BleedGopher
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per the Lincoln Journal Star:
Although the weather outside is frightful (in some areas of our state), let's take a drive.
You might want to bring along some oars.
1. In pondering Minnesota's bowl win against Georgia Tech, a thought occurs.
The obvious answer in trying to select a favorite to win the Big Ten West Division in 2019 is — drum roll, please — there is no obvious answer.
I'm not saying Minnesota should be the pick, but P.J. Fleck's program has my attention because of his team's strong finish to this season. The Gophers won three of their last four games to finish 7-6. The victories were convincing upsets of Purdue (41-10), Wisconsin (37-15) and, on Wednesday night, Georgia Tech (34-10) in the Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit.
Next year the Gophers will welcome back nine offensive starters, including top running backs Rodney Smith and Shannon Brooks, expected to return from anterior cruciate ligament injuries that ended their 2018 seasons. Meanwhile, the defense, resurgent under new defensive coordinator Joe Rossi, will have eight returning starters, and star safety Antoine Winfield is expected to return from a season-ending foot injury suffered in the Big Ten opener in September.
“We have a bright future — for sure,” said redshirt freshman running back Mo Ibrahim, the Quick Lane Bowl MVP after rushing 31 times for 224 yards and two touchdowns. “We’re all coming together as a team right now.”
If it sounds like I'm rowing the boat for the Gophers, well, that's sort of the case. Smith and Brooks are proven weapons. Ibrahim flew under the radar in the Big Ten even though he finished with 1,160 rushing yards and nine touchdowns while averaging 5.7 yards per carry. He's a hard-nosed runner who trucked a Nebraska defensive lineman whose name I won't mention. He returns on offense along with receiver Tyler Johnson, who had 78 receptions for 1,169 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Northwestern won the division this season with a record of 8-1 while Iowa, Wisconsin and Purdue were 5-4. Nebraska and Minnesota were 3-6 and Illinois 2-7. The only team that you rule out as a potential division winner in 2019 is Illinois.
Although it may sound crazy, I'm actually going to wait until July to try to pick the winner. There will be roster movement in the offseason, with transfers potentially impacting the conversation. There will be coaching staff changes and injuries. When the race is as close as this one seems, with several teams involved, a lot of factors come into play because every little edge counts that much more.
No matter what transpires in coming months, it's difficult to imagine the Wildcats duplicating their 8-1 finish. Other than that, it's hard to say what will happen in the division. The race is evolving in an intriguing manner, with Minnesota and Purdue seemingly becoming much bigger factors in the league than Nebraska fans envisioned when the Huskers joined the fray in 2011.
Think of it this way: Purdue is only a 3½-point underdog to Auburn in the Music City Bowl.
Who saw that coming seven years ago?
And, yeah, keep an eye on Fleck's crew.
https://journalstar.com/sports/husk...cle_9f3db317-35e1-527f-88a9-18c2b4f7ece7.html
Go Gophers!!
Although the weather outside is frightful (in some areas of our state), let's take a drive.
You might want to bring along some oars.
1. In pondering Minnesota's bowl win against Georgia Tech, a thought occurs.
The obvious answer in trying to select a favorite to win the Big Ten West Division in 2019 is — drum roll, please — there is no obvious answer.
I'm not saying Minnesota should be the pick, but P.J. Fleck's program has my attention because of his team's strong finish to this season. The Gophers won three of their last four games to finish 7-6. The victories were convincing upsets of Purdue (41-10), Wisconsin (37-15) and, on Wednesday night, Georgia Tech (34-10) in the Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit.
Next year the Gophers will welcome back nine offensive starters, including top running backs Rodney Smith and Shannon Brooks, expected to return from anterior cruciate ligament injuries that ended their 2018 seasons. Meanwhile, the defense, resurgent under new defensive coordinator Joe Rossi, will have eight returning starters, and star safety Antoine Winfield is expected to return from a season-ending foot injury suffered in the Big Ten opener in September.
“We have a bright future — for sure,” said redshirt freshman running back Mo Ibrahim, the Quick Lane Bowl MVP after rushing 31 times for 224 yards and two touchdowns. “We’re all coming together as a team right now.”
If it sounds like I'm rowing the boat for the Gophers, well, that's sort of the case. Smith and Brooks are proven weapons. Ibrahim flew under the radar in the Big Ten even though he finished with 1,160 rushing yards and nine touchdowns while averaging 5.7 yards per carry. He's a hard-nosed runner who trucked a Nebraska defensive lineman whose name I won't mention. He returns on offense along with receiver Tyler Johnson, who had 78 receptions for 1,169 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Northwestern won the division this season with a record of 8-1 while Iowa, Wisconsin and Purdue were 5-4. Nebraska and Minnesota were 3-6 and Illinois 2-7. The only team that you rule out as a potential division winner in 2019 is Illinois.
Although it may sound crazy, I'm actually going to wait until July to try to pick the winner. There will be roster movement in the offseason, with transfers potentially impacting the conversation. There will be coaching staff changes and injuries. When the race is as close as this one seems, with several teams involved, a lot of factors come into play because every little edge counts that much more.
No matter what transpires in coming months, it's difficult to imagine the Wildcats duplicating their 8-1 finish. Other than that, it's hard to say what will happen in the division. The race is evolving in an intriguing manner, with Minnesota and Purdue seemingly becoming much bigger factors in the league than Nebraska fans envisioned when the Huskers joined the fray in 2011.
Think of it this way: Purdue is only a 3½-point underdog to Auburn in the Music City Bowl.
Who saw that coming seven years ago?
And, yeah, keep an eye on Fleck's crew.
https://journalstar.com/sports/husk...cle_9f3db317-35e1-527f-88a9-18c2b4f7ece7.html
Go Gophers!!
