Will PJ Fleck's Minnesota Gophers Row The Boat In 2022? | Minnesota Football 2022

Introduction, Discussion + Schedule Preview can minnesota win the big ten west in 2022 comment your thoughts on that question down below whether your answer is a yes a no whether you don't really know whether you want to add an explanation to any of those prior answers i'm all welcome for it i just encourage you to comment your thoughts down below i love having discourse having conversation it's what makes college football content on youtube so enjoyable we can all debate peacefully or have a conversation with happiness and ease unlike in politics but anyway today is just going to be about minnesota football what i think about them and why i think they'll be a successful team in 2022 and to answer the question that i previously asked y'all i think that minnesota can win the big ten west i absolutely do now i think nebraska is going to be the one who's actually going to win it and i think minnesota and nebraska that matchup will determine the west division in my opinion i think that that matchup determines who goes to indy from the west division basically restating what i just said but whatever and for my reasons as to why that is i just want to talk about minnesota today don't want to get too much detail into it but i encourage you to check out my big ten record prediction video and some of my other nebraska content that will explain that all for you and why i think that so check those out the link for the big ten record prediction one will be down in my description the others you can pretty easily find by browsing through my channel but back to minnesota and why i think they can win the west and it mainly has to revolve around solid defensive play and a great run game great run game supported by an offensive line that i think will just reload despite losing four starters they return center john michael schmitz they get in a solid transfer from michigan and they also get in some cal solid transfers from other power five programs some up-and-coming players from fcs schools or group of five programs we'll talk about their use of the transfer portal a little bit later more in detail but it's helping them reload and fill holes in the defensive line cornerback and offensive line minnesota is already loaded at linebacker in safety obviously loaded at running back they're only losing one tight end their starter and their wide receivers and quarterback return though the latter two that i just mentioned are subject to in my opinion skepticism and concern that's just my opinion on minnesota football right now and i think that their quarterback and wide receivers are holding them back everything else is a team that can win the west and you look at their schedule which i'm just going to name it out briefly here and then get more in detail into it in a few seconds their schedule is new mexico state western illinois colorado at michigan state purdue at illinois at penn state hosting rutgers at nebraska hosting northwestern hosting iowa and playing at rival wisconsin do any of those sound like an ohio state to you i mean the answer there is obviously no i think and others think this too that michigan is also going to be the second best team in the big ten it's not a very unpopular opinion but there's more skepticism than that than ohio state being the juggernaut that it obviously is not even michigan is on the schedule who was actually a rival to minnesota most college football fans know that but i thought it'd be appropriate to mention it since it's a minnesota video but anyway there's no insanely tough rock to climb there there is not at michigan state at nebraska at penn state i think are their toughest games i think wisconsin they're being overrated they're losing a lot graham mertz is not good the reason that game is in my opinion is as tough as it is it's because it's a rivalry that wisconsin is used to dominating and they're going to be mad that minnesota beat them and ruined their chances to get to indy this past season so now let's get in depth to the schedule and here i'll explain wins losses my end record and talk about each team for at most a few seconds new mexico state which is thursday september 1st at home western illinois a game that takes place september 10th and colorado a game that takes place september 17th these are three home non-conference games to open up minnesota's schedule all will be easy wins there's no point in talking about either of these teams colorado is a dumpster fire new mexico state is a dumpster fire western illinois is an fcs school all these three are likely going to be 20 22 wins for minnesota yes bowling green happened last year try and forget that it's very hard to predict those games at michigan state september 24th is minnesota's first test and it is going to be a tough test because michigan state because of their great run defense they match up well with minnesota's great run offense and minnesota has a poor pass attack at least from what we can assume which will not be able to effectively target michigan state's poor pass defense so as i just explained to you not a good matchup for minnesota plus it's on the road and michigan state does have a more dynamic offense better pass attack don't think they'll have the better rush attack but a pass attack plus home field advantage i think will really help the spartans here and i think this is going to be minnesota's first loss minnesota will return home october 1st to host purdue in which i think it won't be as easy as the non-conference games but it will be a sound victory for minnesota as i think this year they will be deeper than purdue at most positions but quarterback october 8th is a buy before minnesota travels to illinois and i think they will get revenge on the illini october 15th at penn state october 22nd is another tough game very tough game beaver stadium is one of the most intimidating places to play when it's full when it's a full stadium it might be the best atmosphere in college football i love it i've attended a game there i attended when my michigan wolverines traveled there was an awesome experience this is a game where minnesota will definitely be an underdog probably more so than the michigan state game but but i think minnesota is going to win here i think minnesota has the better head coach they have the better schemer and culture guy in the head coach i don't think james franklin is a good schemer and i think pj flex culture is just in near invincible and i think that that is going to overcome some of minnesota's weaknesses against a penn state team that i think will be mediocre be above average but i'm not high on penn state this will be a huge statement win for minnesota this coming season minnesota will then return home to what will feel like a coast compared to their penn state game on october 29th versus rutgers that will be a win november 5th their first november game minnesota's will be against who i think will win the big ten west and in saying that i think that minnesota will lose at nebraska it will be a good game but i think that nebraska in the end of the day will have the more versatile dynamic offense and home field advantage and that will help them get the win and the west division crown after this i think minnesota will return home to win two home games in a row their final two against northwestern november 12th and their first against iowa i think in the pj fleck era november 19th that being due to iowa's poor offense they lose their center tyler linderbaum and they're good running back tyler goodson and it's a home game first time iowa plays minnesota in a full tc huntington bank stadium since 2018. minnesota's final game of course will be against wisconsin in camp randall november 26th this is a game where i actually think the home team in wisconsin will be an underdog i think wisconsin is inferior in most ways to minnesota but it's a rivalry which always levels the playing field to a certain degree and it's at wisconsin they're going to want revenge despite my despite the withering away of my faith in paul christ through the past few years i still think he's a good coach and i think that this day wisconsin will win and paul bunyan's acts will return to camp randall so i'll have minnesota have a nine and three six and three conference regular season record and i have them being the 19th best team in the country and that's just me previewing their record i think they're going to be a solid team Key Points, Reviewing Fleck's Statements + Conclusion all around and now we're going to get into some key points talk a little bit about what pj flex said just about spring football and then close out this video so a key point of mine is the offense just it needs to improve and especially in the past game and we've we've already went over this you know tanner morgan he has not been the same player he was in 2019 when he had rashad bateman now chris ottman bell who i thought was going to be a an impact guy that this past year but he really wasn't he returns he could have a breakout year and be the great wide receiver that many of us think that he can be but the pass game needs to improve i think that the scheming will with kirk shiroka and matt simon i think that that duo will do much better than mike sanford jr who i don't like him going to colorado is only going to help minnesota beat them it's not going to help colorado beat minnesota the offensive line needs to reload as well to assist the powerful powerful run game this i think will happen but it's never a guarantee but to help with a potential guarantee minnesota has utilized the transfer portal here minnesota is bringing in transfer interior offensive lineman chuck philiaga from michigan to help replace one of the four linemen departing from minnesota and they're also bringing in offensive tackle quinn carroll from notre dame to do the same so two offensive linemen coming in both from successful power five programs who would have combined what combined 23 and 4 record this past season both had good o-line coaches so i see reloading here and i think that that's really going to help the powerful run game it's going to help the offense i just listed the first point because it's so it's so critical it has to be mentioned because the defense under joe rossi we know is going to be solid and that leads into the third point is maintaining the same defenses last year is critical and minnesota they're loaded with tyler nubin and the other safety's name is on the tip of my tongue jordan howden those two loaded at safety they're both very good safeties minnesota is also loaded at linebacker with mariono sorry marin and others at linebacker as well those groups are loaded with talent and starters and production from this past season cornerback and defensive line were areas of concern though as minnesota loses all their starting defensive linemen including boeing mafe and they lose a starting cornerback however minnesota is once again utilizing the portal darnell jeffries is coming in from clemson on the defensive line along with chris smith chris smith is from harvard looks to be a rising star from there so those are two guys on the defensive line to look out for along with lorenza sergers that's three three guys coming in from the defensive line and two cornerbacks ryan stapp and shannon bishop so minnesota is utilizing that transfer portal specifically to target weaknesses they're also bringing in kicker jacob lewis from ball state as well so minnesota utilizing the portal that always helps and that could have been brought up as a point here as to why they can be successful but i mainly wanted to focus on what minnesota needs to do to improve since i don't have them winning the west and i don't have them having this amazing amazing year even though i think they're capable of it they're right there they're contending i think that a 9-3 regular season record is an improvement off of this past season i think they'll be better than this past season but there's still some skepticism going around their offense as i've already mentioned the passing game tanner morgan needs to improve his wide receivers need to improve that's that's really what it boils down to can minnesota generate an effective passing attack can they target michigan state's weak secondary can they force penn state's defense well even though i think it'll take a step back it's full of talent because having a good passing game against big ten east opponents who have superior talent and having it on the road that versatile offense can really help minnesota and they have not had that since 2019 finally let's read a few headlines and discuss them from a big article that i will link down below talking about what pj flex said to start the 2022 spring football season so he talks about kirk shiroka and the offense and what does he return to try and maybe improve and he talked about how you know minnesota has cycled through a few a few classes few players a few seasons without kirk he was at penn state in 2020 i think he was an offensive analyst at west virginia in 2021 and he was talking about how he loves kirk's organizational skills but at the same time kirk has work to do with reconnecting with the players because not every player has experienced him there when you're gone for two years you're gonna have guys who are starting who didn't even experience him as a coach they just heard about him he's a good oc i think that he'll do better and again i'm reading headlines this isn't from the article i'm reading the headline portion you can read into the nitty-gritty details it's just so much that i think it's too much for one video so he's glad to have kirk back and again i think that he'll do a much better job at oc than mike sanford jr did two what's the plan for running backs moe ibrahim and trace and potts as they attempt to get cleared this spring muhammad ibrahim is doing good by my reports obviously he has ramadan that i that has already started i believe from probably off but it's already started and he obviously during ramadan you know you you can't eat during the day during sunrise from summer sunrise to sunset you cannot eat so his training regimen has to be completely changed and pj fleck went into that but he works out in the morning before the sunk sun comes up and then they doing it he does an individual workout as well he's recovering very nicely and it's a credit to the entire staff the running backs coach the strength and conditioning coach so muhammad ibrahim is doing well tracy potts is also been doing well he's worked out all winter he also has a modified spring but he's going to be seen doing many different things but the decision on trey always gets made to the medical staff he's worked out with the team and such so both running backs look to be doing well and according to pj fleck when it involves running he's able to go 100 percent and that's a that's those are words right out of pj flex mouth so take from that what you will but the running backs look to be recovering very well and there is more as well he also talks about the nil and how many different players are involved with the nil and they're doing a good job and he enjoys the process and he thinks that it's a part of recruiting and this is what i like about pj fleck you know he's from the mac obviously at western michigan this is his first power five job he's still a pretty young coach but that helps to a big degree because he's young he's obviously a guy who can build a culture but that youth that he brings allows him to adapt and adapting to the nil can it gives a chance for a small program who has not been good for the past few decades in minnesota to make a jump potentially steal some critical recruits and get its name and its brand out there there are many other things as well i'm not gonna go through all of them i wanted to again it's too much if i had to read every individual word this could probably be a 30 to even 40 minute video with how much he said in this 24 7 sports article so i'm gonna leave it up to you if you want to read it down below i'll link that along with my big ten record prediction video and a link to minnesota's projected depth chart and their schedule so check those out if you want to down below and if you like this video hit that like button hit that subscribe button hit the notification bell and comment your thoughts down below row the boat i do have faith in pj fleck and i do think at some point if he chooses to stay at minnesota i do think he will find a way to indie thank you all for watching and i'll see you guys around bye