College football: Big Ten depth seems ripe for rebuilding Gophers

By Marcus R. Fuller
St. Paul Pioneer Press
MINNEAPOLIS - During fall camp this year, Gophers football coach Jerry Kill played the fight songs of every Big Ten team that beat the Gophers last year over loudspeakers.
Well, the ones that will be on the schedule this season, anyway, like those of Michigan, Iowa and Wisconsin. For Kill, it wasn’t too early to get into the Big Ten groove.
The Gophers (3-1) open what promised to be a tougher conference schedule on Saturday against the Wolverines in Ann Arbor. In August, matching last season’s eight victories, 4-4 in the Big Ten, seemed like a stretch for the rebuilding Gophers.
But the Big Ten’s nonconference play suggests there is actually room for improvement. Although conference teams went 12-1 in the final tuneup for league play, they were 5-11 overall against teams from the other Power Five conferences - the ACC, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC.
“I don’t think anybody is dominating the Big Ten right now,” Kill said.
Front and center are the traditionally stacked Wolverines, 2-2 after a humbling, 26-10 loss to Utah at home last week and a shutout loss at Notre Dame. The Gophers’ lone loss was humbling, as well, a 30-7 shellacking at Texas Christian in Week 3.
“Nobody knows who’s any good right now,” Kill said. “You just don’t know because you played four ball games. Everybody wants to compare scores and stuff, but Indiana beat Missouri, and (the Hoosiers) lost to Bowling Green.”
Of two divisions reorganized, and renamed, after the addition this season of Maryland and Rutgers, the West - led by Nebraska (4-0) and Wisconsin (2-1) - seems more wide open. But predicting the finish in either is difficult because no conference teams really separated themselves from the pack.
Michigan State is the favorite to repeat. Ohio State still might be an East division contender without injured quarterback Braxton Miller, but Penn State could have a better chance to compete with the Spartans because it has the conference’s top quarterback, Christian Hackenberg.
In the West, Nebraska’s offense looks as explosive as any the conference behind running back Ameer Abdullah. But when tailback Melvin Gordon is healthy and putting up Heisman Trophy-type numbers, it’s hard to bet against Wisconsin.
Iowa and Minnesota play a power-run, smash-mouth offense with defenses that can give anyone a tough time. But they’re both dealing with quarterback injuries that could sideline their starters to open the Big Ten.
Minnesota’s Mitch Leidner remains questionable because of turf toe and a sprained left knee, so backup Chris Streveler might have to start a second straight game Saturday at Michigan. Iowa’s Jake Rudock is day-to-day with a leg injury, so C.J. Beathard - who rallied the Hawkeyes last week at Pittsburgh - could be in line to replace him at Purdue.
“I’m not saying I’m comfortable, because I’m not comfortable right now,” Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz said. “But I’m confident that C.J. is going to be well‑prepared and he’ll play well.”
Iowa at home could be the Gophers’ easiest matchup in a tough four-game stretch to finish the season. The other games are against Ohio State, and at Nebraska and Wisconsin. Their first four conference opponents - Michigan, Northwestern, Purdue and Illinois - are a combined 8-7.
Staying healthy and getting consistent quarterback play could be the difference for any Big Ten team this season.
Big Ten Network analyst and former Nebraska quarterback Eric Crouch hasn’t been impressed with conference quarterbacks.
“Creating a ton of turnovers,” Crouch said. “If you look across the leagues, among the quarterbacks in the power five conferences, there are 18 quarterbacks with at least four turnovers; eight come from the Big Ten. I just believe that the quarterbacks aren’t playing up to their potential. They’re getting beat by the other conference’s big-name quarterbacks.”
But now those Big Ten quarterbacks will be playing each other.
The most difficult one to figure out might be Michigan’s Devin Gardner, once considered one of the top quarterbacks in the league. The senior was benched for Shane Morris against Utah, and coach Brady Hoke said Tuesday he won’t name a starter until later in the week.
“We want to make sure we’re right,” said Hoke, whose seat is the hottest in the Big Ten. “We’re going to have both guys take the reps.”
In losses to Notre Dame and Utah, Gardner threw five interceptions with no touchdowns.
Crouch criticized Gardner for not being committed to developing.
“When you come to a university, it’s up to you,” he said. “I think you’ve got to take pride in what you do. You’ve got to want to get better. You’ve got to want to improve. We just haven’t seen that with Devin Gardner.”
Minnesota played two quarterbacks last year, Leidner and Philip Nelson, and still won eight games for the first time since 2005. But the Gophers need more development from their quarterbacks, whose passing ranks last in the Big Ten (99.8).
Last Saturday, Streveler completed 1 of 7 passes for seven yards in a victory over San Jose State. But the ground game behind tailback David Cobb - fourth in the Big Ten with 134.8 yards a game - has often been enough, and the defense has been opportunistic, tied for second in the nation with 13 turnovers forced.
In a year like this one, it could be a formula for another solid season. It starts Saturday against the Wolverines.
“We have the athletes to match their athletes,” Cobb said. “We’re physical and can run just like them. So, I definitely think it will be much closer than people think. We have a great opportunity to go down there and win, surprise a lot of people.”
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