BleedGopher
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per Judd:
The Gophers should open with nonconference victories over Buffalo, Oregon State and Middle Tennessee and stand a chance to be 7-0 after playing Maryland, Purdue, Michigan State (won only three games last season and one in the Big Ten) and Illinois. But they then close the season at Iowa, Michigan and Northwestern, with home games against Nebraska and Wisconsin sandwiching the matchup with the Wildcats.
Fleck, who went 1-11 in his first season at Western Michigan in 2013, knows his program has issues. He plans to play senior Connor Rhoda and sophomore Demry Croft at quarterback until one separates himself. The two have eight appearances and one start between them, making them the least experienced Power Five program at that position in the nation. Neither one is Fleck’s guy.
The Gophers’ issues with depth at offensive line make the Vikings problems look like nothing by comparison and the wide receiver position also lacks experience. The running back tandem of Rodney Smith and Shannon Brooks is solid – they combined for 1,808 yards rushing and 21 touchdowns in 2016 – but Fleck almost is certainly concerned about what type of blocking those two will get.
What should be a realistic expectation for this Gophers team? The prediction here is an overall record of 6-6 and a Big Ten mark of 3-6. Sorry, but I don’t see the Spartans game going their way and if it does there’s another Big Ten loss in there somewhere.
What will be most interesting is seeing how football savvy Fleck actually is – this should end any comparisons between him and Tim Brewster – and how he handles the inevitable adversity that comes with coaching this program.
Let’s be honest, this is a program that can make it difficult for any coach, even the Energizer Bunny-like Fleck, to keep a pep in his step.
http://www.1500espn.com/gophers-2/2017/08/zulgad-good-coach-p-j-fleck-gophers-fans-find/
Go Gophers!!
The Gophers should open with nonconference victories over Buffalo, Oregon State and Middle Tennessee and stand a chance to be 7-0 after playing Maryland, Purdue, Michigan State (won only three games last season and one in the Big Ten) and Illinois. But they then close the season at Iowa, Michigan and Northwestern, with home games against Nebraska and Wisconsin sandwiching the matchup with the Wildcats.
Fleck, who went 1-11 in his first season at Western Michigan in 2013, knows his program has issues. He plans to play senior Connor Rhoda and sophomore Demry Croft at quarterback until one separates himself. The two have eight appearances and one start between them, making them the least experienced Power Five program at that position in the nation. Neither one is Fleck’s guy.
The Gophers’ issues with depth at offensive line make the Vikings problems look like nothing by comparison and the wide receiver position also lacks experience. The running back tandem of Rodney Smith and Shannon Brooks is solid – they combined for 1,808 yards rushing and 21 touchdowns in 2016 – but Fleck almost is certainly concerned about what type of blocking those two will get.
What should be a realistic expectation for this Gophers team? The prediction here is an overall record of 6-6 and a Big Ten mark of 3-6. Sorry, but I don’t see the Spartans game going their way and if it does there’s another Big Ten loss in there somewhere.
What will be most interesting is seeing how football savvy Fleck actually is – this should end any comparisons between him and Tim Brewster – and how he handles the inevitable adversity that comes with coaching this program.
Let’s be honest, this is a program that can make it difficult for any coach, even the Energizer Bunny-like Fleck, to keep a pep in his step.
http://www.1500espn.com/gophers-2/2017/08/zulgad-good-coach-p-j-fleck-gophers-fans-find/
Go Gophers!!