3-0? What the hell? They're Minnesota!

I told you this would happen.

I gave you fair warning.

But did you believe me? No. You blew off my ideas like they were Paris Hilton's political views.

 Who's laughing now? What's that? Woody Hayes is rolling in his grave laughing? He doesn't count.

But with what I've seen from this team so far this year, it still does not seem unreasonable to predict a winning record from the Golden Gophers this fall. No, they haven't completely destroyed teams like Penn State has, they haven't played a legitimate opponent like Purdue, Ohio State, and Illinois, but they HAVE done things that they haven't been able to do in the last few years.

Take the Northern Illinois game. First example of a game against a team that wasn't exactly a conference champion last year. In the MAC. They come into the Dome and match the Gophers blow for blow. What was different about that game than a usual Gopher game? Minnesota was the team that came back from 3 down in the final minute, shunned the chance at overtime, and made a big play when it counted to pull out a tough victory. Why does this give me hope? It was Northern Illinois. . . . This gives me hope because if Minnesota is playing in a game and a team comes back late for the victory on a gamble play, it's usually NOT the Gophers that are winning the game. If you don't believe me, see Minnesota vs. Northwestern (2000), Minnesota vs. Michigan (2003), and Minnesota vs. Texas Tech (2006 Insight Bowl). These are the types of games that the Gophers are famous for losing (and they almost did, with Northern Illinois having success on a late drive that ended in an Eric Decker pass deflection) but they were able to overcome that and gain their first win of the year. 

Final: 31-27

The next week's game against Bowling Green was a huge, huge game for the Maroon and Gold. Bowling Green was coming off a win over a ranked Pitt team, and the Gophers didn't get the luxury of playing this game in the Metrodome. It was a road test for Tim Brewster, who had never won a road game at Minnesota. (Granted, he'd only won ONE GAME at Minnesota) The defense was what was the bright spot of this game, forcing 5 turnovers and holding to Bowling Green to only 17 points despite 389 yards of total offense. The game was basically the best the Gophers could possibly play on offense, with Weber posting a very good stat line at 21-25 for 233 and 3 TDs. They also got a huge boost in the run game from true freshman Shady Salamon, who in his first collegiate game rushed for 64 yards and a TD on 12 carries. It was another great step in the right direction, surpassing the previous year's win total in only the second game of the year. (Yes, they were THAT bad (record-wise) last year) 

Final: 42-17

Today, they took on Montana State, an FCS team, at the Dome. Everyone remembers how that turned out last year, with North Dakota State running wild over the Gophers on their way to a 27-21 victory. This year would turn out differently, as the Gophers overcame a slow start to down the Bobcats. Weber didn't play particularly well, but once he started hitting Eric Decker, the Minnesota offense started to click and they scored 35 points in the second and third quarters. The Gophers got a very strong performance from Deleon Eskridge replacing Duane Bennett, who tore his ACL against Bowling Green. Eskridge gained 114 yards and had 3 TDs in the game, giving him a strong case to be the starter next week over Salamon. The defense and special teams had some holes that were evident in the early part of this game, giving up a 32 yard TD pass to a wide open Deandre Green, then giving up a 100 yard kickoff return to Demetrius Crawford. They did, however, block two Bobcat kicks, giving them a little redemption and showing this game was not as bad as the score would indicate.

Final: 35-23

I still see hope that the Gophers can win at least three of their final 9 games, boosting them to a record of at least 6-6 and into their first bowl game since Glen Mason was fired. Why is that? Adam Weber has played very well this year, the defense has shown flashes of potential, and Eric Decker is possibly the most underrated wide receiver in the Big Ten, and may possibly be the best receiver in the Big Ten. 

They've got the tools. It's up to Brewster to get them there...