Yay! It's Indiana week.
OK, maybe it's true that Gopher Nation is bored with this game on Saturday. We'll hopefully have a preview for you here later today, but I just want to see if I can get you interested in this game by simply stating that the game Hoosiers game is the best chance in the Tim Brewster era for a Big Ten victory. The first one is always the most difficult, right?
There were some close Big Ten losses last season, including the Wisconsin game, but this, I think, is the first time Brewster's boys will be favored heading into a Big Ten game. That's progress. A win and a 1-1 conference record, with the loss at the hands of the defending conference champions is the BEST POSSIBLE OUTCOME we could have hoped for.
The Minnesota Daily knows the angle for this game, it's all about grabbing that Big Ten win.
Lost in the Gophers’ 4-0 start to their season is the fact that the team hasn’t won a single Big Ten game under coach Tim Brewster .
Saturday they’ll have their best chance, playing Indiana at home.
Even sophomore quarterback Adam Weber , a strict disciple of the “one game at a time” line, called it perhaps the team’s biggest of the year.
“It’s going to be huge, maybe the most important game for us,” he said. “We’re halfway through the season, and a win is going to help us get through the rest of the season here.”
It is the biggest game of the year. 5-1 is possible. Who would have asked for more when the year began? The game isn't as sexy as last weeks. But it's equally or more important to the growth of the program? Agree? Disagree?
- Big Ten Geeks are getting excited for basketball season. Here they have a look at various "wing" players in the conference. Blake Hoffarber and Damian Johnson are in the mix, and newcomers Devoe Joseph and Devron Bostick will have plenty of company at the wing position around the conference.
- In a mailbag, Rivals' Jerry Meyer looks at Minnesota's 2009 recruiting class. On where Rodney Williams needs to improve, Meyer states "One, he needs to get physically stronger so more of his athleticism can translate to the rugged Big Ten. Secondly, his skill level and feel for the game need to improve. Williams will probably never be an great ballhandler, but he does need to at least be solid with the ball. He also needs to be capable of knocking down shots."
- Sticking with Rivals, this time Indiana football, five keys for the Hoosiers Satruday at the Dome against the Gophers.
- Michigan blog Shooting Blue provides a conference power rankings that has the Gophers 10th, though it's also suggested the team could go 7-5.
- Storming the Floor taps Dan Monson's Long Beach 49ers as the surprise team in the Big West. "Dan Monson is a good enough coach to do the deed."
- Marcus Fuller of the PiPress gives you Tim Brewster's likely redshirts for this year: "The freshmen who are expected to redshirt are free safety Keanon Cooper, defensive end D.L. Wilhite, linebacker Ryan Grant and quarterback John Nance." As Fuller points out, Cooper was a 4-star safety out of Texas.