With a new QB, three new OL and a RB by committee it will be interesting to see if they can posses the ball as long as they have done in the past. Key will be can they limit penalties and turnovers with so many new faces?
Their WR Corp is very, very good and the strength on offense
Hard to believe, 24 hours from now we'll be discussing the game in its entirety.
The only thing I expect from this game is that neither team will blowout the other.
Otherwise, either team winning wouldn't surprise me. Straight up, I'd lean toward Minnesota (slight, not strong lean). ATS with NU +7.5 -- I'd take the Huskers (also a slight lean -- and I wouldn't touch it at +7). I kinda hope it's tight and tense heading into the 4th quarter. Great experience for our team.
I do think due to some inexperience in key spots, the Gophers are more vulnerable than typical.
I'd like to believe our d-line can create some chaos against their relatively inexperienced o-line. I won't discount the Gophers o-line still being somewhere between capable and pretty darn good (but a lot better later in the season). Their offensive line coach (also, run game coordinator), Brian Callahan, is one of the best. In his six seasons with the Gophers, he's produced 19 linemen who earned Big Ten postseason honors. He's also had two of his linemen drafted in the first two rounds of the NFL Draft. Callahan followed Fleck to Minneapolis from Western Michigan -- strong relationship, which is a big part of the Gophers' success. The o-line will certainly be inexperienced up the middle -- and more vulnerable than last year -- but I doubt they suck as their position coach is too good for that.
They are fairly loaded at WR, as you say. They also have the Preseason 1st Team All-Big Ten TE (Spann-Ford).
IF Athan Kaliakmanis gets time, he has the weapons. I do think the Gophers will open it up more than we're used to -- while still running the ball on a good chunk of plays (I'll guess it'll be fairly balanced). Kaliakmanis isn't truly new. He played 41.8% of the total snaps last season. His numbers were mediocre, but he did get his feet wet as a freshman. There is value in that.
The starting RB will be Sean Tyler -- and likely the bulk of the snaps. He's a speedster, unlike Ibrahim (who was more of a tackle-breaker with good wheels, but not game-breaking speed). He had over 1,000 yards rushing the past two seasons at Western Michigan. Looks capable of burning a lot of defenses, if he isn't wrapped up in short distance. I believe Tyler will also be a kicker returner. He had a 101-yard kickoff return for a TD last season. Speed to burn -- if he gets the room to do it.
Serious speed burst on this kick return:
SEAN TYLER RUNS IT BACK 100 YARDS FOR THE WESTERN MICHIGAN BRONCOS ✔️Subscribe to ESPN+ http://espnplus.com/youtube✔️ Get the ESPN App: http://www.espn.com...
youtube.com
Truly excited to see how our defense matches up. I have a lot of confidence in Tony White.
So many unknowns for both teams. I dig the mystery.
Run the ball effectively -- and don't turn it over. Ideally, own the clock as well. That's the simple key for us to win. Pretty obvious, I think.
It's certainly possible.
I'm excited to watch the Rhule era grow into something we can all celebrate and feel proud of!