Minnesota went through quite a swing from 2019 to 2020. The Gophers followed up an 11-2 season with a 3-4 campaign, bringing many to wonder if P.J. Fleck could find sustained success in the Twin Cities.

We’ll find out this season.

The Gophers return a veteran group on both sides of the ball, the most experienced team in the B1G. They’re skilled at nearly every position on the field and have the ability to compete with anyone in the B1G West.

Minnesota’s first game is a tough one, opening the year against No. 4 Ohio State at Huntington Bank Stadium. It should give us a pretty good idea of what to expect out of the Gophers moving forward.

Before the Gophers are on the field in a week, here are five bold predictions for the 2021 season:

1. Minnesota will have the best offensive line in the B1G

Typically, the best offensive line in the conference is a title reserved for Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin or Iowa. That won’t be the case this year. The Gophers have that lethal combination of size, strength, experience and talent. Minnesota’s running backs might have gaps the size of entire football field to run through. Tanner Morgan may be able to sneak in a private showing of Lord of the Rings before he’s threatened by a defensive lineman.

Minnesota has 140 combined starts returning on the line, led by guys like Connor Olson, Blaise Andries, Daniel Faalele, Curtis Dunlap Jr., Sam Schleuter and plenty of other names. Fleck easily has the best offensive line of his career and it’s a big reason why the Gophers can be so explosive this fall.

2. Mohamed Ibrahim looks even better but his numbers won’t be as impressive

Fleck described Ibrahim perfectly at B1G Media Days. He referred to the running back as a “bowling ball with razor blades on it going downhill.” A lot of defenders in the B1G would probably agree with that after the Gopher back piled up 1,076 yards and 15 touchdowns in 7 games in 2020.

Ibrahim will undoubtedly be one of the best backs in college football this year. Don’t be surprised if his numbers aren’t quite as impressive, though. He could still be a 1,000-yard rusher, but Minnesota is going to distribute the ball better in the backfield and will also rely on Morgan’s arm to pick up yardage and take some of the pressure of the rushing attack.

Last year, Minnesota needed Ibrahim to carry a heavy load in order to win games. It doesn’t necessarily need to place quite that burden on the star back this season.

3. Stopping the run will still be an issue

History has repeated itself quite a bit on the defensive side. Minnesota has never been particularly good at stopping the run, ranking in the top half of the B1G just once in Fleck’s four seasons. I think that will still be a concern in the Twin Cities.

Minnesota’s defense should look a lot better, especially up front with Boye Mafe, DeAngelo Carter and Nyles Pinckney solidifying the line. Linebacker is a group that didn’t play at any point during the 2020 campaign. It might look better, but it’s going to need to make significant improvement in order to consistently stop teams like Ohio State, Wisconsin and others from running the ball well.

Slowing down the run is critical to success in the B1G. It might be the biggest question mark for the Gophers right now.

4. Tanner Morgan looks like the 2019 version

Minnesota’s passing attack wasn’t nearly as effective as it had been in 2019. Losing Tyler Johnson at wide receiver, Kirk Ciarrocca as offensive coordinator and learning a new offense with limited time due to the pandemic all played a factor in that. Morgan finished the year with 1,374 yards and 7 touchdowns with 5 interceptions and a completion rate under 58%.

Morgan is too talented of a quarterback to have another mediocre year like he experienced in 2020. With an experienced offensive line and another year working with offensive coordinator Mike Sanford, the Gophers passing attack should be a lot better than it was.

The receiver group is full of unproven talent outside of Chris Autman-Bell, but Fleck has proven to be more than capable of developing great players at the position.

5. The Gophers are in the B1G West race into November

In case you couldn’t tell from these prior predictions, I’m pretty high on Minnesota in 2021. I’m not sure the Gophers are getting to Indianapolis this year, but this should be a team that looks a lot more like its 2019 squad than the 2020 version. That means they’ll be in the hunt for a division title.

Minnesota drew tough crossover games against No. 4 Ohio State and No. 17 Indiana and still have No. 18 Iowa and No. 12 Wisconsin on the schedule, as well. Winning two of those games is going to be incredibly difficult.

Fleck is fielding a pretty strong team this season. The Gophers may not win the division, but they’ll have their opportunities late into the season.