B1G 2020: Here comes Minnesota

So are we really doing this this time? Like really really? I’m not going to be sitting at my keyboard for Minnesota Week thinking about writing, but hearing from every direction that the season’s about to be cancelled?

Good. Because there’s something very B1G about me writing about Gopher Football as it snows outside. Somehow it just means more.

What Been Written So Far

Cocktail Party

Wistfully dreaming about road trips

I cut a vein about not getting football

So what do we need to know?

2019 B1G WR of the Year Rashod Bateman left, then came back.

Starting RT Curtis Dunlap left, then came back.

2nd Team All-B1G QB/CPA lookalike Tanner Morgan never left.

I suppose I should probably mention at some point that OC Kirk Ciarrocca left and isn’t coming back. Mike Sanford comes in as the new co-OC/QB coach, sharing duties with WR Coach Matt Simon.

On the offensive side of the ball, the big losses were WR Tyler Johnson (last seen catching a TD from Tom Brady), RBs Rodney Smith and Shannon Brooks and their combined 27 years of service to the Gopher Football program, and 4th WR Demetrius Douglas. That’s...it? One could easily argue that Ibrahim was the Gophers best RB over the past two seasons, what with Smith & Brooks breaking down a bit as they edged closer to receiving social security, and the influx of new talent (such as Cam Wiley and Ky Thomas) could make things fun. And having continuity for most of the rest of the offense has to be a good thing in these uncertain times.

Defensively? You know what? We’re just going to gloss over the fact that Antoine Winfield Jr., Carter Coughlin, Winston DeLattiboudere, Kamal Martin, Thomas Barber, and Chris Williamson have all departed. Everything is fine. We’ll just have to outscore everyone while the new players get integrated into the defense. It’s fine.

Here’s what I want to say about Special Teams: We added a 27 year old straight-edge Austrailian Punter in Mark Crawford.

The Schedule

The elimination of non-conference games this fall took a BYU-Gophers game away from us all, which I’ve been kinda OK with at times recently. Opening with a Michigan team with a lot of roster turnover is the perfect time. Playing 3 Friday night games...feels like something PJ Fleck kinda lobbied for behind the scenes to get more eyeballs for the team. Having the three decent teams on the schedule (Michigan, Iowa, wisconsin) spaced out is just good fortune. This is a great schedule.

So....whattya think?

If this were a normal season, I’d say this would be a perfect year for the defending B1G West Co-Champions to step up and get their turn being ground into a fine dust by Ohio State in the B1GCG. But it’s not a normal season.

It’s still the perfect year for the defending B1G West Co-Champions to step up and get their turn being ground into a fine dust by Ohio State in the B1GCG.