After winning 11 games in 2019, you would think the national media would be all about Minnesota football. That’s not the case, but why?
Beating South Dakota State by just seven points, then taking Fresno State to overtime and beating Georgia Southern by three points to start the season had Minnesota fans picturing another 5-7 win season under PJ Fleck.
Nothing seemed overly impressive about the Gophers, beating two Group of Five teams and one FCS foe by a combined 13 points, but everything changed slowly when Big Ten play began.
The Gophers beat Purdue and then smacked Illinois by 23 points. They then dismantled Nebraska, Rutgers and Maryland before upsetting Penn State to begin the season 9-0. No one could have imagined this type of start for the Gophers after the first three weeks but Fleck turned things around and it had a lot to do with finding a legit quarterback.
Tanner Morgan passed for 3,253 yards and 30 touchdowns with just seven interceptions, completing 66 percent of his passes. He had two elite targets in Tyler Johnson and Rashod Bateman who combined for 2,537 yards and 24 touchdowns and the latter will be back this season as an All-American candidate.
Unfortunately, 1,000-yard rusher Rodney Smith is gone, but he’ll be replaced by a just-as-effective junior in Mohamed Ibrahim who had 604 yards and seven touchdowns.
Also gone are Antoine Winfield Jr., Thomas Barber and Sam Renner, among others, on the defensive side of the ball. The Gophers return five starters to the nation’s 10th-best defense in the country and will almost undoubtedly have an even better offense.
So why isn’t Minnesota getting more respect on a national level?
It’s a good question considering the Gophers return the conference’s second-best quarterback in terms of production and arguably its best receiver.
As long as the defense maintains a top-five unit in the conference and the offense continues to improve, the Gophers will be a contender to win the Big Ten West unlike some major publications who are projecting them to finish anywhere from second to fourth behind Wisconsin, Iowa and even Nebraska.
Put some respect on the Gophers’ name in 2020.