2024 Minnesota Stats: Gophers Set for Improved Season (2024)

Last season was a minor disappointment for the Minnesota Golden Gophers. The team did make the Quick Lane Bowl with a record of 5-7 and defeated Bowling Green to end the season with a 6-7 mark.

Expectations were a little higher in Minneapolis, as the team was coming off back-to-back nine-win seasons. The season win total was 7 and Minnesota fell short of that. The 2024 Minnesota stats will be dependent on how quickly transfer quarterback Max Brosmer adjusts to Big Ten football.

At A Glance

Minnesota Defense Takes Step Back

There were several reasons Minnesota took a fairly big step backward in 2023. An inconsistent offense and a defense that allowed too many big plays were key factors in the decline.

The Golden Gopher defense went from No. 10 to No. 56 and lost a pair of games in which they scored more than 30 points. The defense played a huge role in the team’s fate last season.

Minnesota was 6-0 when allowing 24 or fewer points. The Gophers were 0-7 when allowing more.

The offense is where the 2024 Minnesota stats could show some serious improvement. Athan Kaliakmanis completed just 53.1% of his passes and threw for 1,838 yards and 14 TDS against nine interceptions.

Brosmer transfers in from New Hampshire where he was the leading FCS quarterback last season, throwing for 3,400 yards and 29 touchdowns. He’s taking a big step up in class but has the potential to give Minnesota a stronger passing game.

Minnesota did lose its top four receivers from last year, making the position a transfer portal priority. The Gophers were also busy adding running backs in the portal after the team averaged just 4.1 rushing yards per attempt.

The Gophers did make an effort to bring in some talented new players and fared well in the transfer portal overall. That’s what a 5-7 regular season tends to do to a team. It was even worse for Minnesota backers, as the Gophers were just 3-9 in the college football picks against the spread.

Championship Odds: Not This Season

Minnesota’s five-win regular season bumped up the team’s NCAA football championship odds to +60000 this season. The Gophers were +15000 entering last season after a couple of strong years. A bowl game is a realistic goal for the team. A national title is not.

Conference Odds: Too Many Better Teams in Big Ten

The Big Ten Conference has a lot of talented teams entering 2024, but the Gophers are a notch below the top teams and probably a bit worse than the second tier. There’s a reason why the Gophers are at the bottom of the conference odds.

Regular Season Wins: Schedule Will Make 6 Wins Tough

Minnesota’s Big Ten schedule is going to make six wins a tall order. Even though the Gophers avoid Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, USC, and Iowa are all on the slate, along with some other tough games.

Nevada and Rhode Island are about the only two games you can say Minnesota should win. The Gophers still need to come up with four more wins to go over the win total. The potential is there, but the team will need a minor upset or two to get there.

The Gophers are going to be a better team than they were a year ago. They may be among the best college football bets some weeks, but they’ll have to exceed expectations a little bit to get six victories.

To Make Playoffs: Not a Chance

The Big Ten Ten Conference could very well have two or three teams in the college football playoff field. Minnesota isn’t going to be one of them, although they won’t be a bad team. The Gophers just aren’t at the level of some of the other playoff contenders yet.

Side Bets

For those who are brave, you can wager on the Gophers to reach 10 wins and receive +16000, although that’s asking an awfully lot out of this team. There’s little question the overall 2024 Minnesota stats are going to look better than last season, but not enough to double its regular season wins.

Minnesota is even money to reach six wins, although that’s not much different than betting the over on the season win totals.

For NCAAF betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.

Can’t get enough? Here’s more!

• Memphis and Tulane The Teams to Beat in AAC Race
• 2024 NCAAF Cheat Sheet: Michigan Wolverines Stats Odds