Media Prediction Thread: New Mexico State at Minnesota

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Saturday Blitz is first out of the gate:

New Mexico State Aggies Sept.1 Minneapolis, MN

The season sets up perfectly for the Gophers to fire up the passing attack and find a rhythm without having to sweat out any nail-biters (although last year proves no team can be taken for granted). Look for Morgan and the passing attack to hit on a few longer plays and the running game to continue to do what the Minnesota football running game is seemingly always capable of.

Week 1 sees the return of former coach Jerry Kill and New Mexico State coming to Minneapolis. There is a bit of animosity between Kill and the school, and Kill has made known how he feels about Fleck’s coaching style, so this could be a fun one to watch, and one that maybe Fleck isn’t going to worry about letting the score get out of hand, let’s call it a 49-10 win for the Gophers.

saturdayblitz.com

Minnesota Football: Game-By-Game Predictions For 2022 Season

Minnesota Football is aiming for the Big Ten West championship after nine wins last year. Will the passing attack improve and lead to bigger things in 2022?
saturdayblitz.com saturdayblitz.com

Go Gophers!!
 




Media is going to have a heyday promoting this game.
 


#2Gopher said:
Media is going to have a heyday promoting this game.
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Maybe locally but nationally? Pretty doubtful. Penn State vs. Purdue, Central Michigan vs. Oklahoma State, West Virginia vs Pitt, are all also playing on 9/1.

Now add in that NMS is a 5 TD underdog, independent, they'll join the WAC for football next season, and coming off a 3 win season. They haven't finished above .500 since 2017 and it's Kill's first year as their Head Coach.

While many on here are understandably fixated on it, the rest of the college football world doesn't really care. Nor should they.

Though nationally, prepare to hear about the Bowling Green loss every time the game is mentioned. When Western Illinois comes to town too. Fleck certainly won't forget. Which bodes well for all us Gopher fans.
 

Iceland12 said:
Maybe locally but nationally? Pretty doubtful. Penn State vs. Purdue, Central Michigan vs. Oklahoma State, West Virginia vs Pitt, are all also playing on 9/1.

Now add in that NMS is a 5 TD underdog, independent, they'll join the WAC for football next season, and coming off a 3 win season. They haven't finished above .500 since 2017 and it's Kill's first year as their Head Coach.

While many on here are understandably fixated on it, the rest of the college football world doesn't really care. Nor should they.

Though nationally, prepare to hear about the Bowling Green loss every time the game is mentioned. When Western Illinois comes to town too. Fleck certainly won't forget. Which bodes well for all us Gopher fans.
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My sarcasm meter must be broken. It was redlining on the 2Gopher post.
 

Wolverine Wire by USA Today has Minnesota winning 47-13

Sports Chat Place is taking Minnesota at -36.5
The New Mexico State Aggies had a chance to knock the rust off, but they didn’t look great, and things don’t get any easier here as they now go on the road. The Minnesota Golden Gophers are a sneaky Big Ten contender given their depth on both sides of the ball, and they were covering machines for much of last season. This is a massive number, but it’s more of an indication of how bad New Mexico State is. Give me the Golden Gophers and the chalk.

Odd Shark has the Gophers winning 40-7
Minnesota will win, New Mexico State will cover, and the total will go under.

BetSided has Minnesota coming away with the victory
This should be a routine victory for Fleck and co. as they should have little issue disposing of New Mexico State… I expect the Gophers to build an early lead and bleed this clock out. For what it's worth, New Mexico State also played at a slow tempo against Nevada as first year head coach Jerry Kill has preached ball control in the offseason.

The total has been coming down from the opener of 58, now at 53, but there's still room to go down to the key number of 51.

Picks and Parlays is going with Minnesota, 48-7
Minnesota is a huge five-touchdown favorite and rightfully so, as the Golden Gophers will have a tough offensive attack for New Mexico to stop. Minnesota quarterback Tanner Morgan has a great deal of talent and experience and will guide an offense led by Mohamad Ibrahim who is coming back off an Achilles injury but is considered one of the top running backs in the nation. Final Score Prediction, Minnesota Golden Gophers win and cover ATS 48-7.
 

Winners and Whiners is expecting Minnesota to win
The Golden Gophers are a stellar team that has a good chance to win 10 games. This is a huge spread that is warranted.

Furthermore, the Aggies will probably be one of the lowest scoring teams in the entire FBS and Minnesota has an outstanding defense. The Aggies only scored a total of 19 points in their two games against power conference foes last season.

Also, Minnesota has an elite running back in Mohamed Ibrahim who will surpass 1000 yards if he stays healthy. New Mexico State ranked 110th against the run last year and allowed 179 rushing yards last week. Also, the Aggies have a new coach and it will take some time to find a groove. Prediction: Minnesota Golden Gophers -37

Blake Ruane of the Daily Gopher (SB Nation) is predicting a 35-10 Minnesota victory
Make no mistake, the Gophers will look to get running backs Mohamed Ibrahim and Trey Potts rolling early behind a new-look offensive line that likely will need time before it looks like a cohesive unit. But I have to imagine offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca will look to his passing game to help open up the box for Ibrahim and Potts.

It’ll be a blowout, but I have my doubts the Gophers will blow the Aggies off the field in the way many fans would like to see.
 



Outkick predicts NMSU holding their own in the first quarter before Minnesota gets going.
I think that it is reasonable to think New Mexico State gets blown out in this game. I wouldn’t be terribly shocked if they score under 14 points. One thing is that Minnesota doesn’t always tend to come out of the game and build a big lead in the first quarter. I think the best play is taking New Mexico State +9.5 in the first quarter. Despite four interceptions, they still held Nevada to just 23 points. I think in the first quarter they probably can limit Minnesota’s production, they might be able to control the ball or even score themselves. After that, Minnesota will likely blow them out.
 


Insiders Betting Digest has the Gophers winning big
The best pick of the night here is going to be taking Minnesota to win this game by 36.5 points.

This is a game that they should easily be able to come away with and if they continue doing what they were able to do a season ago, there should be virtually no chance that New Mexico State is going to be able to compete in this one. NCAAF Pick: Minnesota -36.5 (-110)
 





Schnauzer said:
If the Gophers only manage 23 points against NMSU, will Fleck rehire Sanford?
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If we have 3 touchdown drives that take 15 minutes each I guess I'd be ok with 23 points. Otherwise that would certainly be a disappointing return for KC.
 

The Pioneer Press has the Gophers winning 40-9
Gophers offense vs. New Mexico State defense: Minnesota welcomes back the majority of its top skill-position players, including QB Tanner Morgan, WR Chris Autman-Bell and RB Mo Ibrahim. EDGE: Gophers.

Gophers defense vs. New Mexico State offense: The Gophers secondary is its best position group and S Tyler Nubin was a standout ball hawk in open portions of fall camp. EDGE: Gophers.

Prediction: The Gophers will be able to win easily, play backups and keep the finer points within the playbook under lock and key. Will they be able to stay healthy, too?
 

Gopher Illustrated (247 Sports) has the Gophers winning 41-6
I want to believe that Minnesota actually wins big in a non-conference game, but recent history would tell me it'll be closer than most want. I just have a hard time seeing a New Mexico State team, playing on short rest in their first road game of the year, really putting up a huge fight in this one.

I think you're crazy to take Minnesota as 36.5 favorites, as the Gophers under PJ Fleck haven't covered those large spreads in some time. A game that is too close early, turns into a blowout in the third quarter.
 


Hawkeyes Wire (USA Today) is predicting a 45-10 Gopher victory
This should be as easy of a win as it gets for the Golden Gophers this year. New Mexico State just lost a very uninspired contest to Nevada in week zero. They are not going to be trouble for many teams, especially not a potential Big Ten West contender in Minnesota. There’s a reason Tipico Sportsbook has the Golden Gophers as a -100,000 moneyline favorite, with the spread fairly set at -36.5. Expect to see backups for Minnesota in this one.
 


Schnauzer said:
If the Gophers only manage 23 points against NMSU, will Fleck rehire Sanford?
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With one being a defensive score (I think there will be one) who knows...;). Seriously though, even if Gophs get up big early and go conservative, they will still score points. Defense is going to give offense short fields all night.
 

STrib chimes in:

Prediction
There's a reason for the big point spread. The Gophers are a veteran team that's expected to contend for the Big Ten West title, and they're facing an opponent that was 2-10 last year, is operating under a new coaching staff and is playing for the second time in six days.

The Gophers will want to see what the passing game looks like under Act II of Ciarrocca's tenure as offensive coordinator and if Wright can be a consistent complement to Autman-Bell. They'll also test the new offensive line and see how Ibrahim and Potts deal with live contact.

Where things could get interesting is if the Gophers take a sizable lead and have a chance to run up the score. Fleck has taken the high road this summer while Kill brought up old grievances when given the opportunity. The Gophers coach, however, has shown he can make a point, too, as he did after last year's win over Nebraska, calling it a triumph of culture over skill, presumably a shot at Huskers coach Scott Frost for previous comments.

My expectation: Fleck will keep it businesslike. The Aggies might cover that spread, but the Gophers will win.

Gophers 38, Aggies 10

www.startribune.com

New Mexico State vs. Gophers: Randy Johnson's game prediction

The Gophers are heavy favorites, and even with Jerry Kill returning to coach the competition, this is a relatively easy call.
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com

Go Gophers!!
 

Here’s input from the Daily Gopher (SB Nation) Writers
GoAUpher is predicting a 49-0 win: Because Jerry Kill is coaching a bad team this year.

GopherGuy05 has Minnesota winning 41-7: Should be an easy win but no cover.

GopherNation has Minnesota winning 38-9: The Gophers win this comfortably, but I don’t think it’s going to be greater than the spread. Will we want to dominate? Yes. But there is still the P.J. Fleck penchant for keeping things vanilla.

HipsterGopher is taking Minnesota 41-2: I saw Parker @statsowar predict this score on Twitter. Also it would be funny if this was the final.

MoWe0018 is going with Minnesota 48-6: Pain is prescribed for Jerry’s return.

White Speed Receiver has Minnesota winning 45-3: Welcome back, Jer. Now take your medicine and never come back and shut the hell up about Minnesota. Get Mo some stupid fast numbers and get him out of the game by halftime.

WildCatToo is taking Minnesota 35-14: Killing it with fire. Or something.

ZipsOfAkron is going with Minnesota winning 24-0: Not even I am pessimistic enough to predict a loss here. Feels like “easy” opening night games have been closer than we’d like the past few years, but the last time the Gophers truly eviscerated a non-conference opponent was NMSU in 2018, so let’s see them do it again.
 

Black Shoe Diaries (SB Nation) is predicting a 45-3 Minnesota win
The most compelling story line in this game will be Jerry Kill returning to his former coaching spot after he revived the Gopher program. In fact, if that isn’t the only story line of the game, Minnesota has so many things to worry about!

Hammer and Rails has Minnesota winning 40-7
We have Jerry Kill BEEF in this one, as he is not a fan of PJ Fleck taking over the team he once coached. It probably won’t matter. This is a paycheck game for the Aggies, who lead a vagabond existence at the edges of FBS as an independent. At least Mo Ibrahim gets to come back after last year.

All writers for The Off Tackle Empire (SB nation) are going with the Gophers
BoilerUp89: Jerry Kill returns to Minnesota and tries to order a dilly bar at the game. It melts before getting to him. The ice cream is but a metaphor for how the Aggies perform against the Gophers.

Beez: J Kill on his B1G revenge tour is going to get really tired to hear about, especially as his teams lose by a combined 500 points. Is Ibrahim back for this game? If so, hopefully he has a healthy first half before resting when his team is up 40.

Buffkomodo: All the same, though I’m sure Peej would love to win 80-(-20), both coaches want to run the ball, and I think Fleck is smart enough to ignore then cover but go home with an injury free 41-7 win. But if he goes 4th quarter play-action to make it 48-7, yeah, I guess I’ll understand.

Thumpasaurus: The SHUT JERRY KILL UP narrative seems like a very persuasive one, and since we’re all expecting blood...I’m expecting a routine, somewhat frustrating three score win.
MaximumSam: Minnesota usually sucks early in the season. So it has come, so it will pass. My hope is Tracy Claeys decends from the rafters, Sting style, during the fourth quarter and rides Jerry Kill to the end zone. Minnesota 24, New Mexico State 10

HWAHSQB: I’m with Sam here. Minnesota can’t possibly have early season suck to lose, but it won’t be comfortable.

WSR: If NMSU gets more than a FG, I’m going to be very disappointed. This should be as straight-forward as possible: get Mo Ibrahim, Trey Potts, Bryce Williams, Preston Jelen, and Zach Evans a TD each, and make sure to run some play action over the top to pile it on a bit.

The Aggie defense spent a good chunk of the night letting Nevada’s RBs run through the first tackle, which doesn’t bode well against the Gophers run game. Defensively, there’s not much to worry about here here: the starting QB Diego Povia led the team in rushing with a whopping 36 yards against Nevada while also losing a fumble and throwing 3 INT. Backup QB true freshman Gavin Frankes (a ginger) came into the game and thew a TD to go along with his interception.

Hopefully Fleck is fired up and ready to go and tells Jerry to wish Rebecca well in their postgame handshake.

RockyMtnBlue: New Mexico State is next-level bad. This game is going to be ugly. But 37.5 is a big spread. Minnesota 38, New Mexico State 3

MNW: What you see we’re going to get, now, is PJ Fleck calling off the dogs midway through the third quarter and coasting to an easy with, with all the suddenly high-on-their-horse Gophers patting themselves and their coach on the back for “taking the high road” or passive-aggressively “running it down” in a 30-6 win. Which is totally what they wanted all along, mind you. I dunno, something like “taking the win and leaving the timeouts.” Or whatever.
 

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