2012 Record: 6-7 (2-6 in Big Ten)
Head Coach: Jerry Kill (9-16 at Minnesota, 136-89 All-Time)
Last Bowl Game: 2012 Meineke Car Care Bowl: lost to Texas Tech 34-31
Stadium: TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, MN (capacity = 55455)
Home Field Advantage: ranked 43rd out of 69 BCS teams
Schedule Glimpse:
Out of Conference: 8/29 vs UNLV, 9/7 at New Mexico St, 9/14 vs Western Illinois, 9/21 vs San Jose State
Toughest Home Conference Games: 10/26 vs Nebraska, 11/9 vs Penn St, 11/23 vs Wisconsin
Toughest Road Conference Games: 10/5 at Michigan, 10/19 at Northwestern, 11/30 at Michigan St
Statistical Snapshot:
Stat to Fear: converted on just 36.31% of third downs (10th in B1G)
Stat to Cheer: improved scoring defense from 31.7 ppg in 2011 to 24.7 in 2012
Advanced Stats (Football Outsiders 2012 FEI Ranking): 74th out of 124 teams
Personnel:
Phil Steele's Returning Starters: Offense: 10, Defense: 6, Special Teams: 1
Key Defensive Returnees: DT Ra'Shede Hageman (35 tackles, 6 sacks), CB Derrick Wells (74 tackles), LB Aaron Hill (74 tackles)
Key Offensive Returnees: QB Phillip Nelson (873 yds pass, 8 TD, 8 INT), RB Donnell Kirkwood (925 yds rush, 4.24 ypc, 6 TD)
Top 2013 Recruits: OLB De'Vondre Campbell, WR Drew Wolitarsky, RB Berkley Edwards, DE Hendrick Ekpe
Verdict:
The Golden Gophers are a team that has definitely improved since the arrival of Jerry Kill. There is no doubt about that. But they still seem like a team that needs to do just about everything right to win instead of relying on talent to win in certain situations. The one team that Minnesota beat last year that finished the season with a better record than them was Syracuse. In my eyes, that puts Minnesota as a team that will win the games they are supposed to but will struggle against more talented teams that are favored to beat them.
The offense improved last year as they scored 22.1 points per game versus their 2011 total of 18.4 ppg but 22 points per game still makes it very tough to put out a winning product. Phillip Nelson took over at QB at the end of the year last season and as a freshman he had some good games (Purdue, Illinois) and he had some bad ones (Nebraska, Michigan State). Donnell Kirkwood emerged as a threat at RB last year and will return as the go-to-guy in his junior season. The Gophers need more production from the WR position as they don't return anyone who caught more than 20 balls last season. The OL should be a strength as they return 100 starts which is 8th in the Nation.
Defense is a spot where you can really see the improvement of the Gophers. They trimmed off 7 ppg from their 2011 season, they allowed over 50 less yards, they improved on third down and they made it more difficult for opponents to score TDs in the red zone. The bad news for Minnesota is that they lose their top two tacklers and three of their top five. The big turnover will be in the LB corps where they lose two starters.
When I look at Minnesota, they've definitely progressed where they are out of the B1G basement and are a team on the rise. The question for this year is if they can continue to rise or if they will plateau. The next step for this team is to once again go to a bowl but this time to come out victorious. They return a lot of starters on offense but the progression of those starters will make or break this season.
Prediction: 5-7
Previous 2013 Pre-Season Previews:
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