Athlon: Minnesota Football: 2018 Gophers Preview and Prediction

BleedGopher

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per Athlon:

P.J. Fleck's last program (Western Michigan) improved its win total by seven games from his first year to the second season. A similar jump in Minneapolis is unlikely, but improvement should be noticeable. Minnesota's bowl hopes rest on QB play after this team threw just seven touchdown passes in league play last fall. Fleck is counting redshirt freshman Tanner Morgan to claim the job. Quarterback isn't the only question mark on offense. This unit needs more playmakers to emerge to complement wide receiver Tyler Johnson and running back Rodney Smith. Additionally, the line returns only one player who started every game last fall. The defense -- which allowed only 22.8 points per game in 2017 -- is solid, but it won't matter much in Big Ten play if the offense doesn't take a big step forward.

Final Analysis

For the third time in four seasons, Minnesota figures to enter November still in search of an elusive sixth win -- and bowl eligibility. A year ago, in Fleck's first season at Minnesota, the Gophers lacked depth and talent and finished at 5-7, including 2-7 in the Big Ten. It marked the first time Minnesota had missed a bowl since 2011.

"The outside people are going to say, "What about your wins?"" Fleck said during the spring. "Again, I'm not worried about all that. I'm not worried one bit about any of the wins and losses. I'm worried about developing this football team."

Fleck, who took Western Michigan from 1-11 to 8-5 in Year 2 in Kalamazoo, received a one-year rollover contract extension at Minnesota during last season and now has five years remaining to build the program in his image.

NATIONAL RANKING: 73
BIG TEN WEST PREDICTION: 6

https://athlonsports.com/college-football/minnesota-football-2018-gophers-preview-and-prediction

Go Gophers!!
 


Fair enough review. I personally would like to see a win over Wisconsin. That would show improvement.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
 





The O-Line play, health, and team depth are crucial to any offensive production gains this coming season. Keep your fingers crossed. That said, I think at a minimum six wins is very doable.

It appears that PJ Fleck is focusing on the defense this recruiting cycle. Will he take another offensive lineman? So far, JJ Guedet is the only OL commitment.
 

for me, the 'value' of the pre-season publications goes like this:

on this site, we are looking at the program from the inside. Athlon, Street & Smith's, etc are looking at the program from the outside. the mags are going to have a different perspective than the fans. And, it can be valuable to know how other people view your situation. Sometimes, a view from the outside can be more optimistic - sometimes less optimistic - but at the very least, it tells us how other people - people who do not have any emotional attachment - view the current state of the program.

as far as the substance of the article: on the one hand, it says "improvement should be noticeable," but later, it says the Gophers will be "in search of an elusive 6th win." so, they're saying the team will be better, but the record won't be better. a bit of a contradiction, there.
 







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