Gophers football not far from respectability

The Minnesota Gophers football team ended on the kind of note that first-year coach Jerry Kill had hoped for.

It was a winning one, a 27-7 romp over Illinois, and one that gave significant hope to Minnesota's future under Kill.

Early this season, things looked as awful as they ever have for Gophers football. And that was a huge disappointment, with fans figuring Kill would get this program to quickly show signs of improvement. Instead, they were handed some disgusting losses, such as 28-21 to one of the worst teams in college football, New Mexico State. There was also a 37-24 dagger handed to them by neighbor North Dakota State and a 58-0 killing by Michigan.

But soon after, things gradually started to turn around for the Gophers. They showed signs of life in the second half in a 41-14 loss to Nebraska, then went out and beat Iowa 22-21 the following week. They followed that by almost beating big boy Michigan State, in East Lansing.

Finally, there was that 27-7 throttling of an Illinois team that — no doubt — was reeling to end its season. Still, it was an impressive win over a Big Ten school, one where there was complete domination on both sides of the ball by Minnesota.

And when was the last time we've been able to say that in for a Gophers program that has reeled for years?

The task now is to improve significantly on this season's 3-9 mark. It figures to happen if a couple of things fall into place.

They Gophers need to get bigger and strong along the offensive line, though for the first time in years they were able to run the football with moderate success this season. Minnesota is young up front, so improvement there seems automatic.

Minnesota also needs to see first-year starting quarterback MarQueis Gray continue to make the strides he did the last half of this season. If the Gophers can get him to accurately pass the ball downfield, they might really have something. We already know that he is among the best running quarterbacks in the country.

Minnesota also could use a dominant running back, something it hasn't had since Laurence Maroney was a senior in 2005.

On defense, a need is for its young defensive line to continue to get bigger and faster, and interior player Ra'Shede Hageman to emerge as a star next year, his junior season. The 6-foot-6, 300-pound Minneapolis product has given hints that it could happen.

In the secondary, the Gophers figure to need all kinds of help. Let's hope that Kill can land some recruits that can upgrade what was one of the worst secondaries in college football this year.

If all or most of those things happen, it's easy to imagine Minnesota finishing around 6-5 next year. Kill, who has an excellent reputation for turning lowly programs around, seems on his way to doing it here, too.

— Pat Ruff