Aug. 29, 2022: The Golden Gophers open their 2022-23 season with high hopes and plenty of storylines as former HC Jerry Kill returns to Minnesota, leading New Mexico State.
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Broadcast Info:
- Date: Thurs., Sept. 1
- TV channel: BTN
- Time of kickoff: 8:00 p.m. (CST)
- Broadcast team: n/a (play-by-play) & n/a (color)
- Betting line: Minnesota (-37.5) v. New Mexico State; over/under (56.5)
Opponent Information (New Mexico State):
- 2021 record: 2-10
- V. UTEP 3-30 L
- @ San Diego St. 10-28 L
- @ New Mexico 25-34 L
- V. South Carolina St. (FCS) 43-35 W
- V. Hawaii 21-41 L
- @ San Jose St. 31-37 L
- @ Hawaii 34-48 L
- V. Utah St. 13-35 L
- @ Alabama 3-59 L
- @ Kentucky 16-56 L
- V. UMass 44-27 W
- 2022 record: 0-1
- V. Nevada 12-23 L
- Head Coach: Jerry Kill (1st season)
- Players to watch: Gavin Frakes (QB), Kordell David (WR), Bryce Jackson (S), Lazarus Williams (DL), Diego Paiva (QB)
A Gophers week one game against one of the worst FBS programs in the country is certainly not lacking in storylines. New Mexico State has only won seven total games since 2017, a number that Minnesota cleared by two in 2021 alone. But… former Maroon & Gold head coach Jerry Kill is returning to Dinkytown, after notoriously saying that he would never step foot back on campus in 2017. Nevertheless, with all the handshake drama and off-the-field hooplah, Thursday night should be a great way to ease into the 2022 season with a night game in Huntington Bank Stadium.
New Mexico State season storylines:
- Jerry Kill returns to head coaching:
Roughly seven years removed from last coaching a game for the Minnesota Gophers, Jerry Kill is returning to campus to lead the New Mexico State Aggies. After going 29-29 as head coach for the Golden Gophers, Kill has had a plethora of stops since medically retiring in 2015. In 2017 he returned as OC/QB coach at Rutgers, then assistant to the HC at Virginia Tech (2019), the same role at TCU (2020-21) and most recently he was named interim head coach at TCU for the last four games after the Horned Frogs fired Garry Patterson. The four games back as the top man got his name back into the mix and New Mexico State pulled the trigger and named Kill as the program’s next head coach on Nov. 24, 2021.
- 45 new players on roster:
New Mexico State returns 54% of its production from a season ago, with ranks 116th best (out of 131) in college football. Jerry Kill brought in 45 new players, a whole new staff and zero (0) incoming transfers or recruits from the previous staff. Returning production is a number that you should take with a grain of salt, especially when you’re talking about a team that was as bad as New Mexico State. If you’re not getting many players back from a team that struggled like the Aggies last season, that sometimes can be a good thing. Overall, Kill has quite the rebuild ahead of himself, and bringing in 45 new players is just the start.
- How bad is New Mexico State?:
For the 2022-23 season, ESPN ranks New Mexico State as the worst team in the FBS, and The Athletic ranks the Aggies as the second worst. They’ve also won the third-fewest games in FBS since 2017, only behind UConn and UMass. In week zero New Mexico State hosted a Nevada team that returned the fewest amount of production in the FBS, led by a first-year head coach. The Aggies did look competent, something they have not shown against FBS competition in quite a long time, but their 23-12 loss was far from appealing football to watch. In general, Kill deployed two different starting QBs, scored only one TD as an offense and committed five turnovers. After out-gaining Nevada 303-257 in total offense, the most optimistic Aggies fans could argue they’re not the worst team in FBS, but they will likely continue to flirt with that distinction in 2022-23.
Gophers’ path to victory:
If last year’s Bowling Green game taught Gophers fans anything, it is to not overlook any opponent, especially when their head coach used to don the Maroon & Gold and is motivated for “revenge.” Bowling Green was in a different situation as a program last season. With a third-year head coach, a veteran quarterback and one week removed from their first win as a program, they had a bit more momentum as a team heading into their matchup with the Gophers.
New Mexico State used two different quarterbacks in week zero against Nevada. I would expect the same to likely happen, or true freshman Gavin Frankes to get the nod, who looked far more comfortable than Diego Paiva. The three interceptions and fumble for Paiva could very well result in a reduced role against the Gophers. New Mexico State looked very inexperienced, and new against Nevada, something you would expect for a team with 45 new players and new coaching staff.
I would expect the Gophers to rely on their talented running backs and veteran offense in week one. Although, I would not be shocked if we see Kirk Ciarrocca and the passing game show off what they’ve been working on early, but this is a type of game that Minnesota doesn’t really need to put much of its intensive playbook on film. So, after allowing 4.0 yard per carry to a very inexperienced Nevada team, I expect Ibrahim, Potts and the Gophers’ new-look offensive line to prove that they’re still the strength of this offense, in (hopefully) a convincing victory.