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Collegefootballnews.com put out its 2020 Gophers preview. It’s pretty long, so I won’t try to copy and paste all of it, but here are a few highlights:
Best Minnesota Golden Gophers Offensive Player
WR Rashod Bateman, Jr.
Tyler Johnson might have been the team’s leading target, but Bateman was the killer. The 6-2, 210-pounder showed off his potential in a 51-catch freshman season, and then he turned it up a few notches with 60 grabs for 1,219 yards and 11 scores, averaging more than 20 yards per catch.
He ripped up Penn State for 203 yards, hit Northwestern for three touchdowns, and came up with 100 yards or more five times. He’s not going to have to do it all with all the talent back in the receiving corps, but another year like 2019 will be more than fine.
2. QB Tanner Morgan, Jr.
3. OG Blaise Andries, Jr.
4. WR Chris Autman-Bell, Jr.
5. RB Mohamed Ibrahim, Jr.
Best Minnesota Golden Gophers Defensive Player
CB Coney Durr, Sr.
It was Antoine Winfield’s secondary, but the 5-10, 200-pound Durr did his part to make a whole lot of plays, too. All back full two years after missing most of the 2017 season with a torn ACL, the All-Big Ten performer in the classroom and on the field made 33 tackles and picked off a pass for a score against Maryland. He’s at his best balling out when the ball is thrown his way with ten broken up passes, but he only made the one pick.
2. S Jordan Howden, Jr.
3. S Benjamin St. Juste, Sr.
4. LB Mariano Sori-Marin, Jr.
5. DE Esezi Otomoewo, Jr.
College Football News Preview 2020: Minnesota Golden Gophers Win Total Prediction, What Will Happen
Beating Auburn in the Outback Bowl legitimized the greatest season of Minnesota Golden Gopher football since 1961.
The Gophers fattened up on an easy schedule – six of the first eight games were against teams that didn’t go bowling, and Georgia Southern and Illinois were the ones that did – there was the one giant win over a brand-name team at home against Penn State, and that was it.
Until the Outback.
That was a talented Auburn team that 1) beat Alabama and Oregon, 2) tried, and 3) was outplayed and outcoached in the 31-24 loss. It proved that Minnesota does have what it takes under PJ Fleck to win despite the lack of five-star talent.
Now do it all over again.
Last year was great, but those easy early games allowed the Gophers to survive bad performances against mediocre teams. There won’t be that luxury this year, but this version should be great right away.
The offense will be every bit as strong. As long as the running backs produce with a good rotation, the balance and efficiency won’t be a problem. The defensive losses are bad, but they’re not totally devastating. The production will take a step back, but the entire team is about to show that 2019 wasn’t a fluke.
SET THE MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS REGULAR SEASON WIN TOTAL AT … 8
Bet at BetMGM Win Total Line: 9
There are just enough tricky games to set the win total a wee bit lower than what’s being put out there.
There’s no Ohio State or Penn State on the schedule this season, but with a defense that loses almost all of the key parts, the Gophers are replacing Georgia Southern with BYU, have to go on the road to face Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan State and Nebraska, and have to hows Iowa, Michigan Purdue and Northwestern.
It’s all manageable, and there isn’t a game on the slate they can’t win, there are way too many 50/50 games, and the assumption has to be that Purdue, Northwestern, and Nebraska are going to be stronger.
That doesn’t mean this won’t be another great year with another wonderful team. It means the schedule won’t be quite as forgiving.
For the entire Gophers preview:
collegefootballnews.com
Best Minnesota Golden Gophers Offensive Player
WR Rashod Bateman, Jr.
Tyler Johnson might have been the team’s leading target, but Bateman was the killer. The 6-2, 210-pounder showed off his potential in a 51-catch freshman season, and then he turned it up a few notches with 60 grabs for 1,219 yards and 11 scores, averaging more than 20 yards per catch.
He ripped up Penn State for 203 yards, hit Northwestern for three touchdowns, and came up with 100 yards or more five times. He’s not going to have to do it all with all the talent back in the receiving corps, but another year like 2019 will be more than fine.
2. QB Tanner Morgan, Jr.
3. OG Blaise Andries, Jr.
4. WR Chris Autman-Bell, Jr.
5. RB Mohamed Ibrahim, Jr.
Best Minnesota Golden Gophers Defensive Player
CB Coney Durr, Sr.
It was Antoine Winfield’s secondary, but the 5-10, 200-pound Durr did his part to make a whole lot of plays, too. All back full two years after missing most of the 2017 season with a torn ACL, the All-Big Ten performer in the classroom and on the field made 33 tackles and picked off a pass for a score against Maryland. He’s at his best balling out when the ball is thrown his way with ten broken up passes, but he only made the one pick.
2. S Jordan Howden, Jr.
3. S Benjamin St. Juste, Sr.
4. LB Mariano Sori-Marin, Jr.
5. DE Esezi Otomoewo, Jr.
College Football News Preview 2020: Minnesota Golden Gophers Win Total Prediction, What Will Happen
Beating Auburn in the Outback Bowl legitimized the greatest season of Minnesota Golden Gopher football since 1961.
The Gophers fattened up on an easy schedule – six of the first eight games were against teams that didn’t go bowling, and Georgia Southern and Illinois were the ones that did – there was the one giant win over a brand-name team at home against Penn State, and that was it.
Until the Outback.
That was a talented Auburn team that 1) beat Alabama and Oregon, 2) tried, and 3) was outplayed and outcoached in the 31-24 loss. It proved that Minnesota does have what it takes under PJ Fleck to win despite the lack of five-star talent.
Now do it all over again.
Last year was great, but those easy early games allowed the Gophers to survive bad performances against mediocre teams. There won’t be that luxury this year, but this version should be great right away.
The offense will be every bit as strong. As long as the running backs produce with a good rotation, the balance and efficiency won’t be a problem. The defensive losses are bad, but they’re not totally devastating. The production will take a step back, but the entire team is about to show that 2019 wasn’t a fluke.
SET THE MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS REGULAR SEASON WIN TOTAL AT … 8
Bet at BetMGM Win Total Line: 9
There are just enough tricky games to set the win total a wee bit lower than what’s being put out there.
There’s no Ohio State or Penn State on the schedule this season, but with a defense that loses almost all of the key parts, the Gophers are replacing Georgia Southern with BYU, have to go on the road to face Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan State and Nebraska, and have to hows Iowa, Michigan Purdue and Northwestern.
It’s all manageable, and there isn’t a game on the slate they can’t win, there are way too many 50/50 games, and the assumption has to be that Purdue, Northwestern, and Nebraska are going to be stronger.
That doesn’t mean this won’t be another great year with another wonderful team. It means the schedule won’t be quite as forgiving.
For the entire Gophers preview:
College Football News Preview 2020: Minnesota Golden Gophers
College Football News Preview 2020: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Minnesota Golden Gophers season with what you need to know. – Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteF…
collegefootballnews.com
