Nebraska Opponent Spring Review: Minnesota

As Nebraska enters a critical fifth season under head coach Scott Frost in 2022, we decided to look at where things stand with the Huskers’ 12 opponents coming out of spring practices.

Today, we continue with Minnesota, which is looking to once again contend for a Big Ten West Division title in its sixth season under head coach P.J. Fleck.

Andy Greder of the St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press gave us his thoughts on the Golden Gophers heading into the summer and fall camp...

Related: Northwestern | North Dakota | Georgia Southern | Oklahoma | Indiana | Rutgers | Purdue | Illinois

1. Will the passing game get back on track?

In theory, Minnesota's passing attack should be considered among the Big Ten's best with the return of two key sixth-year seniors in quarterback Tanner Morgan and top wide receiver Chris Autman-Bell.

But given how that element has been essentially non-existent from the Golden Gophers' offense the past two seasons, there is a lot of work to be done for UM to realize that potential.

Fleck fired former offensive coordinator Mike Sanford Jr. in December after two dismal passing seasons in 2020 and '21. Minnesota hardly tried to stretch the field under Sanford when it even attempted to throw the ball at all.

The Gophers ran it on 70 percent of their snaps last season, and their 257 pass attempts ranked 127th nationally, ahead of only the three service academies.

In an effort to rekindle some punch back in the passing game, UM brought back Kirk Ciarrocca, who was its OC from 2017-19. That included guiding Morgan to by far his best collegiate season in his record-setting 11-2 campaign in 2019.

Minnesota hopes that Ciarrocca can pick up where he left off and that Morgan will benefit from upgrades at receiver enough to give some semblance of balance to the Gophers' play-calling.

2. Rebuilding the offensive line

Minnesota maintained its place as one of the top rushing teams in the Big Ten last season despite being decimated by injuries at running back.

The reason was that its offensive line was as big, physical, and effective as any in the conference.

Now the Gophers must replace four starters - three that moved onto the NFL - as well as their top tight end from last season, leaving them without five of their top six blockers from 2021.

Center John Michael Schmitz, who could be an early frontrunner for the Rimington Trophy this season, returns to anchor the unit. Minnesota also added two transfer guards in Michigan's Chuck Filiaga and Notre Dame's Quinn Carroll, the top-ranked recruit in Minnesota in 2019.

The Gophers have some experience back at tackle, including Aireontae Ersey and J.J. Guedet, who both started at Nebraska in 2020 when UM was down 30-plus players due to COVID.

But Minnesota lost a wealth of talent and experience up front from last season, and the new faces on the o-line still have a long way to go to avoid a significant drop-off this fall.

3. Reloading the defensive front seven

Just like the offensive line, Minnesota was left having to replace the majority of its defensive front going into spring practices.

The Gophers saw six of their top eight snap-count players on the d-line from last season move on, including two NFL draft picks in ends Boye Mafe and Esezi Otomewo.

Minnesota is banking on a new wave of players to take the reins in 2022, led by guys like Austin Booker, Thomas Rush, and Trill Carter, who showed plenty of flashes this spring.

UM also added two key transfers in Clemson's Darnell Jefferies and Vanderbilt's Lorenza Surgers, who arrived in the spring and are expected to push for starting jobs in the fall.

Greder: "It's really one of those things where P.J. has had Scott Frost's number over the last couple of years.

"Go back to the game in Lincoln in 2020 when the Gophers had 30-plus guys out with COVID and won, and then did the same thing here in Minnesota last year.

"I don't have a ton of knowledge on the Cornhuskers, but just given the track record, I could see it staying the same."

Greder: "I'd probably put the over/under of wins maybe in the 8.5 range. I think they're going to do well this year. They have a lot of experience back on both sides of the ball.

"I talked a lot about the guys they're missing up front on both sides of the ball, but there are a lot of skill guys back, and I think that's going to bode well for them. I think their safety duo of Tyler Nubin and Jordan Howden is probably going to be one of the best in the Big Ten.

"They've got some guys on the edge and a lot of skill guys back. We didn't even mention Mo Ibrahim, who was the Big Ten Running Back of the Year in 2020. He's back this year.

"So I would say that 8-9 range. I think it's really going to come down to the rivalry games for the Gophers. P.J. has beaten the Badgers and gotten the Axe two of the last four years, but he has never beaten the Hawkeyes.

"That one really sticks with staff, with the state, with the players, with everybody, that they're 0-5 against the Hawkeyes. That was obviously a big reason why they didn't go to Indy last year.

"So if they're able to split those games again, I think they'll be right in the mix and maybe have a shot to go to Indy again."