Minnesota's Rose Bowl path exists in wide-open Big Ten West
It’s been a very long time since Minnesota’s football team has smelled the roses.
The last occurrence for the Golden Gophers in Pasadena came in 1962, when quarterback Sandy Stephens, who was the first African American All-American quarterback, was named the player of the game in a 21-3 victory over UCLA in what was the very first nationally televised college football game in color.
The Gophers were in the Rose Bowl because Big Ten champion Ohio State declined the invitation, but the league’s runner-ups were no strangers to the game because they were coming off of a Rose Bowl appearance the previous season as the No. 1 team in the country. Minnesota dropped that contest to Washington.
Just as quarterback play (primarily via the legs of Stephens) was instrumental in the team’s road to the Rose Bowl back then, production under center will be vital in Minnesota’s quest to claim the Big Ten West division crown — and possibly a long-awaited trip back to Pasadena — in 2019.
Head coach P.J. Fleck’s offense features several prominent playmakers starting with big-bodied, big-play wide receiver Tyler Johnson, who will compete in the NFL in 2020, and Rashod Bateman, who is a future NFL Draft pick as well. The ground game, strong behind an offensive line that likely has a couple of future pros, will feature three running backs that have each cracked the 1,000-yard mark in a season.
Rodney Smith is coming off an injury-plagued campaign but has nearly 3,000 yards on the ground as a Gopher. Meanwhile, Shannon Brooks had two ACL tears last season but has 1,800 career yards, and Mo Ibrahim had 1,100 rushing yards in 2018. The depth is very good.
Then there is the spotlight under center.
Last season’s opening game starter Zach Annexstad remains sidelined with a foot injury that limited him to seven games in 2018, so Tanner Morgan will run the offense this fall. Morgan went 4-2 as a starter when Annexstad went down last year, with victories over Wisconsin and Georgia Tech in the postseason. While he doesn’t have to be a star with the surrounding playmakers, Morgan cannot make critical mistakes at important junctures of games.
Defensively, Minnesota returns the majority of its important pieces, including Carter Coughlin, who is the best player up front and can line up at outside linebacker or end. He has a bright NFL future and is certainly one of the Gophers’ most important players this fall.
There has finally been a lot of preseason national dialogue about the Big Ten West division, and it is no longer being looked at as an after-thought. It may not feature a College Football Playoff contender such as Ohio State or Michigan, but it is wide-open. Outside of Illinois — which has a real chance of returning to the postseason — an argument can be made that any of the remaining teams can claim the division whether due to talent or breaks in the schedule.
Minnesota’s 2019 slate kicks off this Thursday at home against South Dakota State, and it also has a non-conference tilt in Minneapolis against Georgia Southern. Those are visitors that the Gophers should handle. A road contest at Fresno State is certainly going to be difficult. Worst-case scenario, though, is a loss does not affect the Big Ten race.
Looking at the conference slate, opponents feature Illinois, Nebraska, Maryland, Penn State and Wisconsin at home. Games against Purdue, Rutgers, Iowa and Northwestern take place on the road. It’s by no means an easy slate, but it’s one that is manageable based on the returning talent and the upward trajectory that Fleck has the program on as was the case when he was the program-builder at Western Michigan.
To be in contention for the West division title, the Gophers have to steal a road game. The likeliest occurrence would be in West Lafayette or Evanston. On the home side of things, the Gophers have to take care of either Penn State or Nebraska. Despite their youth, the Nittany Lions have talent littered across the field on both sides of the ball. That’s a very difficult test for Fleck & Co. Meanwhile, Scott Frost certainly has his Cornhuskers trending in the right direction fast, but their schedule is the main reason why they are considered by some to be the division favorites. If the offense gets a clean, sound and productive game from Morgan to help out a defense that will have its hands full against Adrian Martinez and the Huskers offense, the Gophers can certainly win this game at home.
Minnesota has the talent and schedule to head into its regular-season finale at home against Wisconsin with 8 wins and a chance to claim the division crown. The Badgers certainly can bounce back if Jack Coan plays solid enough to supplement what will be a productive season on the ground from Jonathan Taylor, who is a preseason Heisman Trophy candidate. Expect Paul Chryst’s team to rebound after a down 2018 campaign, but the Gophers certainly have the ingredients to win that matchup.
Let’s say Fleck & Co. are positioned to win the West in the regular-season finale and do so against the Badgers. Even if it loses in Indianapolis to Michigan or Ohio State — teams that could potentially be in line to advance to the College Football Playoff and thus open up a spot in the Rose Bowl for a Big Ten runner up — Minnesota could have a shot to earn a trip to Pasadena for the first time in 58 years.
The season hasn’t started quite yet. So it’s time to dream B1G, Gopher fans.