Well, I'm not sure even the most positive MInnesota fans expected a romp at Bowling Green like this. Before I turn off the computer for a day of begging my fantasy team to produce, I thought I'd run through a list of good and bad from a surprising Saturday night.

The Good:

• Adam Weber was 21 for 25 for 233 yards, three TDs and no interceptions. He converated on a key 4th down pass in the third quarter when the game was still in doubt. Much improved from a season ago against Bowling Green, when a then redshirt freshman Weber turned the ball over.
• During the live blog last night, I kept writing that Weber needed another receiving option to compliment Eric Decker. That came from Duane Bennett who grabbed 8 catches for 100 yards and a score. Bennett also ran the ball 14 times for 49 yards before exiting with an injury. We'll update you when we hear more about his health.
• The Minnesota defense swarmed to the ball. The defense forced four fumbles, made six tackles for a loss and Tramaine Brock grabbed his first interception as a Gopher when the game was in doubt.
• Ted Roof's gameplan called for the use of a 3-4 defense. On occasion, the Gophers sent an extra rusher from this alignment. But the larger result was Minnesota's ability to stop the big plays we feared.
• Ball control. For those who don't like the spread because it's supposedly too pass-oriented, well, Mike Dunbar showed otherwise. Minnesota ran 45 times for 186 yards. Weber threw 25 passes. That's run heavy, and was a needed component against a BGSU team that could move the ball.
• The Gophers smelled blood and finished. Aided by a turnover prone Falcons team, Minnesota took advantage of its opportunities to put up 21 points in the fourth quarter to run away.
• Eric Decker was the best player on the field. Six catches for 86 yards and two touchdowns (one rushing, one receiving).
• Kick coverage. Minnesota did a fantastic job giving BGSU a long field after kickoffs. Jay Thomas forced the most important fumble of the game on coverage.
• Two wins. One more than last year. Congrats to Brewster and the team.

The Bad:

• Aside from Decker and Bennett, no receiver other than Ben Kuznia caught more than one ball. Freshman Brandon Green, Xzavian Brandon and JUCO transfer David Pittman saw action, but didn't see a pass come their way. Weber needs other wide receiving options. On the rare times he forced something, he was locked on Decker too long.
• During a hard-fought first half, the Minnesota defense remained susceptible to various types of bubble screens. The huge play didn't result, but this should be a focus of Roof's defense. With the vast majority of Big Ten team's employing the spread offense, this is a play we need to learn to stop.
• While the 3-4 defense might have helped stop the big play, Minnesota still rarely put pressure on BGSU's Tyler Sheehan. For most of the game, Sheehan picked apart the Minnesota secondary. He was 29 for 44 for 261 yards.
• Injuries. Duane Bennett went down. Nedward Tavale also was hurt on the same play. And center Jeff Tow-Arnett was banged up as well. Injuries are a part of the game, but Minnesota needs all three to be healthy.
• BGSU's Diyral Biggs picked up three sacks by maneuvering outside around Dom Alford.

Conclusion: This was a much closer game then the score indicated. But the Gophers created and took advantage of opportunities. The defense still has a long way to go in terms of disrupting the flow of the opponent's offense, but there was some improvment here to be happy. Weber was efficient and calm under duress. But he needs a wide receiver to step up to compliment Decker, whether it's Kuznia, Spry or one of the newcomers. Great win. Minnesota made a statement. They should be able to go 4-0 in the non-conference slate. Did I just raise expectations for Brewster's second team?

What are your thoughts?

Getting this up a little late today, please forgive, it's Saturday and drinks were numerous last evening.

Today is obviously about how good the Gophers can be in 2008. A win against Bowling Green could mean Minnesota will have a good chance to go 4-0 in the non-conference slate. And should that happen, a Glen Mason-level bowl game is a possibility. A loss today, or even worse a bad loss, and we'll undoubetdly see a Patrick Reusse column in the morning (strike that, we'll see that column next week. Vikings coverage will take precedence in the morning.)

Tonight's game is on ESPN U at 6:30 central time. We'll be launching a liveblog here shortly before the game starts. So, if you have ESPNU, we invite you to watch the game with your laptop at your side. If you don't have ESPNU, well, we'll provide up to date commentary and analysis.

• The Star Tribune reports that Tim Brewster thinks this team is improved, but is  watching intently like the rest of us. Interesting note I didn't know: Minnesota is the first Big Ten team since 1966 to play at Bowling Green.
• Minnesota blogger Buck Bravo previews the tilt with BGSU.
• Michigan Sports Center writes that this might be one of the most boring Saturdays of Big Ten football we've had in some time. Can't say I disagree. Marshall at Wisconsin? Blah. Eastern Illinois at Illinois? No thanks. Northern Colorado at Purdue? Eastern Michigan at Michigan State? Florida Int'l at Iowa? I'm sensing upset here!. Oregon State at Penn State? Could be competitive, but doubt it. Murrary State at Indiana? Fun! Northwestern at Duke? Blah. Ohio at OSU? Boring.
• BGNewsSports Blog has a preview of the Falcons' home opener against the maroon and gold.
• More previews!! This time from the Associated Press.
• "It's a game worth attending," writes Chris Voloschuk of The BG News. In the article he refers to Minnesota as the Land of 1,000 lakes. Does anyone else get annoyed when people forget about 9,000 of our natural wonders?
• LimaOhio.com quotes Tim Brewster as saying Bowling Green's win over Pittsburg was "very impressive." That was, of course, much more impressive than Bowling Green's GMAC Bowl loss to Tulsa to end last season. The score? 63-7. OUCH.
• The Minnesota Daily knows what the task is. The defense needs to show up. The Daily also confirms earlier reports that the newbie wide receivers will play. That includes David Pittman, Brandon Green and Broderick Smith.

A month ago this looked like it could be a tough game, but most Gopher fans assumed if we were improved this would be a win.  Well, after a close win over Northern Illinois and Bowling Green's upset of #25 Pitt, we are now the underdog.

In a game that is being highly anticipated by the Falcons, the Gophers are going to get a good road test which should really help us gauge where this team is in comparison to last year.

General Bowling Green Thoughts

The Falcons used an eight win season, 2007 bowl appearance and an experienced roster to jump start the 2008 season with a significant road win over a ranked team.  They have their sights set on a MAC Championship.  I was able to exert my BCS blogging influence over BJ from Falcon Nation and required him to respond to some of my questions on the Bowling Green Falcons.  He was kind enough to respond as I was to him.

1.  What a win for the Falcons in week one.  What is going on here?  Is Bowling Green underrated or was Pittsburgh vastly overrate living off their West Virginia upset from 2007?

Well, a little of both.  I actually posted that I thought Pitt was making too much of the West Virginia upset, and a couple fans come onboard to dispute me.  I didn't remember it as some momentous victory and I had a moment of ironic satisfaction on my way back to the car when I saw a T-shirt for sale that had the score of the game.  Pitt has some players, but lots of problems, and we out-coached them big time.  Wannstedt is back on the hot seat there.  We also made plays on defense, and took care of the ball, both of which helped us win, despite a statistical inferority.  So, far, I think we were underrated to start the season, but that's still a work in progress.

No, Tyler did not have big numbers against Pitt.  He did get some plays when we needed it, and we were good on third down.  His accuracy was somewhat low.  He did have some drops, but there are always drops.  I think you can expect BG to throw the ball a lot more than we did against Pitt, (more along the lines of what you saw last year), and perhaps a little more upfield, too.

Yes, we will.  Willie Geter will be back for the game, and we must run the ball for our attack to succeed.  In fact, its amazing to us we won the game against Minnestoa last year with as little running as we did, and I don't think we'd be able to pull it off again.  A couple notes on running.  First, don't forget that we have two WRs (Anthony Turner and Freddie Barnes) who we direct snap to for some variety, and you can expect to see that again.  And second, when the passing game is wokring, it opens up big holes for the running backs, so we will run, even if its a change of pace run.

A couple things about this year's D.  First, we're very experienced.  We have lots back from last year, and we expect to be better than we were last season.  At least against Pitt, we tackled better, and we eventually started staying home on the weakside, and that kept their run game bottled up.  The defensive backfield is chock full of playmakers.  We were worried about the D-Line, but they seemed to rally against Pitt, but that's a week-to-week thing.  One other change is that we seemed to be much more aggressive against Pitt, but they were using a West Coast Offense, which I believe gives more blitzing opportunities than a quick-fire spread.

There is huge anticipation for this game.  Check here for proof.  While other BCS teams have played here, there has never been a Big 10 team play in our stadium.  As someone who has been attending games there for 35 years, its a day I often thought would never come.  We expect a very big or sell-out crowd, and I think Falcon fans will be really keyed up.  We play everyday in the shadow of the Big 10, and having a Big 10 team in our stadium is huge.

When Bowling Green has the ball... 

Despite what BJ says expect them to throw, then throw, then throw and then throw again.  Maybe they'll sprinkle in a draw or two.  But they were able to throw on the Gopher secondary all day in 2007 so I would expect more of the same. 

If you want some encouragement, in 2007 the Gopher defense made great second half adjustments and staged an impressive comeback.  After giving up 289 yards in the first half they limited the Falcons to just 148 in the second.  Overall the numbers were brutal but maybe we figured something out.

But that was 2007 and this is 2008.  Personally I think this will be a great test for the new Gopher defense.  We are on the road against a good team with a strong passing attack.  If they want to show us they are improved this would be the perfect opportunity of which to take advantage. Watch for a lot of formations, direct snaps to others in the backfield and an overall creative gameplan by the Falcons.  They should be fun to watch, especially if we can stop them!

When Minnesota has the ball...

The Falcon defense is pretty strong, but I am still confident that we'll be able to move the ball.  I'll dip into the 2007 well again and point out that we rushed for 265 yards in the double OT loss.  I don't think we'll approach that number again but I also think Weber will improve upon his 188 yards throwing the ball.  I liked how in game one Dunbar found different ways to get Decker the ball, used Bennett on pass plays and utilized the TE.  I'd like to see Spry get involved along with some of the young guys like Pittman or Green. 

I don't know many specifics of the Bowling Green defense but I think we should be able to move the ball and get into the endzone.

What to expect

Bowling Green is coming off a big win and they are pretty excited to host a Big Ten school.  They feel they have a great shot to win back to back games against a BCS opponent and put themselves on the map.  I expect they'll come out jacked up for what may be a sold out stadium. 

Predictions

The Gophers are underdogs and some think by a lot.  This will be a great test for the rebuilt defense and I think they do just enough to pull it out.  We shut down their running game and a late Tramaine Brock interception is the difference as we win a close one.

Minnesota - 35
Bowling Green - 34

I tend to drink the kool-aid during the week leading up to games.  PJS is not so optimistic and is often more accurate because of it.

Minnesota - 24
Bowling Green - 31

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Please come back to The Daily Gopher for a new LIVE CHAT during the game, it should be fun for all of us.

Be sure to check back to here on Saturday for live chat during the Bowling Green game!

After this post, I'm ignoring Patrick Reusse. I'm not going to link to the Star Tribune's columnist again until he demonstrates a semblance of balance in his columns.

As it is now, Reusse is simply looking for a reason, any reason, to bash the University. This time, he takes Joel Maturi and Robert Bruininks to task for giving Pam Borton an extension and for Maturi himself receiving a two-year extension.

His reasoning, mostly inane: Dan Monson wasn't fired soon enough (Pat, this worked out when we landed Tubby), the new basketball coach's schedule is too soft (what?!?), Glen Mason was fired after a Texas Tech comeback (I'll give Pat this criticism) and a number of women's basketball players left the University a few years back under Pam Borton.

Borton is 2 1/2 years removed from a mass defection of players that forced Maturi to order an investigation. This wasn't exactly Ken Starr looking into Whitewater, and the results were whitewashed to the AD's satisfaction.

OK, Pat, fair enough. It was curious that a number of Borton's players defected. But instead of alleging a "whitewash," perhaps you could do us all a service and report what exactly Maturi allegedly hid. Until that happens, the above pull-quote is nothing other than bashing for the sake of attention.

On second thought, maybe I will continue to chronicle the STrib's columnist, and when he decides to make damning allegations without substance, I'll dub that a Reusse Reach.

And if you're thinking that Reusse is incessantly negative simply with his Gophers coverage, guess again. From the excellent Vikings blog Pacifist Viking just last month:

Reusse is your typical bitter arrogant sports writer, with one strange feature--he seems to love insulting fans. He seems particularly to delight in making fun of Viking fans. And I've scoured the Lexis-Nexis for Reusse's columns to find the evidence (all quotes are from the Star Tribune via Lexis-Nexis).

First of all, here are a few nouns Reusse has used to describe all or some Viking fans: "Purple fanatics," "Purple Faithful," "zealots," "MMWs (Monday Morning Whiners), "Purple loyalists," "goofballs," "ungrateful louts."

There is only one conclusion to draw from Reusse's writing. He isn't a good enough columnist to garner interest from readers unless he attacks them, something he knows is sure to raise the ire from the fans and vicariously Web hits on his otherwise below-average columns.

• Now, this is something I could easily see a columnist getting his undies in a bunch over. From ESPN, three Penn State football players, including stud defensive end Maurice Evans, will miss Saturday's tilt with Oregon State after having marijuana seized from a dorm room. Black Shoe Diaries has some blog reaction.
• The Pioneer Press' Marcus FUller suggests September could be a make or break month on the recruiting trail for Tubby Smith. Darius Smith, Rodney Williams, Trevor Williams and Torin Walker will visit campus.
• Again from Marcus Fuller, this time football. Those who were eager to see JUCO transfer David Pittman, an athlete who could play a number of roles, is expected to make his debut Saturday against Bowling Green.
• Beanie Wells willl not play Saturday for Ohio State. Thankfully for Buckeye fans, they play Miss PJS' alma mater in Frank Solich's Ohio Bobcats. The Only Game That Matters says some "trepidation is in order."
• Black Heart, Gold Pants has some exclusive Beanie news of its own. No, not Wells. Beanie Babies???
• We were told Wednesday night community organizing is bad. Penn State blog Run Up The Score laughs that off.
• UMHoops.com breaks down the Michigan hoops schedule. They predicited the Wolverines and Gophers split this year. I don't think so!

As gameday approaches, we wanted to look back at last year's tilt with Bowling Green and take a quick glance at what to expect from the Falcons on Saturday.

Last year: Bowling Green 32, Minnesota 31 (OT)

Last year's season opener typified the season that was to come. The Gophers lost a close game. The Gophers put up more than enough points to win and the defense was a sieve. Tyler Sheehan shredded the Minnesota defense, going 34-51 for 388 yards.With a three-headed backfield, BGSU did just fine, rushing the ball 22 times for 118 yards. Suffice to say, Bowling Green moved the ball at will. Anthony Turner, a dual-threat option at quarterback, provided BGSU a change of pace. But the Falcons also benffited last year from Weber playing his first collegiate game. He tossed three interceptions.

Bowling Green 2008:

Bowling Green opened the 2008 campaign with an upset win over Pittsburgh on the road. Somewhat highly regarded, the Dave Wannstedt coached Panthers handed this game to Bowling Green. Pitt turned the ball over three times in the second half, as Bowling Green stormed back from a 14-0 defecit and beat the then-25th ranked  Panthers 27-17. Sheehan, a junior, went 24-40 for 163 yards.

If the Gophers are to win, they'll need to slow down Sheehan and his wide receiving duo of Freddie Barnes and Corey Partridge. Running back Chris Bullock caught seven passes out of the backfield against Pittsburgh.

Here's USA Today breaking down what the Falcons did to Pittsburgh:

SCOUTING THE OFFENSE: Bowling Green's use of multiple formations and three quarterbacks appeared to confuse Pittsburgh. Each quarterback who took a snap helped put the ball into the endzone. Tyler Sheehan ran for a TD and threw a scoring pass; Anthony Turner ran for a TD; and Freddie Barnes threw for a score.

 

"When we get the ball in [Turner's] and Freddie's hands, they can make plays with it," Sheehan said. "It helps us because [the opposing defenses] have to gameplan for a little bit of everything."

 

SCOUTING THE DEFENSE: Bowling Green's defense against the run was a big question mark coming into the season, but the Falcons limited Pittsburgh to 46 yards on the ground over the last three quarters while forcing four turnovers. The defensive effort helped the Falcons rally from a 14-0 deficit for the win.

 

"Our goal the whole time we were preparing for this, just play as one, play as a unit, one heartbeat and one team," said BG senior linebacker John Haneline, "Once we settled in, ... getting the butterflies out and everything, ... then we got comfortable, and it was [that] guys just knew their jobs and we were attacking."

I'm expecting a shoot-out Saturday at Bowling Green. Weber and the Gophers need to limit turnovers and the defense needs to be able to adjust much better then it did a year ago if the Gophers have a hope of going 2-0. A loss shouldn't be construed as the end of the world either. Bowling Green did just go on the road and knock off Pitt.

We'll have more Bowling Green coverage coming shortly. GN is doing a Q&A with a BGSU blogger and we're going to have a liveblog for the game on Saturday, so make sure to keep your laptop handy while watching the Gophers this weekend.

Like AD Joel Maturi? Hope so, because he isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Maturi signed a 2-year contract extension with the University of Minnesota Wednesday, meaning he is under contract until at least 2012. Financial details follow from the Star Tribune:

Maturi, who came to Minnesota in 2002, will receive an annual salary of $345,000, an increase of $30,000 from the 2006 extension agreement.

Maturi will also receive annual supplemental retirement account payments that start at $75,000 after the current school year to $100,000 after the 2012 year. He received $250,000 in retirement money on June 30, 2007.

Maturi's annual salary is believed to rank in the middle of Big Ten athletic directors. Wisconsin's Barry Alvarez earns $600,000 a year.

Maturi has had his share of highlights and lowlights as the U's AD. He waited too long to fire Dan Monson. It can easily be argued his firing of Glen Mason was a rash decision made after an embarrassing bowl loss to Texas Tech. On the other hand, he maneuvered beautifully to land Tubby Smith. He helped build grassroots support to construct an on-campus football stadium.

Less celebrated perhaps has been the fact that Maturi oversaw the merger of the men's and women's athletic departments. When he came on board in 2002, the men's and women's athletic's departments were a combined $31 million in debt. A handful of years later, the athletics department is no longer hemhorraging money.

I'd be lying if I stated I agreed with everything Maturi has done. But it's a pretty tough standard if we force every public official to please us all of the time.

• The Gophers men's basketball team survived Rodney Williams' cut. Charley Walters passes along rumors that Williams has trimmed his list down to Minnesota and Santa Clara. The Rivals 4-star wingman also had Connecticut, Memphis and Kansas on his list.
• Speaking of potential 2009 recruits, the Gonzage diehards are calling this weekend "huge" for Gonzaga basketball. Why? Minnesota product Sam Dower is visiting.
• If you weren't here yesterday, the 2008-09 men's basketball schedule was released. I predicted more than 20 wins. Too many?
• Tubby Smith is apparently enjoying the Republican National Convention. He was spotted at a Maker's Mark party for GOP delegates.
• Speaking of Tubby Smith, I'm continually impressed with his character. Per this report from UK blogger Jerry Tipton, the father of potential UK recruit Daniel Orton phoned Minnesota's coach to get his take on the the WIldcats and Billy Gillispie. This, my maroon and gold friends, is class:

  "He was telling me they really, really love the players," said Larry Orton, who originally got acquainted with Smith when Smith coached at Tulsa. " . . . And he really liked Billy Gillispie."

  Smith told Larry Orton that Gillispie "was a very good coach, a very good up-and-coming coach," Larry Orton said.

  Larry Orton took Smith at his word. "I thought he told me the truth," the elder Orton said before adding, "I kind of can tell."

So reviewing Saturday night's game on Wednesday is not what you should expect from TDG in the future.  I could give you excuses galore about why it wasn't done until now but that really doesn't matter.

Last night, through the magic of TiVo, I was finally able to watch the game.  I'm not in to giving grades, so I won't.  But below are my thoughts.

OFFENSE

To be honest I was expecting more.  The first drive of the game and the last drive of the game were outstanding.  They were crisp, confident and marched down the field for key touchdowns.  But the entire second quarter and second half (save two plays) were uninspiring.  I hope this isn't read the wrong way, I was not disappointed but I was expecting more. This offense did not strike me as one that would be able to move the ball agasint a good Big Ten defense. 

Maybe I'm being harsh and had the Decker TD actually been declared a TD then maybe I view this differently.  But what I saw was Weber threading the needle a little too often and a running game that really never got going.  I fear some of those tight passes turn to INTs in the future and if we can't get some holes for Bennett his line is going to look more like 17 carries for 37 yards.

Also, I was very disappointed to not see any of the freshman WRs.  If they were not ready for a lowly MAC team at home, then I wouldn't expect to see them this week on the road agaisnt a MAC favorite. 

On the plus side.  I thought Bennett looked very good when give some holes.  He also was great catching out of the backfield and Brewster praised him for his pass blocking during his weekly press conference.  Bennett was a pleasant surprise.  Decker was also as good, if not better than anticipated.  Dunbar found many opportunities to get Decker the ball and he really is one of the best receivers in the conference.  And it was great to see the tight ends so involved throughout the game.

Overall it was a solid but not great performance by the offense.  Drive #1 and Drive to Win looked outstanding (maybe even tremendous).  In between they need to stay sharp.

DEFENSE

If I was slightly disappointed by the offense I was actually somewhat pleased with the defense.  This is not a good defense by any stretch but it was clearly better than 2007 and showed that they have some players who can make plays.  And this may surprise some of you but I'm not even that hard on Ryan Collado.  The 91 yard TD was ugly, but Collado was right on his man.  The coverage was there, the tackling was embarrassing.  My point is that a year ago the coverage was nowhere to be found and the tackling was awful, at least we were one for two. 

I thought that each unit did some decent things and as I've already said looked better than 2007.  Maybe my bar is set pretty low but wherever it was they reached my level of expectations through game 1.  Many guys individually are upgrades from last year.

• Lee Campbell - upgrade at MLB
• Simoni Lawrence - upgrade wherever he is and I wish he'd see more snaps
  
• Willie VanDeSteeg - much more active than 2007 version
• All Defensive Tackles - bigger, stronger and more effective
• Both corners - much better than a year ago and asked do more
• Brock? - great but is he "better" than Barber?  at least it's not a downgrade

There were some hits, fewer missed tackles and the defensive backs were within five yards of receivers for much of the game.

Here is what I like the most.  We forced third downs and we got their offense off the field!  In 2007 we averaged 1.75 three and outs per game forcing 4.25 punts.  That was only 12.8% of the opponents drives ended in three plays and only 31% of their drives ended in a punt.  On Saturday we forced five three and outs (including two in the 4th quarter) and six punts (46%). 

This wasn't Ohio State we were playing but it was better and for this year that is all we are asking for.

Top 5 Observations

1. Lee Campbell is disciplined and can hit.  He got the to the QB twice and always seemed near the football.  I was very skeptical of moving a DE to LB only 2 weeks before a game (was it one week?), but I love the move.  He is only going to get better with reps and he will be solid.
2. Troy Stoudermire can move.  This kid has a little something special to him and I am really looking forward to seeing more of him returning and playing some defense.
3. Marcus Sherels hits like a wide receiver.  He did a great job in coverage and this is another position move that appears to be a big success.  But the kid does not hit like the other guys who have been playing defense and initiating contact their whole careers.  This will certainly improve but just an observation.
4. Adam Weber LOVES the spin move.  And for the record it might be the slowest spin move in all of college football.  I think he tried to spin move defenders three or four times and one in particular was painfullly slow.  He is big, he is athletic and runs our offense very well but time for a new move.
   
5. In his post game interview with the BTN, Brewster did not use the word "tremendous."  Not once.  He must have been out recruiting and his brother was coaching.
   

OVERALL THOUGHTS

All in all this was a solid win.  You can critique that it was closer than it should have been and that this was a bad team we beat if you want.  But a year ago they lose this game.  Getting a win to start the year and winning a close game has to take a huge load off their shoulders.  They took control in the third quarter and pinned NIU deep at third and ten.  We need to better and we need to put teams away when we can, allowing a 91 yd touchdown is unacceptable.

To me they looked more prepared and more confident.  There are areas needed for improvement, but this was a good start.

If you're anything like me, you can't wait to see Ralph Sampson III and the new look Gophers in action when the basketball season starts in September. Well, we now officially know who the Gophers will play, when and where thanks to a release from the UofM communications staff this afternoon.

A couple quick notes.

The non-conference schedule is weak as it was last year. The Gophers do face Louisville on a neutral site, but other than that and an ACC/Big Ten Challenge game with Virginia at The Barn, the non-conference slate should be a cakewalk.

Because of that relatively soft slate, and assuming the Gophers don't beat Louisville, Tubby Smith's new team will likely need to win 10 or more games in the conference to justify an NCAA Tournament bid.

Because of the unbalanced Big Ten schedule, the Gophers only play Purdue and Iowa once. The Gophers get a good draw here, playing Purdue at home and Iowa on the road. Purdue is my early season favorite to win the conference, so this certainly bodes well for the Gophers.

Here's my quick breakdown of the schedule

Friday, November14
Concordia-St. Paul (NABC Classic) -- WIN

Saturday, November 15
Bowling Green (NABC Classic) -- WIN

Sunday, November16
Georgia State (NABC Classic) -- WIN

Saturday, November 22
At Colorado State --- WIN

Wednesday, November 26
Eastern Washington ---- WIN

Saturday, November 29
North Dakota State ---- WIN

Tuesday, December 2
Virginia -- ACC/Big Ten Challenge -- WIN

Saturday, December 6
Cornell ----- WIN

Wednesday, December 10
South Dakota State ----- WIN

Saturday, December 20
Louisville (Stadium Shootout at University of Phoenix Stadium) --- LOSS

Tuesday, December 23
Southeastern Louisiana --- WIN

Sunday, December 28
High Point ----- WIN

Wednesday, December 31
Michigan State ---- LOSS

Saturday, January 3
Ohio State ---- WIN

Thursday, January 8
At Iowa ----- WIN

Sunday, January 11
Penn State ---- WIN

Thursday, January 15
At Wisconsin ----- LOSS

Sunday, January 18
At Northwestern ---- WIN

Thursday January 22 ---- WIN
Purdue

Sunday, January 26
At Indiana ---- WIN

Wednesday, January 29
Illinois ----- WIN

Wednesday February 4
At Michigan State ---- LOSS

Saturday, February 7
At Ohio State ---- LOSS

Tuesday, February 10
Indiana ---- WIN

Saturday, February 14
At Penn State ---- WIN
 
Thursday, February 19
At Michigan ---- WIN

Sunday, February 22
Northwestern ---- WIN

Thursday, February 26
At Illinois ---- LOSS

Wednesday, March 4
Wisconsin ---- LOSS

Sat .or Sun. March 7 or 8
Michigan ----- WIN

WAY TOO EARLY PREDICATION: 23-7 (12-6)

What's your prediction?