Homer columnist Sid Hartman recently penned ...if you want my observation of how good the Gophers football teamwill be, I'd say that it will be much improved in personnel over the2008 team, but it is too bad that this current group could not have played the 2008 schedule.
The only pushover on the 2009 schedule is South Dakota State, and in the past it has surprised some Division I teams.
Let's investigate whether Hartman's thoughts carry any relevance.

Sept. 5, at Syracuse - The Gophers will enter this game as theprohibitive favorite. Syracuse has just five wins over Division I-Aopponents the last four years. Their leading returning rusher, DougHogue, is now a linebacker. The return of talented wide receiver MikeWilliams, who missed last year because of a cheating allegation, willhelp. New head coach Doug Marrone is running a tight ship - no facialhair is allowed and he made all spring drills full-contact. He may winwith the Orange eventually, but it won't be in this game.

Final Verdict: WIN (1-0)
Sept. 12, host Air Force -It'll be a tussle between two undefeated teams (the Falcons getNicholls State in week one). Air Force has 13 starters returning (6off., 7 def.) from an eight win team a year ago (5-2 on the road),including its quarterback and leading rusher. This game will be farfrom a layup, considering all the pressure associated with winning thefirst game in TCF Bank Stadium. The Falcons only lost to a super Utahteam by a touchdown in 2008. Troy Calhoun has proven he can coach. Infact, some would easily take Calhoun over Tim Brewster. He's won17-games in his two seasons in Colorado Springs.
Final Verdict: WIN, but it'll be closer than most think (2-0)
Sept. 19, host California - "The Bears defense, dare we say it, in a conference lorded over by USC, might actually end up as the Pac-10's best unit."
ESPN's Ted Miller
Pack a lunch! The Golden Bears have a chance to be really good. They willhave a new signal-caller - either Kevin Riley or Brock Mansion. Butthey won't have a new tailback. Jahvid Best is the leading rusher inthe country among returning players. He did have offseason foot andelbow surgeries. They return 17 starters (7 off., 8 def., 2 specialteams). If this team has a weakness, it very well could be itsreceiving corp.
Final Verdict: LOSS (2-1)
Sept. 26, at Northwestern - Who wouldn't take Pat Fitzgerald asMinnesota's coach? He has proven that he's among the big timeup-and-comers in the nation. We are all aware of what quarterback MikeKafka can do. The Wildcats will miss running back Tyrell Sutton andwide receiver Eric Peterman. They have 14 starters returning (5 off., 8def., 1 special teams). Northwestern only played two true freshmen in2008, the fewest of any Big Ten team. They lost a lot of guys (23total). They return just 27% of its rushing yardage, only 19% of itsreceiving yardage. Northwestern will stop people at times, so will havea chance in some games. I have a hunch that Kevin Cosgrove's defensewill be up to the challenge in the Big Ten opener. They will containKafka enough, and with limited offensive weapons, it's a winnable gamefor Minnesota on a schedule that does them no favors.
Final Verdict: WIN (3-1)
Oct. 3, host Wisconsin - Despite the appearance of a cordialhandshake between Brewster and Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema lastyear in Madison, make no mistake - these two do not like each other.It's time for Brewster to finally beat the hated Badgers. The time isright. Wisconsin has gotten progressively worse the past couple ofyears. Firebretbielema.com is quickly becoming popular among theWisconsin faithful. The Badgers return 13 starters (6 off., 5 def., 2special teams), only one along the defensive line and same at thelinebacker position. However, they do have other returning players whohave started games. The Badgers played a school-record six games thatwere decided by six points or less in 2008, winning three of those.Presumably, this will be a close game, decided in the game's finalminutes. Will Bielema own Brewster again? We say, like previous years,the Gophers will start the season strong. We like Adam Weber a wholelot more than Dusin Sherer.
Final Verdict: WIN (4-1)
Oct. 10, host Purdue (homecoming) - At this point, theBoilermakers are a bit of a mystery, but new head coach Danny Hope willcontinue to run the spread offense. We'll know enough about Purdueentering this game because in previous weeks they play @ Oregon andhost Notre Dame and Northwestern, among others. They return 13starters (4 off., 7 def., 2 special teams). Among its losses:quarterback Curtis Painter, running back Kory Sheets, and widereceivers Desmond Tardy and Greg Orton. Change may not be a bad thingin this case. Purdue went just 2-6 in Big Ten play in 2008. JustinSiller was dismissed for violating school policy meaning fifth-yearsenior Joey Elliott will likely get the nod as Hope's startingquarterback. That is problematic if you're a loyal Boilermakersobserver, not if you're a Gophers fan.
Final Verdict: WIN ( 5-1)
Oct. 17, at Penn State - Gophers fans, hope this game is duringthe day. That environment at night is nearly unbearable. The NittanyLions return the best quarterback in the conference - Daryll Clark. Hewas marvelous last year, but he'll have to operate this season withoutDerrick Williams, Deon Butler, and Jordan Norwood. Penn State catches abreak, getting Eastern Illinois the week prior to its matchup withMinnesota. Penn State returns the fewest position starters of any BigTen team - nine. Tailback Evan Royster is back though. He ran for 1,236yards in 2008, averaging 6.5 yards per carry. Among the Big Ten'stop-six rushers last year, Royster is the only back who returns. Thisis typically where we've seen the Gophers struggle mightily in previousseasons - the middle portion of their schedule - and with a toughstretch, this year will be no different.
Final Verdict: LOSS (5-2)
Oct. 24, at Ohio State - The Gophers are 3-20 all-time vs. OhioState in games played in Columbus. The Buckeyes lost a lot offirepower, but return eight starters on defense and quarterbackTerrelle Pryor. They have issues along their offensive line and at thereceiver position, yet the expectation will still be no more than threelosses. Maybe Brewster's bunch can make it a bit more competitive thanlast year (It was 34-7 before two late, meaningless scores made thefinal 34-21), but they will not win this tilt. The Buckeyes may verywell end up in a BCS game for a fifth consecutive year.
Final Verdict: LOSS (5-3)
Oct. 31, host Michigan State - It'll be a Halloween game underthe lights at the Vault, the first matchup between these two since2006. The Spartans lost quarterback Brian Hoyer and running back JavonRinger, but return seven offensive and eight defensive starters. This,in my opinion, is the toughest game to prognosticate this far out.Spartans head coach Mark Dantonio has indicated he may go with a twoquarterback system - Keith Nichol and Kirk Cousins. Dantonio easilytrumps Brewster. How will the Gophers respond to back-to-back losses?There are negatives when laying out the case for the Gophers, but Ithink they will overcome those.
Final Verdict: WIN (6-3, bowl eligible)
Nov. 7, host Illinois - Illinois has 18 starters returning plusall of its special teams aces. Revenge will be on the Illini'scollective mind, after what the Gophers did in Champaign last year.Illinois lost its final three games in 2008, finishing with just fivewins. I get the feeling that Ron Zook's team will rebound nicely in2009. I was bashed recently for suggesting that I would rather haveEric Decker than the Illini's Arrelious Benn. I can understand theother side. Benn will undoubtedly have a monster year with four-yearstarter Juice Williams throwing it his way. Illinois gets the revengeit so richly wants. It's home loss #2.
Final Verdict: LOSS (6-4)
Nov. 14, host South Dakota State - The Jackrabbits were aDivision II program until moving to Division I in 2004. Brewster couldsafely tweet right now, "We cut the collective tail off of theJackrabbits." This simply isn't a game that the Gophers will lose.
Final Verdict: WIN (7-4)
Nov. 21, at Iowa - 14 starters return (6 off., 8 def.) forarguably the best coach in the conference, Kirk Ferentz. Jewel Hamptonreplaces Shonn Greene at tailback - how much remains to be seen. RickyStanzi returns at quarterback and there are experts who favor Stanziover Weber. I know this much - he's good. Iowa is coming off asuccessful 9-4 season and will be in the mix for the Big Tenchampionship again this year. The Hawkeyes embarrased the Gophers inthe final game in the Metrodome, 55-0. Think there may be a sign or twoeluding to that game in Iowa City on this Saturday afternoon? Iowa doesplay at Ohio State the week before, so a hangover factor could be inplay. But it won't matter. Winning at Kinnick isn't an easy thing.
Final Verdict: LOSS (7-5)
Final Thoughts - Another seven win season would likely earn TimBrewster that contract extension, especially with the dauntingschedule. I respectfully disagreed with one of my Gopher Illustratedcollegues, when he threw out the idea of an extension following the winat Illinois last year. It was just too early and came off too much asan extreme homerish take. But I could feel the vibe on it after thisyear.
It'sa monster year for Brewster, entering year three. We know he canrecruit, but we still have very little proof that he can properlyprepare a game plan and make in-game adjustments (although at Wisconsinlast year was a start after twentysomething games). A 7-5 season wouldgo a decent way in quieting his many critics. And for some, anothertrip to the Insight Bowl would do very little.