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Minnesota has improved drastically from where they were last season. That is a given. They have quadrupled their win total. As long as Tim Brewster continues to improve his recruiting practices, they are going to continue to win more games every single year until they go as far as they can.
Adam Weber is a two-year starter at QB. Redshirted his Freshman Year. Last year, he was Minnesota's running game and passing game. He hasn't been asked to do everything this year. Last year, Weber was Minnesota's leading passer and rusher.
However, this year, Weber has been complimented by an increased use of the running backs. That's what happens when a team starts to win games. True freshman DeLeon Eskridge, a former 3* recruit on Rivals, leads the team with 204 yards rushing and 5 touchdowns. True sophomore Duane Bennett has 140 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns on 32 carries (Take away his big run for 61 yards and that becomes 79 yards on 31 carries). However, he is known for coming out of the backfield and catching a pass. 12 catches out of the backfield for Bennett, the second highest total on the team.
And that leads us to Eric Decker. Decker, a junior, put up solid numbers last year with 909 yards receiving and 9 touchdowns. Aside from that, Weber does not have many targets to throw the ball to.
Their defense is full of ball hawks. They give up a ton of yards, but they get a ton of turnovers. Their turnover ratio is +11. As long as Ohio State takes good care of the football, picking apart Minnesota's defense should not be that big of a problem.
Overall, Minnesota has definitely improved this year. But, they aren't strong enough yet to truly become a power in the Big Ten. Whilst a small bowl game may be in order (Something like the Motor City Bowl), don't expect Minnesota to cause too many problems. Brewster definitely has this squad on the right track though. If he continues to recruit well, the Golden Gophers should continue to improve.
And yes, they are definitely a test.
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