Because the first few games are usually out of conference foes against teams that are not as good, it may be too early to tell much about future opponents. I am just throwing this out there for discussion's sake on thoughts of our future conference opponents for the year.
We are proving that our program is growing in the right way, so far..There may be 'bumps' in the road but I see improvement in the confidence, as well as execution of the offense, of Conor Rhoda for sure, as well as the receivers.. The o-line is coming along and I think the coaching staff has done a great job in play calling to reduce the risk of sacks given up. So I am more confident now than earlier that we can play with whoever is the next opponent.
Maryland is a team that I think will be way better than we thought at the beginning of the year. This would not be any major deal but I cant help to think DJ Durkin, who was a defensive assistant FOR MICHIGAN for a year, did have a little extra grin when he beat Texas led by the offensive genius formerly at OHIO STATE, Tom Herman, at Austin. They are recruiting athletes to be competitive in that eastern side of the Big Ten, for the long term future success.
Purdue was within a TD of Louisville and I do think Jeff Brohm's offense will be prolific if not this year, in the near future.
Michigan State needs consistent play but I would not necessarily discard them as an 'also-ran'.. They are not that far removed from competing for Big Ten titles though they took a hit with some players not with them anymore.. I think Mark Dantonio is a good enough coach to 'right the ship' so I will be interested to see how Minnesota performs against them.
Illinois is a program that may have talented individuals but I think Minnesota will win this homecoming game, I am the most confident in this game but never overly confident.
Iowa is a team that always seems to get better as the year progresses..In the Iowa State game, Matt Campbell is a great coach who has improved Iowa State and they are a state rival, but Iowa didnt look that great against the Cyclones.. I think Minnesota can sneak out of Iowa City with a win.
Michigan is always a tough game... Their defense is going to be really good.. Their problem has been really spotty QB play but they have the athletes to compete with anyone they face. Those defensive tackles they have are studs. This will be the game that our o-line will have as a measuring stick, to see how they have progressed.
Nebraska was impressive in coming back on Oregon so they cant be all that bad...I think if the Gophers execute like they did against Oregon State that we will be fine though the caliber of athlete at Nebraska will be better than what we saw against the Beavers.
I did not see the game against Duke to know if it was just one of those days or if Northwestern is just not as good as I heard earlier. I just know i felt a lot better about playing Northwestern after hearing the score of the Duke game. We can beat those guys!!
Wisconsin is a team we all hope gets worse but they seem to be chugging along just fine... That young RB they have is good.. I think Wisconsin is as big of a mental hurdle for the Gophers as anything. It would do WONDERS FOR TEAM CONFIDENCE if we could finish off the Badgers. Wisconsin is a team that isn't going to beat itself very often with silly mistakes so hopefully this is a culmination of all the lessons PJ Fleck has imparted to the players for an upset to end the season.
We are proving that our program is growing in the right way, so far..There may be 'bumps' in the road but I see improvement in the confidence, as well as execution of the offense, of Conor Rhoda for sure, as well as the receivers.. The o-line is coming along and I think the coaching staff has done a great job in play calling to reduce the risk of sacks given up. So I am more confident now than earlier that we can play with whoever is the next opponent.
Maryland is a team that I think will be way better than we thought at the beginning of the year. This would not be any major deal but I cant help to think DJ Durkin, who was a defensive assistant FOR MICHIGAN for a year, did have a little extra grin when he beat Texas led by the offensive genius formerly at OHIO STATE, Tom Herman, at Austin. They are recruiting athletes to be competitive in that eastern side of the Big Ten, for the long term future success.
Purdue was within a TD of Louisville and I do think Jeff Brohm's offense will be prolific if not this year, in the near future.
Michigan State needs consistent play but I would not necessarily discard them as an 'also-ran'.. They are not that far removed from competing for Big Ten titles though they took a hit with some players not with them anymore.. I think Mark Dantonio is a good enough coach to 'right the ship' so I will be interested to see how Minnesota performs against them.
Illinois is a program that may have talented individuals but I think Minnesota will win this homecoming game, I am the most confident in this game but never overly confident.
Iowa is a team that always seems to get better as the year progresses..In the Iowa State game, Matt Campbell is a great coach who has improved Iowa State and they are a state rival, but Iowa didnt look that great against the Cyclones.. I think Minnesota can sneak out of Iowa City with a win.
Michigan is always a tough game... Their defense is going to be really good.. Their problem has been really spotty QB play but they have the athletes to compete with anyone they face. Those defensive tackles they have are studs. This will be the game that our o-line will have as a measuring stick, to see how they have progressed.
Nebraska was impressive in coming back on Oregon so they cant be all that bad...I think if the Gophers execute like they did against Oregon State that we will be fine though the caliber of athlete at Nebraska will be better than what we saw against the Beavers.
I did not see the game against Duke to know if it was just one of those days or if Northwestern is just not as good as I heard earlier. I just know i felt a lot better about playing Northwestern after hearing the score of the Duke game. We can beat those guys!!
Wisconsin is a team we all hope gets worse but they seem to be chugging along just fine... That young RB they have is good.. I think Wisconsin is as big of a mental hurdle for the Gophers as anything. It would do WONDERS FOR TEAM CONFIDENCE if we could finish off the Badgers. Wisconsin is a team that isn't going to beat itself very often with silly mistakes so hopefully this is a culmination of all the lessons PJ Fleck has imparted to the players for an upset to end the season.
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