Minnesota 2005 Season | Team Page	Select Conference ACC Big East Big Ten Big 12 Conference USA Independents MAC Mountain West Pac-10 SEC Sun Belt WAC Select Team

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The Lowdown 2006 Schedule Coach: Glen Mason (10th season, 58-50) 2005 record: 7-5 (Lost to Virginia in Music City Bowl) Big Ten finish: 4-4 (7th) 2005 I-A offensive rankings: Rushing: 3rd (273.1 ypg) Passing: 63rd (221.7 ypg) 2005 I-A defensive rankings: Rushing: 69th (155.6 ypg) Passing: 97th (257.1 ypg) Date Opponent Aug. 31 #Kent State Sept. 9 at California Sept. 16 Temple Sept. 23 at Purdue Sept. 30 Michigan Oct. 7 Penn State Oct. 14 at Wisconsin Oct. 21 North Dakota State Oct. 28 at Ohio State Nov. 4 Indiana Nov. 11 at Michigan State Nov. 18 Iowa # Canton, OH Depth Chart: Offense 6 returning starters in red Ps. No. Player Yr. No. Player Yr. WR 84 Logan Payne Sr. 14 Eric Decker Fr. WR 82 Ernie Wheelwright Jr. 12 Mike Chambers Fr. LT 64 Steve Shidell Jr. 73 Jason Meinke Fr. LG 56 Tyson Swaggert Sr. 77 Tony Brinkhaus Jr. C 77 Tony Brinkhaus Jr. 56 Tyson Swaggert Sr. RG 74 Ryan Ruckdashel Fr. 66 Nedward Tavale Fr. RT 78 Joe Ainslie Sr. 79 Matt DeGeest So. TE 89 Matt Spaeth Sr. 80 Jack Simmons So. QB 3 Bryan Cupito Sr. 17 Tony Mortensen So. FB 18 Justin Valentine Jr. 34 Jeremy Faue Jr. TB 29 Amir Pinnix Jr. 20 Brylee Callender Jr. Depth Chart: Defense 6 returning starters in red Ps. No. Player Yr. No. Player Yr. DE 92 Steve Davis So. 65 William Brody So. DT 70 Todd Meisel Jr. - Garrett Brown Fr. DT 98 Neel Allen Jr. 90 Eric Clark Sr. DE 91 Willie VanDeSteeg So. 96 Matt Stommes Fr. SLB 48 Mario Reese Sr. - Tommy Becker Fr. MLB 6 Alex Daniels So. 58 Mike Sherels Jr. WLB 46 John Shevlin Jr. 44 Deon Hightower So. CB 9 Keith Massey Fr. - Daron Love Fr. CB 15 Jamal Harris Jr. 11 Desi Steib Jr. SS 2 Dominic Jones So. 4 Trumaine Banks Sr. FS 23 Dominique Barber Jr. - Duran Cooley Jr. Special Teams Ps. No. Player Yr. Ps. No. Player Yr. K 36 Joel Monroe So. P 41 Justin Kucek So. KR 2 Dominic Jones So. PR 2 Dominic Jones So.

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The claim is made with great pride by seemingly anyone associated with the Minnesota football program: Six bowl games in seven years.

Sure, it's a little hokey and a little watered down in this era of 25-plus bowl games. But there was a time in the not-too-distant past when Minnesota football was a joke, when the idea of a bowl game every five years sounded pretty good.

This might be a good year for Gophers fans to remember that. Because this season has the potential to show whether the Minnesota fan base has become a bit spoiled.

The reasons are simple. Too many All-Americans lost. Too many question marks. Too difficult of a Big Ten schedule.

The biggest question surrounds the running game - Minnesota's staple under Glen Mason. All-America running back Laurence Maroney opted for the NFL Draft after his junior season. Gary Russell, who rushed for more than 1,100 yards as a sophomore, was expected to be the featured back this fall. But a lack of attention to academics led to Russell spending the second semester in a junior college. He is not enrolled in classes for the fall, which means Amir Pinnix vaults to the top of the depth chart.

Pinnix will be running behind an inexperienced life after the loss of Outland Trophy winner Greg Eslinger, and All-America guard Mark Setterstrom.

Add that to Minnesota's constant struggles to stop opponents - the Gophers gave up 34.1 points per game in Big Ten games - and that bowl streak seems tenuous at best.

OFFENSE

Simply put, this Minnesota offense is filled with questions. That's what happens when three All-Americans are lost, and the guy expected to be the team's top running back fails to make the grade.

At quarterback, Bryan Cupito has started 23 of the past 24 games at quarterback and has shown improvement. Last season, he threw the ball with more authority, made better decisions and was more than just a guy who handed off to Maroney, as he averaged 230 passing yards per game.

This season, he'll be expected to do more. He won't just be a guy who has to make throws when they're there. Instead, the Gophers' offense will largely hinge on how the fifth-year senior performs.

DEFENSE

A year ago, Big Ten opponents scored more than 34 points per game against the Gophers. For the season, Minnesota ranked 90th nationally in total defense. And it's difficult to imagine that this defensive unit is going to be significantly improved.

The Gophers are small on the defensive line. The linebacker corps -- with the exception of John Shevlin -- is just a bit better than ordinary, and the secondary is up in the air.

One thing to watch is just how much the Minnesota defense is overhauled between the start of camp and the opener at Kent State.

Junior college transfer Duran Cooley is expected to contend for a starting position in the secondary. It won't be surprising if incoming freshman cornerback Daron Love does the same thing. True freshman linebacker Tommy Becker will play a lot if he doesn't start, and incoming freshman lineman Garrett Brown has a chance to start as well.

SPECIALISTS

The kicking game, simply put, was a mess last season for the Gophers. Minnesota's kickers missed six field goal attempts and eight extra points. In addition, punter Justin Kucek averaged less than 40 yards per punt.

At the end of the season, Joel Monroe unseated Jason Giannini as the team's kicker and will likely win the job again.

FINAL ANALYSIS

Even with a 12th game on the schedule, the Gophers are going to have a difficult time finding six victories -- and bowl eligibility in the process -- in this schedule. Not with the number of question marks on this team.

Offensively, there seems no way the Gophers can make up for the losses of Maroney, Eslinger and Setterstrom. With Russell gone, this Minnesota offense will struggle to move the ball. On the other side of the line of scrimmage, it seems unlikely that Minnesota will suddenly become stout -- even with six starters back. History simply isn't on Minnesota's side. Consider: Mason has coached the Gophers in 72 Big Ten games. In 33 of those games -- 45.8 percent -- the opponent has scored 30 or more points.