Minnesota Football: Injured Brandon Lingen out for a month or more

Between the player suspensions/police investigation and this latest news about Brandon Lingen, the bye week is certainly off to a inauspicious start:

Tight end Brandon Lingen broke his clavicle after hitting the turf hard in third quarter. He will have a plate inserted during surgery Monday, and he will miss the next four to five weeks, coach Tracy Claeys said Sunday.

At a minimum this means Lingen should miss Colorado State, Penn State, and Iowa. It’s also possible (I’d argue likely) that he’ll miss @Maryland. If things proceed more slowly than anticipated then Rutgers and possibly @Illinois would be at risk. But that’s just me being a worry wart.

Lingen’s absence will be noticeable, mostly because he has been a sure handed target. If the issues with drops continue for the current group of pass catchers then we’ll really miss him. If Woli keeps playing well and Woz and others step up then the Gophers should hopefully be ok until Brandon returns.