BleedGopher
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Per Randy:
The 2024 Big Ten football season carried a strong feel of curiosity because of the addition of four former Pac-12 teams and the subtraction of divisional play that began with Leaders and Legends before giving way to East and West. Fans went into the season wondering, “Just how would this all work?”
The answer: Pretty darn good. The Big Ten crowned its second consecutive national champion. Four Big Ten teams — Ohio State, league champion Oregon, Penn State and Indiana — secured berths in the first 12-team College Football Playoff, and the conference’s fourth-place team, the Buckeyes, won it all.
What does the Big Ten have in store for an encore? It’s starting the season with Penn State ranked No. 2, Ohio State No. 3 and Oregon No. 7 in the Associated Press preseason poll. No. 12 Illinois, No. 14 Michigan and No. 20 Indiana have playoff aspirations, too.
Here is my predicted order of finish in the Big Ten, with ties based on conference standings:
10. Gophers
The skinny: Redshirt freshman QB Drake Lindsey has received raves from his coaches for how quickly he has learned the offense. Now it’s time to see if his deeds match those words. A strong running game, led by Darius Taylor, will help, as will standout safety/return man Koi Perich playing some on offense. To match or better last year’s 7-5 mark, the Gophers must finish better than 3-4 in one-score games.
Projected record: 8-4, 5-4
www.startribune.com
Go Gophers!!
The 2024 Big Ten football season carried a strong feel of curiosity because of the addition of four former Pac-12 teams and the subtraction of divisional play that began with Leaders and Legends before giving way to East and West. Fans went into the season wondering, “Just how would this all work?”
The answer: Pretty darn good. The Big Ten crowned its second consecutive national champion. Four Big Ten teams — Ohio State, league champion Oregon, Penn State and Indiana — secured berths in the first 12-team College Football Playoff, and the conference’s fourth-place team, the Buckeyes, won it all.
What does the Big Ten have in store for an encore? It’s starting the season with Penn State ranked No. 2, Ohio State No. 3 and Oregon No. 7 in the Associated Press preseason poll. No. 12 Illinois, No. 14 Michigan and No. 20 Indiana have playoff aspirations, too.
Here is my predicted order of finish in the Big Ten, with ties based on conference standings:
10. Gophers
The skinny: Redshirt freshman QB Drake Lindsey has received raves from his coaches for how quickly he has learned the offense. Now it’s time to see if his deeds match those words. A strong running game, led by Darius Taylor, will help, as will standout safety/return man Koi Perich playing some on offense. To match or better last year’s 7-5 mark, the Gophers must finish better than 3-4 in one-score games.
Projected record: 8-4, 5-4
College Football Insider: Second year of 18-team Big Ten figures to pack a wallop again
A year after sending four teams to the playoff and watching Ohio State claim the national championship, the Big Ten has six teams ranked in the AP preseason poll.
www.startribune.com
Go Gophers!!