This post is sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011.

And now a word from our sponsor...

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This post is sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011

After looking back last week, we finally get to look forward and throw out some 2010 expectations.  It has been well documented that this is going to be a challenging season for the Golden Gophers.  By challenging I am not throwing up the white flag and it should be interpreted as losing season.  But clearly this schedule is brutal, we are replacing a number of defensive starters and this offense wasn't exactly potent last year.  To say the least this season will present a number of challenges.

Challenges though can be viewed as opportunities.  There are ample opportunities for the Gophers to notch a signature win that has been missing for a few years.  This year we may potentially have up to four top 10 teams running through the tunnel of TCF Bank Stadium.  Tough games that are likely going to end in a loss for the Gophers but also an opportunity to make some headlines and ruin somebody's season.

This is all very early and there are still a number of questions surrounding the 2010 Gophers but here are my very early expectations.

Offense

The good news is that the offense returns the vast majority of their starters.  The entire backfield is back, most of the offensive line is back and most of the receiving corp is back.  The bad news is that an all-american caliber receiver graduated, our returning offensive line was not very good and our starting backfield wasn't any better.

After finishing at or near the bottom in several offensive stat categories, I have great expectations that there will be modest improvements in all of those areas.  I do not expect that there will be any dramatic improvements and you will see this offense go from the lowest scoring offense in the league to the top 3.  But there has to be improvements across the board.  Below is a little table with our 2009 results and my modest expectations for 2010.

I doubt that the passing numbers will improve much as I believe the emphasis on the running game will actually play out this year.  So I'm expecting an extra 25 yards on the ground each game, I expect fewer turnovers and by running the ball more effectively I believe sacks will go down and 3rd down conversion should go up.  I really do not believe that adding about 4 points per game is unreasonable.  To get there the peripherals must improve (turnovers, sacks, converting 3rd downs, etc) but all of that is very reasonable.

I'm not going to get into position group or individual breakdowns yet, but modest improvement needs to come from all groups for this offense to improve.  Returning everyone is meaningless if they don't get better.

The other wrinkle in all of this is yet another brand new offensive coordinator.  The company line now is that Jeff Horton is simplifying the offense and allowing the group to execute.  His play-calling must be better than his predecessor and his players must execute with more consistency.  The offense is going to be interesting to watch this year.

Defense

Replacing half our secondary, all of our linebackers and most of our defensive line is scary.  It is not like this defense was the class of the conference and we'll be reloading.  This defense was the heart of the 2009 Gophers and was respectably in the middle of the conference statistically.  There will be a lot of new faces on the first string defense but these are going to be some talented kids.  What we lose in experience we may gain in athleticism (especially in the front 7).

The defensive line has a ton of talented, albeit young, kids.  I am really excited to if our young defensive ends can get to the quarterback more frequently than last year's group.  And our tackles should really take up space in the middle making it difficult to run inside the tackles.  Our linebackers should be faster than a year ago but what was arguably our strongest position group a year ago is completely gone so there will be a lot of experience to replace here.  The secondary is a huge question mark.  If our safeties return and Michael Carter improves they could be just fine.  But Royston's broken leg and depth concerns make this group a complete unknown at this point.

Statistically I'm not sure we'll see any major improvements and I don't really expect to see any major drop-offs either (barring significant injuries).

The one area I think we significantly improve is in sacks.  I love our young DEs and I think we'll see our linebackers coming off the edge a bit more often this year.  Overall I think production by the defense drops off a little bit, but not too much.  Much of their success this year will rely on the offense eating up more clock and putting them in better position on a regular basis.

The Schedule

There are some great teams coming to Minnesota this season.  USC, Ohio State and even Iowa all have dreams of a BCS Title season (USC probably won't be allowed but that doesn't mean they aren't that talented).  Penn State is also a great team who is in search of a QB but they are in that same class.  That is 4 opportunities to ruin somebody's season and finally notch a signature win our new home.

The drawback to having some outstanding teams at home is that you have to travel to all of the teams you'll be fighting with to get bowl eligible.  The 2010 Gophers have to travel to Purdue, Michigan State, Wisconsin and Illinois.  Wisconsin and Michigan State have dreams of cracking the top 3 in conference and Purdue/Illinois look to be much better than their 2009 version.  Just with those four home games mentioned above and the four road games mentioned in this paragraph it isn't too hart to envision eight losses there.  Regardless of this team being better or not this year those are eight difficult games and is the reason many are predicting a 10th or 11th place finish for the Gophers.

What do I expect?  I think the Gophers win the four games not mentioned (@Middle Tenn St, SoDak, Northern Illinois and even Northwestern).  I also think they win one of the four road games.  The four top-notch home games are likely going to be all losses but I'm extremely hopeful we can catch lightening in a bottle and steal one of them.  I am expecting a 5-7 season, hopeful for 6-6.  That record is nothing to brag about but it when considering the schedule that shows some improvement and competitiveness.  A mediocre record buys this staff another year and then 2011 becomes even more critical.

What do you think?

This post is sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011

I hate to be a downer here but when I hear the term memorable moments, as a Gopher fan, some painfully memorable moments are the ones that come to mind.  The 2003 Michigan game, 2005 Wisconsin blocked punt debacle, 2006 Mason's signature Texas Tech loss, the Northwestern hailmary, I could go on but I won't.  Instead of reliving those "memorable moments" let's be a bit more upbeat on this beautiful Friday morning.

If this were a basketball post the 1996-97 team would be the clear-cut winner.  I could even narrow that team/season down to one exact moment.  As you may recall the UCLA game was the regional championship.  The Bruins were the 2-seed and the game was close throughout.  About mid-way through the second half the Gophers had the bulk of their starting line-up on the bench while the second string guys started to push the lead a little bit.  As the lead was growing the entire Gopher starting lineup checked back into the game and you could see the collective UCLA roster drop their heads as they knew it was now over.  Toby Bailey, Cameron Dollar and Charles O'Bannon knew at that moment their Final Four dreams were over.  And it was at that moment I knew the Gophers were heading to the Final Four.

But EA isn't sponsoring a basketball post, this is supposed to by my favorite Gopher football moment.  It isn't quite at the level of making a Final Four or winning the Big Ten.  In fact it is kind of sad that a simple rivalry trophy win is my most memorable moment over the last 20+ years.  But this game meant a lot, it was dramatic, it was over a rival and I happened to be in attendance.

My personal Gopher football most memorable moment is easily the 2003 win over Wisconsin.

This was a classic, hard-fought, back-and-forth game that came down to who had the ball last (can I put more cliche's into one sentence?).  Marion Barber had 139 and a TD, Laurence Maroney rushed for 135 and TD, and the Gophers had to win with back-up QB Benji Kamrath as Asad Abdul-Khaliq went down in the first half.  Wisconsin on the other hand struggled to run the ball but Jim Sorgi threw for 305 yards and 4 TDs. 

Wisconsin was previously a ranked team and came into the game with a decent rush defense that had been allowing just 97.8 yards per game on the ground.  Barber and Maroney never seemed to mind those kind of stats as they led the way to a 336 yard rushing day for the Gophers.  The Gophers scored the game's opening TD in less than a minute on a Maroney 30-yd TD and scored in the last minute to seal it with a Rhys Lloyd 34 yard field goal. 

The final drive started on the Minnesota 20, game tied, 2:49 on the clock.  The great running game is well known but Benji Kamrath under center wasn't the most ideal situation.  But Kamrath completed passes on back-to-back third downs including a 23 yard pass on 3rd and 9 from our own 33.  After that Barber took over and the Gophers marched down to the Badger 19 before it was Lloyd's turn. 

"Don't forget to get the Axe," Mason said, referring to Paul Bunyan's Axe, which sat on Wisconsin's sideline.

As time expired, Lloyd nailed the FG and sprinted to the Badger sideline to bring the Axe home.  The Gophers then circled the Metrodome allowing Gopher fans to touch the Axe before it was eventually placed in the trophy case.

You can watch the video of the gamewinning kick here.

That my friends was a great game and probably my most memorable Golden Gopher moment (FOR NOW).

Our Golden Gophers have obviously not produced any championship caliber teams over the last few decades.  But that doesn't mean they haven't produced some outstanding individuals who have been a joy to watch. I thought this post might be a bit easier, but the list of favorites is long.

In my lifetime I've witnessed several great runningbacks and all of them were a lot of fun to watch.  Certainly "favorite" worthy.  In fact most of us have been fortunate enough to watch the top five all-time Gopher rushers and seven of the top eight.  Darrell Thompson is the Gopher's all-time leading rusher and it was fun to watch his combo of speed and punishment.  The recent greats, Marion Barber III and Laurence Maroney led the nation's most dangerous rushing attack for back-to-back seasons in 2003 and 2004.  While excellent choices, my favorite isn't a running back. 

Under center has seen some Gopher record breakers.  Adam Weber and Bryan Cupito have been or were great team leaders and ended up throwing for more yards than any others.  Asad Abdul-Kaliq was a dangerous dual-threat who lead us to a lot of wins.  But a quarterback is not my favorite.

Defensively we haven't had a ton of Gopher greats.  At the top of the list would probably be Tyrone Carter.  He is a record setting tackler and was the best we have seen defensively in years.  But my favorite Gopher didn't play defense.

My all-time favorite Golden Gopher is Eric Decker (maybe the picture gave it away).

It could just be about the numbers.  3,119 yards, 227 receptions are Gopher records and sixth and eighth respectively in Big Ten history.  His 24 touchdowns is also rather impressive, especially considering he missed several games over his Gopher career due to injury.

But his stats are not what do it for me.  It was his toughness, his leadership and his savvy.  In spite of the entire stadium knowing where each pass was heading and each defender knowing the one guy they needed to guard; he always found a way to get to that opening and snatch whatever ball was thrown his way.

I'm not going to go on and on with this man-crush.  If you are reading this, you are well aware of Eric Decker and his talents.

This catch against Cal last season was one of the best catches I have ever seen.

More Decker video...

Great athlete, great Golden Gopher.

Decker is my favorite, who is yours?

This post is sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011

Full disclosure here, but I rarely tailgate so this third EA sponsored post is more challenging for me.

Tailgating, I mean REALLY tailgating, is something Gopher fans are having to reacquaint themselves with.  After years of languishing in the Metrodome and the drab parking lots nearby, Gopher fans get to tailgate at home.  The very first thing I noticed when driving to the stadium opener was the campus-wide party.  Along University Avenue each block was lined with students tailgating and partying.  Then as you get closer to the stadium in all directions there are lots full of alumni and Gopher fans grilling and establishing new tailgating traditions. 

What are those new tailgating traditions? 

What is everyone grilling?

As stated, this isn't where I have much to share.  But I'd love to hear your tailgating stories.

This post is sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011.

Second in six-part series leading up to EA's release of NCAA Football 2011.

I struggled with this post theme.  In my lifetime there really are not any Gopher teams that stand out and deserve this notion of being an unquestionable fan favorite.  The 1999 club was the first winning team in nearly a decade and included a huge upset over Penn State and we took home Floyde of Rosedale for the second straight season.  2004 was the final season of the Marion Barber / Laurence Maroney era.  2006 saw an epic upset over Michigan.  But I'm going to go with the winningest team since 1967.

The 2003 Gophers were dangerously and surprisingly close to actually earning a trip to the Rose Bowl.  In fact we were actually a three touchdown, fourth quarter lead away from likely making it happen.  This was the most offensively dangerous team we've seen and arguably the stoutest defense the Gophers have fielded in years.

The Big Ten's #1 offense was lead by Marion Barber and freshman, Laurence Maroney.  Both finished in the top five among Big Ten rushers and each had over 1,100 yards and double-digit touchdowns.  Asad Abdul-Kaliq was fourth in total yards in the league and the senior QB lead this Gopher to offense to be one of the most feared in the country.

Defensively these Gophers finished fifth in the league in yards allowed.  Not exactly amazing stats for the defense but this star-less squad usually did it's job to keep the opponent from scoring as much as our offense.

2003 saw nine regular season wins, Paul Bunyan's Ax returned to Minnesota and knocked off an 8-4 Oregon team in the Sun Bowl to get their 10th win on the season.

But what Gopher fans remember about the 2003 season is the infamous Michigan game.  Minnesota entered the home game 6-0 and they were ready to face a typically strong Michigan squad lead by Chris Perry, John Navarre and Braylon Edwards. How does a team lose when they rack up 424 yards rushing, a 14-0 halftime lead and extended that to a 21 point lead heading into the fourth quarter.  One would think that with a dominating rushing attack and a 21 point lead, you could take the air out of the ball and grind your way to a win over Michigan for the first time since 1986.

But Michigan outscored us 31-7 in that fateful fourth quarter and Minnesota's dreams of a Rose Bowl were crushed.  As it turns out had the Gophers won that game we would have finished tied with Michigan and Ohio State for the Big Ten title and likely would have been the team heading to Pasadena. 

But let's forget that game and focus on the 10-3 record, two 1,000 yard rushers, a Wisconsin victory, up to a #17 rank and a Sun Bowl win over a good Oregon team.  This team was the closest we have seen in many of our lifetimes to a Rose Bowl team.  With Marion Barber and Laurence Maroney were so much fun to watch as they dominated nearly every defense we faced.

This team was good and it was fun to watch but I think we are all waiting for that team we will all look to as our favorite team.  That one team that exceeds expectations beats a couple teams we weren't supposed to AND they beat the teams they should.  That team that takes us to a January bowl game or better will immediately be this generation's favorite.

What teams am I missing?  How about some older Gopher fans, can you point us to some fun teams in prior decades?  What am I missing?

This post is sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011

This is post #1 in a six-part series of posts about our fandom.  I'm posting about how I became a fan of the Golden Gophers and my hope is that you will follow suit.  Use the fan post feature or simply comment below, but I want to know how you came to love the Gophers.

Being a lifelong Golden Gopher fan hasn't been easy. 

The notion of Gopher Nation is ironic and comedic to not only fans of other Big Ten teams but even Gopher fans understand the irony.  We do not travel particularly well, we rarely sold out the Metrodome, we have one of the smaller stadiums in the Big Ten and at best Gopher football is the third best show in town each and every fall.  But what people should recognize is that those of us who are still fans are as passionate as there is in the country.  Being a Buckeye fan is EASY.  And even being a Badger or Hawkeye fan can't be too difficult when you occasionally have a shot at or even win the Big Ten.  But I'd like to see how well those programs would travel and how empty that Horseshoe might be if they were to go 48 years without a trip to the Rose Bowl.  Gopher football deserves plenty of heat, Gopher football fans deserve a medal. 

As a kid I wasn't aware of the Gopher's history of futility.  All I knew was that I lived in Minnesota and the Golden Gophers were our team.  Why would I cheer for anyone else?  If you want to know how I became a Gopher fan, it was easy.  They were my team from the beginning, it only made sense.  I grew up outstate Minnesota and occasionally made it up to the Twin Cities for Gopher games. I learned very early that we didn't like Iowa and we didn't care much for Badger fans either. 

My parents weren't exactly Gopher fans and there was really nobody in my life who steered me in that direction.  I did not choose to attend the U so I'm not even an alumni.  But in our state there is one division one school who represents all of us.  I don't feel that alumni have any greater claim to the Golden Gophers than the rest of us have.  We are all Golden Gophers.

The first game that I remember attending was the 1987 homecoming loss to Indiana.  It was an 18-17 loss that saw Chip Lohmiller miss what should have been the game-winner.  From my perspective that ball was between the uprights but what does a third grader, sitting in the cheap seats know. 

As a kid I was old enough to know a little about the Holtz years and the Gutekunst years, but the years I came to really "know" the Golden Gophers began during the Wacker years. My most memorable Wacker era games were the Purdue shootouts in 1993 and 1995.  The '93 game was a 59-56 defensive battle that ended with a Gopher game winning field goal.  The '95 game saw Chris Darkins run for 294 yards while Purdue's Mike Alstott ran for 133.  Both had 3 touchdowns but it wasn't enough for either team until the very end.  With less than 2 minutes remaining Cory Sauter ran 1 yard for six points, but the Gophers still trailed by one.  Wacker decided to go for the W rather than the tie and Sauter connected with Ryan Thelwell for the game-winning two-point conversion.  Both games were a blast and solidified my Gopher fandom for life.

Sure those teams were not exactly successful but those were some teams that were fun to watch.  But for me, as a Gopher fan, that isn't what it is all about.  I love this team and I'll root for Ski-U-Mah for life.  Decades of futility have seen the fan base dwindle and the pessimism grow.  From my perspective this is why I loved Tim Brewster's attitude and defining the Rose Bowl as a goal.  Previous staffs were afraid to say Rose Bowl and had excuses lined up telling us how hard it was to win here at Minnesota.  Brewster isn't perfect and he has a lot to prove but I like his positivity because I too want to see this team in the Rose Bowl. 

Just imagine with me, Gopher fans.  Imagine getting into your seat in Pasadena and watching YOUR Golden Gophers running through the tunnel to face the Pac-10 Champ.  I has been a couple generations and you may not know anybody who even remembers their last Rose Bowl appearance.  But there isn't a fan base in the conference who will appreciate their next Rose Bowl appearance like we will.  I'm waiting for that day.  But even if it doesn't happen I'll be there rooting for Ski-U-Mah and this is my team for life.