Minnesota Football: 2017 game-by-game predictions
By Shane Lunnen
Up first for the Gophers is a game against Buffalo. The Bulls are coming off a 2-10 season and are one of the worst teams in FBS.
The offense can’t be much worse than it was last year, where they averaged only 16.5 points per game. The towering sophomore quarterback Tyree Jackson returns after starting nine games in 2016. He’s a big guy at 6-foot-7, weighing 245 pounds and he’s looking to have a more productive year. Unfortunately there are questions at both wide receiver and running back, where the Bulls are replacing quality starters. The offensive line should be better though with four starters returning.
When an offense is not scoring points, the defense is usually hung out to dry. That was the case last year for the Bulls. Their rush defense was especially bad, ranking 124th in the nation. However there are eight starters returning and there is some hope for improvement. Nearly the entire back seven is returning, with their best player being junior linebacker Khalil Hodge. He led the team in tackles, with 123, a year ago.
There could be some incremental improvements this year for Buffalo, but this should be an easy opener for Minnesota. While still adjusting to life with a new quarterback, the Gophers rely heavily on their running backs to gash the weak defensive front of Buffalo. Five scores and over 250 yards later on the ground and this one is pretty much sealed. We’ll give the Bulls a garbage time touchdown for their efforts.