The Gophers football team’s internal media day is a prime opportunity for players to look good. After countless workouts to get into their best shape, each one dressed in their Saturday best — new maroon jersey and pants, striped in gold and white — to pose for an array of photos and videos for in-season use.
Preseason All-America left tackle Aireontae Ersery had a black comb in hand to better place his hair just right, while all-Big Ten linebacker Cody Lindenberg had three small white wristbands ready to hug his muscled arms when the cameras flashed.
But a handful of veteran players didn’t feel good on Thursday — at least not when discussing the Gophers’ what-could-have-been 5-7 regular season in 2023. They added a sixth win over Bowling Green in the Quick Lane Bowl.
“It didn’t sit well,” defensive back Jack Henderson said. “I don’t think it sat well with anybody. But we completely flipped the script when December happened and what we have been doing from January to now is night-and-day difference. We are looking for different results this year. We are working really hard and looking at turning it up this fall.”
However, ESPN and a handful of betting sites don’t foresee an uptick in wins this fall. Six prognosticators peg the Gophers’ over/under win total between 4.5 and 5.5 this fall. ESPN’s model has the U at 5.3 wins.
“Ignore it,” Ersery said about his reaction to those projections. “Focus on the now. Focus on our team. Focus on the (offensive) line. Focus on continuing to get better every day.”
Defensive end Danny Striggow said in an ideal world a positive thing motivates players. But when it was negative, no one is needed to push buttons or light a fire, he said.
“Sometimes you need a kick in the butt,” Striggow said. “Hey, what we did last year didn’t work. We are going to use that to change how we work this year to be able to say, ‘I don’t want to go through another season like that.’ ”
Striggow lamented the 37-34 loss to Northwestern in September and the 49-30 loss to Purdue in November. The 27-26 defeat to Illinois in early November can also be thrown in the mix as winnable games that got away.
“At the end of the day, you look back at the season (and) we left so much (meat) on the bone, we left a lot of things out there,” Striggow said. “It spoke for itself for a lot of guys on the team.”
Defensive tackle Jalen Logan-Redding offered: “I feel like a lot of people are underestimating us as a team.”
Why? “Because they look at that schedule and see we don’t have any talented players — and that is truly not it,” he replied.
Another tough schedule awaits the Gophers, starting in less than 50 days with the opener against North Carolina at Huntington Bank Stadium on Aug. 29. After Rhode Island and Nevada visit Minneapolis, the Gophers host rival Iowa and travel to defending national champion Michigan to end September.
October starts with Big Ten newcomers: Southern Cal at home on Oct. 5, followed by UCLA at the Rose Bowl on Oct. 12. Maryland, Illinois and Rutgers are next up, with Penn State at home and a road trip to rival Wisconsin to close November.
The Gophers’ depth was stretched in 2023, primary at linebacker but also receiver, where contributor Le’Meke Brockington missed the majority of the season with a broken leg.
“I kind of feel like we have something to prove, especially with a lot of guys going down last year,” Brokington said. “Our depth started getting low, just a bunch of injuries and some freshman guys who had to step in way earlier than they thought. I feel like we got more to prove.”
Fellow receiver Daniel Jackson said he’s grown used to outside naysayers during his five years in Dinkytown.
“Overlooked or under-looked, I don’t think it really matters,” he said. “I don’t typically have an opinion on that because a lot of people know we are Minnesota football. We are never going to be the most highly touted team ever, so that comes with the territory (and it’s about) using that to hunger you.”
Setting the line
A sampling of over/under predictions for the Gophers football team’s win total this fall:
5.5 — Fan Duel, Covers.com, BetMGM
5 — DraftKings
4.5 — Vegas Insider
