The Minnesota Golden Gopher’s matchup versus Bowling Green will be a litmus test for the Gopher’s improvement since last year.  Bowling Green knocked off #25 Pittsburgh in their season opener, and after having defeated the Gophers at the Metrodome last year by a score of 32-31 in overtime will now host the Gophers at home.  Bowling Green fans are confident that they should win this game, as written in this Bowling Green blog.

Pittsburgh held Bowling Green to 64 yards rushing, but racked up 190 yards and two touchdowns passing.  The Gophers will need to stop the Bowling Green passing game in order to win.  Last week, the Gopher secondary gave up two big touchdowns on passing plays by Northern Illinois.  In both instances, the third defensive back Ryan Collado was beat.  Hopefully replacing Collado with Troy Stoudermire or Tim Dandridge will make a difference while in the nickel package. 

If the Gopher offense scores between 28 and 40 points and the Gopher defense can prevent big plays, I think that the Gophers have a legitimate chance of winning.  If David Pittman’s hamstring is finally healed, expect him to add another dangerous option for Adam Weber in addition to Eric Decker and Jack Simmons.  However, if the Gopher offense commits too many turnovers or the defense fails to stop the pass, Bowling Green could hand Minnesota their first loss of the year.  Bowling Green had an interception and forced three fumbles against Pittsburgh, which likely determined the outcome of the game. 

Expect Bowling Green to play slightly better than they did against the Gophers last year.  The Gopher offense should have a strong showing.  Will the Gophers demonstrate defensive improvement versus last year with the addition of JUCO players and new defensive coordinator Ted Roof?  That question may determine the outcome of the game.  I conducted a survey at the ever-reliable Gopher Hole chat board asking what area of the defense is the Gophers’ greatest weakness:

It looks like most Gopher fans think that the defensive line is our greatest liability.  Let’s hope that they can put some pressure on the Bowling Green quarterback and give the defensive backs a chance to attack some forced passes.

If the Gophers can avoid turnovers and control the Bowling Green passing game, this game could be a telltale sign of good things to come for the Golden Gophers.