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
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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