Minnesota Football: 2017 game-by-game predictions
By Shane Lunnen
Minnesota hits the road for the first time in 2017 to take on Oregon State. Last year these two teams met in Minneapolis, with the Gophers winning 30-23.
The Beavers had a competition at quarterback entering fall camp, however that position has been settled now that head coach Gary Andersen named junior college transfer Jake Luton his starter. Luton played for Ventura Community College last season and set school records with 3,551 yards and 40 touchdowns. The Beavers will need to develop some receivers but junior running back Ryan Nall is back after running for nearly 1,000 yards and 13 touchdowns last season.
The defense wasn’t bad last season, just mediocre and certainly could not make up for the issues that the offense had. The defensive line is coming back and most of the linebackers. The secondary is young but has talent. Senior linebacker Manase Hungalu is arguably the Beavers best player, posting 83 tackles last year, three fumble recoveries and an interception.
This could be another close game similar to last year where Minnesota took over in the final quarter for the victory. The wildcard for Oregon State is Luton, who will only be starting his second game in FBS. If he develops some early chemistry with his receivers, they could have some success against the Gophers. We should expect another controlled pace by Minnesota in this one, with a heavy rushing attack. The Gophers survive a close one and head back home.