Greder: 1. Less experience. 2. Tougher schedule. Story: Those two factors contribute to Gophers football team facing headwinds of lower expectations

[MNVCGUY]

I’m not yet convinced that the D will be a downgrade.

Going to be interesting to see how the D looks. Number of new faces but that doesn't mean a for sure downgrade the way some are assuming. Nubin coming back was a huge boost for the D as a whole.

 

[swelna]

If Athan plays like he did vs Wisconsin, I have no worries about the offense being able to put up points. Our passing game should be better, which will relieve the rushing game of some pressure to fill Mo's void. Athan getting injured would be my worry about the Offense at the moment.

I'm not worried about the defense of everyone stays healthy, I'm a little concerned if the injury bug makes its way through the Defense though.

Overall I think this squad is 10-2 or 11-1 if they had played this past season, so even with Mich and OSU on the schedule I wouldn't be surprised to win 8+ games. The 2019 squad built momentum that led to an upset of PSU...I'll be watching for that same momentum to build before the Mich game...

 

[WAGopher]

If Athan plays like he did vs Wisconsin, I have no worries about the offense being able to put up points. Our passing game should be better, which will relieve the rushing game of some pressure to fill Mo's void. Athan getting injured would be my worry about the Offense at the moment.

I'm not worried about the defense of everyone stays healthy, I'm a little concerned if the injury bug makes its way through the Defense though.

Overall I think this squad is 10-2 or 11-1 if they had played this past season, so even with Mich and OSU on the schedule I wouldn't be surprised to win 8+ games. The 2019 squad built momentum that led to an upset of PSU...I'll be watching for that same momentum to build before the Mich game...

Athan getting injured is also my concern about the QB position. He certainly has the skills, but does he have the durability to be QB1 all season.

 

[mngg11]

I’m not yet convinced that the D will be a downgrade.

Agreed. D will essentially be a mirror of previous years, maybe a little less stout but I'll go out there and guarantee top 25. Maybe a couple growing pains but Rossi's system is rock solid and we have layers of experience to maintain consistency.

 

[mngg11]

Athan getting injured is also my concern about the QB position. He certainly has the skills, but does he have the durability to be QB1 all season.

I don't disagree, but the spring game may have shown that we have a QB2 who won't miss much of a beat if he has to step in.

 

[WAGopher]

I don't disagree, but the spring game may have shown that we have a QB2 who won't miss much of a beat if he has to step in.

I also think Kramer is a good backup that can execute and manage the game, and make some needed throws.

 

[Gophers_4life]

Very few major football programs can suffer the loss of QB1 and continue on to have a great season.

Not really a thing.

Once you name a QB1, you have to give them most of the reps in practice. And once that happens, it halts any further development of the other QB's.


Are we in a better position than most with Kramer? Perhaps! Would be great if he is able to step up, if called to action in certain spots.

 

[MNVCGUY]

Very few major football programs can suffer the loss of QB1 and continue on to have a great season.

Not really a thing.

Once you name a QB1, you have to give them most of the reps in practice. And once that happens, it halts any further development of the other QB's.


Are we in a better position than most with Kramer? Perhaps! Would be great if he is able to step up, if called to action in certain spots.

If you are talking season ending injury to the starter then yeah most teams are going to see a dropoff going to the #2 guy but doesn't mean the season is guaranteed to go in the tank.

What you described in terms of QB development is more of the NFL model than the college one. In the NFL the #1 guy gets nearly all the offensive reps. In college it is very possible to give lots of reps to your #2 guy and you also spend a lot of time on individual drills so the development doesn't stop just because a guy isn't named the starter.

 

[Panthadad2]

If you are talking season ending injury to the starter then yeah most teams are going to see a dropoff going to the #2 guy but doesn't mean the season is guaranteed to go in the tank.

What you described in terms of QB development is more of the NFL model than the college one. In the NFL the #1 guy gets nearly all the offensive reps. In college it is very possible to give lots of reps to your #2 guy and you also spend a lot of time on individual drills so the development doesn't stop just because a guy isn't named the starter.

Agreed. I can think of 3 CFP teams off the top of my head that weren't playing with the season beginning #1 QB by the end of the year. TCU 2022-23, Alabama 2016-17 & 2019-20, and Ohio State 2014-15. There are scores of non-CFP teams that performed well after changing QBs. Hell, the Gophs did that in 2022. College is much more about the pipeline.

 

[Gophers_4life]

If you are talking season ending injury to the starter then yeah most teams are going to see a dropoff going to the #2 guy but doesn't mean the season is guaranteed to go in the tank.

That was the discussion. Not "if I was talking about it". The poster brought up Athan's unknown durability.

I didn't say guaranteed to go into the tank. Agreed it's not guaranteed.

But if Athan heaven forbid was to go down, the coaching staff cannot be blamed if the season did tank after that. Whatever Kramer can do, hat's off to him.

In college it is very possible to give lots of reps to your #2 guy and you also spend a lot of time on individual drills so the development doesn't stop just because a guy isn't named the starter.

"Lots of reps", not in season. Spring ball, fall camp, sure. Most definitely.

 

[Gophers_4life]

There are scores of non-CFP teams that performed well after changing QBs.

Not at all the discussion. Here you're talking about an unproven/unsettled QB battle between two or more relatively equal guys.

The discussion is a clear, cut-and-dried QB1, that goes down to injury. That's like Clemson losing Trevor Lawrence to graduation. That level of a loss.

 

[MNVCGUY]

That was the discussion. Not "if I was talking about it". The poster brought up Athan's unknown durability.

I didn't say guaranteed to go into the tank. Agreed it's not guaranteed.

But if Athan heaven forbid was to go down, the coaching staff cannot be blamed if the season did tank after that. Whatever Kramer can do, hat's off to him.



"Lots of reps", not in season. Spring ball, fall camp, sure. Most definitely.

I know for a fact that Fleck runs multiple huddles in team periods in order to get more reps. You absolutely can keep your backup very involved in the game plan in college.

 

[PMWinSTP]

That was the discussion. Not "if I was talking about it". The poster brought up Athan's unknown durability.

I didn't say guaranteed to go into the tank. Agreed it's not guaranteed.

But if Athan heaven forbid was to go down, the coaching staff cannot be blamed if the season did tank after that. Whatever Kramer can do, hat's off to him.



"Lots of reps", not in season. Spring ball, fall camp, sure. Most definitely.

A head coach would be an idiot not to give the back up QB a good portion of practice reps.

I think you should change your moniker to Confidently Clueless. My goodness...