Way-too-early look at next year's Big Ten football power rankings (10. Minnesota)

[BleedGopher]

per Buckeyes Wire:

2022 Record​

9-4 (5-4 in Big Ten)

Why the Ranking​

Head coach P.J. Fleck might surprise folks with all the boat rowing in the offseason, but a lot of guys are moving on from a veteran squad. The culture is a good one, but there’s a lot to replace.`

Way-too-early look at next year's Big Ten football power rankings

Now that the college football season is over after the Georgia Bulldogs took home their second straight national championship, we can focus our attention on the 2023 season. In fact, we've already taken a very early look at

buckeyeswire.usatoday.com

Go Gophers!!

 

[Gophers7NatTitlesBadgers0]

 

[RogueGopher]

There's no logic in having Wisconsin at 4 and Minneosta at 10.

 

[jonnyganas]

There's no logic in having Wisconsin at 4 and Minneosta at 10.

"Power" rankings have a lot to do with external perceptions.
When the power rankings are in the off-season, the teams that are making external-facing moves (splashy coaching hires, getting lots of transfers from the portal, high recruiting rankings, etc) will be ranked higher.

When the power rankings are in-season, they are based more on tangible results (W/L record, style of play, strength of schedule)

Despite the lip service about maintaining their dominant ground-game identity, WI has basically shook the Etch-A-Sketch and started over with big time coaching hires, highly ranked recruits, and hoarding tons of talent from the transfer portal. That stuff will quickly add up to pre-season hype regardless of whether it actually shows up on the field next season.

MN has mostly stayed the course. Large assistant coaching turnover was dealt with by internal promotions and unproven talent (RB coach is still open). We lost a lot of talent to graduation and are filling primarily with in-development "next-guy-up" players. Our recruiting is stable, but not headline grabbing. Our transfers will fill immediate needs, but they are from lower conference teams and won't create buzz.

tldr; MN at 10 out of 14 for a pre-season "buzz" ranking makes sense, but won't predict our performance this season.

 

[MNVCGUY]

As we enter the off-season puff piece period there will be all kinds of this "way to early" puff content released.

Putting us behind Nebraska is kind of a joke and Wisconsin at 4 is too high but with most things big ten it is really a top tier with a couple of teams, a large mid tier that could be sorted any number of ways, and a bottom tier of likely cellar dwellers.

 

[Otis]

More realistic ranking of B1G football.

1. Michigan - 2 titles in a row!
2. Ohio State - best talent base but need to win the game.
3. Penn State - will they break through next year?
4. Iowa - death, taxes and Iowa defense, will their offense improve?
5. Maryland - if their QB plays great then they are up there.
6. Minnesota - no reason to see a drop off but oh, that cross-over schedule!
7. Michigan State - lots of good players
8. Wisconsin - lots of change in madtown. Will it all come together in 1 off Season?
9. Nebraska - Rhule has worked miracles before.
10. Illinois - too many loses for the big guy to coach up.
11. Rutgers - coach is slowly improving squad.
12. Purdue - big fall off on offense can’t be fixed by defensive coach in one year.
13. Indiana - Pinnix certainly would be nice now.
14. Northwestern - how long does Pat stick here?

That’s my view but top four of West could go almost any way!

 

[Gophergrandpa]

Buckeye Wire has a lot of faith in the immediate curative effect of hiring Luke Fickell and grabbing some highly-rated transfer QBs. Fifth place in the West to first place for the Badgers in 2023? Could happen, as the teams in the West are pretty "bunched" talent-wise. A single win or loss makes a huge difference.

We'll know if Nebraska is a better team than Minnesota pretty early, as we open against each other. "No Mo" in 2023 means a different offense, breaking in its weapons against NC, OSU, Michigan, etc. Our record could regress a bit--though our defense could become a true difference maker in our favor. Anyway, while it should have been 2022, I have this feeling that 2023 is the year we keep the Axe and bring home the Pig. First time having both in almost 30 years, I think. And I'll take that.

 

[Some guy]

Mine:
I’ve grouped teams where I am not confident how to split a bunch
1) Ohio state
2) Michigan
3-5) Iowa / Minnesota / penn state
6-9) wisconsin / nebraska / Illinois / Maryland
10) Michigan state
11) Rutgers
12) Purdue
13) Indiana
14) northwestern

Minnesota loses a lot but loses less than Purdue and Illinois. Wisconsin could just as easily take a step back as a step forward completely changing identities on both sides of the ball. Safest to put them in the middle. Of the 4 teams I have 6-9 they are the one that could most easily jump to the top 5 or fall to the bottom 5. Nebraska has a lot of talent and I’m confidence the new coach will get them to competence this year. I expect Nebraska to be 6-6 or so this year

Penn state has only started like 2 quarterbacks since 2013 and I’m not sure if they’ll automatically be as good. Minnesota and Iowa replacing quarterback too. I have most confidence in Minnesota QB situation of those three schools. Maryland will be decent, but i have a Tough time seeing them putting it together. I don’t think they will beat any of the big 3 in the east. I don’t think they’ll sweep everyone else which forces me to put them in the middle. 7-5 or 8-4 team.

I’m not a Mel tucker believer
Indiana and northwestern will be by far the worst two teams in the conference I think.

 

[Governor Sibley]

Northwestern is broken, sad to say.

 

[RowTheBoatUrah]

There's no logic in having Wisconsin at 4 and Minneosta at 10.

You know who else doesn't use logic? Vegas. Those guys are dumb clowns....just like Fickell and Wisconsin. I simply don't get how they can't see the unbridled greatness of PJ Fleck and our beloved Gophers.

Wisconsin +6,000
Minnesota +20,000

 

[Some guy]

You know who else doesn't use logic? Vegas. Those guys are dumb clowns....just like Fickell and Wisconsin. I simply don't get how they can't see the unbridled greatness of PJ Fleck and our beloved Gophers.

Wisconsin +6,000
Minnesota +20,000

Vegas uses a ton of logic to try to make money.

 

[tjgopher]

our beloved Gophers.

now that is funny

 

[Panthadad2]

You know who else doesn't use logic? Vegas. Those guys are dumb clowns....just like Fickell and Wisconsin. I simply don't get how they can't see the unbridled greatness of PJ Fleck and our beloved Gophers.

Wisconsin +6,000
Minnesota +20,000

That's because once the horde of drunk Sconnies got done jizzing on their Fuk Lickle picture, they ran to Vegas to put money on the Fadgers. It's all about dumb money. Look at where the Fadgers were picked a year ago for 2022 (below). Drunk Sconnies are a bettor's dream.

Here's every B1G team's odds to win the 2022 national championship

A way-too-early look at the B1G's title odds.

saturdaytradition.com

 

[fmlizard]

I can see Minnesota at 200:1 with the schedule it has and historical performance, but wisconsin at 60:1 and the implied best team in the West and 18th best in the nation is wild.

They were pretty bad last year and are embarking on a major scheme change. OSU is on the sked.

wisconsin has outplayed their recruiting rankings for 30 years and there's a fair chance that blowing up the Alvarez era that did that will blow up in their faces.

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

You know who else doesn't use logic? Vegas. Those guys are dumb clowns....just like Fickell and Wisconsin. I simply don't get how they can't see the unbridled greatness of PJ Fleck and our beloved Gophers.

Wisconsin +6,000
Minnesota +20,000

In 2022, Wisconsin was +1100 to win the Big 10 and the Gophers were +2800 and remember when we whooped their ass for the second straight season.

Vegas is smart. They know they don't even have to give those morons reasonable odds to get them to dump money.

Vegas sets lines to get people to bet. They know Badger fans are delusional and will over bet every single line. They are taking their money. . . just like last year.

I'd think as a fellow Gopher fan, you'd be smart enough to understand how Vegas works. It's really simple, I thought only Badger trolls were too dumb to figure that out.

On a side note, despite what some have heard, I haven't seen definitive proof that Fickell beats his wife.

 

[RowTheBoatUrah]

That's because once the horde of drunk Sconnies got done jizzing on their Fuk Lickle picture, they ran to Vegas to put money on the Fadgers. It's all about dumb money. Look at where the Fadgers were picked a year ago for 2022 (below). Drunk Sconnies are a bettor's dream.

View attachment 23073

Here's every B1G team's odds to win the 2022 national championship

A way-too-early look at the B1G's title odds.

saturdaytradition.com

Ah got it. Didn't realize Paul Finebaum was a drunk Sconnie. Noted. https://247sports.com/Article/Wisco...-possible-Cinderella-team-for-2023-202719229/

 

[Dupreefor3]

per Buckeyes Wire:

2022 Record​

9-4 (5-4 in Big Ten)

Why the Ranking​

Head coach P.J. Fleck might surprise folks with all the boat rowing in the offseason, but a lot of guys are moving on from a veteran squad. The culture is a good one, but there’s a lot to replace.`

Way-too-early look at next year's Big Ten football power rankings

Now that the college football season is over after the Georgia Bulldogs took home their second straight national championship, we can focus our attention on the 2023 season. In fact, we've already taken a very early look at

buckeyeswire.usatoday.com

Go Gophers!!

I don't even know where to begin with how awful these are

 

[Word]

Ah got it. Didn't realize Paul Finebaum was a drunk Sconnie. Noted. https://247sports.com/Article/Wisco...-possible-Cinderella-team-for-2023-202719229/

Keep trying!

 

[RowTheBoatUrah]

Keep trying!

Word!

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

Ah got it. Didn't realize Paul Finebaum was a drunk Sconnie. Noted. https://247sports.com/Article/Wisco...-possible-Cinderella-team-for-2023-202719229/

I remember when we were so desperate to win the axe that we had to resort to finding people in the offseason that thought we were good. We were so desperate and grasping at straws, I'm glad we moved past that.

By the way, Paul Finebaum tweeted this:



On a side note, wouldn't it take a really crappy coach to go under .500 at Ohio State?

 

[RowTheBoatUrah]

Yea I remember those days. Honestly feels like us Minnesota fans are still living in them....meanwhile JUST THIS WEEK, Wisconsin landed a top 50 WR from USC (over Georgia and ND), another 4 star QB (make that 4 of 'em since Fickell joined), an All-American kicker and a first team all conference lineman.....must be nice being a Wisconsin fan.

But honestly who cares, PJ Fleck has BIG aspirations to someday win the West and if we row the boat hard enough we might actually do it sometime in the next 20 years.

https://247sports.com/Article/Former-USC-WR-CJ-Williams-is-headed-to-Wisconsin--202789609/

https://theathletic.com/4078355/2023/01/10/wisconsin-football-transfers-locke-pauling-vakos/

https://www.buckys5thquarter.com/20...enfro-from-cincinnati-luke-fickell-phil-longo

 

[Xerxes_]

Northwestern is broken, sad to say.

Actually it's not sad at all.

 

[Some guy]

Yea I remember those days. Honestly feels like us Minnesota fans are still living in them....meanwhile JUST THIS WEEK, Wisconsin landed a top 50 WR from USC (over Georgia and ND), another 4 star QB (make that 4 of 'em since Fickell joined), an All-American kicker and a first team all conference lineman.....must be nice being a Wisconsin fan.

But honestly who cares, PJ Fleck has BIG aspirations to someday win the West and if we row the boat hard enough we might actually do it sometime in the next 20 years.

https://247sports.com/Article/Former-USC-WR-CJ-Williams-is-headed-to-Wisconsin--202789609/

https://theathletic.com/4078355/2023/01/10/wisconsin-football-transfers-locke-pauling-vakos/

https://www.buckys5thquarter.com/20...enfro-from-cincinnati-luke-fickell-phil-longo

Of those 4 4 star quarterbacks I’m guessing they’ll only start 1
Which is the same number of 4 star quarterbacks they started last year


They got a wideout who couldn’t get playing time

They got a kicker and an all conference linemen from the 6th best conference in the country. These two are really good gets.



Yeah, they’re going to get guys. We will see how it goes for them.



You are wrong, it isn’t nice to be a wisconsin fan. I might end up on an opposing teams message board like you lol

 

[RowTheBoatUrah]

Of those 4 4 star quarterbacks I’m guessing they’ll only start 1
Which is the same number of 4 star quarterbacks they started last year


They got a wideout who couldn’t get playing time

They got a kicker and an all conference linemen from the 6th best conference in the country. These two are really good gets.



Yeah, they’re going to get guys. We will see how it goes for them.



You are wrong, it isn’t nice to be a wisconsin fan. I might end up on an opposing teams message board like you lol

- "Vegas only gives you better odds to win the National Championship because of Drunk Sconnies"
- "You have too many awesome players at one position - not everyone can play!"
- "That All-American kicker didn't kick field goals against Minnesota yet, so he's not even good!"

The Gopher fan cope is truly second to none.

The rationalizations, mental gymnastics, and outright delusion to convince yourselves that you aren't a mediocre at best program. This year's schedule was an absolute cakewalk, aligned with worst Wisconsin team in 20 years and a roster full of 25 years olds AND STILL you couldn't win the West.

It's gotta be tough.

 

[Some guy]

- "Vegas only gives you better odds to win the National Championship because of Drunk Sconnies"
- "You have too many awesome players at one position - not everyone can play!"
- "That All-American kicker didn't kick field goals against Minnesota yet, so he's not even good!"

The Gopher fan cope is truly second to none.

The rationalizations, mental gymnastics, and outright delusion to convince yourselves that you aren't a mediocre at best program. This year's schedule was an absolute cakewalk, aligned with worst Wisconsin team in 20 years and a roster full of 25 years olds AND STILL you couldn't win the West.

It's gotta be tough.

Are these my rationalizations?

1) Vegas favors Wisconsin because they’re trying to make the most money

2) only one quarterback plays at a time
So saying they have 4 great new quarterbacks is no better than having one.

3) I said the kicker and the linemen were both really good gets


Me? I couldn’t win the west? Lol
Are you 7 years old? Or just the IQ of a 7 year old?

 

[SSWWMAS]

2) only one quarterback plays at a time
So saying they have 4 great new quarterbacks is no better than having one.

I do disagree with this one. The likelihood of all 4 being a bust is much lower than just one being a bust.

 

[Some guy]

I do disagree with this one. The likelihood of all 4 being a bust is much lower than just one being a bust.

None of them are a bust

They’re all amazing!

 

[gopherbadgerman]

You know who else doesn't use logic? Vegas. Those guys are dumb clowns....just like Fickell and Wisconsin. I simply don't get how they can't see the unbridled greatness of PJ Fleck and our beloved Gophers.

Wisconsin +6,000
Minnesota +20,000

I’d trust Vegas over any columnist

 

[Some guy]

I’d trust Vegas over any columnist

I 100% trust Vegas to make money.

 

[Jack jones]

There's no logic in having Wisconsin at 4 and Minneosta at 10.

Yes it is called recruits and use of the portal.