The University of Minnesota Golden Gopher football team opens the 2010 season with a trip to Murfreesboro, Tenn. to take on the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders.
The Gophers are coming off a disappointing season. It finished with a 6-7 record following a 14-13 loss to the Iowa State Cyclones in the Insight Bowl. The Raiders a Sun Belt Conference champion 10-3 season that ended with a win over the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles in the New Orleans Bowl.
The Series
The Gophers and Raiders are meeting for the first time.
The Gophers have four previous games in Tennessee. It is 3-1 in those games. The first meeting was a win over Memphis in 1997. After that it made three trips to Nashville for the Music City Bowl. It defeated Arkansas in 2002 and Alabama in 2004 and lost to Virginia in 2005 in the bowl.
It also has 12 meetings against the current members of the Sun Belt Conference. It is 11-1 in those meetings. The only loss was to Florida Atlantic on the road in 2007, Brewster first year as the Gopher's head coach. Its wins came against Arkansas State (twice), Florida Atlantic (twice, including 2008), Louisiana-Lafayette (three times), Louisiana-Monroe (three times) and Troy (once).
Position Spotlight
Quarterback
Is there a position on the field in this game that has more storylines.
The Raiders found out last week that star-quarterback Dwight Dasher was suspended for at least "30 percent" of its games. The focus turned to the new starter. The decision came down to a pair of Junior College transfers with no Division-I experience. Sophomore Logan Kilgore was named the starter Sunday evening. Both coaches feel they have a pretty good idea of what he can do.
"He is a good leader that can make most throws," Raiders head coach Rick Stockstill said. "He is a good runner, but not a dynamic runner like (Dasher). He is not a dynamic runner, but will allow us to run the same offense."
Stockstill lists his strengths as his understanding of the offense and his arm.
Gophers head coach Tim Brewster told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that his game plan and prep work did not change for Kilgore.
On the Gophers side, Adam Weber is making his 39th start, he is second among active starting quarterbacks behind Houston's Case Keenum. However, a lackluster 2009 season and a year of growth from MarQueis Gray put his starting job in jeopardy. Weber won the starting job with leadership and command of the offense.
Gray began taking reps as a wide receiver during training camp. He showed last season that he is a very good pass catcher - he made a terrific catch in the end zone on an end-around pass play from Eric Decker against Cal.
"Most things come easy to him," Brewster said following the fan fest scrimmage. "He catches the ball really well."
Middle Tennessee State Player to Watch
Offense - RB Phillip Tanner. The fifth-year senior missed all but two games last season after a bone contusion in his knee. Prior to the injury, he had 83 yards on 18 carries. Before the start of last season, he was named to the Doak Walker Watch List. The Doak Walker Trophy is awarded to the nation's best running back at the end of the year. Without star-quarterback Dasher, Tanner will be counted on to take pressure off Kilgore.
Defense - DE Jamari Lattimore. The senior pass rusher is among the Blue Raiders' top 10 career list for sacks despite playing one season at Dodge City Community College. He recorded 3.5 sacks his first season at MTSU as a reserve before having 5.5 as a starter last season. Prior to joining the Blue Raiders, he had nine sacks in Junior College. The Gophers offensive line struggled last season to protect Weber. The offensive line's turnaround will begin with stopping Lattimore Thursday.
Keys to a Gopher Victory
The first key is controlling the line of scrimmage. The Gophers' offensive line is much bigger than the Blue Raiders' defensive line and vice versa. The size difference really isn't even close. The Gophers good pass rushing ends that are taller and longer than the Raiders offensive tackles. On the other side of the ball, the biggest Raider starting defensive lineman is 6-feet-2, 272-pounds compared to the smallest Gopher starting offensive lineman, who is 6-feet-2, 305-pounds. The Gophers will need to be physical with the smaller Raider lines and move line of scrimmage forward. If the Gophers can do that, it will put the Raiders a lot of situations it is not comfortable with or built to overcome.
The second key is the pass rush. The Gopher defense doesn't necessarily have to get a bunch of sacks, but just putting pressure on the young Blue Raider quarterback will cause turnovers and bad throws. If defensive ends D.L. Wilhite, Matt Garin, Kendall Gregory-McGhee and Ra'Shede Hageman can get the pressure early and often, Kilgore will make mistakes later in the game - even if the pressure is not there. If those four can get the pressure alone, the linebackers can utilized in pass coverage. They will have a big impact on the game. Defensive tackles Jewhan Edwards, Brandon Kirksey, Anthony Jacobs can help by closing the pocket. Because the Raiders have a more athletic offensive line, Jacobs will probably see the field more than Edwards will. Edwards and Jacobs will provide two different strengths - Edwards to stop the run and Jacobs to rush the passer.
Prediction
Golden Gophers 24, Blue Raiders 13. With Dasher, the game would be decided in the final minute or overtime. Without him, it is a two-score decision, that will be decided early in the fourth quarter. This game will be a big confidence boost for the inexperienced defensive starters.
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