BleedGopher
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per Cleveland.com:
Chance to beat Ohio State: 6 percent. P.J. Fleck's first season at Minnesota did not feature a good passing attack. The Gophers' quarterbacks combined to throw just nine touchdown passes last year. And with only one scholarship quarterback on the roster in redshirt freshman Tanner Morgan, odds are it may not get much better. His backup might be Zack Annexstad, a freshman who walked onto the team after playing his high school football at IMG Academy.
The good news for Minnesota's passing game is that it returns its top three receivers from last season including Tyler Johnson (35 catches, 677 yards, seven TDs). However, Johnson is the only returning receiver who caught a touchdown in 2017. If Minnesota is going to make any noise this fall, it needs to get a massive improvement in the passing game. Minnesota threw for just 126 yards per game and completed 47.2 percent of its passes. Its 1,512 yards passing was No. 122 in the country, and nine TD passes tied for No. 119 with Michigan and Old Dominion.
The Gophers were much better running the ball than throwing last seaosn, finishing No. 46 in rushing yards per game (182.3). Rodney Smith, who led the team with 977 yards on 229 carries, returns along with Shannon Brooks (79 carries, 369 yards, five TDs). Minnesota also has four starters back on its offensive line including senior tackle Donnell Greene and senior center Jared Weyler. Any success that the Gophers will have on offensive is going to have to come from the run game.
Minnesota's defense returns seven starters, but was poor against the run last season. The Gophers were tied for No. 75 in rushing defense (172.2 yards per game). And they return two starters on the defensive line including junior Carter Coughlin, who had a team-high 6.5 sacks.
Six starters return in the back seven of Minnesota's defense, including linebacker Thomas Barber, who was the team's top tackler last year with 115, nine of which went for a loss. Senior defensive back Jacob Huff returns as a key playmaker on the back end of the defense. He had a team-high three interceptions and made 65 tackles.
Fleck is entering his second season at Minnesota, and he has a lot of work to do. If the Gophers want to make moves up the Big Ten West, they need to improve at quarterback and rush defense. Those two things are not good recipes when facing Ohio State, which was No. 7 against the run in 2017 (108.8 yards per game). There is room to go up for Minnesota in the West. But when it comes to this game, Ohio State should have little problem beating Minnesota for the 10th time in a row.
https://www.cleveland.com/expo/sports/erry-2018/07/51fb4c408e3290/can_minnesota_beat_ohio_state.html
Go Gophers!!
Chance to beat Ohio State: 6 percent. P.J. Fleck's first season at Minnesota did not feature a good passing attack. The Gophers' quarterbacks combined to throw just nine touchdown passes last year. And with only one scholarship quarterback on the roster in redshirt freshman Tanner Morgan, odds are it may not get much better. His backup might be Zack Annexstad, a freshman who walked onto the team after playing his high school football at IMG Academy.
The good news for Minnesota's passing game is that it returns its top three receivers from last season including Tyler Johnson (35 catches, 677 yards, seven TDs). However, Johnson is the only returning receiver who caught a touchdown in 2017. If Minnesota is going to make any noise this fall, it needs to get a massive improvement in the passing game. Minnesota threw for just 126 yards per game and completed 47.2 percent of its passes. Its 1,512 yards passing was No. 122 in the country, and nine TD passes tied for No. 119 with Michigan and Old Dominion.
The Gophers were much better running the ball than throwing last seaosn, finishing No. 46 in rushing yards per game (182.3). Rodney Smith, who led the team with 977 yards on 229 carries, returns along with Shannon Brooks (79 carries, 369 yards, five TDs). Minnesota also has four starters back on its offensive line including senior tackle Donnell Greene and senior center Jared Weyler. Any success that the Gophers will have on offensive is going to have to come from the run game.
Minnesota's defense returns seven starters, but was poor against the run last season. The Gophers were tied for No. 75 in rushing defense (172.2 yards per game). And they return two starters on the defensive line including junior Carter Coughlin, who had a team-high 6.5 sacks.
Six starters return in the back seven of Minnesota's defense, including linebacker Thomas Barber, who was the team's top tackler last year with 115, nine of which went for a loss. Senior defensive back Jacob Huff returns as a key playmaker on the back end of the defense. He had a team-high three interceptions and made 65 tackles.
Fleck is entering his second season at Minnesota, and he has a lot of work to do. If the Gophers want to make moves up the Big Ten West, they need to improve at quarterback and rush defense. Those two things are not good recipes when facing Ohio State, which was No. 7 against the run in 2017 (108.8 yards per game). There is room to go up for Minnesota in the West. But when it comes to this game, Ohio State should have little problem beating Minnesota for the 10th time in a row.
https://www.cleveland.com/expo/sports/erry-2018/07/51fb4c408e3290/can_minnesota_beat_ohio_state.html
Go Gophers!!
