From what I've seen and heard, I don't think the Gophers will throw in the towel quite yet…

Coach Brewster has been on top of this situation from the time that it happened. Although the original three players arrested have not been charged (and probably won't be), the basics of the incident have been known for some time and it was clear that, at best, the three players would not be playing this year and most likely would not ever suit up for the Gophers again. The arrest and charging of the fourth player, Dominic Jones, came as a surprise to many people but the existance of the telephone images (but not the exact acts) was known and the whole situation had been stalled awaiting DNA and forensic recovery of the telephone video. When the county attorney finally acted, Coach Brewster immediately dismissed the four players for violation of team and University rules.

To their credit, Coach Brewster and especially Coach Mason before him put up with no academic or character issue crap (as some of our close B10 brethren are wont to do). The ironic thing is that it has put the football program near the academic edge not due to the grades of the players we have but because of the numerous transfers and early NFL departures that also affect the NCAA score.

Football-wise, the loss of Dominic Jones will affect us the most. He was a starting corner, team leader on the field and one of the better return men in the country. He will be replaced by Jamal Harris (from Delray Beach) who has started at CB the past two years but was moved to safety for Spring ball. The return slot will probably be taken by true frosh Harold Howell (Jacksonville Mandarin) – I think he won the Florida large school 100m dash last Spring. (If you can find his kick return video on UTube, take a look, it's sick).

Keith Massey was in the mix at CB and S but would probably have been in the nickel package at most. Still, we are now painfully thin at both CB and FS. EJ Jones was fourth team RB in Spring ball and not a factor. Alex Daniels was a starting DE in the Spring but we have some young depth at the weakside DE and should be ok. Just to be sure, a week ago we just signed a California JC DE who was qualified coming out of high school and was about to sign with LSU (but he saw more playing time with us). He's originally from Africa and has four to play three.

Yes, Amir Pinnix will be the man at RB… but he's only the third fastest RB. Watch out for Jay Thomas who finally overcame a knee and came on big time at the end of last season.

Coach is packing up the gear and heading up to Collegeville, Minnesota for the first week of Fall practice at St. John's University. We have to take our own blocking sleds, tackling dummies, etc. as the St. John's coach doesn't believe in using that stuff… (he's the guy that passed Eddie Robinson as the all-time winningest college coach). A little togetherness out in the sticks may just save us from that implosion that a couple of you seem to expect… ;)

Great info. I actually think Minnesota will repsond to all of the turmoil. This isn't the Mason led Minnesota team. This is a whole new era under Brewster. However, I still think this could be a tough year for Minnesota. They will struggle to find an identity under a new coach, but will poised for real success in 2008 and beyond.

GO OWLS!!!

Thanks for the update on the Gophers!!

It's amazing how the turmoil of one team, can bring hope to another. I don't think the intent is to disrespect the Gophers in anyway, but it does give us owl fan a little extra hope that an an upset is closer to being a possiblility. You guys are in a similar situation that UCF was the year we almost nocthed another upset for the owls. That team went into a major free fall after our meeting that year. It happens to the best of them - FSU a few year back is another eaxample.

We all know that upsets are always lurking on game days every weekends during the course of a season and us Owl fans are always optimistic in beating a BCS team. During the first four years of the program we seemed to always nocth one of those upset win and they have been absent the pass couple of years and are now itching to pull another major upset to add to that list.

What is in the favor of the Gophers with all the turmoil that has occured, is the new leadership - this could prove to be a blessing in disguise for them to help right the ship. Lucky us, we face the Gophers early in the season. This game is still going to be a dogfight, because I don't think the Gophers will just roll-over and hand us the victory, it is a game we will have to earn on the field.

owlfan1 hit the key point – this isn't a Mason-led Minnesota team. I truly think the team would have imploded if Glen Mason was still the coach… and I was not one of the Fire Mason crowd even though I did think it was time for a change.

I'm pretty active with our booster club (Goal Line Club) and yesterday we had Gopher Sports Day out at Canterbury Downs, the local horse track. Coach Brewster promised us the day he was hired back in January that he would be out there and boy was he. We had a private area for our group of 1000 or so and Coach arrived early, stayed late, moved around to every table and talked to everyone, signed a couple thousand autographs on posters & balls & caps, then went over to the main grandstand – I would almost swear that he shook hands with the other five or six thousand people that were there. The day before he was up in Alexandria (120 miles NW) for one of the golf tourneys we sponsor and wowed them as well. Earlier in the week he and his wife were on a hay wagon in Brewster, Minnesota as grand marshals of the town celebration and parade. He had stopped in Brewster (Pop. 502) on a whim during a statewide Coaches Caravan that he and Tubby and others had done last Spring – the townsfolk invited him back for the parade, and of course he said yes. He and his staff had visited every every high school in the state within a couple of months after he was hired – and this is a big geographic state with 500+ schools.

The point is more than Brewster just being a nice guy – he is a leader and someone that you can easily believe in. This man looks you right in the eye when you shake his hand and you know instinctively that he is sincere in what he says – I've met enough of the other type, coaches, businessmen and politicians, to know the difference. He does things the right way.

True, he has never been a head coach or even a coordinator but this guy is a winner – that's why Mack Brown took Brewster along from North Carolina to Texas and was sorry to see Brewster leave for the NFL for the chance to learn from Schottenheimer, then Shanahan. He's been preparing for a major college coaching job his entire career and that's why I have no worries about the response of the Gopher team to the off season problems. After our 40 year trek through the wilderness I've learned to be a skeptic about the coaches that came and went… but Coach Brewster has my full attention.

Now, on to the football end of things…

I certainly do not have the FAU game marked down as a sure victory for several reasons. While I don?t think the Owls should be favored as the one prediction predicts, the match up has a number of factors that could keep the game close:

QB ? An experienced QB can keep an average team in a game for a long time? as long as he doesn?t make mistakes. One of the big reasons we had a regular season winning record last year was because we had a senior three year starter at QB ? this year we have no QB with any meaningful experience. Potential, yes, experience, no ? and three of the four potential starters are learning a new system. FAU returns two veterans ? they may not be all-Sunbelt but familiarity can breed success.

Turnovers ? The Gophers were either #1 or 2 in the country in turnover margin last year ? most of this was due to a more aggressive defensive backfield and the aforementioned QB who took care of the ball. Our backs seldom fumble ? and we all know that turnovers are key to staying close or winning. This year we have an inexperienced QB and a paper thin defensive backfield so I expect the margin to drop considerably ? although there are other compensating improvements that could help a lot (such as finally getting an average rush from the defensive line).

Location ? By this I mean it will be the first road game under a new coach. Travel timing, rules, run throughs, game day schedules. etc. will be new for the entire team. Little things can sometimes cause a loss of focus. The stadium itself should be no problem ? our guys have played a lot more games in pro stadiums than the Owls? plus the size should discount the crowd for either team from being a factor.

Speed ? One of Coach Brewster?s top goals is to increase our team speed and athleticism. At some positions we are decent; at others (such as LB) there is much to be desired. I do not know how much speed differential there is between the Owl & Gopher skill positions but that is a cause of concern to me.

Weather ? And not what you think ? the heat and humidity actually are just of average concern to me. I?ve watched the summer workouts and I go past the weight room often and I haven?t seen a team work this hard since Lou ?Cheater? Holtz was here. We?ve had an abnormally hot and humid summer ? conditioning does not concern me more than on any other hot September afternoon. Rain does concern me. Spread offense, new QB ? will we have enough alternative sets in place to weather a monsoon? This probably bothers me more than it does our OC.

Timing ? We open the Big Ten season with Purdue the week after ? always the chance of looking ahead even when you know you shouldn?t? especially if we win our first two home games fairly easily.

Experience ? The Owls, that is. When I?ve studied the various scouting reports (including the Blue Ribbon one posted here) I see an experienced starter or experienced back up moving up to starting at almost every single position including several All-Conference quality players. Then I see triple digit national rankings. There is a disconnect there somewhere. Are the magazines wrong or are they rightfully wary of ?youthful? experience at too many positions who still might be a year away?

It should be fun.

The one thing that everyone said Mason was lacking was the ability and/or desire to sell the program. It seems like Brewster isn't afraid to get out in the community and let people know that he is serious about turning around Gopher football. He should bring the program a long way.

GO OWLS!!!

Experience is our biggest strenght going into the season and that does blend into the back-ups like you mentioned and it still leave us a young team. What we do have is the most experience as a team since 04 (a very top heavy Senoir laden team). A void was created at the end of 04 and has since been rectified. Even tought there is much promise for this team, I still think the 08 team will be head over-heals over the 07 team.

I will agree that the Gophers should still be the favorites going into this game regardless of this being a home game for the Owls, which probably gave us the slight edge for now, still early and the line can still change.

If we can establish a presence on the line and establish the run, we should then be able to run a much more effecient offense in more the two years.

Well, this writer picks the Gophers to beat FAU… but he also has us losing at home in the opener to Bowling Green and going 4-8 on the year and finishing last in the B10. From the Detroit Free Press website:

MINNESOTA (100-1 - Field) - Tim Brewster takes over for Glen Mason, who had guided the Golden Gophers to five straight bowl appearances.

Strengths - Minnesota has produced 1,000-yard rushers by the score, but might not this year as the offense switches to a spread formation. Eight starters return to a defense that the new coaching staff wants to "attack with attitude."

Weaknesses - In order to run the spread offense, multiple receivers are needed, something the Gophers lack heading into the new season. In fact, the defense has ripped apart the offense during spring and the early fall practices.

Bottom Line - Minnesota will be lucky to win one conference game, and will also lose to Bowling Green the first week of the season. If Brewster and company win four games, they'll take it. Bet against the Gophers each and every Saturday.

I don't blame you for picking Minn to win, they're still a big 10 team and no matter how they do in the first two weeks, they'll still be favored to win (unless we start 2-0 at which point I'll have a heart attack and won't even get to see the Minnesota game) but all of the makings of an upset are there…I'm just hoping for the hottest day of the year