Coming off their very successful 2014 campaign, MN played TCU, CSU (away), Kent State and Ohio prior to conference. This year the Gophers have played Buffalo, OSU (away) and MTSU. Kent State was awful in 2015 and Ohio wasn't very good. In 2017 OSU was awful and MTSU wasn't very good. If we compare the magnitude of MN's victories over these four schools, we can see that the 2017 performances were much more impressive than those of 2015. At this point, it's about all we have to go on.
Two game totals combined in each year for MN versus opponents:
Final scores--2015 (MN 37; OP 31) 2017 (MN 82; OP 17)
Passing yards--2015 (MN 444; OP 257) 2017 (MN 280; OP 329)
Rushing yards--2015 (MN 308; OP 230) 2017 (MN 454; OP 126)
Turnovers--2015 (MN 4; OP 0) 2017 (MN 1; OP 5)
I was at both the Kent State and Ohio games in 2015 and they were very poorly played and awful to watch.
Two game totals combined in each year for MN versus opponents:
Final scores--2015 (MN 37; OP 31) 2017 (MN 82; OP 17)
Passing yards--2015 (MN 444; OP 257) 2017 (MN 280; OP 329)
Rushing yards--2015 (MN 308; OP 230) 2017 (MN 454; OP 126)
Turnovers--2015 (MN 4; OP 0) 2017 (MN 1; OP 5)
I was at both the Kent State and Ohio games in 2015 and they were very poorly played and awful to watch.
