Minnesota Golden Gophers: CFN College Football Preview 2021

College Football News Preview 2021: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Minnesota football season with what you need to know.

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Minnesota Schedule Analysis
– Minnesota Golden Gophers Previews
2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015

2020 Record: 3-4 overall, 3-4 in Big Ten
Head Coach: PJ Fleck, 54th year, 26-19 (56-41 overall)
2020 CFN Final Ranking: 53
2020 CFN Preview Ranking: 20
2019 CFN Final Ranking: 25

Minnesota Golden Gophers College Football Preview 2021: Offense

– Minnesota has become an interesting mix of offensive styles and talents under PJ Fleck and offensive coordinators Mike Sanford and Matt Simon. The running game is there to be great, the receivers have been fantastic, and the efficiency is usually fine with a strong, balanced attack. If the 2021 version isn’t going to be as strong as the 2019 O, it at least has to be more consistent than 2020.

– Joe Burrow, Jalen Hurts, Justin Fields. Those were the three quarterbacks more efficient than Tanner Morgan in 2019. Not Trevor Lawrence. Not Justin Herbert. Not Kyle Trask. Morgan got dogged for not being at that level in 2020, but he was still decent in the strange seven-game season. Now he has to get his completion level back up over 60% and hit more deep throws along the way.

The receiving corps is still fantastic even with Rashod Bateman off to the Baltimore Ravens. Chris Autman-Bell isn’t exactly the next in the line of great NFL prospects under Fleck, but he’s a fantastic deep threat averaging close to 20 yards per grab last year.

Daniel Jackson is a rising playmaker, and Dylan Wright is an interesting 6-3, 215-pound option coming in from Texas A&M.

– This should be the best offensive line by far of the five-year Fleck era. It’s big, it’s experienced, and it just got a whole lot bigger and more experienced with the return of 6-9, 400-pound Daniel Faalele to right tackle after he opted out last season.

The other four starters should in some form around right guard Conner Olson and with Blaise Andries playing where needed now that Faalele is back. Both earned All-Big Ten honors, and Sam Schlueter is a good one at left tackle. This group is going to bash for the fabulous backs returning.

Mohamed Ibrahim is one of the nation’s toughest backs, handling the ball over 200 yards in seven games, and now he’s back along with Cam Riley and Treyson Potts, two 200-pound backs who each averaged over six yards per carry.

– What You Need To Know: Defense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Minnesota Schedule Analysis

NEXT: Minnesota Golden Gophers College Football Preview 2021: Defense

Minnesota Golden Gophers College Football Preview 2021: Defense

– Let’s just say the defense could be better. There wasn’t any pass rush, there weren’t any takeaways, and the run D had a big, big problem. On the plus side, just about everyone is back – depending on the alignment, all 11 defenders could technically be called returning starters.

– It starts with getting nastier against the run. The Gophers have the size in 6-4, 315-pound Micah Dew-Treadway and 6-2, 310-pound DeAngelo Carter on the inside, and the pass rush has to be be a whole lot stronger around 265-pound senior Boye Mafe, who led the team with 4.5 of the team’s eight sacks.

– The linebacking corps has to be stronger. Mariano Sori-Marin led the team with 54 tackles in the middle, but he didn’t do much to get behind the line. Several options are there for the other spot in the 4-2-5, but the defensive backs tend to make most of the tackles in this style.

– Tyler Nubin was second on the team with 41 tackles and Jordan Howden was third with 37 stops. They’re rocks on the D, Coney Durr is a terrific-tackling corner, and Justus Harris rose up into a role as last year went on.

– What You Need To Know: Offense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Minnesota Schedule Analysis

NEXT: Minnesota Golden Gophers College Football Preview 2021: Top Players

Minnesota Golden Gophers College Football Preview 2021: Top Players

Best Minnesota Golden Gophers Offensive Player

RB Mohamed Ibrahim, Sr.
The 5-10, 210-pounder went from being a great part of a rotation to one of the toughest workhorse runners around. He won’t do much for the passing game, but he’ll averaged well over five yards per carry and will handle it 20 times or more per game. He hit the 100-yard mark in each of the seven games – and is on a run of eight straight getting to 100 – with 15 scores.

2. WR Chris Autman-Bell, Sr.
3. QB Tanner Morgan, Sr.
4. OG Conner Olson, Sr.
5. OG/OT Blaise Andries, Sr,

Related

Minnesota Football Schedule 2021: Analysis, Best and Worst Case Scenarios

Best Minnesota Golden Gophers Defensive Player

CB Coney Durr, Sr.
Able to play anywhere in the secondary, the 5-10, 200-pounder overcame a knee injury to be a big part of the fun over the last three years with close to 100 tackles with four picks and 20 broken up passes.

All-Big Ten on the field and in the classroom, he’s a strong veteran who’ll lock down one outside spot – even though he might be stronger as a free safety – and be one of the team’s top tacklers.

2. DE Boye Mafe, Sr.
3. S Tyler Nubin, Jr.
4. S Jordan Howden, Sr.
5. DT DeAngelo Carter, Soph.

Top Incoming Minnesota Golden Gophers Transfer

DT Nyles Pinckney, Sr.
Minnesota is already solid at tackle, and it’s about to get even better.

Pinckney’s a former super-recruit for Clemson who wasn’t bad for the perennial national championship contender. He’s got 6-1, 290-pound size, quickness, and a whole lot of experience at the highest of levels with 98 career tackles with three sacks and 13 tackles for loss.

– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Minnesota Schedule Analysis

NEXT: Minnesota Golden Gophers College Football Preview 2021: Keys To The Season

Minnesota Golden Gophers College Football Preview 2021: Keys To The Season

Minnesota Golden Gophers Biggest Key: Offense

It’s okay to start pushing the ball deep again. The running game is going to be terrific with Mohamed Ibrahim working behind the big veteran line, but the passing attack has to start being more 2019-like.

That’s far, far easier said than done without Tyler Johnson and Rashod Bateman from two years ago, but last season the passing game dropped from over 15 yards per catch to 13.

The passing game sputtered in the loss to Iowa and failed to get to 200 yards in five of the seven games after hitting the mark nine times in 2019. The total doesn’t matter as much as the play.

As long as the Gophers get back to being closer to ten yards per pass attempt – they were at 7.6 last year – the offense should open up.

Minnesota Golden Gophers Biggest Key: Defense

Uhhhhhh, the pass rush? Minnesota was 115th in the nation with just eight sacks and and was dead last in tackles for loss per game with a mere 2.57.

How miserable was that? It’s all-timer bad – they’re the fewest generated per game by any team in college football over the last ten years, with only 2018 Navy and 2020 Air Force and Akron also going under the three tackle for loss mark.

Even more strange was how solid the 2019 version was with 62 tackles for loss on the year and a not-awful 2.15 sacks per game.

The parts are there, but now the production has to follow.

Minnesota Golden Gophers Key Player To A Successful Season

WR Chris Autman-Bell, Sr.
Can he possibly go from being a terrific part of the passing game to a true No. 1 who can take over a game?

The 6-1, 215-pounder has been overshadowed by Tyler Johnson and Rashod Bateman, but he’s made his mark with 50 catches and six scores over the last two years.

Last year he averaged close to 20 yards per grab and put up two 100-yard games, but this year he needs to push for well past 50 catches as the main man in the corps.

Minnesota Golden Gophers Key Game To The 2021 Season

at Purdue, Oct. 9
It would be a massive deal if the Gophers could open up the season with a home win over Ohio State, but that’s asking a lot. The next Big Ten game is a month later in West Lafayette against what’s sure to be a surly Purdue team looking for revenge after last year’s loss.

Purdue scored what seemed like it would be the game-winning touchdown pass – at least it would give it the lead – but a questionable pass interference call took it away. The Gophers picked off a pass soon after and got out with a 34-31 win.

Lose, and it’s almost certainly an 0-2 Big Ten start. Win, and with a week off to rest and winnable home games against Nebraska, Maryland and Illinois over the next four

– Minnesota Golden Gophers Schedule Breakdown & Analysis

2020 Minnesota Golden Gophers Fun Stats

– Field Goals: Opponents 5-of-14 – Minnesota 4-of-6
– Time of Possession: Minnesota 34:06 – Opponents 25:54
– Fumbles: Opponents 12 (lost 2) – Minnesota 5 (lost 2)

NEXT: Minnesota Golden Gophers College Football Preview 2021: What Will Happen, Season Prediction

Minnesota Golden Gophers College Football Preview 2021: What Will Happen, Season Prediction

The PJ Fleck era seems so close to turning a corner into something a whole lot bigger, and this is the year to make that happen.

It’s not going to be easy.

It won two bowl games in Fleck’s first four years, had the puck on its stick to go do something special in 2019 before losing to Wisconsin, and despite all the craziness and disruptions, the 2020 3-4 season wasn’t all that horrible.

The Gophers are loaded with veterans on both sides of the ball, the lines should be as good if not better than anything the program has had in at least five years, and the coaching staff has had time to get its parts in place. So …

Will the 2021 Gophers be more like 2019 or 2020?

The 2019 team managed to fight through some very, very scary moments against mediocre teams early on to roll to an 11-win season.

The 2020 team gacked away a stunning loss to a bad Maryland team, got rolled by a lousy Michigan team, and should’ve lost to a mediocre Purdue team except for a questionable call. (However, give the Gophers a ton of credit for picking off the pass after the pass interference to close out the Boilermakers.)

This year’s team is better, it catches a few big schedule breaks, but it’s still going to be a fight to get to a winning season.

Set The Minnesota Golden Gophers Regular Season Win Total At … 6.5

There’s no Penn State, Michigan, or Michigan State, and the biggest games against Ohio State and Wisconsin are at home – that’s about as much as can be reasonably asked for in the Big Ten.

However, Minnesota has a massive Iowa problem – losing six straight in the series – and that’s on the road. Going to Northwestern is rough, and facing Indiana on the road between Iowa and Wisconsin is a disastrous scheduling quirk.

Throw in the road dates against Colorado and Purdue, and again, it’s not going to be easy.

But Minnesota will keep beating almost all of the teams it’s supposed to, it’ll manage to get by one team it probably shouldn’t beat, and Fleck will make it to a third bowl in his last four seasons.

It won’t be a corner-turning season, but everything will keep moving along.

– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– Minnesota Schedule Analysis