2020 Schedule




Would be fun if the game in Madison was a night game. Maybe get a Fowler and Herbie redux.
 

After this year's snowbowl vs Wisconsin that I think favored Wiscy's strengths, I'm actually glad to see them on next year's schedule early.
 





Looking at the schedule again, the thing that stands out is the WI - Mich back to back.

the WI game is going to be very emotional and probably a hard-hitting contest. So, win or lose, the Gophers will have to re-group and focus to get ready for Michigan the next week.

The Gophers may very well be favored over Michigan, but I see that as a difficult game. Maybe not a true "trap game," but certainly a difficult game based on the timing.
 



Looking at the schedule again, the thing that stands out is the WI - Mich back to back.

the WI game is going to be very emotional and probably a hard-hitting contest. So, win or lose, the Gophers will have to re-group and focus to get ready for Michigan the next week.

The Gophers may very well be favored over Michigan, but I see that as a difficult game. Maybe not a true "trap game," but certainly a difficult game based on the timing.

Luckily, Michigan plays the following three games before they get to us:

vs Wisconsin
vs Penn State
@Michigan State

So, they should also be quite worn out by the time they get to us.
 

At least there's no Ohio State on the schedule
 

I like the Nebraska game being on Black Friday. Allows an extra day to prepare for the road trip to Indy. ?
 

Here is my take

FAU - (W) They are a good non P5 team. We can't start out sloppy, as it could come back to bite us
Ten Tech (W) - Gimme
Iowa - (W) We know we have a fight on our hands, boys. I say we take them in 2020
BYU -(W) I don't know, butI am thinking its a bag of Gopher Feed
Maryland (W)- Same as 2019, maybe worse
Wisconsin (L) - We know we have a fight on our hands, boys. I am not sure we will lose this one, but I think we split Iowa & Wisconsin
Michigan (W) - Not as good as PSU - We will be ready for this one, so let's stick it to 'em boys!
Illinois (W)- Keep the focus, and we should be good
Michigan St (W)- Not as good as Mich
Purdue (L)- This one scares me. Brohm has been recruiting well and Moore and their Star DL will be healthy. Plus Bell has developed. The only unanswered question is QB, if he can find a serviceable one, it will be a game
Northwestern (W) - Their time is done, its over! I hope they enjoyed their B1G West Championship last season as it will be the last one they have for the next century
Nebraska (W)- Sleeping Giant or Giant Dumpster Fire? The talent they are accruing is concerning, but their coaching is a train wreck.

All that being said, I put us at 10-2 once again. This time, however, I think it works out that we win the B1G West.
 



Here is my take

FAU - (W) They are a good non P5 team. We can't start out sloppy, as it could come back to bite us
Ten Tech (W) - Gimme
Iowa - (W) We know we have a fight on our hands, boys. I say we take them in 2020
BYU -(W) I don't know, butI am thinking its a bag of Gopher Feed
Maryland (W)- Same as 2019, maybe worse
Wisconsin (L) - We know we have a fight on our hands, boys. I am not sure we will lose this one, but I think we split Iowa & Wisconsin
Michigan (W) - Not as good as PSU - We will be ready for this one, so let's stick it to 'em boys!
Illinois (W)- Keep the focus, and we should be good
Michigan St (W)- Not as good as Mich
Purdue (L)- This one scares me. Brohm has been recruiting well and Moore and their Star DL will be healthy. Plus Bell has developed. The only unanswered question is QB, if he can find a serviceable one, it will be a game
Northwestern (W) - Their time is done, its over! I hope they enjoyed their B1G West Championship last season as it will be the last one they have for the next century
Nebraska (W)- Sleeping Giant or Giant Dumpster Fire? The talent they are accruing is concerning, but their coaching is a train wreck.

All that being said, I put us at 10-2 once again. This time, however, I think it works out that we win the B1G West.
If that is how it plays out, color me as extremely down if we drop the Purdue game as we would likely have a ton of playoff hype coming down the stretch (we will start season ranked, Iowa will be ranked when we play them, Michigan would be ranked, Mi St is hard to say but may be ranked, WI will be ranked and a loss to them wouldn't be crippling).
 

If that is how it plays out, color me as extremely down if we drop the Purdue game as we would likely have a ton of playoff hype coming down the stretch (we will start season ranked, Iowa will be ranked when we play them, Michigan would be ranked, Mi St is hard to say but may be ranked, WI will be ranked and a loss to them wouldn't be crippling).

Well, I understand why you say that, but keep the following in mind.

I put the (L) by Purdue, not so much that I think Prudue will beat us, but I do think we will fall twice.

Regarding Purdue, I do think that everyone will be surprised about how they bounce back (contingent on finding a Blough type QB). They had a lot of injuries, and they have racked up several talented recruiting classes. They will be a better team next year than they were this year.
 



I can't find a loss on the schedule. Trophy case is going to be full.
 

This may be silly, but I’m nervous about how few tuneups we have before Iowa, especially with so many new starters on D.

That being said, I do appreciate the more manageable schedule down the stretch.
 




FAU, TT, and BYU will all be awesome teams next year.

Actually FAU is a good team and will likely be one next year. Now I put this game as a solid W for the Gophers, But we do have to show up.

one nice thing about playing them first is they will give us a decent tune up before we play Iowa.
 

Actually FAU is a good team and will likely be one next year. Now I put this game as a solid W for the Gophers, But we do have to show up.

one nice thing about playing them first is they will give us a decent tune up before we play Iowa.
Good Team or “Good Team” like Fresno 2019?

I have no doubt they are a decent team and that we need to show up, but (as you said) it is a game the Gophers should easily win. I am mainly just preparing for the inflation on here of just how good they are.
 

Good Team or “Good Team” like Fresno 2019?

I have no doubt they are a decent team and that we need to show up, but (as you said) it is a game the Gophers should easily win. I am mainly just preparing for the inflation on here of just how good they are.

Well good is a relative and ambiguous term.

Let’s put it this way, this season (2019) FAU went 11-2, conference USA champions with their only losses being to OhSt 21-45 (showed up better than Wisconsin did in either meeting) and UCF 14-48.

What out of conference team that we have played in the last 4 seasons has been better? The last OOC opponent that was better was TCU in 2015.

Should we Win? Yes. Are they a step above our usual cup cakes? Yes.
 
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Luckily, Michigan plays the following three games before they get to us:

vs Wisconsin
vs Penn State
@Michigan State

So, they should also be quite worn out by the time they get to us.

I much rather trade Michigan for Penn State on the schedule. Michigan is total garbage in road games against ranked teams under Harbaugh.
 

Well good is a relative and ambiguous term.

Let’s put it this way, this season (2019) FAU went 11-2, conference USA champions with their only losses being to OhSt 21-45 (showed up better than Wisconsin did in either meeting) and UCF 14-48.

What out of conference team that we have played in the last 4 seasons has been better? The last OOC opponent that was better was TCU in 2015.

Should we Win? Yes. Are they a step above our usual cup cakes? Yes.
They are also losing their HC and a lot of players on both sides of the ball. They are likely a step down from where they were in 2019 when we play them next year.
 

They are also losing their HC and a lot of players on both sides of the ball. They are likely a step down from where they were in 2019 when we play them next year.

For sure. to add to that, Willie Taggart (although I don’t think he was given a fair shake) does have a lot more questions about his coaching abilities after his FSU fail.
 

They'll be a long way from home, hostile environment, much anticipated home opener.

Granted we said similar-ish things for SDSU this year
 

I just hope we can start faster in 2020.... but we don't have a history of doing that ...

Had the schedule been front loaded in 2019 I think the outcome would have been WAY different.
 




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