Well, there is only one game on the schedule that I see as a sure loss. That is Ohio State, they will be this year's national champion and I don't think (barring serious injury) anyone can touch the Buckeyes.
After that, I see every game as a winnable game. I would say best case scenario is 10 games, with 9 being the highest win total the Gophers could have before surprise would turn to outright shock at the tenth win (at this point Gerry Dinardo would start swilling whisky straight from the bottle, Lou Holtz would go into full out Daffie DUck mode, Mark May will find a way to claim this is a sign of the weakness of the Big Ten, and Robert Smith will take back his ridiculous assertion that it's too hard to recruit in Minnesota. Penn State has serious offensive line issues and may have the worst qb play in the conference, they come here, Wisconsin is going to have D line issues without OB Scho, they have questionable corners, and who is playing safety opposite Jay Valai in place of maragos? Also, if phillips can't make it back they have no qb depth. Iowa has O-line issues, ricky stanzi with the good and the interceptions all rolled into one package, and questions in teh secondary, they also come here, Michigan State, Purdue, Illinois, and Northwestern all have serious question marks as we do, Illinois, and possibly purdue even more so, remember Northwestern lost 3/4 of a very solid secondary. They don't reload in the back 4 at northwestern.
USC has no reason to care about anything other than their pac-ten slate (as they can't be ranked in most polls, or play in the postseason). I would not be surprised if they laid an egg out here.
I am on the positive side predicting 7 or 8 wins. But I would say in this best case scenario the ceiling is 9 or 10 wins with some combination of 2-3 losses among USC, Ohio State, PSU, Iowa, and Wisconsin, and wins everywhere else. That will occur if the O-line is better than last year (as they looked to be in the spring game), Weber is as good as advertised in the Manning Camp, and he responds well to the improved O-line's work in the run and pass game, an RB steps up to be at least decent, the Backers are better due to experience of Tinsley, Coop, etc., the increased athleticism, depth, and overall speed of the unit. The D-line is somewhat better this year--with similar to slightly better play on the run (particularly at D-end), and more of a pass rush from the front 4, the secondary stays healthy, and Carter and Collado are every bit as good as they were promising to be this spring. Also, McKnight needs to be the clear #1 and someone, anyone else needs to be a decent #2 WR (Green, BA, TS, XB, ?)
So, a lot of things would have to break our way for 9 or 10 wins, but even if only a handful of those things do, this year will be better than the last couple with a possible 7 or 8 Ws.