CBS predicts Gophers will go 5-7 (wins: North Carolina, Rhode Island, Nevada, Iowa, Maryland)

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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Per CBS:

Minnesota​

Over/under 5.5 wins

Wins: North Carolina, Rhode Island, Nevada, Iowa, Maryland
Losses: at Michigan, USC, at UCLA, at Illinois, at Rutgers, Penn State, at Wisconsin

Analysis: One of the harder teams for me to project. There's a new QB in New Hampshire transfer Max Brosme, but I don't know enough about the receiver talent and the defense will be under a new coordinator. The Gophers strike me as one of those teams who could be better than they were last season, but the schedule doesn't allow them to show it in their final record. Pick: Under 5.5 (-125)
www.cbssports.com

2024 Big Ten win totals, odds, picks: Predictions for every team as Ohio State, Oregon face big numbers

Breaking down win total predictions for each Big Ten team as the league expands to 18 teams in the 2024 season
www.cbssports.com www.cbssports.com

Go Gophers!!
 



Hard to follow the logic of being good enough to beat Iowa at home, but not good enough to beat any of UCLA, Rutgers, or Illinois on the road. Three schools not known for elite home field advantage.

Also, that 4-0 start into a 5-7 finish would absolutely devastate me emotionally.
 

We are a bundle of unknowns...I can see 5 wins and I can also see 10 wins.
PJ is likely one of the few coaches in any sport who doesn't believe in momentum.
I think winning the first game gives us confidence we can be good...worry about chasing ghosts all August and fritter it away and it could be a long season.
 



That sucks. Wait until next preseason, when we’ll have a great imaginary record!
 





As much as it hurts to say, it is fair to project a loss to Illinois so long as Bielema is there. And the Rutgers game and Minny will be the biggest motivator in AK’s brief football career.
 

The Gophers will run the gauntlet in the inaugural new Big Ten season and will prevail better than expected. The keys are injuries and adequate depth.
 

That’s about what I think. But I would not be shocked at 7 wins either. There are 4/5 toss up games IMO that could go either way and it’s the difference between 4 wins and 8 or 9 wins. Hopefully PJ can win some close ones and Max can be legit. But he’s definitely an unknown at this point.
 

gopherbadgerman said:
That’s about what I think. But I would not be shocked at 7 wins either. There are 4/5 toss up games IMO that could go either way and it’s the difference between 4 wins and 8 or 9 wins. Hopefully PJ can win some close ones and Max can be legit. But he’s definitely an unknown at this point.
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They need to flip those close games in their favor.
 



But what if it's our year? What if we beat expectations like we did in 2019?

A lot riding in QB, WR, and defensive play.
 

Gophergrandpa said:
As much as it hurts to say, it is fair to project a loss to Illinois so long as Bielema is there. And the Rutgers game and Minny will be the biggest motivator in AK’s brief football career.
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Bielema is undefeated against us until he isn't, we've had the chancea to change that narrative and we've failed miserably. Hopefully this year it goes the other way for once.
 


CBS? Never heard of her ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯
 

mngg11 said:
Bielema is undefeated against us until he isn't, we've had the chancea to change that narrative and we've failed miserably. Hopefully this year it goes the other way for once.
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I don’t care what Bielema did in the past, he was lucky to pull out the win last year and this years Illini project to be even worse. The past has no bearing on this years results.
 

Section 100 said:
I hope the defense also became better in the offseason.
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Yep, the last third of the season the defense was Wacker-esque..........and they lost their best defender.
 



Word said:
I sense a little hyperbole on his part, but I do think UCLA is one of our more winnable conference games.
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I would agree with that. Top 1/3 of the winnable conference games IMO...
 

At least the author is honest right off the bat saying we are one of the harder teams to predict. In that scenario the safe route is to stick with similar to the year before which is where most of these sub .500 predictions are coming from.

If we get the competent QB play we think we are going to get from Brosmer I have a feeling we surprise a lot of people. But I can understand why the talking heads are hesitant to predict much success for us right now. We are still one of the "prove it" schools. We haven't reached the Wisconsin stage where people just assume they will be good based on the success they have had and we also haven't reached the Nebraska stage where even though they suck year after year they still get picked to do well for some insane reason. :)
 

btowngopher said:
I don’t care what Bielema did in the past, he was lucky to pull out the win last year and this years Illini project to be even worse. The past has no bearing on this years results.
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Also if we're looking at history, I don't think Illinois has been favored against Minnesota in at least 10 years, maybe 15. We were favored in the last 3 that we lost. Last year of course we had the lead and Illinois was like 4th and 11 on their own 15 yard line with a minute to go or something, the 2021 Illinois game was probably a big reason we fired Mike Sanford, the 2018 Illinois game got Robb Smith fired immediately after and the defense made a big improvement the next week, and 2014 we were the better team, but there was a flu outbreak or something, I remember a bunch of guys puking on the sidelines. We haven't lost to Illinois much outside of that. Even the 3-9 2010 and 2011 teams both beat Illinois.

I've said it before, but I doubt national writers are even aware of the Bielema vs. Minnesota streak, and of course most of those wins were at Wisconsin, where he was just keeping the Barry Alvarez machine rolling against Minnesota teams that were fighting for bowl eligibility.
 

Word said:
I sense a little hyperbole on his part, but I do think UCLA is one of our more winnable conference games.
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This data will be updated based on this coming season's results, obviously, but based off last season's outcomes, in Sagarin UCLA finished 8th among 2024 Big Ten teams (ahead of wisconsin and Iowa) and we finished 16th (ahead of only Indiana and Michigan St.). Based on that data, we would be a 14-point underdog at the Rose Bowl.

There are a lot of confounding variables, including among others:

- UCLA played a Pac-12 schedule last year
- UCLA lost an experienced, seasoned, and successful head coach
- UCLA hired a first-time head coach who is wholly unqualified and wouldn't have been hired as head coach at most FCS schools; essentially, the Ben Johnson of Big Ten football
- both rosters have massive turnover since last season
- Minnesota has a new QB and new coaches in key spots

Even taking the above into account, based on current available data, saying that UCLA "suck(s) ass" is bizarre at best and naked attention-seeking at worst.

I would love to be wrong, and I hope I am (particularly since I will be attending the game), but I would be delightfully surprised if we aren't significant underdogs on October 12, even in spite of the opposition's coaching staff likely being an embarrassment.
 

60's Guy said:
We are a bundle of unknowns...I can see 5 wins and I can also see 10 wins.
PJ is likely one of the few coaches in any sport who doesn't believe in momentum.
I think winning the first game gives us confidence we can be good...worry about chasing ghosts all August and fritter it away and it could be a long season.
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Well said. Until I see this front 7 and secondary move and hit (and also drop in coverage) I will not make any predictions. We looked like a DII secondary against UNC last year
 

dpodoll68 said:
Sarcasm?
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UCLA is the worst conference opponent on the schedule and it isn’t close.

The only teams close to UCLA are Indiana and Purdue…neither of which are on the schedule.
 

dpodoll68 said:
This data will be updated based on this coming season's results, obviously, but based off last season's outcomes, in Sagarin UCLA finished 8th among 2024 Big Ten teams (ahead of wisconsin and Iowa) and we finished 16th (ahead of only Indiana and Michigan St.). Based on that data, we would be a 14-point underdog at the Rose Bowl.

There are a lot of confounding variables, including among others:

- UCLA played a Pac-12 schedule last year
- UCLA lost an experienced, seasoned, and successful head coach
- UCLA hired a first-time head coach who is wholly unqualified and wouldn't have been hired as head coach at most FCS schools; essentially, the Ben Johnson of Big Ten football
- both rosters have massive turnover since last season
- Minnesota has a new QB and new coaches in key spots

Even taking the above into account, based on current available data, saying that UCLA "suck(s) ass" is bizarre at best and naked attention-seeking at worst.

I would love to be wrong, and I hope I am (particularly since I will be attending the game), but I would be delightfully surprised if we aren't significant underdogs on October 12, even in spite of the opposition's coaching staff likely being an embarrassment.
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We aren’t comparing Minnesota to UCLA though. For my statement you’re comparing UCLA to the rest of the schedule.

If Minnesota is going to win 5 games it’s going to be:
Rhode Island
Nevada

+ 3

IMO UCLA is going to be clearly worse than the following teams this year (in no order)….
Michigan
Penn state
USC
Wisconsin
Iowa

@UCLA in my opinion is an easier game than (in no order)
@Illinois
@ Rutgers
North Carolina
Maryland


If you told me the gophers were going to win 3 games this year I would guess Rhode Island, Nevada, and UCLA
 
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mngg11 said:
Bielema is undefeated against us until he isn't, we've had the chancea to change that narrative and we've failed miserably. Hopefully this year it goes the other way for once.
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Big Bert is 3-0 against PJ (2 of his 3 wins with rosters inferior to the Gophs’ IMHO) and 10-0 overall against the Gophers. Bert pulls out all stops in the 4th Q; PJ turtles in the 4th Q. 🤷🏼‍♂️
 

Gophergrandpa said:
Big Bert is 3-0 against PJ (2 of his 3 wins with rosters inferior to the Gophs’ IMHO) and 10-0 overall against the Gophers. Bert pulls out all stops in the 4th Q; PJ turtles in the 4th Q. 🤷🏼‍♂️
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And Bertie is certainly beatable. At Arkansas he was 29-34 overall thanks to his non-conference scheduling.

In the SEC? He was 11-29. Finishing at .500 or above once (5-3) in his 5 years there.

Kind of lines up with his 3 years at Illinois where he is 18-19 overall and 12-15 in the Big Ten.
 

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