The Elephant in the room created by the title is that none of the Football seasons have been canceled outright as of now. There's a chance that the seasons will happen in the Spring but remember that in March & April a common comment was that Summer could bring about a reprieve from this thing. We all know that didn't happen so who's to say that by next March the panic will have dwindled enough, that people will have become immune or that a cure will have been cultivated? No one who isn't a pathological liar can say that any of those possibilities will happen with a straight face or clear conscience. Even with the damage that would be caused by a Football-less school year, it just seems like a bridge too far to assume the games will go on.
Maybe I'll be proven wrong.
I'll be glad if it happens because Football Saturdays (& Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays) are among the best parts of the year, every single year.
But until the games are happening I'm calling it a lost season, and thus these previews. As you'll notice, they're each done with the original schedules in mind so conjecture is rampant.
Not to set the bar too high on the 2020 Dragons 🏈 team, but they're stacked. Their success, like that of most teams, will start with senior quarterback Jakup Sinani's play. But make no mistake, they have guys on both sides of the ball that should get a look by the CFL and who knows, maybe a couple will get calls from the National League.
The two biggest questions about the roster are what they will get from their running backs and whether any of the many true freshman will be able to contribute on special teams or beyond?
Using history as a reference, I would say that a few of the new guys will jump up right away but most will need time to learn & mature before making significant, consistent impact on the field.
As for the ball carriers, Ty Jochim will seek to build on his team-leading 2019 but any of the four additions could get an opportunity & show they're able. There are only two returning RBs, along with a couple Fullbacks that could be used in short-yardage so an injury to any of them would throw the door wide open for the fresh faces.
Jake Richter & Grady Bresnahan will do the most damage to defenses of any two players on the roster. Moorhead State will have all five of their top catchers from 2019 back so it wouldn't surprise me one bit to see them open up the offense with some air-raid elements. Like I said, they're stacked!
But what about the defense?
Of the many guys who will make tackles, gather fumbles or interceptions & generally seek to wreak havoc, no two will be more instrumental this year than the senior duo of Jordan Magnuson & Darius Woods-Steichen. With half of the defenses total sacks & nearly a third of their TFLs, the fearsome-twosome will look to be even better despite the shortened season.
One looming question comes from the backend of the defense, where a myriad of contenders will look to fill the 11 PBU void created by Deiondre Taylor's graduation. Carson Zarak finished second in the category among DBs with four breakups last year but the best & most likely solve will be a coalition dividing the production.
With the shortened, conference only, 8-game schedule set to kick-off against Upper Iowa, they'll only get one tune-up before Duluth rolls into town. None of the six games that follow that one will be as indicative of what this year's team can accomplish. If they can knock out the Bulldogs then they could have an undefeated season.
Truth be told, I'm not quite THAT sold on their prospects but I do think they'll finish 6-2.
Back to reality
Adjusted for the length of the season that would likely have been enough to get them another bowl game & on the fringe of the playoff. They may be able to put the pieces together if the Spring schedule is deemed viable. Considering what coach Laqua & his staff have put together, hopefully it can happen! But until then, like so many other things from this year, all we can do is think about what could have been.
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