Tim Brewster's Minnesota Gophers Need to Dig Up a Big Ten Upset Fast

If there is a team in need of an upset, it is head coach Tim Brewster's Minnesota Golden Gophers.  No upset this year and Brewster will be on the hot seat at the start of the 2010 campaign.

No upset and the team with arguably the best wide receiver in college football is looking at spending the holiday season in San Antonio, Detroit or...at home. 

The good news for the Gophers is that they can bag a big upset as they play three teams in the Top 20.  Minnesota plays No. 14 Penn State, No. 7 Ohio State and No. 11 Iowa.  The bad news for the Gophers is that all three games are on the road and each team believes they have a chance to play for a national championship. 

When he was hired in January of 2007, coach Brewster fired up Gopher Nation talking about making trips to Pasadena.   The alumni liked Brewster’s message, as they had grown weary of going to Tennessee and the Music City Bowl.

Not everyone was on board, as Brewster’s resume was devoid of any head coaching experience.   However, no one doubted his ability to recruit, given how he delivered several top recruits to Texas, most notably Vince Young. 

The recipe was clear.  Surround the young coach with quality coordinators, allow him to recruit, and the Gophers will be right back among the elite teams in the Big Ten. 

Instead, growing pains occurred.  In his first year, Minnesota took a step back, going 1-11 and 0-8 in the Big Ten.   The losses for Minnesota were bad; take your pick—Florida Atlantic 41-39 or North Dakota State 27-21.

In-state recruiting suffered as the Gophers were not able to get the cream of Minnesota to stay home.  The biggest loss was not having a legitimate shot at WR sensation Michael Floyd, who decided to attend Notre Dame.

Grumblings started on campus, but the faithful were reassured to be patient, as good things were on the horizon.  Specifically, the Gophers returned DE William VanDeSteeg, WR Eric Decker, and QB Adam Weber.

At the beginning of the eighth week of the season, Coach Brewster looked like a genius.  The Gophers were ranked No. 20 and had 7-1 record, with its only loss being to No. 13 Ohio State, 34-21, on the road. 

Four games later, Coach Brewster looked incompetent as the Gophers lost to Northwestern, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa.  The Iowa loss was especially embarrassing, as the Gophers lost 55-0.  The score does not reflect how lopsided the game was for Iowa.

The Gophers accepted a bowl invitation to play in the Insight Bowl, but were soundly beaten by the Kansas Jayhawks 42-21.  All the goodwill created with the 7-1 start was dissipated by the 0-5 tumble at the end.

Gopher Nation began to grumble again.  Coach Brewster turned up the charm, reminding the fan base that the Gophers would be playing in a beautiful outdoor stadium, that he had 19 of his 22 starters returning, and most importantly, the Gophers had the best pass catching combo in the conference.  

Decker’s 2008 numbers were 84 catches, seven touchdowns and 1,074 receiving yards; he also had 11 carries, 87 yards, and one touchdown running the ball.  Weber’s 2008 numbers were 2,761 yards, 15 touchdowns, eight interceptions, and a completion rate of 62.2 percent. 

Gopher fans were cautiously optimistic for 2009 with Decker and Weber returning. 

The optimism was short lived, as the Gophers played inconsistently and needed overtime to beat Syracuse 23-20 in the season opener.  The Syracuse game was a harbinger of the first half of the season, as the Gophers have yet to play a solid, consistent game from start to finish.   

While the Gophers stand at 4-2 and 2-1 in the Big Ten, the record does not reflect the shortcomings of the team.

First, the defense has given up too much yardage, especially on the ground.  Every Gopher opponent, with the exception of Syracuse, has generated more offensive yardage than Minnesota.   The discrepancy in rushing yardage is eye-popping, as the Gophers are averaging 114.5 yards, but are surrendering 162.7 yards. 

Second, Weber has committed too many turnovers and his productivity has dropped off.  Weber has already thrown eight interceptions this year and he has only six touchdowns.  Weber has fumbled four times, resulting in two turnovers, and has thrown for only 1,224 yards, with his completion rate dropping to 57.1 percent.

Finally, Decker has been spectacular, but the offensive passing game relies on him too much.   Decker has 46 catches, 689 receiving yards, five receiving touchdowns, and even one passing touchdown. 

No other Gopher receiver has more than 14 catches and the rest of the team only has 51 catches. Thirteen of those 51 receptions appear to have been screen passes to the running backs.  The only Gopher other than Decker to catch a touchdown pass from Weber is Troy Stoudermire.

If you are a defensive coordinator and you don’t double-team Decker, you should be fired.

Coach Brewster has his work cut out for him.

Assuming Coach Brewster can get his troops to right their ship and win the rest of their home games, the Gophers will finish no better than 7-5.  Hello, San Antonio.

Of course, if the Gophers continue to play soft defense, commit turnovers, and stay one dimensional, they also might lose a game or two at home.  Detroit or bust?

The Gophers need an upset against Penn State, Ohio State, or Iowa to give them a chance to play a bowl game in sunny Arizona or Florida in case they stumble at home. 

An upset also gives them a “remote chance” to land Rivals No. 1 high school player OT Seantrel Henderson from St. Paul, Minnesota.

No upset and the Gophers may not get to a bowl game with a loss in one of their remaining home games.  

No upset and Gopher Nation will wonder if Brewster is the right man to lead the team to Pasadena.  The Boosters will wonder, how could Brewster fail to improve the team with 19 starters returning?

No upset and recruiting becomes much harder for the Gophers, as recruits see the competition playing in major bowl games.

The best chance for an upset is this weekend against Penn State.  Penn State has to be over-confident after dismantling Eastern Illinois 52-3, right?  Nittany Lion All-American LB candidate Sean Lee is injured and might not play.

Of course, the Gophers go to Penn State this weekend as 17-point underdogs.

Brewster and the Gophers have their work cut out for them.