Predicting the first season under a new head coach can be hard. There are a lot of unknowns and you’re stuck relying on hopes and assumptions even more than usual. That’s in addition to the fact that pre-season prognosticating is a fools errand and only crazy people put their predictions down where the internet can find them later.

/glass shatters

BAH GAWD THAT’S TDG’S MUSIC!

That’s right friends! It’s time for the TDG staff to make their predictions for the 2017 Minnesota Football season. What could go wrong?

ALL THE PREDICTIONS

Here’s the full breakdown of the staff’s regular season predictions, in alphabetical order of the author:

(NOTE: If you need a larger version, click here)

dvits14, 7-5: I can see a better record happening, but too many questions remain to predict a better record than this.

GoAUpher, 7-5: Will 6-6 be low? I sure hope so, but I can't shake the feeling that the combination of scheme/culture change plus some depth and skill position uncertainty will cause the Gophers to lose more than we'd like. Oh wait, you're wondering why I'm talking about a 6-6 prediction when my numbers read 7-5. That's because I have Minnesota beating Wisconsin simply because I really want us to beat Wisconsin (not because I believe it will happen).

Lowered year one expectations aside, if things click for the Gophers I could easily see more wins coming from the Maryland, MSU, Iowa, Nebraska, and Northwestern games. Michigan is the only game I view as a certain loss. Here's hoping they make me look dumb for being so cautious in year 1!

gopherguy05, 7-5: I think MTSU is a definite trap game. It will test our youthful secondary and for some reason I have a bad feeling about it. I think our win over Nebraska ends the Mike Riley era and starts the Scott Frost era in Lincoln. I so badly want to beat Iowa and Wisconsin but think we are a year off from that. I hope I'm wrong.

Gopher Nation, 7-5: I was 12-0 in my picks last year, no further comment needed.

IowaGopher, 8-4: I fully expected to predict 6-6 or 7-5, but somehow came out with 8-4 and I'm sticking with it. Oregon State is a dumpster fire. It's hard to predict how improved Maryland or Michigan State will be, so I'll split those two. I'll never predict a loss to Iowa. Don't @ me, Hawkeyes. Nebraska takes a big step back IMO, but will be the Gophers' dumb loss at home. And I can't predict Minnesota over Wisconsin. Just can't do it.

mowe0018, 10-2: There comes a time when real life defies all previously established logic. Like when man first walked on the moon or the Chris Pine became a semi-viable Hollywood star. While 10-2 may seem like I went and got myself drunk off the maroon and gold colored Kool-Aid (mixed and stirred in a large bowl via an oar) the schedule is uber-favorable. And PJ Fleck seems like the kind of coach who can use the small snowflake of positive momentum at the beginning of a new season and coax it into an all-out avalanche of over-achieving.

Nate P, 8-4: I think the Gophers go 1-1 in the NW/UNL games. MSU and/or Maryland could be a loss while Iowa could be a win.

UStreet, 14-0: I predict they win every game every year. I see no difference this year.

wildcat00, 8-4: Not losing to Iowa is #winning.

WhiteSpeedReceiver, 9-3: I'm entirely too optimistic right now based on what I've heard, and there will certainly be hiccups. That being said, if the OL stays healthy, Croft plays as well as he can, and the WRs chip in and help the offense we'll be in for one hell of a fall.

zipsofakron, 7-5: A loss at Purdue? Yes. It's a toss-up to me whether they lose in West Lafayette or home against the Illini. But one of those is for sure happening. I mean, come on, they're still the Gophers. We're allowed to only have so much wind in our sails. I'm cautiously optimistic that they can take care of business against a pretty soft schedule. But I'm still a beaten-down shell of a fan who's been clubbed too many times to predict something out of the ordinary.

#TRENDS

• The staff is unanimous about the outcome in only 3 games, predicting wins over Buffalo, Oregon State, and Illinois. You should feel SO PROUD about this Illini.
• Other than Illinois, the TDG staff think that Maryland and Michigan State are your best chance to see a Big Ten win at home this fall.
• The average predicted win/loss record across the staff is 7-5.
• In both the Iowa and Wisconsin games, 6 staff members think we lose while 5 think we win.

What’s your game by game prediction?