It is well known by anyone who has ever read my writings on college football that I am not a fan of Philip John Fleck Jr. I'm sure he's a decent person who recycles and keeps his lawn mowed. I wouldn't mind having him as a neighbor if only because that would mean that my salary would have increased at least sevenfold. I pass no judgement on him as a person, but as a coach, he leaves me cold. Now in his ninth season at Minnesota, if he were going to do anything incredible, he would have done it by now. I'm not going to call him "all hat, no cattle" but (a) speaking as a fellow bald guy, he ought to wear a hat when he's out in the sun, and (b) he has occasionally shown some bovinity on the field -- and honestly, I mean that in a good way. I just think the guy should run his mouth a little less, that's all.
Last year was an 8-5 season for the Gophers, and wow, who (other than everyone) saw that coming?
The Big Question: Can Minnesota put together an offense with enough grunt to at least keep it in games against teams with superior depth, or will the defense have to carry the team again in 2025? Given the absolute lack of experience at quarterback -- the Gophers have one player who has attempted a pass in a college game -- that is a huge question indeed.
My Guess at the Answer: LOL, nope. No, the Gophers cannot hope to have anything more than a pedestrian offense in 2025. Even that might be too much to expect.
Key Games:
- at California, Sept. 13: I give mad props to Minnesota for scheduling a West Coast road trip despite being in the Big Ten (and yes, I'm aware this game was probably scheduled before the annexation of the good parts of the Pac-12). Taking on the moribund California Golden Bears will let the team get its travel legs without suffering a humiliating, confidence-destroying loss on the third weekend of the season.
- at Iowa, October 25: The Gophers have to win this game, because they regard themselves as Iowa's equal even though the record on the field indicates this is wishful thinking on their part.
My Prediction: Minnesota gets Rutgers, Purdue, Nebraska, Michigan State and Wisconsin as its home conference opponents and somehow manages to lose to two of them, as well as getting stomped by Ohio State and Oregon on the road, en route to another 7-5 regular season. P.J. Fleck's status as a coach too good to fire but not good enough to keep becomes even further cemented.
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