Big Ten football 2025 win-loss record predictions for each team after spring practice

[MisterGopher]

https://sports.yahoo.com/article/big-ten-football-2025-win-100250711.html​

Minnesota Golden Gophers​

Projected Record: 7-5 (5-4 Big Ten)

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Record in 2024: 8-5 (5-4 Big Ten)

Most Notable Games

• at Ohio State
• at Oregon
• vs Wisconsin

Projected Wins: Buffalo, Northwestern State, Rutgers, Purdue, Nebraska, Northwestern, Wisconsin

Projected Losses: Cal, Ohio State, Michigan State, Iowa, Oregon

Minnesota has a manageable schedule other than the Ohio State and Oregon matchups. The team has established a strong, consistent baseline of winning. That culture should again be on display with an experienced defense, most of which elected to stay after coordinator Corey Hetherman left for Miami. The big question will be at quarterback, where redshirt freshman Drake Lindsey is taking over for 2024 standout Max Brosmer.

 

[PMWinSTP]

MSU and Cal are definitely winnable. In the last six seasons, MSU has won 18 conference games, Gophs have won 28.

 

[TNGophfan]

As I said on another thread, the Nebraska/Iowa back to back is critical. If we get at worst a split, I see 9-3, assuming Lindsay plays reasonably well.

 

[DanvilleGopher]

MSU and Cal are definitely winnable. In the last six seasons, MSU has won 18 conference games, Gophs have won 28.

They should NOT lose to Cal. Cal lost all their RB's, WR's, Starting TE and their starting QB (to Indiana). Their O-line was atrocious last year and a big reason they didn't get to a bowl game. Their Punter was good but outside of that their ST's were terrible (missed numerous FG's by 2 different kickers) otherwise, another reason they didn't make a bowl game. Their Defense was very good.

I can't see how the Gophers lose this one.

The coaching staff (and newly hired OC) is one of the reasons the whole offense jumped into the Portal. The OC is the 4th one if 4 years under Wilcox. If you think the Gophers have issues with NIL, Cal has bigger problems with raising money (though there is huge potential with many wealthy alums) due to some donors not wanting to contribute unless, or until, Ron Rivera is granted much more power than the HC.

It's a mess that hopefully won't be resolved until at the earliest, after the Gopher game

 

[ShushPush]

I hate predicting the season until after game one. I need to see how the offensive line moves its feet and hands before a decent prediction can be made. With that excuse out of the way, allowing me plausible denial later, I predict a 7-5 record, due to the lack of playing time together of the O-line. If they gel quickly, we could sweep the table. We'll have plenty of time.

 

[Jack jones]

Please share what you are drinking!

 

[Great Plains Gopher]

https://sports.yahoo.com/article/big-ten-football-2025-win-100250711.html​

Minnesota Golden Gophers​

Projected Record: 7-5 (5-4 Big Ten)

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Record in 2024: 8-5 (5-4 Big Ten)

Most Notable Games

• at Ohio State
• at Oregon
• vs Wisconsin

Projected Wins: Buffalo, Northwestern State, Rutgers, Purdue, Nebraska, Northwestern, Wisconsin

Projected Losses: Cal, Ohio State, Michigan State, Iowa, Oregon

Minnesota has a manageable schedule other than the Ohio State and Oregon matchups. The team has established a strong, consistent baseline of winning. That culture should again be on display with an experienced defense, most of which elected to stay after coordinator Corey Hetherman left for Miami. The big question will be at quarterback, where redshirt freshman Drake Lindsey is taking over for 2024 standout Max Brosmer.

Nebraska not likely a Gopher win.

 

[Crosby]

Nebraska not likely a Gopher win.

Says every Nebraska fan before every season, and during the week before every Gopher win.

 

[gopherbadgerman]

I think with the unknown at QB these predictions of 6 or 7 wins is totally fair. If Drake is really good it moves the needle up. If he’s brutal it goes down.

 

[Arminius]

I hate predicting the season until after game one. I need to see how the offensive line moves its feet and hands before a decent prediction can be made. With that excuse out of the way, allowing me plausible denial later, I predict a 7-5 record, due to the lack of playing time together of the O-line. If they gel quickly, we could sweep the table. We'll have plenty of time.

I agree with your "I'll tell you what the season will be like after the first game" and yet after the UNC opener last year I thought we wouldn't be Bowl- eligible. With that, I told my bookie to put me down for 8 wins.

 

[ShushPush]

I agree with your "I'll tell you what the season will be like after the first game" and yet after the UNC opener last year I thought we wouldn't be Bowl- eligible. With that, I told my bookie to put me down for 8 wins.

I have to confess that I was at the game, in the worst possible angle to the line of scrimmage and found it impossible to watch the game. In fact, a married woman in front of me was so distracting that for most of the game I was distracted/attracted to her. I think I could tell you more about her footwork than the Gopher line.

 

[Gophergrandpa]

MSU and Cal are definitely winnable. In the last six seasons, MSU has won 18 conference games, Gophs have won 28.

Cal game could be a real inflection point for the 2025 season. Based on recent history, we should beat Cal. And Cal lost a lot of offensive players in the portal. But Cal also had some success in the portal, ... including bringing in a QB from Ohio State, Devin Brown, who was ranked a four star (97) out of high school--44th ranked player and 5th QB in the nation. Of course, Brown didn't crack through to start at tOSU. Cal is supposed to have a strong defense. Both Cal and the Gophers have talented athletes at QB who haven't played in any big games yet. I think this should be one hell of a contest ... I favor the Gophers, but don't have this in the "sure win" category by any stretch.

 

[MNVCGUY]

I agree with your "I'll tell you what the season will be like after the first game" and yet after the UNC opener last year I thought we wouldn't be Bowl- eligible. With that, I told my bookie to put me down for 8 wins.

The mistake people make with predictions is they don't allow for them to change and evolve over the course of the season.

Early in the season last year there were people legit wanting to see Fleck fired because they had made up their mind that the season was going to be a dumpster fire. Obviously it didn't turn out that way and those early season over reactions look foolish now.

So right now.....we may look like a 7-5 team on paper.....after a few games we will have a better sense of what the team is going to look like but even after those games that can all change based on injuries and other factors for us and our opponents.

It's the main reason I avoid making predictions on how a season is going to go because so much will change from now until the end of the season.

 

[Gophergrandpa]

Nebraska, as always, will bring a team loaded with athletic talent. Its 2025 recruiting effort ranked 20th in the nation, with 6 four-stars coming out of HS and 6 more four star transfer players. This "normal" class for the Huskers would be the haul of the century for the Gophers. If the Huskers ever play a full 60 minutes against the Gophers at the supposed level of the Husker's talent ranking, they should beat us. Recent history, however, is that the Gophers outperform their collective ranking and the Huskers underperform theirs. Let's hope that trend continues. Nebraska should be favored, but I see the game as a toss up.

 

[Gophergrandpa]

I agree with your "I'll tell you what the season will be like after the first game" and yet after the UNC opener last year I thought we wouldn't be Bowl- eligible. With that, I told my bookie to put me down for 8 wins.

This year, I think we'll know a lot about the team after the Cal game--number three on the schedule. Last year, if UNC had been our third rather than first non-conf game, I think we would have beaten them handily. The Rutgers game, fourth on the schedule this year, should also be a big tell. We lost to Rutgers last year because, among other things, PJ was out-coached and placed way too much responsibility on a knicked up and not full-speed RB. I'm thinking 7-5, if Drake and the WR corps are average; 8-4 if they are better then average. Could go the other way fast though, if Drake and WRs are subpar. Can't wait to see this year's product.

 

[mngg11]

The mistake people make with predictions is they don't allow for them to change and evolve over the course of the season.

Early in the season last year there were people legit wanting to see Fleck fired because they had made up their mind that the season was going to be a dumpster fire. Obviously it didn't turn out that way and those early season over reactions look foolish now.

So right now.....we may look like a 7-5 team on paper.....after a few games we will have a better sense of what the team is going to look like but even after those games that can all change based on injuries and other factors for us and our opponents.

It's the main reason I avoid making predictions on how a season is going to go because so much will change from now until the end of the season.

This and the team tends to trend towards general improvement as the season rolls on.

 

[BTChamp]

The mistake people make with predictions is they don't allow for them to change and evolve over the course of the season.

Early in the season last year there were people legit wanting to see Fleck fired because they had made up their mind that the season was going to be a dumpster fire. Obviously it didn't turn out that way and those early season over reactions look foolish now.

So right now.....we may look like a 7-5 team on paper.....after a few games we will have a better sense of what the team is going to look like but even after those games that can all change based on injuries and other factors for us and our opponents.

It's the main reason I avoid making predictions on how a season is going to go because so much will change from now until the end of the season.

So you're saying undefeated? I agree.

 

[TwistingMyMelon]

Says every Nebraska fan before every season, and during the week before every Gopher win.

Yes, but sooner or later they will be right. We're not Ohio State who can be confident of beating every conference team except one or two every year.

 

[btowngopher]

I would think we’d be favored against Cal. Last I saw they are planning to start a true freshman at QB. At home vs Nebraska should be a win as well. Zero reason to have the expectation to lose to Nebraska at this point. Why should Nebraska be favored? Won’t Perich, Anthony Smith, Taylor, and Brown be the best players on the field? What all conference type players are they returning? We need to stop just assuming that Nebraska has all this talent, they don’t, that’s why they aren’t winning, they aren’t producing all conference players, they aren’t producing nfl players.

 

[Crosby]

Yes, but sooner or later they will be right. We're not Ohio State who can be confident of beating every conference team except one or two every year.

Obviously true but also sort of missing the point. I can say the Gophers will beat Ohio State before the start of every season. Eventually... I will be right. It will happen someday. The difference is that I (and 99% of Gopher fans) are not arrogant enough to say that and believe that we have a better program than OSU. Not so with Husker fans. When they say they will beat us, they say it like it's their right to a better in football life, no matter what recent trends show.

 

[MNVCGUY]

I would think we’d be favored against Cal. Last I saw they are planning to start a true freshman at QB. At home vs Nebraska should be a win as well. Zero reason to have the expectation to lose to Nebraska at this point. Why should Nebraska be favored? Won’t Perich, Anthony Smith, Taylor, and Brown be the best players on the field? What all conference type players are they returning? We need to stop just assuming that Nebraska has all this talent, they don’t, that’s why they aren’t winning, they aren’t producing all conference players, they aren’t producing nfl players.

The article in the OP predicts a win over Nebraska....GPG is a Nebraska fan who will always pick them to beat us and much of their fanbase still expects to beat us every year because Nebraska was once dominant and they have not been able to accept the fact that they no longer are and most likely never will be again.

Very few Gopher fans believe Nebraska is better than us at this point.....because you know.....7-3 against them in the last 10 matchups.....

Now that said, many of those games have been close and they will certainly not be a pushover.....but I like our chances of winning that one.

 

[PoockItInfor6]

I myself think we are going to see 9-11. I think our defense should be really good and Taylor and Turner give us an offensive floor even if Drake weren’t ready for prime time that we’d win 6-8… and everything people are reporting on Drake plus the handful of passes we’ve seen in actual games tells me he IS ready for prime time. I’m more pumped than I’ve been since 2019!

 

[btowngopher]

The article in the OP predicts a win over Nebraska....GPG is a Nebraska fan who will always pick them to beat us and much of their fanbase still expects to beat us every year because Nebraska was once dominant and they have not been able to accept the fact that they no longer are and most likely never will be again.

Very few Gopher fans believe Nebraska is better than us at this point.....because you know.....7-3 against them in the last 10 matchups.....

Now that said, many of those games have been close and they will certainly not be a pushover.....but I like our chances of winning that one.

Just feels like the media has convinced some of our fans to think the last ten years have been a fluke or something. We’ve been the better program, we still are the better program until they prove otherwise. I get it’s hard to believe after 50 years of them being dominant, but that program died and has not yet been resurrected.

 

[caliGopher]

I would think we’d be favored against Cal. Last I saw they are planning to start a true freshman at QB. At home vs Nebraska should be a win as well. Zero reason to have the expectation to lose to Nebraska at this point. Why should Nebraska be favored? Won’t Perich, Anthony Smith, Taylor, and Brown be the best players on the field? What all conference type players are they returning? We need to stop just assuming that Nebraska has all this talent, they don’t, that’s why they aren’t winning, they aren’t producing all conference players, they aren’t producing nfl players.

And Rutgers should have been a win last year, and they have less talent than we do and Cal will next season. Fleck will be Fleck and no matter how good or bad we are we will completely shit the bed in at least one game, often completely inexplicably. In his first few seasons we escaped games like that, but recent history is different (e.g. since 2021).

Throw in that we will likely not be prepared for the first game of the season, again (unless it's New Mexico State). While we've won more of the first games we've come out unprepared for than we lost, Fleck teams struggle in week one, even if they win, again, unless it's New Mexico State.

Which leads to if "if and buts were candy and nuts, we'd all have a Merry Christmas!"

This looks like every team has fielded outside of 2019. There are a lot of questions. We have the players be good enough to be middle of the pack, but the head coach can't get out of his own way.

The O-line is my biggest concern. We had the players and a quarterback who helped them to be much better on the O-line last year, but the line regressed from the prior season.

We now have a very new O-line with transfer players who will need to overcome the persistent issues with preparedness on the O-line and learn how to play together.

Lindsay could be Drew Brees reincarnated, but if he's running for his life all season and/or our run game continues the downward trend of the last three years, that's asking a lot of someone who's thrown 5 passes total in college football.

 

[MaxyJR1]

So we got predications of 7-5 to 10-2 from Spring Ball. Seems like the typical MN offseason. No one knows. At least the starting point isn't 5 wins.

 

[MNVCGUY]

And Rutgers should have been a win last year, and they have less talent than we do and Cal will next season. Fleck will be Fleck and no matter how good or bad we are we will completely shit the bed in at least one game, often completely inexplicably. In his first few seasons we escaped games like that, but recent history is different (e.g. since 2021).

Throw in that we will likely not be prepared for the first game of the season, again (unless it's New Mexico State). While we've won more of the first games we've come out unprepared for than we lost, Fleck teams struggle in week one, even if they win, again, unless it's New Mexico State.

Which leads to if "if and buts were candy and nuts, we'd all have a Merry Christmas!"

This looks like every team has fielded outside of 2019. There are a lot of questions. We have the players be good enough to be middle of the pack, but the head coach can't get out of his own way.

The O-line is my biggest concern. We had the players and a quarterback who helped them to be much better on the O-line last year, but the line regressed from the prior season.

We now have a very new O-line with transfer players who will need to overcome the persistent issues with preparedness on the O-line and learn how to play together.

Lindsay could be Drew Brees reincarnated, but if he's running for his life all season and/or our run game continues the downward trend of the last three years, that's asking a lot of someone who's thrown 5 passes total in college football.

lol at the unprepared for the first game BS - Fleck has lost 2 season opening games (not counting the late October opener in 2020 against Michigan). One was against Ohio State in a game we were playing really well in up until we lost Mo for the season. And the other was last year against North Carolina in a game where the weather sucked, Brosmer was making his first start at this level, and our very reliable kicker had a terrible game.

Yep....under Fleck we have lost some games that we shouldn't on paper.....news flash....happens to every team and every coach but I know that doesn't fit your narrative.

As for question marks.....again....every team has them every year....the only ones that don't have major ones are the schools like Ohio State who can reload every year in a way nearly everyone else outside of a select few can.

 

[Some guy]

https://sports.yahoo.com/article/big-ten-football-2025-win-100250711.html​

Minnesota Golden Gophers​

Projected Record: 7-5 (5-4 Big Ten)

Advertisement
Record in 2024: 8-5 (5-4 Big Ten)

Most Notable Games

• at Ohio State
• at Oregon
• vs Wisconsin

Projected Wins: Buffalo, Northwestern State, Rutgers, Purdue, Nebraska, Northwestern, Wisconsin

Projected Losses: Cal, Ohio State, Michigan State, Iowa, Oregon

Minnesota has a manageable schedule other than the Ohio State and Oregon matchups. The team has established a strong, consistent baseline of winning. That culture should again be on display with an experienced defense, most of which elected to stay after coordinator Corey Hetherman left for Miami. The big question will be at quarterback, where redshirt freshman Drake Lindsey is taking over for 2024 standout Max Brosmer.

Pretty fair projection.

Gonna beat Buffalo, northwestern state, Purdue, and northwestern

Gonna lose to Oregon and Ohio State


So you’re 4-2 with games against (ranked easiest to hardest in my opinion):
Wisconsin with a fired coach
Rutgers at home in revenge game
Cal - who is strange
Michigan state who isn’t that good but I think will be better
Nebraska who is Nebraska so it’s hard but also they’re Nebraska so it’s an automatic win
Iowa who we recently have struggled against

I will be said if we aren’t at least 3-3 in those 6
If we are 5-1 in those 6 I’ll be sad we missed the playoff by one game

 

[Bayfield Gopher]

Our offense will be a big transformation from last season with an unproven QB and OL, loss of 80% production with receiving corps, two new TE's. The RB bunch is our strong point.

Buffalo will be a stiff test and not a given.