–> We’re only 45 days until the Gophers season opener against the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Aug. 31, so I thought there was no time better than the present to give my official 2023 season predictions.
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Wk 1: vs. Nebraska
The Gophers’ annual tradition of hosting their week one opponent on the Thursday of week one rolls on this season when they welcome Nebraska to Dinkytown. The Matt Rhule-era will kick off on Aug. 31 as it officially marks the end of Scott Frost’s notorious reign as the head coach of the Cornhuskers. Led by Georgia Tech-transfer QB Jeff Sims, Nebraska brings an intriguing roster into 2023. Gabe Ervin and Anthony Grant are a fun RB-duo and their WR room has talent with Marcus Washington, Virginia-transfer slot Billy Kemp IV and Zavier Betts.
Overall their offense is talented, bringing in former South Carolina OC Marcus Satterfield to call plays along with an experienced offensive line, they will likely be improved from last season, but the question is how much? With a lot of moving parts, specifically on the defensive side of the ball, I think the Gophers are catching Nebraska at what will likely be its lowest point of the season and I think they will have enough to start the season 1-0.
- Prediction: Minnesota: 27 Nebraska: 17
Wk 2: vs. Eastern Michigan
In week two, Minnesota will welcome one of the MAC’s best teams from last season Eastern Michigan. Longtime Eagles head coach Chris Creighton is heading into his ninth season at the helm, as he comes off a 9-4 record, a road win at Arizona State, and an Idaho Potato Bowl victory over San Jose State, his best mark with the program. QB Austin Smith will be entering his first season as the starter, but star running back Samson Evans will return along with his 1,100+ yards and 15 touchdowns. Between Bowling Green, Miami (OH), or even Ken State, Gophers fans know how tricky the MAC can be early in the season. The fact that this game will be a rare 6:30 PM kickoff against a group of five teams, might make it even trickier. EMU will likely be one of the best teams in the MAC this season, so there will be no reason to overlook the Eagles, but the fact that they’ll have a QB with zero career starts heading into the season give the Gophers big enough of an edge to start the season 2-0, but I have a feeling this game will not be pretty.
- Prediction: Minnesota: 31 Eastern Michigan: 20
Wk 3: @ North Carolina
Returning one of the best QBs in college football Drake Maye, North Carolina will provide the Gophers with one of their toughest non-conference matchups in recent memory. Many fans of the Maroon & Gold realize how tough of a contest this might be and seem to be marking it up as an L. There are a few reasons why I think UNC might take a step back this season. Longtime OC Phil Longo is now at Wisconsin, last year’s No. 1 WR Josh Downs is on the Indianapolis Colts and Maye was the team’s leading rusher last season. While a WR-duo of Georgia Tech transfer Nate McCollum and Kent State transfer Devontez Walker will certainly provide Maye with sufficient weapons, I am not sure if the Tar Heels’ offense will be as explosive as last season.
The x-factor of this contest will be the Gophers’ secondary. A strength of recent seasons, Minnesota will have a lot of moving parts with transfers Tyler Bride (Georgia Southern), Jack Henderson (SE Louisiana), Tre’Von Jones (Elon) and Craig McDonald (Auburn). If new co-DC Nick Monroe is able to figure out where everything fits in by week three, I think Minnesota has a chance to give the Tar Heels some trouble, but that is a lot of questions for the Gophs, so I will have to give UNC the edge in Chapel Hill.
- Prediction: Minnesota: 13 North Carolina: 31
Wk 4: @ Northwestern
With Pat Fitzgerald’s surprise firing, we all know about how many question marks Northwestern has going into the 2023 season. Cincinnati transfer QB Ben Bryant provides a likely improvement at the position and RB Cam Porter is a talented option out of the backfield, but with so many questions looming over the program, coming off a 1-11 season, it would be naive to have any realistic expectation of sustained success heading into the season for the Wildcats. Whether Fitzgerald is there or not, Evanston, Illinois on an early fall morning will have trap game potential for anyone in the country. It would be fair to presume Northwestern is one of the bottom teams in the conference, therefore I think it would be fair to presume Minnesota has enough to get by the Wildcats.
- Prediction: Minnesota: 42 Northwestern: 10
Wk 5: vs. Louisiana
In week five the Gophers will welcome one of the best group of five programs of the last decade, the Ragin’ Cajuns of Louisiana at Lafayette, to Huntington Bank Stadium. Head coach Michael Desormeaux enters his second season at the helm after leading his team to a 6-7 record in year one. With a two QB system Ben Woolridge/Chandler Fields, Louisiana will likely be known as a running team in 2023. Given the stylistic matchup, new[er] head coach, and middle-of-the-pack returning production, I think this sets up as a favorable matchup for Minnesota. With all that being said, the 11:00 AM kickoff and potential look-ahead spot with Michigan coming to town the following week set this up for a classic P.J. Fleck close non-conference battle against a group of five team, but I still think that the Ragin’ Cajuns will not have enough to keep up with the Gophers.
- Prediction: Minnesota: 38 Louisiana: 20
Wk 6: vs. Michigan
In week six Minnesota will welcome, what I believe to be the best overall roster in college football. J.J. McCarthy is the consensus top quarterback in the conference, Blake Corum is the consensus top running back in maybe the whole sport, while Donovan Edwards might create the best backfield duo and they will have one of the best defenses in the country for another season. Knocking off the Wolverines would provide Minnesota with a season-defining victory and the Little Brown Jug for only the fifth time since 1967. With a young QB, new RB, inexperienced offensive line, and plenty of moving parts on defense, I believe the Gophers simply have too many question marks to knock off a team like Michigan’s caliber in 2023.
- Prediction: Minnesota: 14 Michigan: 42
*Wk 7: vs. BYE
Wk 8: @ Iowa
In what is likely the Gophers’ biggest game of 2023 they will travel to face an Iowa team that will likely have one of its better offenses in recent memory. Michigan transfer QB Cade McNamara was one of the biggest transfers of the offseason. I am a little lower on him than most, but there is no doubt that he is at least an upgrade for the Hawkeyes. With one of the best TE duos in the sport, Luke Lachey and Erick All, talented Ohio State transfer WR Kaleb Brown and intriguing RB Kaleb Johnson, there is plenty of excitement for Iowa’s offense to take a step forward in 2023. There is only one big reason why I wouldn’t get too carried away. Brian Ferentz is still the offensive coordinator.
Iowa will still have one of the better defenses in college football, but with Jack Campbell and Riley Moss off to the NFL, I am not sure it will be as dominant as years in the past. Although, players like Virginia transfer LB Nick Jackson and talented safety Xavier Nwankpa have a great chance to help them remain at the dominant level. Overall, we all know that Coach Fleck has not been able to get the Iowa monkey off his back, It will be in Minnesota’s favor that they will have two weeks to prepare and the fact Iowa will be coming off a pivotal game at Wisconsin, so I will go out on a limb and say the Gophers finally return the Floyd of Rosedale to its rightful home.
- Prediction: Minnesota: 17 Iowa: 14
Wk 9: vs. Michigan State
The Spartans and head coach Mel Tucker are in one of the more interesting positions as a program in the entire sport of college football. Tucker is currently the fifth highest-paid coach in the country, but he only has one winning season to his name, with four years as a head coach. Longtime starting QB Payton Thorne has transferred to Auburn and star WR Keon Coleman has transferred to Florida State. Redshirt junior QB Noah Kim is expected to be their top signal caller, but he has yet to start a game in his college career. One-time Wisconsin RB Jalen Berger is still in the backfield, but there are far more questions than answers all over the Spartans’ roster. I am not buying anything that Coach Tucker is selling, until I see some evidence, therefore I think Minnesota handles this one pretty easily on its home turf.
- Prediction: Minnesota: 41 Michigan State: 17
Wk 10: vs. Illinois
If failing to beat Iowa has been the Gophers’ biggest struggle in recent memory, I think failing to beat Brett Beilema-coached teams is a close second. With a plethora of talent like Chase Brown and Devon Witherspoon off to the NFL and DC Ryan Walters now the head coach at Purdue, the Fighting Illini will have plenty to replace in 2023. Ole Miss transfer Luke Altmeyer will likely be the top signal-caller while Reggie Love III will be taking handoffs out of the backfield. Led by DL Jer’Zhan Newton and Keith Randolph Jr. there is still plenty of talent on the defensive side of the ball and new DC Aaron Henry was promoted within the program.
If the Gophers are able to get by Iowa and Michigan State in back-to-back weeks, this game at home against Illinois, screams a major trap to me. As much as any Gophers fan would hate to admit it, Brett Beilema has proven to be a good football coach, and I think they will be a little better this season than people are giving them credit for. In what will likely be a gross slugfest at 11:00 AM, I think the Gophers slip up here.
- Prediction: Minnesota: 10 Illinois: 17
Wk 11: @ Purdue
In the first season of the Ryan Walters era at Purdue, the Gophers will look for revenge after last season’s homecoming loss. In the long-term, I think Walters will be a good coach in West Lafayette and in year one he will have talented Texas transfer QB Hudson Card. But other than that, I don’t think this roster has much to hang its hat on. Walters is a defensive-minded head coach with not much defensive talent to work with. Much like an early game with Northwestern, Purdue is never a team that you should overlook, no matter who is coaching, but I think the revenge factor of last season’s shocking loss will be enough for the Gophers to be motivated to get past the Boilermakers.
- Prediction: Minnesota: 34 Purdue: 8
Wk 12: @ Ohio State
Life does not get easier on the Gophers, as they travel to Columbus, Ohio to take on the daunted Buckeyes in week 12. Ohio State really has everything Michigan has, but their starting QB Kyle McCord, does not have much experience under his belt. The fact that he has one of the best WR rooms of all time led by Marvin Harrison Jr., Emeka Egbuka and Julian Flemming to throw to, will certainly help his development. Miyan Williams and TreyVeon Henderson in the backfield gives Ohio State a chance to have the best offense in the sport. If Minnesota wants any chance of taking down OSU on the road, it will certainly need to have its secondary playing at an elite level by week 12. Overall, I like the Gophers’ chance later in the season against the Buckeyes more than I do in week six vs. Michigan, but they would still need to play a perfect game and for that reason, I am taking THE Ohio State.
- Prediction: Minnesota: 20 Ohio State: 38
Wk 13: vs. Wisconsin
If the season plays out how I predict, the Gophers will have a 7-4 record going into the final week of the regular season, something they have faced each of the last two seasons. They will look to go for a three-peat against the Badgers, as new head coach Luke Fickell will get a taste of college football’s oldest rivalry. With new OC Phil Longo, SMU transfer QB Tanner Mordecai and star RB Braelon Allen, there are plenty of expectations for immediate success in Madison. While I do think Wisconsin will be one fo the better teams in the Big Ten West and they certainly will have a chance to win the division, I think the Gophers simply have their number. P.J. Fleck has shown the ability to peak at the end of the season and I think he gets past Wisconsin to retain Paul Bunyan’s Axe.
- Prediction: Minnesota: 28 Wisconsin: 20