Iceland12
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From The Oregonian in Portland.
Golden Gophers entering this season: It's a new era in Minneapolis — sort of — with Tracy Claeys officially taking over for Jerry Kill after holding the interim role for much of 2015 when Kill retired mid-season due to health reasons. Minnesota went 5-7 in the regular season but got an invite to the Quick Lane Bowl because there were not enough 6-win teams in the FBS, topping Central Michigan 21-14. Last season, the Golden Gophers ranked 24th nationally in total defense (345.9 yards allowed per game) and 45th in scoring defense (25.2 points allowed per game), but 103rd in total offense (358.9 yards per game) and 105th in scoring offense (22.5 points per game). Claeys fired offensive coordinator Matt Limegrover and replaced him with Louisiana-Lafayette's Jay Johnson in attempts to generate more points. That stout defense, meanwhile, lost many key pieces from last season.
Star power: Sophomore running backs Shannon Brown and Rodney Smith combined for 1,379 yards and nine touchdowns last season and should make up one of the Big Ten's best 1-2 punches in the backfield. Senior quarterback Mitch Leidner is 16-13 as a starter ranks seventh in school history in career passing yards (5,118) and eighth in career touchdowns (28), but is coming off a sub-par season where he completed 59.5 percent of his passes for 2,701 yards, 14 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He's also a threat with his legs, totaling 1,129 yards and 23 touchdowns in his career. Senior safety Damarius Travis, who is coming off a season-ending hamstring injury, should bolster a secondary that lost Eric Murray and Briean Boddy-Calhoun. As a junior in 2014, he totaled 61 tackles (3.5 for loss), five pass breakups, two interceptions, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery and picked up 10 tackles in the Golden Gophers' 2015 opener against TCU before getting hurt...
Threat level (1-5 scale): 4. This will be a solid measuring stick for the Beavers as Year 2 of the Andersen era begins. Yes, the Golden Gophers are a mediocre Big Ten team that normally would have fallen short of the postseason. But the Beavers are aiming to climb out of the Pac-12 cellar after going winless in conference play in 2015. At this point in Andersen's rebuilding project, opening on the road against a Power-5 opponent is still a tough task.
Early prediction: Minnesota 27, OSU 17
http://www.oregonlive.com/beavers/index.ssf/2016/08/sneak_peek_oregon_state_opens.html
Golden Gophers entering this season: It's a new era in Minneapolis — sort of — with Tracy Claeys officially taking over for Jerry Kill after holding the interim role for much of 2015 when Kill retired mid-season due to health reasons. Minnesota went 5-7 in the regular season but got an invite to the Quick Lane Bowl because there were not enough 6-win teams in the FBS, topping Central Michigan 21-14. Last season, the Golden Gophers ranked 24th nationally in total defense (345.9 yards allowed per game) and 45th in scoring defense (25.2 points allowed per game), but 103rd in total offense (358.9 yards per game) and 105th in scoring offense (22.5 points per game). Claeys fired offensive coordinator Matt Limegrover and replaced him with Louisiana-Lafayette's Jay Johnson in attempts to generate more points. That stout defense, meanwhile, lost many key pieces from last season.
Star power: Sophomore running backs Shannon Brown and Rodney Smith combined for 1,379 yards and nine touchdowns last season and should make up one of the Big Ten's best 1-2 punches in the backfield. Senior quarterback Mitch Leidner is 16-13 as a starter ranks seventh in school history in career passing yards (5,118) and eighth in career touchdowns (28), but is coming off a sub-par season where he completed 59.5 percent of his passes for 2,701 yards, 14 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He's also a threat with his legs, totaling 1,129 yards and 23 touchdowns in his career. Senior safety Damarius Travis, who is coming off a season-ending hamstring injury, should bolster a secondary that lost Eric Murray and Briean Boddy-Calhoun. As a junior in 2014, he totaled 61 tackles (3.5 for loss), five pass breakups, two interceptions, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery and picked up 10 tackles in the Golden Gophers' 2015 opener against TCU before getting hurt...
Threat level (1-5 scale): 4. This will be a solid measuring stick for the Beavers as Year 2 of the Andersen era begins. Yes, the Golden Gophers are a mediocre Big Ten team that normally would have fallen short of the postseason. But the Beavers are aiming to climb out of the Pac-12 cellar after going winless in conference play in 2015. At this point in Andersen's rebuilding project, opening on the road against a Power-5 opponent is still a tough task.
Early prediction: Minnesota 27, OSU 17
http://www.oregonlive.com/beavers/index.ssf/2016/08/sneak_peek_oregon_state_opens.html
