
Tanner, Bateman and TJ were sensational, along with our solid running game and OL.

Loved them!

They would’ve performed just as well under Simon. And did, in the bowl game.
 

4-4. Lose to Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin, and win three of four against Illinois, Purdue, Nebraska, Maryland.
 


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