Minnesota Football: The PJ Fleck Era Kicks Off Against Buffalo Bulls - OPEN THREAD

The last time we saw Golden Gopher Football it was a Tracy Claeys squad who surprised us all by dominating Washington State in the Holiday Bowl. Mitch Leidner finished up his career as a 3-year starter at quarterback and a few key contributors on defense also finished up their Gopher careers.

Then a few days later everything changed. Enter PJ Fleck and his boat. Tonight we get to begin the PJ Fleck era. Not exactly sure what that is going to look like but tonight we will get a taste of what is to come.

SO GLAD FOOTBALL IS HERE!!!

3 KEYS

• Establish the Run - The quarterback situation is interesting and unknown, the running backs are known. Give the ball to Rodney Smith and Shannon Brooks. Establish the run and then see what we have in the passing game.
• Turnovers and Pressure - Defensive I think this unit is going to thrive on pressure and causing turnovers. I think you’ll see a lot of pressure coming
• Stay Healthy - Especially along the OL and secondary. Stay healthy cause it is a long season.

OPPOSING PLAYERS TO WATCH

• QB - Tyree Jackson - Last year he played in 10 games, throwing for 1,772 yards completing 53% of his passes.
• LB - Khalil Hodge - Last year’s leading tackler returns.

PREDICTION

The Gophers are huge favorites here. I think that our young secondary gives up a few big plays and the final score is closer than the Vegas spread. But the Gophers dominate the ground and win by double digits.

Minnesota - 31

Wisconsin - 20