Schedule Analysis: Minnesota

Games in which Minnesota will be a heavy favorite:
New Hampshire
Western Michigan

Games in which Minnesota will be a heavy underdog:
@Wisconsin
Michigan
@Nebraska

Favorable match-up games:
@UNLV
Syracuse
Northwestern
Purdue
Illinois

Unfavorable match-up games:
@Iowa
Michigan State


Minnesota's schedule is considerably less daunting then last year's slate.  There is no trip to the LA Coliseum to take on USC, no team from the Dakotas will be coming to TCF (enter punch line here____), and most of the match-up games are at home.  However, people need to be careful before they assume that the Gophers are going back to a bowl game for the first time in three years just because there are seven games on the schedule that they "should" win.  The fact is this team is still a ways away.  Don't get me wrong, I like Jerry Kill and what he is doing for the long term health of the program, but the simple fact is this team isn't good enough to win all the games it should.  They still lack a play maker along the defensive line and are thin at linebacker and safety.  Minnesota also lacks a feature back and despite what the coaches are saying about JUCO transfer James Gillum, until I see it on the field I'm not a believer yet.  Minnesota also lacks a go to receiver.  You know they are in trouble at the position when true freshman Andre McDonald and Jamel Harbison are going to get looks at cracking the starting lineup. 

Minnesota is still a couple years away from competing for anything more than a lower tier bowl game, however Kill's teams will improve as the years go by and not regress like his predecessors did.

Prediction: 5-7