Minnesota College Football Preview, Best Players, Top Transfers, Season Prediction, Win Total 2024

Minnesota Golden Gophers Preview 2024

Just when it started to feel like the PJ Fleck era was fizzling, the new era of college football gave Minnesota a huge boost.

Thank you, transfer portal.

The 2023 Gophers were … weird.

They lost their running game mojo, totally gagged away a win over Northwestern, beat Iowa for the first time since the Hayden Fry era (not really, but it felt like it), survived Nebraska, lost to Wisconsin, and managed to have the only defense that couldn’t stop Purdue.

They had a losing regular season, and got to go to a bowl game at 5-7 because the team from five years earlier went to class (if you don’t what the Academic Progress Rate is and why it matters, don’t worry because it’s … again, weird).

And then after all of that, the rumors were flying around that Fleck might be off to take the UCLA head coaching gig. Stuff like that is supposed to affect recruiting, but instead, Fleck and the Gophers became Ohio State Lite as they crushed the transfer portal.

So the running game struggled? It just got a slew of very good running backs to fix the glitch.

So the passing attack had issues? The team landed an All-America passer from the FCS level. Depth was a problem? Not anymore after bringing in new guy after new guy to add several instant options.

At the very least, Fleck and the program made a move, and now …

Minnesota Preview 2024: Offense

- Minnesota wasn’t Minnesota. The team that dominated third downs for so long was among the worst in the country - more on that later - the running game was meh, and the passing attack sputtered and coughed way too much.

The skill parts should be fine, but the line has to take over and start dominating again. It has experience, and it has one of the best left tackles in the Big Ten in Aireontae Ersery. He’s great, OG Quinn Carroll is a force on the inside, and the Gopher blocking should start playing the part again helped by …

- Minnesota always seems to have a bevy of backs to use in a rotation, and this one should be great. It doesn’t have a Mohamed Ibrahim, but Darius Taylor is a good lead man, and the transfer portal combination of Sieh Bangura (Ohio), Marcus Major (Oklahoma), and Jaren Mangham (Michigan State) is loaded. And now defenses can’t focus on the run because …

- Minnesota has a quarterback. Max Brosmer might not have been the biggest name in the transfer portal, but the New Hampshire star was a huge get. He’s a veteran passer with the experience to make the rebuilding receiving corps work.

The top four wide receivers form last season are gone - Elijah Spencer is the leading returning wideout with nine grabs. The starters will be upperclassmen, the key backups are young, and there has to be a rhythm from the start. On the plus side, with Brosmer the passing game shouldn’t be nearly as inconsistent.

Minnesota Preview 2024: Defense

- It’s funny how this sometimes works. When defenses don’t give up a lot of points, teams tend to win. When they give up a lot of points, the opposite happens - unless you’re Iowa. That’s one of the teams that failed to get more than 24 points against the Gophers.

Minnesota was 6-0 when allowing 24 or fewer, 0-7 when giving up more. To keep this going, Minnesota is 19-2 going back to 2021 when giving up 24 or fewer. This year’s defense has the disruptive parts to be more of a rock.

- The pass rush was okay, but the experience is there to do more. The combination of Jah Joyner and Danny Striggow combined for 13.5 sacks, but the tackles for loss have to start flowing. There aren’t the mammoth defensive tackles the Gophers occasionally have, but it’s a deep group.

The linebacking corps gets back Cody Lindenberg from a leg injury. He’ll be one of the team’s top tacklers on the outside, and Devon Williams and Maverick Baranowski tied for fourth on the team in stops on the inside.

- As always, Minnesota has dangerous defensive backs. The one true star safety might not be there with Tyler Nubin gone to the New York Giants, but Gopher defenses always get production out of the position. 2023 leading tackler Jack Henderson will crank up the stats, though. Corner Justin Walley should be the sure all-star in the defensive backfield.

Minnesota Key To The Season

Start converting third downs again.
It all tied together over the years under Fleck. Run well, put the offense in great situations for easy third down chances, move the chains, dominate the time of possession battle, repeat.

From 2019 to 2022 the Gophers were a force on third down conversions - the 2022 team hit on 52% of its chances. Last year? The 35% clip was the worst since the first season under Fleck when the O converted just 34% of the time.

Minnesota Key Player

WR Elijah Spencer, Sr.
In a receiving corps that needs experience and plays, one of last year’s big transfers has to rise up and rock. Spencer was a force for Charlotte for two years with 85 catches for 1,324 yards and 15 scores with a slew of big plays. He struggled to make anything happen last year with just nine catches with the Gophers, but three were for scores.

Minnesota Top Transfer, Biggest Transfer Loss

Top Transfer In: QB Max Brosmer, Sr.
There were a few decent passers in the PJ Fleck era - Tanner Morgan threw 30 touchdown passes in 2019 - but Brosmer has the potential to be the best Gopher quarterback in years. He threw for 8,713 yards and 70 scores with ten touchdown touchdowns in four years at New Hampshire. Now the offense is his, but …

Top Transfer Out: QB Athan Kaliakmanis, Jr.
Maybe Brosmer doesn’t work out. Maybe the problems of the offense last year were more than just about the quarterback and passing attack. Kaliakmanis struggled, but it certainly wasn’t all him. He’s a decent talent who should end up starting for Rutgers.

Minnesota Key Game

Iowa, Sept. 21
You did It once, Minnesota, now do it again.

Iowa held the Floyd of Rosedale trophy - it’s a bronze pig - since 2014, and last year the Gophers finally broke through. It might have taken a let’s-just-say questionable penalty to survive the 12-10 struggle, but it was a break in the gloom.

This year it’s the Big Ten opener, and with at Michigan, USC, and at UCLA to follow, Minnesota has to make it two in a row for the first time since 2010-2011.

Minnesota 10 Best Players

1. Aireontae Ersery, OT Sr.
2. Max Brosmer, QB Sr.
3. Cody Lindenberg, LB Sr.
4. Jah Joyner, DE Sr.
5. Justin Walley, CB Sr.
6. Dragen Kesich, PK Sr.
7. Quinn Carroll, OG Sr.
8. Darius Taylor, RB Soph.
9. Danny Striggow, DE Sr.
10. Mark Crawford, P Sr.

Minnesota 2023 Fun Stats

- 3rd Down Conversions: Opponents 80-174 (46%), Minnesota 62-176 (35%)

- Fumbles: Opponents 13 (lost 7), Minnesota 9 (lost 6)

- Penalties: Opponents 69 for 643 yards, Minnesota 39 for 352 yards

Minnesota 2024 Season Prediction, Win Total, What Will Happen

The schedule has a slew of nasty teams on it, but if Minnesota is good, this is manageable.

In the new and brutally tough Big Ten, Minnesota doesn’t have to play Ohio State, Oregon, or Washington - that’s massive. It doesn’t hurt to miss Nebraska or Northwestern, and missing Michigan State might be a positive this year, too.

It’s also a plus that several of the big games are in the Bank. North Carolina, Iowa, USC, Maryland, and Penn State all come to Minneapolis, and going to Illinois and Rutgers isn’t totally horrible when it comes to Big Ten road dates.

At Michigan, at Wisconsin, and a long trip to UCLA after dealing with the Wolverines and USC - that’s the big problem.

The first four games are at home. Beat North Carolina and Iowa before the tough part kicks in, and the potential is there for a big season.

With all the improvements on both sides of the ball, the better lines, great special teams, and renewed energy, Minnesota will come up with a winning season again.

Set The Minnesota Win Total At … 6.5

Likely Wins: Nevada, Rhode Island

50/50 Games: at Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, North Carolina, Penn State, at Rutgers, UCLA, USC, at Wisconsin

Likely Losses: at Michigan

- 2024 Minnesota Schedule: 3 Things To Know