By: Kent Youngblood (StarTribune.com) —
We’re one month in and what do we know?

We know the Gophers football team has improved, especially on defense. We know the team is more confident, more aggressive, more successful.

But how much more?

The Big Ten has taken a few lumps the past month. Michigan is struggling to go from its traditional power game to Rich Rodriguez’s spread offense. Ohio State struggled with two mid-major teams and got squished by Southern California.

Gophers coach Tim Brewster sees a lot of talent in the Big Ten. Penn State has rolled, Purdue has scored a lot of points, Ohio State is getting healthy, and Michigan State looks as if it’s on the rise.

But look at how the Big Ten has struggled against BCS-eligible conferences and you can’t help but think that if the Gophers have improved significantly, this year provides an opportunity.

With four victories already, the Gophers need only two more to become bowl-eligible. Brewster is sticking to his one-play-at-a-time mentality, and so he doesn’t want to look ahead that far.

But the opportunity is there: home games against Indiana (which was whipped by Ball State 42-20 on Saturday), Northwestern (undefeated and improved defensively, but against another soft schedule), rebuilding Michigan and Iowa (which lost to Pittsburgh on Saturday).

We’ve been saying it for a while, and here it is again: Wait until Saturday, and we’ll start getting more answers. The Gophers open Big Ten play against Ohio State on Saturday in Columbus. Talk about a litmus test.

Brewster is probably right when he says USC is at another level from just about anyone and that the Buckeyes’ one-sided loss to the Trojans has to be seen in that light. But what if Ohio State, apparently entering the Terrelle Pryor era and with Chris Wells’ expected return, runs over the Big Ten like it has the past few seasons? Won’t that make the conference look weaker?
Or maybe Ohio State’s less-than-impressive nonconference play is a sign that it’s time for a new champion. Wisconsin looks ready to take up that mantle. Perhaps Penn State. And maybe the Gophers are ready to take a step up the ladder after last season’s 0-8 conference run.

Give Brewster credit. He’s confident, but he’s also realistic. He knows Minnesota fans have seen quick starts before.

“We wanted to be a 4-0 football team at this point, and we are, OK?” he said. “There is nobody patting us on the back. There are some people saying how great we are, but we also know if we don’t play well against Ohio State they can embarrass us in their back yard. There is a certain amount of level-headedness to what we’re doing.”

The Gophers defense has improved against the pass, but what about the run? If Wells is back, we’ll know more about that in a few days. Ohio State’s offensive line is huge and will be a good test.

The Gophers have produced on offense, but often because of short fields, thanks to turnovers and good returns on special teams. Of the team’s 19 offensive touchdowns, 11 have been on drives of 50 or fewer yards.

Eric Decker order pills online without prescription has been all-everything as receiver, but others will have to step up in the conference schedule. And true freshman DeLeon Eskridge has looked very good stepping in for the injured Duane Bennett. But will the Gophers be able to run the ball consistently with inexperience on the line and in the backfield?

Wait a week or two.

By then the Gophers will have played at Ohio State. Wisconsin opens Big Ten play with games at Michigan and against Ohio State and Penn State.

Penn State starts at home against Illinois then travels to Purdue.

The Gophers, meanwhile, have met their first goal, going 4-0 in the nonconference. But that was against opponents with a combined 4-13 record, and one of those victories was Montana State’s over NCAA Division II Adams State.

Minnesota’s victory at Bowling Green was a confidence-booster, and the way the Gophers handled Florida Atlantic’s passing game was a good sign. And now the opportunity is there, starting with Ohio State.

“Based on our four nonconference games, we are an improved team,” Brewster said. “How improved? Shoot, we’ll find out Saturday.”

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