ESPN: Early Big Ten power rankings for 2013 (Minn #8)

[BleedGopher]

8. Minnesota: The Gophers doubled their win total in Jerry Kill’s second season, and Kill's track record at previous stops suggests another boost could be on the way in Year 3. Quarterback Philip Nelson looked good in the bowl game after some late-season struggles, but Minnesota still needs more weapons to develop around him as well as continued progress from the offensive line. Senior defensive tackle Ra'Shede Hageman leads a unit looking to fill gaps at linebacker and cornerback.

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/69348/early-big-ten-power-rankings-for-2013

Go Gophers!!

 

[Winnipegopher]

Interesting, bye bye Kirk if Iowa ends up 11.

 

[maroonfive]

We should be higher than Wisconsin and Penn State.

 

[LesBolstad]

We should be higher than Wisconsin and Penn State.

Preposterous.

 

[disco]

Preposterous.

In terms of predictions, yeah, that's crazy. Realistically, Wisconsin and PSU are probably the two biggest question marks in the Big 10.
Wisconsin lost their entire coaching staff and brought in a guy who is known for running an offense that is a 180 degree turn from what the Badgers have had success with for years. PSU will likely start their slide next season. Recruiting is going to be really hard for the next couple years for them. While nobody would predict it now, it's not unreasonable to see the Gophers being better than both teams next year.

 

[MNVCGUY]

In terms of predictions, yeah, that's crazy. Realistically, Wisconsin and PSU are probably the two biggest question marks in the Big 10.
Wisconsin lost their entire coaching staff and brought in a guy who is known for running an offense that is a 180 degree turn from what the Badgers have had success with for years. PSU will likely start their slide next season. Recruiting is going to be really hard for the next couple years for them. While nobody would predict it now, it's not unreasonable to see the Gophers being better than both teams next year.

Which is exactly why Les called the post Preposterous. But I do agree there are a lot of unknowns in Happy Valley and Madison going into next year. One thing I have to think though is Barry would not hire someone that was totally going to change what has been working extremely well for the Badgers for quite some time now. I am sure the new guy will incorporate new wrinkles into what they do but I have to think his overall focus will remain on great O-Lines and running the ball. As for Penn State tough to predict how things will go for them. They need to recruit really well with the limited scholarships they gave. If they hit on the majority and can convince some solid walk-ons to come on board they could remain relevant for a while. Biggest thing for them will be they can't miss on any recruits.

By the end of the year maybe we are ahead of those squads but certainly right now ranking us behind them seems very fair.

 

[otisflowers]

We should be higher than Wisconsin and Penn State.

seriously? this is good be better than last year's wisconsin team. wisconsin loses like 8 seniors and brings back 6 of 7 front seven on defense. oline is a question mark and so is d backfield. guys that have played a lot return at those positions so they could be good. also, schedule is really easy, for most part. toughest games are at arizona st and at ohio st. rest of schedule is really weak, including a trip to minnesota.

 

[pharmacygopher]

Sadly, it's nice to not in in the bottom 1 or 2....progress!