Calling our shots - 2010 Gopher Football Predictions

Are there more than 2 wins on this 2010 schedule?  Can we finish 'bowl eligible'?  Rose Bowl or bust for Pasadena Brew? These are the burning questions of this upcoming Golden Gopher football season. We've had all summer to mull over the Gophs list of opponents (not that we needed it), and here's what our brain trust came up with:

The breakdown of each set of predictions has some interesting wins/losses - here's the brief rationale:

• Omar likes us breaking out to a nice 3-1 start, and carrying that momentum into our Big Ten opener vs. Northwestern, and finds us road wins at Purdue and Illinois.
• JJ and KZ don't like our season opener on the road at MTSU, and both like the upset at Wisconsin (which I just don't see happening this year).  They differ only on where we'll get a road win in Weeks 10 and 11.
• Gopher Bandanna Guy calls for the upset of USC, followed by a letdown loss to NIU, and a rebound victory vs. Northwestern.  Then a 6 game losing streak is ended with the team rallying around the seemingly dead man walking, Coach Brew - taking down Illinois in Champaign and then shocking an over-confident Iowa squad to save his job a la Wayne Fontes.
• 2Mutch is the self-proclaimed 'Debbie Downer' of the group, giving the Gophs a more tempered 4-8 record, and basically has us winning only games where there's a chance of being favored in the line.
• NG also likes us to ruin Wisconsin's season by knocking them off in Camp Randall, and taking down Iowa at home.  Brew gets himself a couple of trinkets under this scenario, and that would certainly bode well for coaching Minnesota into his 5th year.

So what's it all mean?  Probably nothing more than confirming that all of us are crazy dreamers and/or hopeful optimists when it comes to Golden Gopher Football.  Virtually every publication and website prediction I've come across has us between 1 and 4 wins, and in last place.  The experts are expecting grim results.

Bodog.com has us as 50/1 odds to win the conference (worst odds in the conference, behind Indiana at 40/1).  Any Hoosier fans out there want to wager (beer?) that we'll finish above them in the standings?  Ok, maybe that's a bad idea. Our schedule is tougher, but we've got something going for us more than anybody else in the Big Ten - no one expects ANYTHING from the Gophers, and guess what?  There is some burgeoning talent on this team that will surpise some teams that don't scout closesly.  Underestimate the Gophers at your peril! (hey, if loyal members of Gopher Nation can't stay positive, who can?)

Here's some predictions on Minnesota's individual players -
GBG likes:
Offensive Player of the Year: Da'Jon McKnight, WR (680 yrd, 9 TDs)
Defensive Player of the Year: Keanon Cooper, LB  (65 tackles, 2 INTs, 4 FF)
Leading Rusher: D'uane Bennett (720 yds)
Leading Receiver: Da'Jon McKnight (680 yds)
Leading Tackler: Mike Rallis, LB (85 tackles)
Sack Leader: Ra'Shede Hegeman (8 sacks)
INT Leader: Michael Carter (4 INTs)

2Mutch likes:
Offensive Player of the Year: Adam Weber (in a nice bounceback season)
Defensive Player of the Year: Kim Royston (back from injury and a force)

And finally, Just Jake likes Brandon Kirksey to have a monster junior year at DT, big enough that he bolts for the NFL draft a year early.  Wow.  Now that's a bold prediction.