Promising new recruit

Dwayne Mitchell, a 6'2", 215lb linebacker from Louisiana, has made an oral commitment (giggity) to become a Golden Gopher next fall.

From neworleans.com:

"Dwayne is very explosive player, very hard working. He loves the game. Minnesota is getting a great football player and a great young man. He is academically qualified and will be a great contributor on and off the field at Minnesota. He was All-State, All-Metro and the district MVP. He squats 405 pounds, benches 315 pounds. He went to Minnesota this summer and he liked it. " - Edna Karr head coach Jabbar Juluke

Minnesota Gophers Season Preview Part I

Don't look now (well ok, you can if you want to), but we're 15 days away from Minnesota and Syracuse kicking off the season in the Carrier Dome at noon on Saturday, September 5th. 15 days! From real, live actual college football! Or think of it this way: one week till the State Fair, where you can stuff your face with cheese curds, cookies and milk, and anything and everything you can imagine "On a stick." If your heart and arteries don't explode, then guess what happens the weekend after that? GOPHER FOOTBALL! The weekend after that? We get a brand spankin' new stadium. See, we'll get there. Opening Day is right around the bacon-on-a-stick corner.

So looking ahead to that most glorious of days, just what CAN we expect from your 2009 Minnesota Golden Gophers? The national pundits, from websites to TV to preseason mags, have the maroon and gold slotted at 5-7 wins, which would put them anywhere from 7-9th in the conference. From what we know, and with all the question marks this team faces after last year's horrible finish, 5-7 wins is not unfair. Not at all. I like it because the Gophs can fly under the national and conference radar for another season. If they blow up and things go right, then everyone loves us. If we see some struggles in coach Tim Brewster's third year, then that's what everyone expected.

But what should WE as Gopher fans expect? I'm going to start to tackle that one today. I think 5 wins in 2009 is the absolute basement for this team, and I'd be shocked if it happens. It would definitely be disappointing to take a step backwards in season three under Brewster, and I don't see it happening. Regardless of all the question marks, I think the Gophs should expect to go bowling again in 2009, even if it's back to the Insight Bowl or the dreaded Motor City Bowl. If we want to do better than that, however, a lot of things are going to have to go well. We'll break down the conference more later, but the quick summation would be that the talent level overall is better than last year, and only the two schools from the Hoosier State don't have a legit shot at going bowling. After Ohio State and Penn State at the top (both of whom are being overrated to start the year), you've got a logjam of 7 teams battling it out for positioning. Some, like Illinois, Iowa and perhaps Michigan State, have a shot at the conference title, while Wisconsin, Northwestern, and your Golden Gophers could go to a New Year's Day bowl if things break right for them. Michigan should at least double it's win total from last year to be bowl eligible, but they're another year away from fighting for a top four finish, let along the conference title.

So as Jer and others have said, even if the Gophers have a better team this year than last, it might not show up in the win column because the conference as a whole is that much better. In my wildest dreams, I don't think a trip to Pasadena is in store, but a New Year's Day bowl IF a lot of things happen and develop, is a possibility.

I'll split this into three parts, starting today with a look at the roster. We have a few areas of no concern, and plenty others with a lot of questions. Here's my positional list from least concerning to most concerning:
QUARTERBACK
Adam Rittenburg ranked the Gophers as the second best unit in the conference, and you will get no argument here. Incumbent starter Adam Weber will be capable, and anything we get from Marqueis Gray is gravy. And I expect the Gravy Train to be flowin' this year!

RECEIVERS
We know Eric Decker's the second best receiver in the conference, and is rightfully getting some preseason All-American love. With him as the anchor, there's plenty of talent behind him that's going to sort itself out. The coaching staff seems to have zero concerns about JC transfer HAYO! Carpenter starting opposite Decker, and he should provide the big play receiving threat we've lacked here since...well...probably ever. I think Troy Stoudermire takes a big step this year to becoming a dangerous offensive weapon, and then we still have sophs Brandon Green and Da'Jon McKnight, senior Ben Kuznia and a stable of solid TE's.

LINEBACKERS
Lee Campbell and Simoni Lawrence were hugely productive last year, and there's some good young talent fighting for the third starting spot. If Sam Maresh can return to his high school All-American form at some point this year, this will be one of the conference's most productive units.

OFFENSIVE LINE
This was the most disappoint group from the 2008 team, and their performance this year will determine whether the Gophers even get to a bowl or are playing somewhere on New Year's Day. With the influx of talent in transfers Matt Carufel and Jeff WHACHUTALKINBOUT Wills, the return of now experienced veterans AND the switch to a blocking system that plays to the strengths (both literally and figuratively) of the guys here, I'm VERY optimistic about this group.

RUNNING BACKS
Will they be great? No, but all I'm hoping for is for them to be effective. They were well on their way before Duane Bennett got hurt midway through the year, and the lack of depth and crappy blocking doomed the running game. Along with the big "hog mollies" up front being better, between returning starters Bennett and DeLeon Eskridge, and redshirt frosh Kevin Whaley, they should be able to piece together a serviceable running game. Key word there is "should."

DEFENSIVE BACKS
We have the best corner in the conference in Big Play Traye Simmons, but after that there's a lot of unknowns. Returning starter Marcus Sherels was good at times, but got torched at others. There's been a good battle in camp for the nickel corner, but the guy I want to win that job is true freshman Michael Carter. The four star recruit from Florida did not spurn West Virginia to come here and ride the pine. He's been turning heads in practice, has more natural ability than anybody else in the group but Simmons, and the sooner he plays the better. With that kind of ability I'd throw him into the fire early and often and let his instincts and skills take over, and I think and hope he's starting by October. That would only help the corner depth and talent behind him. At safety, I tried to downplay it earlier, but losing Tremaine Brock to academic issues is a big blow. Sconnie transfer Kim Royston should be fine, but can he be the playmaker Brock was? At the other safety spot returning starter Kyle Theret was solid against the run, but suspect in coverage. That has to improve.

SPECIAL TEAMS
Always overlooked and underappreciated, yet always important, the Gophers special teams has to be better. We need consistent kicking from 40 yards in, better punting, and better kick and punt coverage as a whole. I'm not so worried about the talent returning kicks and punts, but everything else needs to be better.

DEFENSIVE LINE
Many of the same questions facing this year's group were there last year, and for the most part, the surpised all of us. Like the entire defense, the line sputtered down the stretch, but overall they were still much better than anticipated. A major, major, MAJOR part of that was defensive end Willie VanDeSteeg, whose graduation was the biggest loss from last year's team. He led the team in sacks with 10.5, and helped the Gophs to lead the conference with 34 in 2008. Senior Cedrick McKinley is first in line to fill his shoes, but it's going take a group effort to try and repeat last year's surprise performance. There's a LOT of questions facing this group, and hopefully they give us some good answers starting against Syracuse.

The Big Ten Is Better than You!

The Big Ten counted to infinity- twice.
The Big Ten CAN slam a revolving door.
The grass is always greener on the other side, unless the Big Ten has been there. In that case the grass is most likely soaked in blood and tears.
The Big Ten fought Chuck Norris and...well it lost, because he's Chuck Norris. Nobody beats Chuck Norris, except himself.

So the Big Ten can't defeat Chuck Norris, or lately teams from other conferences in major bowls. But you know what? The Big Ten is still great, it's still valuable, and it's still as good or better than any other conference in the country. Do not pity the Big Ten, because the Big Ten does not need it. Yes, the on-field product needs to improve, and I believe it will sooner rather than later. There are nine potential bowl teams this year (everybody except the Indiana schools), with as many as four having a shot at knocking off Ohio State (Penn State, Illinois, Iowa, and Michigan State) for the Big Ten title. The conference has the best group of QB's outside of the Big 12, as well as two of the best wideouts in Illinois' Arrelious Benn and the U's Eric Decker, the usual bevy of quality tailbacks, and the defensive talent is good as always.

But what makes the conference truly great are the fans, who for some reason don't seem to get the same respect as those from the SEC. Sure, the conference doesn't have as many rabid fan bases as the Southeastern Conference (I would say 10 of the 12 in the SEC have fans who eat, sleep and breathe college football 24/7/365), but there's strength in numbers for the Big Ten that can't be matched even by those south of the Mason Dixon line.

Want proof? The only conference comparable in revenue is the SEC, and not only is the Big Ten's TV money (both with their own network as well as deals with ABC and ESPN) comparable to what the SEC is getting, but according to a story SI.com's Stewart Mandel posted on Monday, they're about to equal the SEC in New Year's Day bowls by adding an agreement with the Gator Bowl. They already send the conference champion to the Rose Bowl (aka the best bowl on planet earth), send their #2 team to the Capital One Bowl in Orlando (vs. the SEC), #3 to the Outback Bowl in Tampa (vs the SEC again), and now they're all but set to announce that #4 will play in the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville against the ACC's third best team. The fifth team would go to the Insight Bowl in Tempe, Arizona (who are bumping up their payouts for increased exposure) and it's rumored the sixth would go to the recruiting hotbed of Texas for the Houston Bowl in, of all places, Houston.

When the announcement is official (Mandel says in his piece that if/when the deal goes through the Big East, who are getting booted from the Gator Bowl, will announce they're going to send their #2 team to the Champs Sports Bowl. Well guess what the Big East announced on Tuesday?)
this will help the Big Ten keep pace with the SEC for the best and most valuable football conference in the country. Now all that's left to do is start winning those Big Bowls they get invited to. And it would help if Ohio State could beat USC Sept. 12th. It would help a lot.

Still, sponors, TV execs and the Bowls don't seem the least bit worried about the state of the Big Ten, because they're falling all over themselves to get a piece of it. So don't hate on the Big Ten, because The Big Ten does not sleep. It waits.

Boy, that escalated quickly... A lively debate

Well, well, well... it appears that my good friend Jeff has stirred up a little controversy here in Big10 country. Jeff had a post yesterday called "WHO HATES IOWA?!?" where he talked about the biggest villains in the Big10 as far as Gopher fans are concerned. Jeff listed 5 teams, but clearly the crux of the post leaned heavily on Iowa. Clearly every Gopher fan is entitled to their opinion, and several probably would put Wisconsin in the top spot. I, however, wholeheartedly agree with Jeff, in that Iowa is also my least favorite team.

In any case, Jeff's post struck a chord with some Iowa fans. How many we don't exactly know because several of the comments were posted anonymously, which is perfectly fine. What isn't fine, however, is the tone that this debate began to take in comment-land. Actually, I should rephrase that. The tone of the debate doesn't bother me so much as the language of the debate.

Look, I drop a cuss word every now and then (as far as you know), and I've been privy to hearing Jeff drop one or two as well. However, we do our best to keep it out of our writing. We would also appreciate it if those commenting kept it out of their writing as well.

In response to this, as the originator of this blog, I have deleted all of the comments from the "WHO HATES IOWA?!?" post. However, in the interest of full disclosure, lively debate, and fairness, I have copied and pasted all of the comments below, but I have censored the cuss words. I have taken the liberty of replacing these cuss words, and you will find the replacements in (parentheses and italicized). This is a family blog, and I don't mind the discussion, I just don't like some of the language in a public forum.

Please enjoy the debate if you haven't already been enjoying it, and please feel free to join the debate as well.

One more thing, just for the record, Kirk Ferentz was 4-19 in his first two seasons at Iowa. That's a .211 winning percentage. It will make sense why I mention this after you read a few comments.

-----------------

cappszilla said...

I will never forget, as a kid growing up in the post-Lou period of Gopher football, the phrase "I cheer for Minnesota and anyone who plays against Notre Dame." There are plenty of reasons for the average Joe football fan to hate Notre Dame, and a very special reason for Golden Gopher football fans to hate them.

I HATE IOWA!

August 18, 2009 8:33 PM

Anonymous said...

55-0

August 19, 2009 6:31 AM

Jeff said...

Ok so apparently Iowa fans are clever AND can use the internet! Maybe they're not so afraid of electricity after all. I'm going to go out on a limb though and say that "55-0" comment was not sent from a building more than 2 stories tall- unless it was a barn.

August 19, 2009 8:21 AM

PSD said...

it's a barn and inside are goalposts that still read Property of the University of Minnesota

August 19, 2009 9:18 AM

Anonymous said...

Tim Brewster FIGHT WIN HARD TRY WIN will take the Gophers back to prominence RAH FIGHT WIN TRY HARD VICTORY!!!!!!.

Gophers, you suck. And you suck bad.

55-0. It happened - even if Brewster doesn't include it on his website. Losers.

August 19, 2009 9:27 AM

Jeff said...

As much as I would like to defend Anonymous' last comment, it's unfortunately true: the official Gopher athletics site has no game story or recap of the 55-0 loss.

http://www.gophersports.com/SportSelect.dbml?SPSID=38609&SPID=3280&DB_OEM_ID=8400&Q_SEASON=2008

This is a little sad, but not unlike the Hawkeyesports.com failing to mention all the many, many, many, many player arrests the Hawkeyes have had in the past couple years.

Although I guess if they devoted all of their time to writing about player infractions, there wouldn't be space for anything else.

August 19, 2009 10:02 AM

Anonymous said...

Actually, Jeff, that isn't like that at all. That's a horrible analogy, but I wouldn't expect anything less.

Anyone else find it funny that Jeff spares no time to mention Iowa's run-ins with the law but negates the (sexual exploits of the) gophers?

Jeff, I realize FIGHT WIN HARD TWITTER Brewster has you frustrated. But don't be so (dang) stupid.

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/national_world&id=5482644

August 19, 2009 1:24 PM

Jeff said...

The Gophers well-docmented run-ins with the law happened under Mason's watch and with his players. Brew's Crew has had academic issues to be sure, but unlike Ferentz kids' (including his actual own kid, center James Ferentz, who's been busted twice in 6 months for public intoxication as a minor but is still on the team) they've steered clear of the police blotter to this point.

Is it true Ferentz is holding film sessions in the Iowa City clink so all of his players can attend?

And stupidity is part of my charm. I just FIGHT TRY WIN my way through it.

August 19, 2009 2:33 PM

Anonymous said...

Jeff,

Ferentz's own kid hasn't been busted twice for public intoxication. He was given a ticket for being in a car that had alcohol in it - and was busted for one intox this spring.

But why let facts get in the way of your little mouth-breathing rant?

Brewster's kids have academic issues? Color me surprised. Their coach can't even add up his (gosh darn) record correctly.

Remember the bull(crap) he posted on his FIGHT WIN HARD VICTORY TCF STADIUM Twitter bio?

"Minnesota Head Coach Tim Brewster has 21 years of coaching experience. Prior to joining the Maroon and Gold, Brew served tenures under coaching legends Mack Browm (sic), Marty Schottenheimer, and Mike Shanahan. Brewster has coached in 10 Bowl games and played in two as a player at Illinois. In total, Brewster holds a coaching record of 113-61-1 (.645). Coach Brewster also has made headlines as an outstanding recruiter. He has inked the likes of NFL stars Vince Young and Chris Sims (sic) at Texas and Alge Crumpler at the University of North Carolina."

...Uh, Tim, that's not your record, buddy.

http://www.blackheartgoldpants.com/2009/6/10/905173/wow-thats-a-really-nice-record-hey

Defend him. Go ahead, I'm waiting with my thumb straight up my (rear).

August 19, 2009 3:34 PM

M. Cello said...

Awesome blog. That's all.

August 19, 2009 3:35 PM

Anonymous said...

(Screw) that. This blog is the equivalent of the Bleacher Report.

August 19, 2009 4:00 PM

Jeff said...

Ok first off this article from espn.com states James Ferentz was sited for underage alcohol possession and had to attend counseling.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4047459

That's a little different than the picture you painted.

Second, you want me to defend what Brewster says on Twitter? Really? That's the be-all, end-all of what matters in a coach is his Twitter account? He's over-the-top optimistic and exuberant, which can definitely rub people the wrong way. Still, while I don't always agree with his style, or his Twitter comments, what he's doing is working. Recruiting has improved drastically and in just his second season he's already gotten the program in better shape than Glen Mason could get it in a decade. And, unlike Ferentz, Brewster's kids stay out of handcuffs.

Finally, you've done a great job making my point about what Iowa fans are like. Thanks and good night.

August 19, 2009 4:27 PM

Anonymous said...

I didn't paint (diddly), Jeff. I typed. Painting is for (I've just deleted this altogether, but will keep...) Iowa State graduates.

What Brewster is doing is working? Holy (gee dang crap) balls.

If what you want is AWESOME EXCITED YES EXCLAMATION losing seasons and an 8-17 (that's around .300 for those of you scoring at home) record... well, you can take it, I guess. I'd rather (do an unnatural act) with a tire iron, but that's just me.

August 19, 2009 4:37 PM

Bellanca said...

I'm just planning on doing Michigan this year like we do Minnesota every year. That will be fun. We have a new term for it: "Doin' Minnesota to ..." It's a Coen Bros. thing. Accents like "Raisin' Arizona ..." We're looking forward to "doin' Minnesota" to RichRod, and that little frosh QB he thinks is so good. My god. Have you seen Clayborn, Angererererererer, Binns, and Ballard lately?

And you dopes with your crime obsessions, we live in a small town and 300 lb NFL linemen stick out, which I know is something you're not used to (because you don't, like, produce good linemen?) so the po-leece-men take them downtown if they are hitting the PBR and trying to get invited to sorority parties, or whatever it is that is so cool about being 20 and talking to drunk girls. (Don't know, I like my girls sentient.) It's what you do before black powder season opens. We don't get a lot arrests during hunting season. Then the cops are out killing living beings. Anyway, ...

GO POW HOPE OH (POOP) PLEASE????? WE'RE (MESSED UP) AGAIN YAY NOT MY FAULT good luck, you really got whomped last year. Can you recover?

Don't think so.

Rittenberg nails it

Adam Rittenberg, ESPN's Big10 blogger, had a very interesting post this morning. I say interesting maybe only because Rittenberg actually spends some time talking about the Gophers. Okay, that's not true... he generally does a very good job of being an equal opportunity blogger about Big10 teams. (Unlike the Big Ten Network... has anyone else been completely overwhelmed with the amount of Ohio State coverage on BTN lately? I haven't checked it out this week, but last week was a bit much.)

Anyway, I found the piece interesting because in the back of my head I've been thinking the same thing about the Gophers, and I was afraid to say it. I have said many, many times (a phrase which you are certainly getting sick of), the Gophers could be a better team with a worse record. But what I've been reluctant to say is that the Gophers schedule is such that if things don't go exactly well... they could go very, very poorly.

I think Rittenberg sums it up perfectly when talking about the Gophers (& Illinois):

"You can make a good case for either team being the surprise of the Big Ten and reaching a January bowl game. Both squads could also crash and burn."

The piece also draws on all of the similarities between the Illinois and Minnesota programs, and the comparison is actually pretty stagering.

Syracuse Sub-plot

Syracuse head football coach Doug Marrone announced yesterday that the Orangemen will be lead at QB against your Golden Gophers on September 5th by Greg Paulus.

Last year at this time Paulus was a point guard for a little basketball program in North Carolina that you may have heard of called Duke. He started 100 games for the Blue Devils over four years and averaged 8.6 points and 3.4 assists/game. He ranks 6th all-time in Duke history for 3-pt field goal percentage, with 39.8%.

But let's focus on football....

Paulus was the Gatorade National High School Football player of the Year in 2004, and was Gatorade's National High School Athlete of the Year (for all sports) in 2005. He was a 4-time all-state player in New York and averaged 3 touchdowns/game and threw for over 12,000 yards in his high school career. Paulus was offered football scholarships at Miami and Notre Dame before choosing to pursue basketball. He also considered entering the NFL draft this past spring and actually worked out for the Packers in anticipation of doing so, but decided to go for his master's degree instead.

The guy's resume reads something like Bo Jackson's (except he was also a good student at Duke and is now going for his master's at Syracuse), and after just a week of football practice he has already beat out last year's Orangemen starter Cam Dantley, and sophomore Ryan Nassib, who was expected to start for Syracuse this season.

This becomes a no-win situation for the Gophers. If they beat Syracuse and beat up Paulus, the response will be "of course they did, the guy hasn't played competitive football in 4 years." And if he picks them apart... yikes.

WHO HATES IOWA?!?

It's said by people much older and wiser than me that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and so it is that I'm going to borrow an idea that ESPN.com is running right now for college football with its "Villians" segments. Adam Rittenburg ran a piece about some of the biggest villians of the Big 10, and it makes for an interesting read.

What I'm going to do is tweak the idea a little bit and give you the 5 most hated schools/people for your Minnesota Golden Gophers right here and right now. No surprise at who starts at #1...

1. IOWA HAWKEYES
Good lord almighty do I hate Iowa. I've watched a lot of sports in my time, and have hated a lot of teams (if you're wondering, and obviously you are, my most hated teams after Iowa look something like the Boston Red Sox, Duke hoops, Notre Dame football, Dallas Cowboys, the Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Raptors, Toronto Blue Jays, Toronto Argonauts, Toronto FC, and any other team, sport, club, or sports person associated with the city of Toronto. And I especially hate all three Toronto "national" sports networks), but after sitting through last year's 55-0 thrashing to close out the gawd-awful Metrodome at the hands of the Hated Hawks, well, Iowa is #1 on my list of hated teams and should be for every Gopher football fan. And it's not close.

Not only have Iowa kicked the crap out of Minnesota on the field, but their fans are the worst. The absolute worst. They should rank near the very top of the most passionate fan bases in the country (although honestly- what the hell else is there to do in Iowa? Exactly) and at the very bottom rung for class. The Floyd of Rosedale, or any swine for that matter, have more class and dignity and probably smell better than Hawkeye nation does, especially the throng that showed up last year at the Metrodome. I can't decide whether they were a-holes or d-bags, but I think the answer is yes. They're obnoxious, arrogant, classless, and also seem scared by tall buildings and electricity.

Of course what they're not afraid of is the Metrodome or the Gophers- and as much as it kills me to say it, they have every right to be. I hate the team and their fans with every fiber of my being, but they've earned the right to act like jerks because they have out and out owned Minnesota for the last 3 decades. Since moving from Memorial Stadium to the Metrodome in 1982, the Gophs are 8-19 against Iowa. Let's hope the TCF Bank Era is whole lot better for this rivarly than the Metrodome was. WHO HATES IOWA? WE HATE IOWA!

2. WISCONSIN BADGERS
The last two decades the "Border Battle Rivalry" for Paul Bunyan's Axe hasn't been a rivalry at all- the Gophs are a staggering 4-14 since 1991 and after last year's 35-32 heartbreaker at Camp Randall, have lost five straight in the series. I feel like this SHOULD be our biggest rival and most hated school (a la the Vikings/Packers rivalry) but because the series lately has been more one-sided than a fight between Brock Lesnar and McLovin, it's been tough for either side to get that real deep-seeded hatred going. Badger fans, who are like the polar opposite of Iowa fans, treat us like their annoying little brother, and Gopher fans can't help but think we're doomed before we've even reached kick-off. Not only that, but because Badger fans are the opposite of Hawkeye fans and the Camp Randall stadium experience is one you have to see in person, they're a tougher group to hate. I also just married into a Badger family, so I might be a little biased too.

With Scony coming to TCF Bank stadium this year with QB issues (they need to name Curt Phillips the starter and be done with it), and a suspect front 7 on defense, there won't be a better time for the Gophs to end the five-game skid and put a whoopin' on Bucky Badger. But of course I'm already assuming the worst.

3. MICHIGAN WOLVERINES
Another Gopher Trophy Game, another lopsided series for the Maroon and Gold. If you thought the Badger rivalry was bad, mutiply this one by ten. Thousand. Since 1967 the Gophers and Wolverines have played for the Little Brown Jug 39 times. The Gophs have won it three times. Three. 1977, 1986, and 2005. And that is it. 3-36. Michigan fans are like the quarterback and captain of the football team and we're the band geek who plays World of Warcraft- they don't even know we exist. While the Rich Rod Era has been a Lance Harbor-like fall from grace, the Gophers have a LONG way to go to be Jonathon Moxon.

Minnesota had their best chance in years- and possibly EVER- to knock off Michigan last season. The worst Michigan team in school history limped into the Metrodome as the Gophers were staring actual, real, possible New Year's Day bowl hopes square in the face. Instead of finishing off the wounded Wolverines and taking back the Little Brown Jug, it looked like Lloyd Carr Era Michigan all over again as they rolled to a 29-6 victory, outrushing Minnesota 232-83, and outgaining them 435-188. The loss was a kick in the groin for the Gophs and their fans, and was their second of five straight to end the season. I remember all too well sitting in our end zone seats with Jer, both of staring out onto the field with a bewildered look on our faces (part of that could possibly have been the Miller Lites. Possibly), wondering what in the world had just happened.

We've always hated Michigan because they've been, well, Michigan, and now, just when they're rebuilding and vulnerable, they're off the schedule the next two seasons. The hatred and loathing will have to wait til 2011.

4. PURDUE BOILERMAKERS
You cannot argue the top 3 but the next two are wide open for debate. I'm going with Purdue here because of the history during the Joe Tiller ERA from 1997-2008. The teams met nine times in that span, with the Boilermakers winning all but once, including six straight from '97-'02, but it's that one win, a 42-35 double OT thriller at the Metrodome in 2005, that I remember well. I remember sitting with Jer and his uncle and family in their section in the upper deck, watching the unranked Gophers fight like hell against a Purdue team that came in ranked #11 in the country. I remember the jubilation and joy we all felt after knocking off Tiller and the Boilermakers, and what a program-changing win we all thought it was (2005 is the same year the Gophs went to Ann Arbor and beat Michigan).

Looking back now, it was arguably the best year Mason ever had, and all it resulted in was yet another middle-of-the-road bowl. Still, while I don't have the hatred or distain for the Boilermakers that I do for the three aforementioned schools on this list, when Purdue rolls into town it feels like a rivalry game and one we SHOULD win- but seemingly never do. I think it's because before Tiller they were pretty much the Duke football of the Big Ten, and to see them rise to prominence with Tiller and Drew Brees and go to the Rose Bowl and bigger and better bowls- it just feels like that should be us instead of them. They became the Jonathan Moxon I want the Gophers to be. With Tiller retired the Boilers could finish last in the conference this year, but new coach Danny Hope is hitting the recruiting trail hard down in Florida, and with former high school All-American QB Robert Marvre transferring in for 2010, this matchup should heat-up again soon.

5. NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH
The Gophers have almost no history with the Irish, as they haven't played them since 1938, and yet I still hate them as much as anyone, and I don't think I'm alone here. The next time they play Notre Dame, you can be sure Gopher fans will be getting their "hate on" for the Golden Domers.

Do we have the OL horses to run a pro-style offense?

With the addition of Jedd Fisch to the Gopher Football staff replacing Mike Dunbar at the helm of the offense, and Tim Davis as o-line coach, there are clearly going to be some changes afoot.

The Gophers have a long tradition of being able to run the football, but when Tim Brewster took over the program from Glen Mason, the offensive focus shifted to the spread. While the spread offense can certainly be a successful offensive scheme to run out of (see Dunbar's California and Northwestern teams earlier in the decade), it is still a pretty huge philosophical change as far as offensive styles are concerned.

One of the trademarks of the spread is that the quarterback generally starts out in the shotgun formation. Having the quarterback in the shotgun allows for quicker passes, among other things. Because the QB is in the shotgun, and because the focus is on shorter, quicker passes, the offensive linemen are not required to hold their blocks as long and the spread actually favors smaller more athletic linemen to the traditional big, bulky earth-movers of the old 3-yards and a cloud of dust type of offenses.

This fact created two problems for Coach Brewster. First of all, the Gophers didn't have a lot of quick, athletic linemen to insert into the spread, and second, the O-linemen that they were bringing in to fill this type of void were very young and weren't ready for the Big10 primetime.

Enter a new problem: now that we have had a couple of years of trying to insert players who weren't built for it, or players who were new to it, into the spread, we're switching back to more of a pro-style, run oriented offense. Which begs the question, do we have the players on the offensive line to run this type of offense?

I won't pretend to have an answer to this question, but let's look at some of the pieces.

The Gophers are obviously just in the midst of the dog days of training camp, so we don't know who will be the eventual starters. It's safe to say that the coaches are taking this camp to allow the competition at several offensive line positions to dictate the starters. Since we don't know the starters for sure, we can speculate. And when I say we, I mean me. So, here's my best guess:

C - Jeff Tow-Arnett (6'2", 285#)
G - Matt Carufel (6'5", 303#)
G - Dom Alford (6'3", 332#)
T - Jeff Willis (6'7", 375#)
T - Matt Stommes (6'7", 296#)

So, just for fun, let's say this is the starting line-up. That being the case, our average offensive lineman is 6'4", 318lbs... and these numbers are clearly swayed a bit by Jeff Willis, who we might as well go ahead and just start referring to as "House," not to be confused with the fictional t.v. doctor, but possibly to be confused with, you know, a house. Willis is more of what you would call a prototypical pro-style offensive lineman. He's big... and big. He can get in front of people, he can stay in front of people, and he can move them out of the way when needed. And did I mention that he's big.

The rest of the O-line, if these are in fact the starters, are probably more likely there because of experience than size. Tow-Arnett probably isn't the prototypical Center for a pro-style offense, but he's got a lot of experience on the line including starting last year before getting injured. Trey Davis is Tow-Arnett's biggest competition, and neither has a size advantage in the race.

Carufel was the top prospect in the state in 2006 and a top 10 offensive lineman in the country that same year. At that time he shunned the Gophers and went to Notre Dame. Much to our delight that didn't work out and Carufel came back home. We should not feel bad that it didn't work out at Notre Dame, because Carufel is as talented an offensive lineman as we've ever had. He did his time on the practice squad last year, where he won scout team player of the year honors, and he promises to be a major piece to the running puzzle for the Gophers.

There are several other Gophers who have some experience that will likely get them some playing time this season as well, including Ned Tavale and Ryan Ruckdashel who are both seniors, and D.J. Burris who is a junior. Talented youngsters like Ryan Wynn and Chris Bunders are also likely to crack the playing time list in certain situations.

If you read this blog last season, you know that the offensive line was a major sore spot for me. Too small to hold up to an entire Big10 schedule; too inexperienced to get into a rhythm. With another year of experience in their corner, another off-season in the weight room under their belts, and two new coaches that will focus heavily on the importance of the o-line, there is bound to be improvement.

Let's hope it's enough to make a major impact against some great Big10 defenses.

We're Baaaaaaaaaack!!

Hey y'all! What's up? How's it going? What's happening? Jer and I are back! Back, I tell you, back! Just like the Gophers football team we know and love (or at least are getting to know and love), we are back for the 2009 season. I know, I know, we're pretty excited about it too. It's August, it's hotter and stickier than the furthest reaches of hell (or at least it was last week. This week? Back to more milder temperatures. Again, I'm not from Minnesota and therefore am used to milder summers, but I still don't understand why people were and are all up in arms about our sort-of lack of summer: really? You enjoyed last week when it was 90+ with 90% humidity? It's fun for you to sweat as much as you breathe? You enjoy melting to your car seat or getting second degree burns from the seat belt or steering wheel? Thanks but I'll take all the 70's the summer wants to throw at us), and the Golden Gophers are hard at work, preparing for their opener against Syracuse September 5th.

We will be here every step of the way, and if that's not enough (and really, how could it be?), please make daily visits to the Daily Gopher, The Rivalry, Esq., Buck Bravo (although I think he's writing at The Daily Gopher now), and all of the other fine blogs on our blog roll to your right, as well as Adam Rittenburg's Big Ten blog on ESPN.com, and Gopher beatwriters Kent Youngblood of the Strib and Marcus Freeman of the Pioneer Press.

Gopher news of the day is that two-a-days start today, so check with Youngblood and Freeman for updates. Youngblood has a few thoughts today on the defensive backs, and like the rest of us, there isn't much to gleen other than we're hoping like hell Scony transfer Kim Royston can fill the shoes at safety of dismissed Tremaine Brock. Both Royston and returning starter Kyle Theret are good at stuffing the run, but yet aren't that big and are at the moment questionable in coverage. We hope these guys will be good, but honestly, would either be starting for the teams in the top half of the conference this year? Doubtful, but we'll see how much they've improved. He doesn't mention anything about cornerback, but after Big Play Tray Simmons, I think the other starting corner and nickel corner are just as big a question marks. Sure we don't play in the pass-happy Big 12 or Pac 10, but teams are still going to test the other guys early and often until they prove they can make plays. Of course a lot of this will depend on whether we can get a pass rush going to put some pressure on the opposing QB.

We'll dive into more Gopher and Big Ten related stuff in the days ahead. Jer and I are just excited that football season is close, the Gophs are intriguing, and the Dome is Dead!

Welcome to Gopher Football Season

NFL training camps opened over the past 10-14 days, but for most of you out there, the football season didn't start until today. This morning, on his Twitter page, Coach Brewster posted this:

"Players did a great job on the Run Test! Everybody is hungry to practice for real this afternoon! It's a Great Day to be a Golden Gopher."

While it's a safe bet that Coach Brewster would proclaim any day to be a great day to be a Golden Gopher, you'd have to guess today is a big day for him. After a first season of severe (I checked the Thesaurus for words with a bit more punch than severe... I particularly liked caustic, oppressive, dour and punishing to describe Tim Brewster's first season at the helm) disappointment, and a second season of over-achieving (if you can call beating all of the teams you were supposed to beat, at least in hindsight), this third season will be very important for Brew.

The expectations and curiosities are enough even without mention that TCF Bank Stadium will be christened on September 12th against Air Force.

Jeff and I have been fond of saying that the Gophers could be a better football team this season that ends up with a worse record. And I still can see something like that happening. It's safe to say that the team should be improved, if for no other reason than that they are a year older and a year stronger.

But this incarnation of the Gophs sees a non-conference schedule like we have never seen before. We've had the odd California or Nebraska or Colorado sighting in the non-conference schedule over the past 3 decades, but can you remember a time when we faced 2 foes from BCS conferences? And all of this is on top of a Big10 schedule that pits us against the top 5 teams from last years standings and the conferences two best teams from a season ago in back-to-back weeks... on the road!

As far as individuals positions, Adam Weber is our starting quarterback, and outside of that all bets are off. I think this is a good move, both for Weber and the rest of the team. Weber needs some confidence after a bit of a down year last year, and the rest of the team just plain needs to be better, and competition will help.

As for us here at the blog, we'll do our best to be objective (please stop laughing), and we'll get crackin' on the podcasts within the coming weeks (which I'm sure at least 2 of you are excited about). Jeff has really carried the blog over the past several months while I've been slacking, and despite that fact that he's been planning a wedding (Congrats to Mr & Mrs Jeff who were married this past sultry Saturday), but I plan on getting back into the swing of things.

It's here folks, the most wonderful time of the year!

SKI-U-MAH!!!