Way Too Early Top 25



A lot of holes to fill on defense and will have to replace WR Johnson but things are looking very good for the Gophers. I do not know when the Gophers have been ranked so high going into the next season. Does anyone know??
 

#19 is too low but not surprised to see that with ESPN, haven't looked at their rankings yet but I am sure the SEC is well represented. 15 or so feels about right to start the year.

Will be fun to see how the coaches and players handle going from being the hunter to being the hunted.
 

They have St.-Juste leaving...not so, he'll be a much needed returning starter on defense.
 


They have St.-Juste leaving...not so, he'll be a much needed returning starter on defense.
Yeah I think we have more than 2 returning defensive players.
 

Florida Atlantic -- early non conference foe -- was ranked #27 in final AP poll this year. Casual fans may assume FAU is a cupcake, but they're not.
 

Florida Atlantic -- early non conference foe -- was ranked #27 in final AP poll this year. Casual fans may assume FAU is a cupcake, but they're not.
They also lost their head coach, so they are likely not a top 30 team next year. We should still be favored by a touchdown when next season rolls around.
 

Pat Forde as Gophers at #11. OSU at 3, PSU at 5.

Oddly states that the Gophers "continue to avoid Ohio State and Penn State in cross-divisionsal games."
 



I went to the ESPN way too early top 25 for 2019. Not a great success given the fairly obvious knowns.

Hits: Clemson and Ohio State in CFP. Most of the top 10 is close.
Misses: Texas and Texas A&M top 10, rise of LSU (#10 here), #13 Washington St, #15 Syracuse, #19 Northwestern, #22 Mizzou, #24 Nebraska, #25 Army. Missed rise of Minnesota, Baylor, Memphis.
 
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Pat Forde as Gophers at #11. OSU at 3, PSU at 5.

Oddly states that the Gophers "continue to avoid Ohio State and Penn State in cross-divisionsal games."

lol someone didn't watch the last 2 seasons of Gopher football, even the widely televised ABC games against these teams. I saw Minnesota play Ohio State from Egypt, but he must have missed it.
 


Forde puts Purdue at 24...no Iowa, no Sparty

Gophs ahead of Bucky and Harbaugh's squad...he has Cinci right after us, ASU top 20.

I expect we'll start the year somewhere between 15 & 25 (big range, I know), which feels about right.

I don't really understand all the hand-wringing about preseason ranking, the possibility of not getting enough "respect," etc. Nor the outrage about teams like Texas, Texas A&M, Nebraska, being consistently "over-ranked."

I'm guessing teams that recruit well do indeed tend to improve year to year, so it makes sense that some of these strong recruiting teams get the benefit of the doubt. And I'm guessing teams that outperform their recruiting tend to fall off a bit over time as well.

To get consistent year-to-year respect, we'll have to either start moving up the recruiting ranks, or prove that we're able to consistently outperform our rankings (and not just for a year or two).
 



I expect we'll start the year somewhere between 15 & 25 (big range, I know), which feels about right.

I don't really understand all the hand-wringing about preseason ranking, the possibility of not getting enough "respect," etc. Nor the outrage about teams like Texas, Texas A&M, Nebraska, being consistently "over-ranked."

I'm guessing teams that recruit well do indeed tend to improve year to year, so it makes sense that some of these strong recruiting teams get the benefit of the doubt. And I'm guessing teams that outperform their recruiting tend to fall off a bit over time as well.

To get consistent year-to-year respect, we'll have to either start moving up the recruiting ranks, or prove that we're able to consistently outperform our rankings (and not just for a year or two).

Preseason rankings don't hold much value however the one place where they do have value is that teams that are ranked and win tend to hold their position and it is much tougher for unranked teams to move up.

Personally I wish they didn't have any of the polls until multiple weeks into the season but that will never happen because they need those rankings to help hype up the early season games.
 

Preseason rankings don't hold much value however the one place where they do have value is that teams that are ranked and win tend to hold their position and it is much tougher for unranked teams to move up.

Personally I wish they didn't have any of the polls until multiple weeks into the season but that will never happen because they need those rankings to help hype up the early season games.
Yeah I agree - I'd love if the first set of rankings came out in week 5 or 6, or even when the first CFP rankings come out.
 

#19 does seem a little low considering our dominating performance over Auburn. Sure....we lose some key pieces on defense....but the offense should be a nightmare for opponents.
 

Assuming Morgan doesn't regress - we should be fine as a top QB pretty much ensures a top 25 season rank even if surrounded by garbage - and we are far removed from those days. Starting in the top 25 is important because we may have some early season stumbles and if we started at our traditional 35-40 ranking, those stumbles are impossible to overcome and squeak back into the rankings. So, I think we would finish top 25 even if we drop games to WI, IA, and MI - and I don't think we get swept by the next year.
 



Oregon top six after what they showed in the Rose Bowl and losing their starting QB? I guess maybe the projected winner of the Pac12 has to be top 10, but frankly don't think they belong with the other teams in the top six.
 

Oregon top six after what they showed in the Rose Bowl and losing their starting QB? I guess maybe the projected winner of the Pac12 has to be top 10, but frankly don't think they belong with the other teams in the top six.

Are you saying winning the Rosebowl is bad?
 

Oregon top six after what they showed in the Rose Bowl and losing their starting QB? I guess maybe the projected winner of the Pac12 has to be top 10, but frankly don't think they belong with the other teams in the top six.
They bring back the majority of their offensive and defensive lines which are the strength of that team, so I'm not shocked to see them in the 5-8 range in all these polls.
 

Actually Oregon loses almost all of their OL. I believe their RT is the only one left. They may have lost a TE also and obviously Herbert which is a big loss.
 




wi 14, mn 21, ia 25....

osu 2, nd 9, psu11, mi 16, cinxi 17, isu 20...

says unlike last year, he doesnt put ne in preseadon top 25, ne may end up in top 25, but seems prudent to tamper the hype.
 




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