In better times just a few days ago, I got wildly ahead of myself.
One has to wonder when the Gophers will win again?
Optimism for the Gophers football team faded quickly in the second half of a loss to Iowa on Saturday, and a look ahead at the schedule reveals the daunting task Minnesota faces this year.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
September 25, 2024 at 5:17PM
Gophers quarterback Max Brosmer was carving up Iowa’s defense en route to two first half touchdown drives and a 14-7 lead at the break. He looked precisely like the breath of fresh air the Gophers needed in a rivalry that had turned into a race of low double digits in recent years.
If you squinted at Brosmer distributing the ball in rhythm, you might have thought to yourself (as I did) that he plays a little bit like Aaron Rodgers.
I almost put that on social media, but prudence and a lifetime of watching Gophers football told me to hold off. Let’s see how the second half goes.
And of course Iowa ran all over Minnesota in the second half, putting up 24 points to the Gophers’ zero. There were still things to like about Brosmer’s night, but they were muted by his second half struggles and by Iowa outgaining Minnesota 272-79 on the ground for the game.
If the thought at halftime was that the Gophers were becoming a team that could hang with anyone, the question after the game was different: Where are the wins going to come from? Randy Johnson and I talked about that challenge ahead on Wednesday’s Daily Delivery podcast.
Up next is Michigan, which is averaging more than 200 yards per game on the ground and just rallied past USC on the strength of 290 rushing yards. Do you like the Gophers, as 10-point underdogs, to go win at The Big House?
After that is another ranked opponent, USC, which can beat you in the air or on the ground.
UCLA the week after that should be a reprieve and the Gophers’ best chance for a Big Ten victory. But that’s still a road game, so let’s take nothing for granted.
The last five: home against Maryland, at No. 19 Illinois, at Rutgers, home against No. 9 Penn State and at Wisconsin. You might think Maryland and Rutgers are easy-ish games, but both are projected by ESPN to finish with around seven wins. The Gophers? Five.
P.J. Fleck’s Gophers have thrived in recent years focusing on one week at a time instead of letting the big picture consume them.
Without the benefit of the soft Big Ten schedule, and staring at a daunting stretch of games, that mindset will be of extra importance this season if they are to prove doubters wrong.
Here are four more things to know today:
- I opened Wednesday’s show talking about the hole the Twins continue to dig. With just five games left in the season, their playoff chances are bleak. It might be the worst collapse in franchise history.
- Speaking of the Twins, Minnesota Star Tribune columnist La Velle E. Neal III will join me on Thursday’s podcast for the Daily Delivery debate. Topic No. 1 is already available on YouTube: Does the Twins’ end-of-year slide portend more bad things to come in 2025 and beyond?
- The Lynx can close out the Mercury tonight and Connecticut can finish off Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever. If both of them win, it will set up a WNBA playoff semifinal showdown between two teams who were incredibly evenly matched this season.
- How are the Vikings getting it done on defense? Andrew Krammer tackled that question in his latest film review.
Three transfers and seven freshmen are new to a Gophers team that went 27-10-2 last season and lost a four-overtime NCAA tournament thriller to Clarkson.
