247Sports predicts every Big Ten football teams record in 2023 (MN: 8-4 overall, 6-3 in conference; "Gophers are primed to challenge for the Big Ten")




Yeah, gotta agree. Loss to UNC, OSU, michican't, and another. I'm not saying that will happen, but I can see the prediction. Seems legit for a prediction.
Just like we might lose one we think we should win, there's no rule that says we can't win one of the tough ones either. Bet any of those games would be less of am upset for us to win than it was when Bowling Green beat us.
 

Just like we might lose one we think we should win, there's no rule that says we can't win one of the tough ones either. Bet any of those games would be less of am upset for us to win than it was when Bowling Green beat us.
Agree. I'm not automatically making them a loss. The Gophs have a legit shot in all of them. This team is built well and strong, that if the other teams stumble, there's a shot. But also have the shot at dropping something else.
That's the nature of sports, and what makes it enjoyable. Hopefully they over achieve. I know I want 10-2, 8-1. Honestly think it's achievable. Although also know something the opposite is also possible.
 




The Minnesota fan in me is anticipating a stinker of a season at some point because things have been so damn good lately, but man, with my rose colored glasses I see a two loss Gopher squad this year. Loss to OSU and a dumb loss like we always do to a team we should walk all over. PJ has always had this team up for the big games, this is the year we break through against Iowa and get the Jug back from Michigan.
 




Article, unfortunately, has us pegged at third in the West. Wisconsin, under a new coach and new system, predicted to be 10-2, 7-2. Iowa, with a new QB, goes 9-3, 6-3. Minnesota nestles in at 8-4, 6-3. Nebraska goes 7-5, 5-4--first bowl in years.

Since we play both Ohio State and Michigan, and those are certainly predicted as losses (though who knows?), this article has us losing only one game in the West. I'm OK with that so long as it isn't Iowa yet again!
 



As others have said, 6-3 conf record would be great and might be enough for the West title.

Makes the UNC game all that more important as a possible hinge on 8 or 9 wins regular season.
 



We beat Michigan this year....I think its reasonable...Especially if Michigans quarterback play is subpar. I have a feeling our secondary, even though they are new, is going to be real solid.
 


Minnesota Golden Gophers

2023 schedule predictions (8-4, 6-3): Nebraska (Win), Eastern Michigan (Win), at UNC (Loss), at Northwestern (Win), Louisiana (Win), Michigan (Loss), at Iowa (Loss), Michigan State (Win), Illinois (Win), at Purdue (Win), at Ohio State (Loss), Wisconsin (Win)

The skinny: The Big Ten West is a three-team race this fall and Minnesota is one of those programs with a shot to win it. However, among those candidates vying for supremacy at the top, the Golden Gophers also have the toughest road to get there with a campaign culminating with showdowns against Ohio State and Wisconsin. If they're able to win both of those, chances are high P.J. Fleck gets to Indianapolis.
 

Would definitely trade a loss in the Mich St, ILL, Purdue stretch to finally beat F'ing Iowa. :D

As Bleed says every year: it's time!
 

What a mescalito of an upcoming season with new head coaches at Indiana, Wisconsin, and Nebraska. An 8-4/6-3 season prediction is fair.

The AK47 era is here with a lot of anticipation. I am excited about the offensive explosiveness potential. How good is the O-Line? Is the depth chart adequate? Should we be concerned about the defensive secondary? How good is the overall team depth?

The Gophers have become a well-oiled disciplined team. Hopefully, the backups will plug in and play seamlessly.

Finally, they have to stay healthy!
 

I don't know if anyone noticed, but based on the wins and losses in the 24/7 article, MN wins the west.

Division record comes first (if I'm not mistaken) and MN would be 5-1, Wisconsin would be 5-1, and Iowa would be 4-2 (losing to Wis and Neb). MN and Wisconsin tie in division record and we hold the tiebreaker as the prediction is we win against Wisconsin.
 

I don't know if anyone noticed, but based on the wins and losses in the 24/7 article, MN wins the west.

Division record comes first (if I'm not mistaken) and MN would be 5-1, Wisconsin would be 5-1, and Iowa would be 4-2 (losing to Wis and Neb). MN and Wisconsin tie in division record and we hold the tiebreaker as the prediction is we win against Wisconsin.
You're mistaken.

Overall Big Ten record is what matters, and they have Wisconsin 7-2 and Minnesota 6-3. Division record comes into play if there's a tie.
 

You're mistaken.

Overall Big Ten record is what matters, and they have Wisconsin 7-2 and Minnesota 6-3. Division record comes into play if there's a tie.
I thought it was flipped, but I guess I'm wrong? Do you have a source from the Big Ten that says so (I couldn't find anything with a quick Google search)? Seems weird that a team that won all of their division games could come lose their division due to the crossover games.
 

I thought it was flipped, but I guess I'm wrong? Do you have a source from the Big Ten that says so (I couldn't find anything with a quick Google search)? Seems weird that a team that won all of their division games could come lose their division due to the crossover games.
This is from 2020 on the Big Ten website; it's as hard as I'm willing to work.

The championship game participant and division champion from each division will be determined by the following:
  • With all conference games completed, the best winning percentage in all conference games.
  • In the event of an unbalanced schedule due to cancellation of games: (I didn't include these bullets here, which rarely apply in a non-COVID year.)
The following procedure will determine the championship game participant and/or division champion from each division, along with all other Big Ten Champions Week matchups, in the event of a tie per above language:

A. If two teams are tied per above language, steps 1 through 8 will be followed until a determination is made:
1. The winner of the game between the two tied teams shall be the representative. If the game was cancelled between the two teams, move to next step in tiebreaker.​
2. The records of the two tied teams will be compared based on winning percentage within their division:​
(a) In the event of an unbalanced schedule:​
i. If two teams have the same number of division losses but a different number of division wins, move to next step in tiebreaker.​
ii. If two teams have a different number of division losses, the teams will be compared based on winning percentage within their division.​
3. The records of the two tied teams will be compared based on winning percentage against the next highest placed teams in their division in order of finish (3, 4, 5, 6, and 7):​
(a) When arriving at a group of tied teams while comparing records, use each team’s record based on winning percentage against the collective tied teams as a group, rather than record against the individual teams​
(b) In the event of an unbalanced schedule:​
i. If one or both teams did not play a certain team, move to the next highest placed teams in their division in order of finish.​
ii. If one or both teams did not play all teams in the group of tied teams, move to the next highest placed team or teams in their division in order of finish.​
iii. If one or both teams did not play the lowest placed team in their division, move to next step in tiebreaker.​
4. The records of the two tied teams will be compared based on winning percentage against all common conference opponents.​
5. The records of the two tied teams will be compared based on the best cumulative conference winning percentage of non-divisional opponents:​
(a) Example: East 1 non-divisional opponents are 20-7, East 2 non-divisional opponents are 19-8 – East 1 would be the representative.​
(b) In the event of an unbalanced schedule, the records of the two tied teams will be compared based on the best cumulative conference winning percentage of non-divisional opponents, regardless of how many nondivisional opponents each team played. If one or both teams played no non-divisional opponents, move to next step in tiebreaker.​
6. The records of the two tied teams will be compared based on winning percentage against the highest placed non-divisional teams in their division order of finish (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7):​
(a) When arriving at a group of tied teams while comparing records, use each team’s record based on winning percentage against the collective tied teams as a group, rather than record against the individual teams.​
(b) When comparing records against a single team or a group of teams, the record will prevail, even if the number of games played against the team or group are unequal (i.e. 1-0 is better than 0-0, 2-0 is better than 1-0, etc.).​
7. The team with the best overall winning percentage [excluding exempted games] shall be the representative, regardless of number of games played. 8. The representative will be chosen by random draw.​

 

I’d be thrilled with 8-4, frankly. This schedule is brutal.

Near certain losses against Ohio State and Michigan. Probably at Iowa too. We’ll be underdogs at UNC.

Wisconsin and Illinois will be tough. Toss ups, IMO.

We *should* win the other 6, though PJ is prone to dropping a “should win” game. I feel like 7-5 or 6-6 is more likely.

Or we’ll go 8-4 with great wins against Michigan and UNC, but drop frustrating games against Eastern Mich and Purdue or something. That would be the most PJ Fleck season ever.
 

This is from 2020 on the Big Ten website; it's as hard as I'm willing to work.

The championship game participant and division champion from each division will be determined by the following:
  • With all conference games completed, the best winning percentage in all conference games.
  • In the event of an unbalanced schedule due to cancellation of games: (I didn't include these bullets here, which rarely apply in a non-COVID year.)
The following procedure will determine the championship game participant and/or division champion from each division, along with all other Big Ten Champions Week matchups, in the event of a tie per above language:

A. If two teams are tied per above language, steps 1 through 8 will be followed until a determination is made:
1. The winner of the game between the two tied teams shall be the representative. If the game was cancelled between the two teams, move to next step in tiebreaker.​
2. The records of the two tied teams will be compared based on winning percentage within their division:​
(a) In the event of an unbalanced schedule:​
i. If two teams have the same number of division losses but a different number of division wins, move to next step in tiebreaker.​
ii. If two teams have a different number of division losses, the teams will be compared based on winning percentage within their division.​
3. The records of the two tied teams will be compared based on winning percentage against the next highest placed teams in their division in order of finish (3, 4, 5, 6, and 7):​
(a) When arriving at a group of tied teams while comparing records, use each team’s record based on winning percentage against the collective tied teams as a group, rather than record against the individual teams​
(b) In the event of an unbalanced schedule:​
i. If one or both teams did not play a certain team, move to the next highest placed teams in their division in order of finish.​
ii. If one or both teams did not play all teams in the group of tied teams, move to the next highest placed team or teams in their division in order of finish.​
iii. If one or both teams did not play the lowest placed team in their division, move to next step in tiebreaker.​
4. The records of the two tied teams will be compared based on winning percentage against all common conference opponents.​
5. The records of the two tied teams will be compared based on the best cumulative conference winning percentage of non-divisional opponents:​
(a) Example: East 1 non-divisional opponents are 20-7, East 2 non-divisional opponents are 19-8 – East 1 would be the representative.​
(b) In the event of an unbalanced schedule, the records of the two tied teams will be compared based on the best cumulative conference winning percentage of non-divisional opponents, regardless of how many nondivisional opponents each team played. If one or both teams played no non-divisional opponents, move to next step in tiebreaker.​
6. The records of the two tied teams will be compared based on winning percentage against the highest placed non-divisional teams in their division order of finish (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7):​
(a) When arriving at a group of tied teams while comparing records, use each team’s record based on winning percentage against the collective tied teams as a group, rather than record against the individual teams.​
(b) When comparing records against a single team or a group of teams, the record will prevail, even if the number of games played against the team or group are unequal (i.e. 1-0 is better than 0-0, 2-0 is better than 1-0, etc.).​
7. The team with the best overall winning percentage [excluding exempted games] shall be the representative, regardless of number of games played. 8. The representative will be chosen by random draw.​

Thanks for the link.
 

8-4? Sign me up! This is a brutal schedule. 4-8 could also happen.

At this point, I hope for 7-5 but 6-6 could be reality.
 

I’d be thrilled with 8-4, frankly. This schedule is brutal.

Near certain losses against Ohio State and Michigan. Probably at Iowa too. We’ll be underdogs at UNC.

Wisconsin and Illinois will be tough. Toss ups, IMO.

We *should* win the other 6, though PJ is prone to dropping a “should win” game. I feel like 7-5 or 6-6 is more likely.

Or we’ll go 8-4 with great wins against Michigan and UNC, but drop frustrating games against Eastern Mich and Purdue or something. That would be the most PJ Fleck season ever.
I don't think we can put Purdue or Michigan State into "should win".

Huge variability in this schedule.
 

8-4? Sign me up! This is a brutal schedule. 4-8 could also happen.

At this point, I hope for 7-5 but 6-6 could be reality.
Yep.

Get to a bowl game! Live to fight another day -- worst case.

Still hope for an 8 win season, of course
 

8-4? Sign me up! This is a brutal schedule. 4-8 could also happen.

At this point, I hope for 7-5 but 6-6 could be reality.
I don't disagree, but eventually we're going to have to beat a team like Michigan during a season when it matters, like beating Penn State in 2019. If we're going to progress, we have to get to the point where playing OSU and Michigan doesn't automatically make our ceiling eight wins.
 

Just once, I'd like for things to click when the schedule looks dire.
No injuries, no questionable playcalls or game decisions that come back to bite us.

Can we knock off one of the B1G East monsters?
Can we just beat Iowa already?
Can we make a statement early in the schedule that this team is ready to play?

Last season, after the MSU game, I actually thought this team was different.
We smoked the non-cons in a fashion we'd never seen since Mason.
We didn't just beat MSU on the road, we dominated every facet of the game.
Then we mess around and lost to Purdue. We lost to Iowa who we had on the ropes the entire game.

I believe in a Rossi led defense. I have hope that AK and our receiving weapons will give us the modern offense we deserve. And I hope that our record this season will reflect this.
 





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