Minnesota Golden Gophers 2022 College Football Preview
July 30, 2022
2021 Recap
Record – 9-4
ATS – 8-4-1
The Golden Gophers had another good season under the tutelage of HC PJ Fleck and just missed out on a trip to the Big Ten Championship Game. Their late-season loss to Illinois was a killer but at least they managed to ruin the Badgers’ title hopes with a 23-13 win in the season finale. Good for Minnesota, but bad for those who took Wisconsin in a 900,009 STAR MEGALOCKS SUDDEN HEALTHY ATHLETE DEATH SYNDROME LOCK loser.
Can the Gophers contend for the division title once again? Let’s dig in.
Minnesota Golden Gophers 2022 Outlook
OFFENSE
The Gophers were an OLD SCHOOL bunch LY focusing on running the ball down peeps’ throats (198 YPG, #27 FBS). They did an admirable job considering the absolute destruction that the injury bug laid on the RB room and they get back three of their top-five backs including star Mohamed Ibrahim who has booked a PAIR (!) of 1,000-yard seasons. QB Tanner Morgan was a mess last season (10-9 TD to INT LY, 30-7 in 2019) but he’s got the talent to rebound in 2022. All the key THROW GAME targets are back including a pair of WRs that averaged 17+ YPC in 2021 (Wright, Brown-Stephens). The OL will still be decent but return just a single starter to the mix. The offense doesn’t look great but they should be more balanced. Potential upside can only be harnessed if we see better play from Morgan. Stay tuned!
DEFENSE
Minnesota’s defense might have been the most underappreciated unit in all of college football LY as they ended the campaign ranked #3 (!) in the FBS in total defense (279 YPG), #8 in run defense, and #15 in pass efficiency D. We expect the Gophers to be less productive up front as they lose two (!) NFL draft picks but at least they did a good job getting FRESH FISH from the transfer portal. They should be ok at LB and the strength of the defense is the back-end where they bring back three starters, and add a rock solid CB from WKU in Beanie Bishop. You don’t need us to tell you they can’t be as good as LY but we still think they can be an above-average stop unit depending on how the revamped DL shapes up.
SPECIAL TEAMS
The kicking game should fine with the return of punter Mark Crawford (40.9 net LY) and PK Matthew Trickett (17-25 FG LY, 1-4 50+). Ideally, they can find some spice at KR/PR.
Schedule Analysis
Overall – It looks pretty good. The non-conference schedule is a walk in the park and they miss both Ohio St and Michigan from the East. Their fortunes will almost surely come down to the final two games when they battle Iowa (H) and Wisconsin (A).
Potential ATS Trouble Spot – September 17 – Colorado
This is Minnesota’s last non-conference game before the Big Ten opener (at Michigan St) and note that Colorado will be looking for revenge after the Gophers spanked them 30-CACK last September.
Season Win Total
per BetOnline July 30
Over 7.5 -125
Under 7.5 -105
MEGALOCKS says:
Lean: Over
They’re likely to post four wins in their first five games and go from there.
MEGAmazing Tidbits
QB Tanner Morgan has a decent shot to become Minnesota’s all-time leading passer this year (8,072) as he’s breathing down Adam Weber’s neck (10,917). Let’s go!
Head coach PJ Fleck has an impressive 62-45-3 (58%) career mark vs the spread and he’s booked a 32-23-3 (58%) record whilst leading the Golden Gophers.
MEGALOCKS Outlook:
Minnesota will be right in the thick of things heading into November and have a good shot to take down the division if the they don’t regress too much in the trenches. We expect that improved QB play and the crafty coaching of PJ Fleck will make them a tough out.
Want more Golden Gophers football ?
WEBSITE
https://gophersports.com/sports/football
FORUM
http://www.forums.gopherhole.com/boards/forumdisplay.php?2-7-National-Titles-Football-Forum
https://minnesota.forums.rivals.com/forums/inside-gopher-nation.8/
NEWS
http://www.thedailygopher.com/
http://www.startribune.com/sports/gophers/
https://www.espn.com/college-football/team/_/id/135/minnesota-golden-gophers