100% Match Bonus Offer!
For a limited time-Deposit up to $50 in a new acccount at Bodog and receive a 100% match bonus!

Bookmaker.com 20% Deposit Bonus
Just open a new account and deposit at least $300 for a 20% cash bonus!

2008 Minnesota Golden Gophers

Written June 16, 2008 by Jason Lowry

It is that time of year to start talking football, and Jason Lowry is ready to make his 2008 Minnesota Golden Gophers football predictions, but before we get to that lets take a little closer look at this team and what it is bringing to both sides of the ball this season. The Golden Gophers are coming off a miserable season where they managed to win just 1 game overall, and were shut out in Big 10 play going 0-8. In what will be the final year at the Metrodome it doesn’t look like it is going to be a year to remember. Head coach Tim Brewster is hoping that he can do much better in his 2nd season at Minnesota. With 15 returning starters Brewster needs his team to improve in a lot of areas if they want to make a big turn around in the upcoming season.

Offense:
With 8 returning starters there is hope that this team can improve dramatically in 2008. While the team wasn’t terrible in the ground or passing game, they were terrible at giving the other team the ball. They finished the season with a -15 turnover ratio, and if that doesn’t improve it doesn’t matter what kind of numbers someone puts up. The team is hoping that sophomore quarterback Adam Weber can continue to grow as a quarterback and reduce his interceptions. Weber could end up being something special in the college game, as he has the gifted ability to be able to throw and run with the football. He led the team with 617 yards last season on the ground and piled up 2895 yards in the air. At running back the team will likely count on sophomore Duane Bennett to improve off his 442 yards and 3 touchdowns from a year ago. At receiver the team should be pretty solid as they return junior Eric Decker and his 909 yards and 9 touchdowns in 2007. Also look for sophomore Tray Herndon to improve his numbers, and senior Jack Simmons to have a big year as the teams tight end. The offensive line is in the 2nd year of adjusting to the new schemes and it should improve from last year. Another sophomore in DJ Burris should be one of the best the line has to offer, and could wind up turning into one of the best right guards in the conference.

Defense:
The defense returns 7 starters, but this was a unit that gave up 36.7 points a game. They got burned on the ground for nearly 229 yards a game and torched in the air for 289 yards a game. So there will have to be some major improvements on this side of the ball if they want to win more football games. The defensive line should improve, as senior defensive end Willie VanDeSteeg should come into the season healthy, and we think that junior Lee Campbell can emerge at the other end spot. Garret Brown and Eric Small will likely be the starters at tackle, and will need to do a better job of shutting down the run. The team returns two starters at linebacker in seniors Steve Davis and Deon Hightower, who come in as the two leading tacklers coming back from last season. The secondary will be pretty young with 2 sophomores and juniors starting at the corner and safety spots. The thing is the two returning starters are the sophomores in Ryan Collado at corner and Kyle Theret at strong safety.

Prediction: 11th in the Big 10
While we don’t like seeing teams finish at the bottom of a conference in back-to-back years, there are just too may questions surrounding this team in 2008. The offense will likely get better, as should the defense, but the defense has a much longer road to being good enough to win games in the Big 10. The thing to remember when you talk about the Gophers is that they are young, and could wind up being much better than expected. We really think this team could be a big threat in 2009 and 2010, as they are just loaded with sophomores and juniors. We think they will win more than 1 game, but will likely still be at the bottom of the Big 10.

If you are looking to get a jump start on the upcoming NCAA football season, then head over to BetUS.com and get an account up and running today. Also be sure to continue to check back as professional handicapper Jason Lowry will continue to make his run through some of the best teams and conferences in the country.

If you liked this article, you may also be interested in:

No comments yet, but your thoughts are welcome!

Comments

Got something to say?