Stream of consciousness breakdown...

Like many out there, I've been reading as much stuff as I can on the Gopher Football team this fall... unfortunately I haven't taken any time to write about it.

I'll now take a stab at some kind of season preview.

Being the resident Gopher fan at work, I get asked a lot about how the season is going to go. My standard response is this: I'm expecting 5 wins. I think this would be a major improvement over last year, and might be enough to shut Reusse... but I doubt it.

I expect the Gopher's to be much faster on defense and much more in-sync on offense. I expect they will win 3 non-conference games (N. Illinois, Montana State & Florida Atlantic, all at home, losing to Bowling Green on the road), and two Big10 games (Indiana & NWestern both at home). The team is still inexperienced, so winning a game on the road will be tough, in addition to the fact that the Big10 road schedule is REALLY tough (OSU, Illinois, Purdue, Wisky).

If all goes according to my prediction (and why wouldn't it?) the Gophers will go into the final week of the season, welcoming Iowa, with a 5-6 record. And that's the trump card. On paper, Iowa is a beatable team, especially at home in the Gophers final game at the Metrodome. On the line: Floyd of Rosedale and a bowl game.

HOLY CRAP!!! How much fun would THAT game be?

And how huge would making a bowl game be for this young team? To give these guys an extra month of practice time would be a big help toward developing this team. Not to mention the fact that going from 1 win to 6 wins would be a massive improvement.

For the season, I expect...
... Adam Weber to be a solid starter, and do more with his arm than his feet, but...
... the offensive line to shuffle and struggle most of the year, so Weber will have to do more throwing on the run.
... David Pittman to make an immediate impact at a couple of offensive positions.
... the defense to be faster and improved, but still mistake prone.
... Coach Brewster and his staff to do a better job of managing the game (i.e. no blunders like when your opponent (NDSU) is on offense, is still in the huddle, and has only 5 seconds on the play clock... and Minnesota calls a timeout.)
... Jay Thomas to lead the team in rushing.
... Eric Decker to be in the top 3 in the Big10 in catches and recieving yards.
... Jack Simmons to be the top tight end in the Big10.
... Marcus Sherels & "Big Play" Trey Simmons to lead the team in interceptions.
... Simoni Lawrence to lead the team in tackles.
... IF the Gophers DO win 6 games and make it to a low-tier bowl game, Reusse will write an article saying that this accomplishment means nothing because Mason would have done the same thing.

SKI-U-MAH!