Predictions for 2017

Donate To GopherHole
Big Ten Football 2017 preview - Fansided

Next, we take a look at the West. Like the East, the West has a clear favorite in Wisconsin. The Badgers bring back the most experience and talent, but teams like Northwestern, Iowa, Nebraska and Minnesota aren’t going down easily.
Iowa and Nebraska will be solid but look out for Minnesota and first-year head coach P.J. Fleck to make the Gophers a potential 10-win team in short order. Indiana, Maryland and Northwestern should compete for a bowl berth...

There are plenty of dark-horses on this side of the conference, but in the end, it’s going to be Wisconsin’s to lose. The Badgers win the West, again, and Northwestern finishes second. P.J. Fleck has a nice first year with Minnesota, finishing third, with Iowa and Nebraska right behind.

West Division

Wisconsin
Northwestern
Minnesota
Iowa
Nebraska
Illinois
Purdue

https://fansided.com/2017/08/22/big-ten-college-football-preview-2017/
 

Big Ten Football: 5 bold predictions for the 2017 season - Saturday Blitz

"3. Minnesota cracks top ten in polls

There is a very strong chance that the Minnesota Golden Gophers could begin the schedule with an 8-0 record based on their schedule. Everyone once in a while, the slate of games bounce in your favor. Pairing this with a weak non-conference portion, the Gophers could find themselves highly ranked come November.

The Cornhuskers started the season 7-0, but had just one victory over a ranked opponent- a home win over No. 22 Oregon 35-32. The Ducks then went to have an abysmal season, stripping the Huskers of a major quality win and surrounding them with a lot of question marks. Their first true test came at Wisconsin, which they lost in overtime. Following that defeat, the team suffered a 62-3 road loss to Ohio State and a 40-10 road.

Moving back to Minnesota, the Gophers have a fairly easy non-conference with home games against Buffalo and Middle Tennessee sandwiching a contest at Oregon State.

Heading into Big Ten play, the Gophers welcome Maryland, visit Purdue, and then host Michigan State and Illinois in their first four games. It is safe to assume Minnesota will be favored in most, if not all of these games, and will put themselves in great position to win the Big Ten West. Of course, if they want anything more than that- they are going to have to go through the big dogs at the end of their schedule, specifically Michigan and Wisconsin.

Many have the Gophers competing or winning the West division this year, but to do so will have to go through Wisconsin in the regular season finale, whom they have lost 13 straight games to."

https://saturdayblitz.com/2017/08/21/big-ten-football-bold-predictions-2017-season/
 

Predicting College Bowl Games - Bleacher Report

Foster Farms Bowl: Minnesota vs. Washington State

Looks familiar, huh? These programs met in the postseason last year. However, Minnesota won't quite have the clout for a game in Florida, Maryland is closer to the Pinstripe Bowl and the Gophers likely won't return to the Holiday Bowl. Washington State is soundly a top-five Pac-12 team, but an eight- or nine-win year presumably sends them to Santa Clara if the Holiday Bowl prefers a bounce-back Oregon squad.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2728561-predicting-college-footballs-2017-bowl-games
 


In case you started to forget that there were people out there who were a little more optimistic... :D
 


You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom