The ninth season of the P.J. Fleck era in Minneapolis will get underway on August 28 when the Golden Gophers host MAC opponent Buffalo at Huntington Bank Stadium.

The Bulls are entering their second season under head coach Pete Lembo after achieving a 9-4 record in 2024, their first season of more than eight wins season 2018 and the second time they've won nine or more games in program history.

Buffalo was active in the transfer portal this offseason, nabbing eight players. The most notable addition to their roster is veteran quarterback Ta'Quan Roberson.

Roberson will be playing his seventh year of college football in 2025. After spending three seasons at Penn State (2019-2021), where he played in six games, he spent two seasons at Connecticut. In 2022, he was expected to be the Huskies' starting quarterback but suffered a torn ACL early in their season opener. He would bounce back to have a solid 2023 campaign, completing 197-of-338 passing attempts for 2,075 yards and 12 touchdowns. Last offseason, he transferred to Kansas State where he played in six games, completing 3-of-7 passing attempts. After his lone season in Manhattan, he entered the portal for a third time, committing to Pete Lembo and the Bulls.

The Bulls also added Power Four transfers in Maryland kicker Jack Howes, Michigan State offensive lineman Jacob Merritt, and Arizona State cornerback Keontez Bradley.

In 2024, Buffalo had a strong offense, averaging 28.8 points and 355.4 yards per game. The Bulls offense was mostly a rushing attack, averaging 41 rushing attempts and 169.1 yards per game while attempting 26.7 passing attempts and 186.3 passing yards per game.

2024 starting quarterback CJ Ogbonna who completed 56.5% of his passes a season ago for 2,381 yards and 19 touchdowns exhausted his eligiblity.

While they did lose Ogbonna, the Bulls do return their top ballcarrier from a season ago in Al-Jay Henderson. Last season, Henderson had a breakout campaign with 204 rushing attempts for 1,078 yards and nine touchdowns. He also had 19 receptions for 238 yards and one rerceiving touchdown. His 1,316 yards from scrimmage ranked third in the MAC last season.

The Bulls will also return their leading receiver from 2024, Victor Snow. A former Nevada wide receiver, Snow transferred to Buffalo prior to the 2023 season and after just recoridng one reception for 12 yards in his first season with the program, Snow recorded 55 receptions for 651 yards and six touchdowns last season.

Despite posting a 9-4 record, Buffalo srtuggled defensively in 2024, allowing 26.4 points per game which ranked 80th in the country. The Bulls pass defense was particulary poor last season, allowing almsot 250 passing yards per game. Their run defense was solid but notihng more, allowing 4.1 yards per carry and 146.6 rushing yards.

Among their departures on defense was All-American linebacker Shaun Dolac who recorded 168 tackles, 19 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, five interceptions, and five pass deflections. Dolac was a true do-it-all type linebacker for the Bulls and the lifeblood of their defense.

While Dolac is gone, they do return Khalil Murdock, who despite recording 156 tackles himself flew under the radar last season. On top of his 156 tackles, he also had 17 tackles for loss, two sacks, and one interception. He also had seven forced fumbles, bringing his career total to 11 in 30 career games played.

The Bulls secondary has a chance to improve upon their poor 2024 showing as they return their top defensivebacks from last season in safety Marquis Cooper, cornerback Solomon Brown, and cornerback Eddie Pleasant III.

As the recently posted opening line of 18.5-points would suggest, Minnesota is and should be quite a bit better against Bulls once August 28 rolls around. The Bulls defense will be tsted early against the Gophers, as Minnseota should have one of the better running back rooms in the country this season and a potentially dangerous wide receiver room if first year quarterback Drake Lindsey is able to find early success. Offensively, the Bulls still have some notable pieces as mentioned above, but is Kansas State transfer Ta'Quan Roberson going to be able to pick up where CJ Ogbonna was able to leave off last season.

In the P.J. Fleck era, Minnesota has been one of the country's best programs when it comes to non-conference matchups with a 21-3 record. They're also strong against the spread in those non-conference matchups with a 17-7 record, the fifth best record against the spread since 2017.

Minnesota should win this game, the only question is by how much. Overall, the Gophers entering 2025 should have a reasonably solid floor and bowl eligbiltiy seems likely. Their ceiling will be determined by Drake Lindsey's development among some other key factors such as the performances in the trenches as both the offensive line and defensive line enter 2025 as question marks.

Buffalo should once again be one of the top programs in the MAC in 202. While they'll likely take a loss to the Gophers in the August 28 season opener, the Bulls will be in the conversation to win 10 games and a MAC Championship this fall.

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