Overview/Recap
For the second time in their last two full seasons, Minnesota recorded a nine-win or better season in 2021. The Gophers under PJ Fleck went 9-4 in 2021 including a Guaranteed Rate Bowl victory over the West Virginia Mountaineers.
The Gophers were able to collect their 9-4 season despite losing star running back Mohamad Ibrahim in their season opener against Ohio State. Taking advantage of a rather weak schedule the Gophers rattled off wins against Miami (OH), Colorado, Purdue, Nebraska, Maryland, and Northwestern in September and October. Though notably, they did fall to Bowling Geen on September, 14-10. They would suffer a setback at the beginning of November, losing two straight to Illinois and Iowa before rattling off three straight victories to end their season including a win over No.18 Wisconsin to end their regular season.
Offense:
A year after averaging over 25 points and 360 yards per game, the Gophers return six starters on the offensive side of the ball from last season including QB Tanner Morgan, RB Mohamed Ibrahim, WR Chris Autman-Bell, and offensive lineman John Michael Schmitz. Also returning, though in a different way is offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarocca after two years away from the Gopher program, spending time with the Nittany Lions as their own offensive coordinator as well as with West Virginia last season, serving as an analyst.
The Gophers' offense wasn't an explosive one in 2021 but with Ciarocca back as well as running back Mohamed Ibrahim, that should change in 2022. Going back to Kirk Ciarocca's last season with Minnesota in 2019, the Gophers were a dynamic offense, able to beat you both through the air and on the ground. Quarterback Tanner Morgan's best years came under Cirocca including a 3,000+ yard, 30 touchdown season in 2019. With a strong stable of running backs, the Gophers won't be afraid to run the ball either. Mohammad Ibrahim is one of the best running backs in the country when healthy and totaled 163 yards against Ohio State last season before suffering a torn Achilles that ended his season just one-half into the season.
If Tanner Morgan can return to his former self and outperform his 2,044 yards and 10 touchdown performance from a year ago, the Gophers' offense should be much improved this season, especially in the explosive plays category. Notably, the offensive line did lose a few players to the NFL including 6-foot-9 tackle Daniel Faalele. There shouldn't be a huge dropoff on the offensive line for the Gophers but it will be tough to replicate their success from a season ago.
Defense:
Minnesota's defense in 2022 was among the best in the country, allowing just 17.3 points and 279 yards per game. The Gophers are hoping they could have the same success in 2022 as they return six of 11 starters from last season.
Among the departures on defense for Minnesota include defensive lineman Boye Mafe and linebacker Jack Gibbens, arguably the Gophers' most disruptive players from a season ago.
Last season, the Gophers run defense was elite, allowing less than 100 yards per game. With the departure of Mafe and a few others, the defensive line should still be quality in 2022 but likely won't be as dominant, especially against the run. Against the pass, the Gophers' secondary did a great job, allowing just 55.6% of passes to be completed but the pass rush left a bit to be desired. The Gophers had just 25 sacks on the year last year and return just 8.5 sacks from a season ago.
Overall, Minnesota may only have listed six starters but those that they did lose were among their best playmakers and will be hard to replace production-wise. the biggest question for Minnesota will be if they can replace their production on the defensive line and continue to create disruption with their front seven, if they can, they'll have a good chance to be among the best defenses in the Big Ten again. Even if they struggle to replace the production to that level, the Gophers' defense should at the very least be above-average.
Special Teams:
Minnesota returns both their starting punter and kicker from last season. Sophomore punter Mark Crawford, averaged 41.7 yards per punt last season while pinning opposing teams inside their own 20 in 24 of his 47 punts. Senior kicker Matthew Trickett returns after going 17-for-25 in field goal attempts last season with a season-long of 50.
The Gophers will have to return both their starting punt returner and kick returner from a season ago as Brock Annexstad and Mar'Keise Irving have both moved on. Sophomore running back and Williamsport (PA) native Trey Potts will likely take over the starting punt return duties but could also be the Gophers kick returner this upcoming season.
Good special teams haven't exactly been a trademark of PJ Fleck's programs at Minnesota but the 2022 Gophers should at the least quality to average special teams. They likely won't win many games because of their special teams but they don't seem likely to lose many games because of them either.
Overall:
Overall, Minnesota should be a contender for the Big Ten West in 2022 but their schedule will not do them any favors. Games against New Mexico State, Western Illinois, and Colorado to start the season should have the Gophers ranked heading into the end of September but then their schedule does get tougher. Road games this season for the Gophers include Michigan State, Penn State, Nebraska, and Wisconsin while home matchups against Purdue and Iowa will also be intriguing matchups. For the Gophers, if they can manage their conference schedule at 7-2 or 6-3, they'll have a good chance of getting to Indianapolis, but that's a big if.
In terms of matching up with Penn State, the Gophers will give Penn State a good challenge and is a tough matchup for the program with Ohio State coming the week after. With Minnesota potentially at 5-1 heading into this game, this could very well be a matchup of two top-15 teams or higher in primetime which should only add to the excitement. Some may call it a trap game for Penn State but with Minnesota's track record and the Nittany Lions' suffering a heartbreaking loss to the Gophers the last time these two programs met, it seems unlikely the Nittany Lions will look past the Gophers and towards Ohio State.
Minnesota will match up well with Penn State both offensively and defensively but ultimately, the Nittany Lions' level of athletes is quite higher than Minnesota's, and in hostile environments like the White Out, that could end up being quite the difference. I expect the Gophers will be up and ready to play this one and they'll likely give Penn State a good fight but it's a game on paper that I currently have the Nittany Lions winning.
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