2011 College Football Preview: Minnesota Golden Gophers Analysis and Projections

The Minnesota Golden Gophers failed to qualify for a bowl game in the 2010 season for only the second time in the past nine seasons. 

A 1-6 start to the season, which included a 41-38 home loss to Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) member South Dakota, led to the firing of head coach Tim Brewster after the team's 28-17 defeat at the hands of the lowly Purdue Boilermakers.

The Golden Gophers opened their 2010 campaign on the road with a 200-plus-yard rushing assault and 24-17 victory over Middle Tennessee State, but things went downhill in a hurry the following weeks.

The team failed to win their next nine games and appeared poised to finish dead last in the Big Ten conference, but interim head coach and co-offensive coordinator Jeff Horton refused to let the Golden Gophers quit.

Minnesota played inspired football in their final two games and secured a 38-34 road win over Illinois and 27-24 upset against rival Iowa in the Battle for Floyd of Rosedale to close out the season with a 3-9 record. The Golden Gophers finished the year tied for ninth in the Big Ten with a 2-6 record against conference opponents.

The defense struggled all season long and gave up an average of just over 191 yards per game on the ground. The Golden Gophers also finished dead last out of all 120 Football Bowl Subdivision teams with nine total sacks.

On the other side of the ball, Minnesota played well behind a strong ground game in their first two games and last two games of the season, but scored just three rushing touchdowns against their other eight opponents.

New head coach Jerry Kill inherits a team bringing back nine starters on the defense and potent playmakers in wide receiver Dajon McKnight, running back Duane Bennett and MarQueis Gray who will be moving from receiver to quarterback in 2011.

Offense

The success of the Golden Gophers offense this season will hinge on the development of Gray, who hauled in 42 catches for 587 yards and five touchdowns at receiver last season. McKnight has a chance to be an All-Big Ten receiver, but will not be able to put up big numbers if Gray cannot get him the ball consistently. 

Look for Coach Kill to utilize Gray's ability to run the football as well as the strong running Bennett, who made the preseason Doak Walker Award watch list, to alleviate some of the pressure from the passing game. 

The Golden Gophers will have big-play potential in 2011, but if they cannot find a way to establish a consistent running game like they did in their three victories last season the team will struggle and be beaten badly by many of their opponents. 

Defense

In order for Minnesota to improve on defense this season, junior defensive end D.L. Wilhite must have a breakout year and consistently make plays in opposing backfields. The Golden Gophers were picked apart through the air and gave up 33 points per game due the lack of pressure up front a year ago.

The front seven returns six of their seven starters from the 2010 team and former Florida Gator Brendan Beal could be the star of the show for Minnesota's linebacking corps this year.

Senior safety Kim Royston will look to close out his career on a high note in the secondary after missing much of the 2010 season with a broken leg. 

Prediction

The Golden Gophers decided simply making bowl games year in and year out was not good enough when they let go of Glen Mason back in 2006, but they are in for a lengthy rebuilding process in order to be competitive in the Legends Division of the Big Ten.

This is exactly why Minnesota made a great hire in Coach Kill, who led the Southern Illinois Salukis to three straight Gateway Football Conference titles from 2003-05 and is coming off of a 10-3 season at Northern Illinois.

While Kill appears to be a great long-term solution for Minnesota do not expect much success in his first couple of years at the helm.

The Golden Gophers defense will struggle against the unusually high number of dangerous offenses in the Big Ten and their running game will not be consistent enough to win them many games.

Minnesota has no chance against USC in the season opener and will be beaten soundly by Miami (OH), but should be able to beat New Mexico State and North Dakota State (FCS) in the non-conference slate. 

The Big Ten schedule does not do the Golden Gophers any favors either. Minnesota is 1-19 in their last 20 games against Michigan and have to play conference title contenders Nebraska, Michigan State, Wisconsin and a senior-laden Northwestern squad.

Their best chances at stealing a conference game will be against Purdue, Illinois and Iowa. Look for the Golden Gophers to win one of those games, but overall it is going to be a rough season in the twin cities.

Projected Record: 3-9 (1-7 Big Ten, Sixth Place Legends Division)

9/3 @ Southern California (USC): Loss

9/10 New Mexico State: Win

9/17 Miami (OH): Loss

9/24 North Dakota State: Win

10/1 @ Michigan: Loss

10/8 @ Purdue: Win

10/22 Nebraska: Loss

10/29 Iowa: Loss

11/5 @ Michigan State: Loss

11/12 Wisconsin : Loss

11/19 @ Northwestern: Loss

11/26 Illinois: Loss

Zach Dirlam is a Big Ten Columnist for the new website Sports at Work. Check out his blog, Dirlam’s Dirty Dugout Sports Blog, which features this story along with other articles and video reports on the major sports. You can also follow his blog on Twitter, which will provide you with the latest updates about what will be posted on the blog!