These 3 Big Ten teams could have a Northwestern-like fall in 2020 (Iowa, MSU, Minnesota)

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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per Ryan:

3. Minnesota

The Golden Gophers are still going to be loaded again on offense, losing only running back Rodney Smith and wideout Tyler Johnson. The latter is a stud, but Rashod Bateman and Chris Autman-Bell give quarterback Tanner Morgan the weapons he needs.

What worries me is their defense. They are going to lose a ton, with eight senior starters. Then you add in that redshirt sophomore Antoine Winfield has balled out this season and positioned himself as a legit NFL Draft prospect, so he may be leaving school early. (In a story this week, The Athletic ranked Winfield as its No. 6 safety prospect.)

The Golden Gophers had no problem scoring this season, failing to top 30 points in just two games. For as good as Morgan was at quarterback, ranking fourth nationally in pass efficiency, this was a run-first team. Minnesota was 31st in rushing attempts and 116th in pass attempts. What happens if it is forced to play in some more shootouts? That would force the offense to play differently in 2020.

Minnesota’s non-conference schedule is once again easy, as it hosts Florida Atlantic, Tennessee Tech and BYU. While it seemed like Minnesota’s biggest division games were at home this season, next year it will go to Wisconsin, Nebraska and Illinois. It does get Michigan in a crossover this year, too. It’s a favorable slate, but there are some opportunities for some slip-ups.

I’m not necessarily predicting a big drop in 2020 for Minnesota, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it took a step back.

saturdaytradition.com

These 3 Big Ten teams could have a Northwestern-like fall in 2020

Which three teams could see a major drop-off next season like Northwestern experienced?
saturdaytradition.com saturdaytradition.com

Go Gophers!!
 

Defense will definitely be the big question mark. The team got pretty lucky without many key injuries this year too.
 

BleedGopher said:
per Ryan:

I’m not necessarily predicting a big drop in 2020 for Minnesota, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it took a step back.

saturdaytradition.com

These 3 Big Ten teams could have a Northwestern-like fall in 2020

Which three teams could see a major drop-off next season like Northwestern experienced?
saturdaytradition.com saturdaytradition.com

Go Gophers!!
Click to expand...

Talk about the headline and the content not matching up. Northwestern went from 8-1(West Champion) to 1-8 (West Last Place), that is a massive step back. Could we take a small step back....of course, but a small step back would not be anything like what happened to Northwestern this year where they fell completely off the map.
 

OK, I think everyone believes the defense COULD take a step back. I happen to think it'll be a small one, but it's impossible to know. I don't count 8 senior starters, but 6: Coughlin, Renner, DeLa, Martin, Barber, Williamson. If Winfield leaves it's 7. That does hurt, but as has been pointed out before, a TON of guys got major reps behind the starters this year: Mafe, Teague, Otomewo, Oliver, Sori-Marin among them.

No way Minnesota crashes and burns next year. If the D really struggles and there's some injuries, I could see a 7-5 season. That would be disappointing, but not a NW-like fail.
 

I don't think the Gophers defense will drop as precipitously as Ryan thinks. We had a lot of underclassmen play significant minutes on the line and at the LB spots. We return all the DBs except Winfield (probably).

Some of these guys will step up and prove themselves as standouts to replace Winfield, Coughlin, Martin and Barber. Just have to hope they do it quickly.
 


BleedGopher said:
per Ryan:

3. Minnesota

The Golden Gophers are still going to be loaded again on offense, losing only running back Rodney Smith and wideout Tyler Johnson. The latter is a stud, but Rashod Bateman and Chris Autman-Bell give quarterback Tanner Morgan the weapons he needs.

What worries me is their defense. They are going to lose a ton, with eight senior starters. Then you add in that redshirt sophomore Antoine Winfield has balled out this season and positioned himself as a legit NFL Draft prospect, so he may be leaving school early. (In a story this week, The Athletic ranked Winfield as its No. 6 safety prospect.)

The Golden Gophers had no problem scoring this season, failing to top 30 points in just two games. For as good as Morgan was at quarterback, ranking fourth nationally in pass efficiency, this was a run-first team. Minnesota was 31st in rushing attempts and 116th in pass attempts. What happens if it is forced to play in some more shootouts? That would force the offense to play differently in 2020.

Minnesota’s non-conference schedule is once again easy, as it hosts Florida Atlantic, Tennessee Tech and BYU. While it seemed like Minnesota’s biggest division games were at home this season, next year it will go to Wisconsin, Nebraska and Illinois. It does get Michigan in a crossover this year, too. It’s a favorable slate, but there are some opportunities for some slip-ups.

I’m not necessarily predicting a big drop in 2020 for Minnesota, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it took a step back.

saturdaytradition.com

These 3 Big Ten teams could have a Northwestern-like fall in 2020

Which three teams could see a major drop-off next season like Northwestern experienced?
saturdaytradition.com saturdaytradition.com

Go Gophers!!
Click to expand...

BTW, Florida Atlantic is not a patsy though they don't bear a big name. They're in a bowl game.
 


OldBob53 said:
BTW, Florida Atlantic is not a patsy though they don't bear a big name. They're in a bowl game.
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Florida Atlantic has done a little more than just make a bowl game. They are 10-3, lost only 1 conference game, and won their conference championship game 49-6. Perhaps Ryan isn't keeping up with current events around the country. I don't know how good FAU will be next year but they would have been better than any non-conference opponent we played this season.

BYU is also likely to be better than any non-conference opponent we played this season.
 

MGGopher said:
No way Minnesota crashes and burns next year. If the D really struggles and there's some injuries, I could see a 7-5 season. That would be disappointing, but not a NW-like fail.
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No, they won't finish like NW did this season but, if they did fall to 7-5, that would be a pretty big step back. 8-4 would be a step back but understandable and tolerable with a tougher schedule and significant losses on the defensive end.
 



I won't be crying if we drop back to 7-8 wins (little disappointed). I'll be upset if we never get back to 10+ wins
 

Our defense wasn't great this year. Just ok. Returning our entire Oline makes me think our offense will be quite a bit better next year.
Is it crazy to think our defense will make the leap next year that our offense did this year? The HUGE question on offense was our oline. Because they performed to the high end of expectations, especially late in the year, our offense made a huge leap. Our defense will go as far as our front 7 will take them. Lose a lot of solid players in there. Can the young guys show a higher ceiling?
 

cjbfbp said:
Florida Atlantic has done a little more than just make a bowl game. They are 10-3, lost only 1 conference game, and won their conference championship game 49-6. Perhaps Ryan isn't keeping up with current events around the country. I don't know how good FAU will be next year but they would have been better than any non-conference opponent we played this season.

BYU is also likely to be better than any non-conference opponent we played this season.
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FAU will be down with Lane gone.

I still see 10-2 or better as a legit possibility with a decent cross over schedule again (Michigan, Michigan State, Maryland).
 

If the Oline, Bateman, and Morgan stay healthy, then I think the offense should be as good or better than last year even with losing Tyler Johnson.
It is too early to tell, but I'm hoping we are in for a pleasant surprise on the defense and special teams next year. My early prediction though is a step back as well.
 



Section2 said:
Our defense wasn't great this year. Just ok. Returning our entire Oline makes me think our offense will be quite a bit better next year.
Is it crazy to think our defense will make the leap next year that our offense did this year? The HUGE question on offense was our oline. Because they performed to the high end of expectations, especially late in the year, our offense made a huge leap. Our defense will go as far as our front 7 will take them. Lose a lot of solid players in there. Can the young guys show a higher ceiling?
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that's what I was going to say. It's not like our defense was some lights out unit this year and was a top 10 unit.
 

upnorthkid said:
that's what I was going to say. It's not like our defense was some lights out unit this year and was a top 10 unit.
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Correct our offense being able to score made the defense better. Hope that continues in 2020.
 

I don’t see anyone on defense that isn’t relplaceable except Winfield. Martin played hurt, barber wasn’t the most instinctive LB around, Coughlin was good , but undersized for position of DE. with a improved ball control offense the d shouldn’t be on the field long, which was the winning formula this year.
 

upnorthkid said:
that's what I was going to say. It's not like our defense was some lights out unit this year and was a top 10 unit.
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And yet the 2019 defense gave up only 313 yards per game which is the best going back to at least 2003 (don't see stats before that). If the Gophs drop back to the typical 350+ yards per game then there will probably be more losses. On the other hand, if the defense can maintain the YPG and improve the red zone defense at all, that could be a huge win.
 

MGGopher said:
OK, I think everyone believes the defense COULD take a step back. I happen to think it'll be a small one, but it's impossible to know. I don't count 8 senior starters, but 6: Coughlin, Renner, DeLa, Martin, Barber, Williamson. If Winfield leaves it's 7. That does hurt, but as has been pointed out before, a TON of guys got major reps behind the starters this year: Mafe, Teague, Otomewo, Oliver, Sori-Marin among them.

No way Minnesota crashes and burns next year. If the D really struggles and there's some injuries, I could see a 7-5 season. That would be disappointing, but not a NW-like fail.
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I think they are counting Mikah Dew-Treadway, even though he has 2 more years of eligibility. I've seen him mentioned as a "senior" multiple times because he's a grad transfer. I've seen 8 several places, him being the 8th in addition to those you mentioned. Not sure who the 9th would be. Did someone start one game, maybe?
 

Lakeville Goldy said:
I think they are counting Mikah Dew-Treadway, even though he has 2 more years of eligibility. I've seen him mentioned as a "senior" multiple times because he's a grad transfer. I've seen 8 several places, him being the 8th in addition to those you mentioned. Not sure who the 9th would be. Did someone start one game, maybe?
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I believe Dew-Tradway only has one more year left. St. Juste has 2 more.
 

Well, I was called a troll for writing three weeks ago that we were losing seven and that might indicate a poorer D early in the season. So, Ryan must be both a troll and wrong. I still love the arguments above that even though the young guys could not replace the senior guys this year who some think were not that great that just means these younger guys will be better than this year's seniors by September.o_O That makes sense! Well, we will see, won't we?
 

Veritas said:
Well, I was called a troll for writing three weeks ago that we were losing seven and that might indicate a poorer D early in the season. So, Ryan must be both a troll and wrong. I still love the arguments above that even though the young guys could not replace the senior guys this year who some think were not that great that just means these younger guys will be better than this year's seniors by September.o_O That makes sense! Well, we will see, won't we?
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You are a troll for many reasons, homie...
 

Questions on defense:

Safety:
Who replaces Winfield? Sapp and/or Nubin? Is Swenson back? Nubin looks the part and got a lot of special teams run, but they seemed to trust Winfield and Howden at safety and that's it. The Dubar kid (2020 verbal) out of Texas has a very nice offer list.

Corner:
Are Kiondre and Coney Durr coming back for fifth years? Is grad transfer St. Juste coming back? I haven't heard otherwise, but we lost Silver and OJ Smith late in process last year. Can T Smith step up his game? Is Howard back? Can he step up his game. Potential right there for five athletic, experienced corners on the roster. That would be great. One of those five (or Harris) fills Williamson role? Or they go with more of a 4-3 look? Any buzz on Solomom Brown?

Linebacker:
Are Gordon and Willis (Fleck seems to love both) both ready to play if SoriMarin, Oliver, Rush, and Aune aren't, or get injured? Do we play more 4-3 next year? Top rated recruit is a linebacker out of St Louis. Maybe he can help right away.

Defensive end:
Mafe and Otomewo ready to step up and be starters? if not or injured, do we have something in Ahanotu, Okonji, Harris or Anderson? Bunch of DE's committed and sounds like they are going after at least one more, so maybe seen as a position of needed talent?

Defensive tackle:
Another year of MDT would be good. Haven't heard otherwise, but Silver and Smith were surprise leaves last year. Schad and Teague got a lot of run. Both need to be better. Hickcox got some. Cheney was limited. Carter might be the one who really emerges.

Do we have a decent punter?

Wildcard is grad transfers...MDT and St Juste were big off-season adds for defense. Would welcome that again.
 
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OldBob53 said:
BTW, Florida Atlantic is not a patsy though they don't bear a big name. They're in a bowl game.
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They hired Willie Taggart as head coach. The guy who inherited the #4 most talented team in the country at FSU (per 247 talent composite), and lost 6 games by 17+ points his first year, in addition to barely beating Samford. And then beat La Monroe by 1 point in OT his second year.

Something tells me FAU will fall of a cliff next year.
 


Offense:

QB:
Love what we have here...will be surprised if all four stay, though. Do they keep the Green package? They don't seem to love it.

RB:
Love Ibrahim...liked Williams last year, nice to get year back for him. Fleck seems to love Wiley and Potts. Sounded like they liked the Owatonna kid before the knee injury. The Topeka RB recruit may surprise early.

O-Line:
Thought o-line was better at end of last year than it was at end of this year...needs to be better vs Iowa and Wisconsin defenses. Could be the oldest most experienced unit in Big Ten next year. How bad is Faalele injury? Any depth after Andries, Schlueter, Olson, Schmitz, Dunlap? Disn't seem to trust any of the reserves. Did speak highly of Guedet in August. Heard they like the local kid, Cooper, who sat out. Not much buzz about Dickson, Sassack, Boe or Beier. Would love a proven grad transfer, or two. Neither of the two verbals on oline have great offer lists, for what that's worth.The six man o-line was an effective ploy. Could have three big veteran, experienced, mature TEs to pair with the o-line for run game.

TEs:
Paulson injured hurt at end...get him healthy, bigger, stronger, faster for his fourth year. Hope we get Kieft and Witham back for one more year. Two tough fifth year guys who would bring experience and maturity. We didn;t bring Beebe back last year. SpannFord got a lot of run. Can he add a little more size? Do we use him (or Paulson) as a pass catcher?

WRs:

Tyler drew a lot of double, bracket coverage. Had nice rapport with Tanner. Will be Bateman's last year, hope it's a huge one. Love to see CAB with more looks. DD needs to step up, be fourth year leader. Unsure what we have after that...Geary done or a fifth year? They seem to like MBS? Brooks had been touted but has battled injuries? Gibson? They put a lot of effort recruiting the kid from Texas last year. Seem to have recruited well again. Some guys with nice offers. The KC kid, the Miami kid, the Rosemount kid also.

Can we get a kicker we trust from 52 yards? One who can boot it out of the endzone and take the return out of play?
 

Panthadad2 said:
And yet the 2019 defense gave up only 313 yards per game which is the best going back to at least 2003 (don't see stats before that). If the Gophs drop back to the typical 350+ yards per game then there will probably be more losses. On the other hand, if the defense can maintain the YPG and improve the red zone defense at all, that could be a huge win.
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The yards per game is always a funny stat. and how/when you allow those yards. Don't know really how much stock to put in it. It's hard to say when we faced a couple historically bad offenses (Rutgers and NW) and had multiple defensive/ST TDs vs us (Georgia Southern) to push the yardage around.
 

It's fair to be concerned about the D next year. It's a big question mark. Not necessarily bad, but we don't know what to expect. That's college football, though. The good programs mostly play upperclassmen and elite prospects who declare for the NFL early thus they switch out a lot of starters every year.

It's not a sign of a healthy program to have 18-20 starters returning all the time.
 



I imagine MSU already feels they had a Northwestern year this year & last year.
 

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