2024 Gophers Football Game by Game Prediction

Minnesota Gophers Season Preview

Now that the calendar has flipped to August, the feeling of Gopher Football is becoming increasingly stronger. Only 28 more days until I get to hear the heartbeat throughout the stadium followed by “Youuuurrrr University of Minnesota Golden Gophers”. The rouser going in the background, man take me there now. It is going to be a fun year. I am going to start this article by saying it is really hard for me to not pick us to go 12-0. I am optimistic and like to thing of how we can/will win every game. So writing this article/prediction and remaining as “normal” as possible is very hard. See below for my record prediction and a brief game-by-game analysis. Look for more information the week of the game.

Opening Night: Thursday, Aug. 29 vs North Carolina

An exciting rematch of last year’s game in Chapel Hill that saw the NFL draft’s Third Overall pick beat the Gopher defense in the two programs’ first-ever meeting. The Gophers will look to split the head-to-head and start the new campaign off on the right foot. North Carolina lost a lot in the offseason and the majority of it comes from losing Drake Maye and his big play threat Tez Walker (who missed the Gopher game last year due to not receiving his transfer waiver in time) to the NFL. However, the Tarheels still bring make major pieces that will still pose a big threat. First off, Omarion Hampton returns as one of the top running backs in all of college football. Last year, the gophers were able to hold the rushing attack in check, holding the heels to an average of 2.8 YPC and keeping Hampton at 3.5 YPC was very impressive for a guy who averaged 5.9 YPC all last year. The big problem came in letting Drake Maye throw for over 400 yards. However, this year, UNC will not have a top-five draft pick at quarterback, and for that matter, we don’t know who their quarterback will even be yet as none have separated themselves yet. I picture the Gophers running game running it down the throat of the weak linebacking core of North Carolina and a few big plays by new quarterback Max Brosmer to start the year off on the right foot.

• Prediction: Minnesota 31, UNC 17: Record 1-0

Week 2: Sep. 7 vs Rhode Island

Max Brosmer will be licking his chops to see this game on the schedule as he absolutely torched this Rhode Island Ram defense last year throwing for 430 yards, two touchdowns and no turnovers. In addition, he ran for 37 yards along with another touchdown. He would love to have another performance like that in Minneapolis. However, Max probably won’t have this type of success at least in this spot. This is a classic spot against an FCS team where PJ Fleck will ride the running game, not open the playbook, and try to ride the superior athletes in the trenches to a “dominating” victory, even though the scoreboard might not be as impressive. The gophers running game will dominate.

• Prediction: Minnesota 35, Rhode Island: 10: Record 2-0

Week 3: Sep. 14 vs Nevada

Nevada struggled in the Mountain West in 2023, finishing the year going 2-10. Please, God, let’s not have another Bowling Green. We should put this team on the ground early and often. Establishing our will and burying their hope of victory early will be the key.

• Prediction: Minnesota 28, Nevada: 3: Record 3-0

Week 4: Sep. 21 vs Iowa

I would love nothing more than if the Gophers won the toss, elected to receive, and immediately FAIR CAUGHT the kickoff. Show them how to do a proper fair catch instead of the ineligible one I have not stopped hearing Iowa fans cry about for 8 months. Iowa’s defense will continue to be very, very, strong. If their offense was ever able to score more points than their defense, they would be scary. I see the Gophers relying on their offensive line and Darius Taylor in this one. Darius will get enough touches and get us into the proper areas for the player of this game Dragan Kesich. He will hit a game-winner, keeping Floyd at home for one more year.

• Prediction: Minnesota 12, Iowa 10: Record 4-0

Week 5: Sep. 28 @ Michigan

This would be a very exciting game around Dinkytown if the season starts as I predict. Undefeated going to a top-five team could draw a ton of excitement locally and some nationally as well. The schedule makers did not do any favors with this one. Going on the road, to the reigning national champions is not ideal. On the (very little) bright side, Michigan lost a ton of starters to the NFL draft last year, and their head coach. However, that likely will not matter as the great teams just reload, rather than rebuild. Donovon Edwards leading the offense, and Michigan will overpower Minnesota’s front seven and control this game from the beginning.

• Prediction: Minnesota 10, Michigan 28: Record 4-1

Week 6: Oct. 5 vs USC

Welcome to the Big Ten. USC coming to town will draw a fantastic crowd no matter what, given the history of their program. This year’s version of the Trojans will look vastly different than last year however without Caleb Williams. In a perfect world, this game would be the last weekend of the year, in freezing temperatures, with some light snow. This would help us slow their spread-out, high-flying passing game and allow us to run the ball down their throat. USC wants to win games in the forties. Fast-paced football is what they live for, heck that is what the whole Pac-12 used to live for (RIP Pac-12). Sadly, this game is in early October, and it likely will be good weather. We will try to control the tempo and I think do it pretty well, however, in the end, I see USC scoring too many points for the Gophers to keep up with.

• Prediction: Minnesota 31, USC 38: Record 4-2

Week 7: Oct. 12 @ UCLA

I expect to see a lot of Gopher fans make the trip to the Rose Bowl, hopefully, the next time we are there, it’s for the actual Rose Bowl. UCLA is under new coaching this year. Needless to say, he did not start his Big Ten Media Days off on the right foot. Take a look at his opening press conference in July if you haven’t seen it. UCLA was a middle-of-the-road team last year, and probably underperformed a little bit. UCLA senior quarterback Ethan Garbers was injured last year a fair amount but showed a ton of promise when he was out there. They are also led by a strong receiving core. On the defensive side of the ball, they held teams to only 2.2 yards per carry last year. Pac-12 teams were not as good of running teams as they will see in the Big 10, however, that is still very impressive. If these numbers hold true, this would be a great test for Max Brosmer, having to lead us to victory on the road. I promise you when the week of the game comes around, I will tell you how we are going to win the game, however right now at this moment, I am not ready to do that. UCLA’s passing game will outplay ours and give them a slight edge.

• Prediction: Minnesota 24, UCLA 27: Record 4-3

Week 9: Oct. 26 vs Maryland

Starting the year off 4-0 and falling to 4-3 would be a real shot to the gut. This would be a great get-back game, however, Maryland was a fun team to watch the last few years with Taulia Tagovailoa at the helm. After he went undrafted this year and is playing in the CFL, Maryland currently doesn’t have a set quarterback. On the defensive side of the ball, they bring back their starting and veteran front seven, which will be a challenge for our running game. In the secondary, they are going to be pretty new after losing three starters. Minnesota has had some pretty good success with Maryland in recent times and I forsee this continuing. This will be a coming-out party for the defense and the offensive weapons will shine on the outside, as they likely will be playing single coverage, loading the box to take away Taylor. The Gophers will cruise to their second conference win at home.

• Prediction: Minnesota 24, Maryland 7: Record 5-3

Week 10: Nov. 2 @ Illinois

This game gives me a bad feeling in my stomach, similar to any time we play Bowling Green. For whatever reason, we do not play well at all against Illinois, especially at Illinois. It feels like every time we should win, we don’t. Unfortunately, I feel we should win here as well. Illinois QB Luke Altmyer struggled last year throwing 10 picks in 9 games. On top of that, his two leading receivers from last year are no longer with them. In 2022, Illinois’s defense was very very scary, with multiple pro players on that side of the ball including Devon Witherspoon. That fell in 2023.  Not only did it fall, it fell off a cliff. They allowed 200 more points than the year before that and outside of more experience, they didn’t gain much in the transfer portal. Cody Lindenburg needs to have a big game here stopping the run early and getting in the backfield but I see the Gophers coming out of this one in ugly fashion, even though it scares me to pick the Gophers in Champaign. I am already expecting to hear a lot of backlash from certain people on this pick.

• Prediction: Minnesota 21, Illinois 14: Record 6-3

Week 11: Nov. 9 @ Rutgers.

The battle for Athan Kaliakmanis. A lot of Gopher fans are happy he is gone. Happy is not one word, as I appreciated Athan’s time here but I am excited for our next step with Max Brosmer. Our final “easy” game on the schedule and I regret to even say that but we shouldn’t have much trouble here. We have never lost to Rutgers (knock on whatever wood you can find) and the last two meetings have combined for a score of 73-7. That is about as dominant as it gets. Gophers cruise here into the home stretch of the season.

• Prediction: Minnesota 42, Rutgers 13: Record 7-3

Week 13: Nov. 23 vs Penn State

Does anyone else remember November 9, 2019, like it was yesterday? I am not gonna lie to you being 7-3 here would make me very happy.  Penn State is very good. A dark horse pick in the Big Ten for me by the way (not to spoil any future articles). Drew Allar was very solid last year, outside of their two biggest games against Michigan and Ohio State. That seems to happen to Penn State every year. Drew had 25 touchdowns to only 2 interceptions last year, he is very trustworthy with the ball. Their defense is outstanding. Top 10 in the country last year across most metrics, they actually allowed the fewest yards in the country last year. Leader on the Defense is Abdul Carter who is going to be a problem for offensive lines this year. He moved from linebacker to edge rusher, a similar position to a former Penn State player on the Cowboys, Micah Parsons. 6’3, 250 and lightning fast, I am already scared of him coming off the edge. The last time Penn State came to town was a huge game and we came out on top. One of my best memories as a Gopher Football Fan. However, don’t expect anything similar to that game. This will be humbling.

• Prediction: Minnesota 10, Penn State 31: Record 7-4

Week 14: Nov. 29 @ Wisconsin

The difference between 7-5 and 8-4 feels like a big jump. This would be a big game for the future of our program along with our biggest rivalry game as well. I have heard Badgers fans continue to make plans for the Luke Fickell statue outside of Camp Randall, and I for one am so over it. Tyler Van Dyke, who transferred from Miami, will likely be the quarterback and he is a big, pro-style quarterback. He has shown a lot of promise at Miami but was humbled last year by throwing 12 interceptions. It will be interesting to see Wisconsin continue to (apparently) switch to an air raid, however, I still don’t buy that. Braelon Allen is gone, and Chez Mellusi is now the guy and next Wisconsin running back who will drive me up a wall I am sure. I am not sure if my love, or lack thereof, for Wisconsin, is coming through or not, but I don’t like them very much. On the defensive side of the ball, Wisconsin has a pretty good secondary, however, they are going to struggle in the trenches. They did not create many tackles for loss last year, outside of James Thompson Jr. I would expect a heavy dose of Darius Taylor in this one and success to go along with that. It will be a very tight game, playing in Camp Randall is never easy, but when Wisconsin stacks the box in the fourth quarter with Darius Taylor having 150 yards on the ground, a play action deep ball to LeMeke Brockington will seal the game and bring the axe home.

• Prediction: Minnesota 24, Wisconsin 17: Record 8-4

In the new age of the Big 10, wins are going to be harder to come by. Finishing the year 8-4 would be a good way to continue to build the program and attempt to not only survive but thrive in the newest version of the Big 10. 12-0 would be even better, but I will settle for 8-4!