I've always thought that this season,
my expectations are the Gophers are going to finish the season anywhere from a record of 8-4 (5-4 B1G) and 4-8 (1-8 B1G). Potentially,
a minimum low expectation of another 5-7 finish after a Maryland, Iowa, and tOSU losses and almost certainly going 0-3 at the start of B1G play.
This factors in the potential to win two against the following: Nebraska, Indiana, Illinois, Purdue, and Northwestern. Wisconsin will out class them again this year.
But, we all know they have a lot of work ahead with youth and inexperience. Now, injuries exposed the lack of team depth and experience in almost all aspects of the game.
They were outclassed by a Maryland team with better overall talent, more experience, depth, and team speed.
The
biggest glowing deficit to me as exposed by the nonconference games
is the Offensive Line. They were getting pushed around especially on the tackle spots. I remember thinking this is not going to work in the Big Ten.
Talent-wise, they are not there yet as Maryland has proven the leaks on the LT and RT on the O-Line to be legit. The TEs, FB, and RB not blocking or missing assignments aren't helping make the situation better. They need to help block successfully.
Watch Wisconsin's and Iowa's offense work on Youtube. They really execute their protection schemes well compared to the Gophers. Each player not running or catching the ball rarely miss blocking assignments.
The Gophers can't win many games with their QB hobbling and under constant relentless pressure. They will fix this in time with experience and maturity in the strength and conditioning program.
Compare the Gophers starting Offensive Linemen against Iowa's and Wisconsin's (See attachment), and we know the Gophers truly are are out-classed for Big Ten play. The Wiscy OLs looked bigger, tougher, stronger, and leaner on TV. But, the day will come when the Gophers will get to that level. PJ Fleck and his Gophers staff are paying attention to details.
Right now, there are just so many things to fix and not enough scholarships to give out in one year to address all their needs.
This season, they just need to play more underclassmen to give them the experience. The caliber of the OL as a unit is disappointing compared to their competition. They have a total of 18 Offensive Linemen 2 Seniors, 3 Juniors, 3 Sophomores, and 10 Freshmen. Senior Donnell Greene is getting beaten at the tackle spot. Jared Weyler plays solid at Center.
Of the Juniors, Dickson is red shirted (academics?), I don't know how effective Dovich and Oseland are. Sophomore Davis haven't shown much, and I don't know how Schlueter and Olson are doing.
They have 10 Freshmen. I think Andries is going to be a future star. I don't know which FR also played or whose red shirts will be burned. The Gophers have no choice but to play several. Hopefully, they red shirt Dunlop and Faalele. The foundation is there for a strong Offensive Line. IMHO, they need to recruit two or three each year.
The recent history of Gopher linemen is that they have a high attrition rate with people like Stieber, Moore, Connelly, Wright, and Calhoun gone through graduation, health, or other reasons. Now, I understand why PJ Fleck normally don't want to recruit JC players. The simple reason is the JC route is a quick fix. The penalty is you don't have them for four years. The Gophers did not have any choice due to the serious class imbalance. If Wright and Calhoun were still around, we would have felt better with the Gophers' chances.
If you look at Wisconsin and Iowa - we know the Gophers have long road to go reach their level of success with their Offensive Line. It starts with the hope of the strong FR class. I am not pleased that in 2019, the Gophers have only one commit - JJ Guedet. It is not over yet and maybe PJ Fleck will pull a late surprise with the two remaining scholies.
Take Wisconsin. They only have 17 Offensive Linemen listed. They have 3 Seniors, 4 Juniors, and 3 Sophomores. They are massive at 305 to 325 lbs. They have 3 solid Seniors, 4 solid Juniors, and 3 solid Sophomores. The remaining 7 are Freshmen. They have a balance in their Offensive Line. Their numbers seem to indicate program stability at this position class. They recruit well into their system with mostly 3 Stars who are developed in their program.
Iowa is taking their OL seriously as they have 21 on their roster: They have 3 Seniors, 3 Juniors, and 3 Sophomores. They have 12 Freshmen. Their starting lineup is not as big as Wiscy's on average, but IMO they have a very strong OL program. Now, maybe of the current 12 Freshmen there may be 3 or 4 left by the time they are seniors. I would expect that they must have a strong program with a high attrition rate due to the toughness of their program. Right now, it seems like the Gophers are just trying to put enough bodies on the line without sacrificing the long term development by burning too many red shirts.
The talent level for Minnesota in 2018 according to
247 Sports is #44. Their opponents: Maryland #21, Iowa #37, Ohio State #1, Nebraska #23, Indiana #54, Illinois #52, Purdue #67, Northwestern #39, and WI #30. This isn't the entire story because they are
only going by recruiting ranking.
Purdue, Illinois, and Indiana have shown improvements beyond their rankings.
In all seriousness, making it to a bowl this year will do wonders for the team going into 2019.
