Which team did media pick to win the conference in the 15th annual cleveland.com Preseason Big Ten Football Poll? (11. Minnesota)

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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Per the annual poll:

Each writer was asked to vote 1-18, with first-place votes worth 18 points, second-place votes worth 17 and so on:



RankTeam (1st place)PointsAverage Rank
No. 1Penn State (11)4351.60
No. 2Ohio State (10)4311.76
No. 3Oregon (2)4052.80
No. 4Illinois3534.88
No. 5Michigan (1)3465.16
No. 6Indiana305680
No. 7Iowa2877.52
No. 8Nebraska2777.92
No. 9USC2698.24
No. 10Washington21610.36
No. 11Minnesota19211.32
No. 12Wisconsin15912.60
No. 13Michigan State13513.60
No. 13Rutgers13513.60
No. 15UCLA13413.64
No. 16Maryland9115.36
No. 17Northwestern6516.40
No. 18Purdue3917.44



www.cleveland.com

Which team did media pick to win the conference in the 15th annual cleveland.com Preseason Big Ten Football Poll?

For the first time ever, Penn State is viewed as the favorite to win the Big Ten conference.
www.cleveland.com www.cleveland.com

Go Gophers!!
 

That is a a predicted drop from above .500 to below .500 in the B1G, with an easier schedule. Media must be assuming either Lindsey sucks or the team in general has lost more than it is gaining.
 

Schnauzer said:
That is a a predicted drop from above .500 to below .500 in the B1G, with an easier schedule. Media must be assuming either Lindsey sucks or the team in general has lost more than it is gaining.
Click to expand...
The voters likely didn’t analyze the schedules.
The voters have the gophers picked higher than 5 of their big ten opponents.

Another team on the schedule is picked 10.
So if the gophers beat all the teams their picked higher than + one upset of 10th place Washington, that’s a 6-3 season



This rankings more read to me:
Clear 1-2
Distant 3
Gap until 4-9
10-11 picked next to each other
Little gap and then 12-15 together with Wisconsin being the clear 12
16
17
18
Very clearly in that order
 

I would group it like this.

Tier 1
Ohio St
Penn St
Oregon

Tier 2
Michigan
Indiana
Illinois

Tier 3
Iowa
Nebraska
USC
Washington
Minnesota

Tier 4
Wisconsin
Michigan St
Rutgers
UCLA

Tier 5
Maryland
Northwestern
Purdue
 



Some guy said:
The voters likely didn’t analyze the schedules.
The voters have the gophers picked higher than 5 of their big ten opponents.

Another team on the schedule is picked 10.
So if the gophers beat all the teams their picked higher than + one upset of 10th place Washington, that’s a 6-3 season



This rankings more read to me:
Clear 1-2
Distant 3
Gap until 4-9
10-11 picked next to each other
Little gap and then 12-15 together with Wisconsin being the clear 12
16
17
18
Very clearly in that order
Click to expand...
6-3 was top 6 in the league last year.
 


GophersInIowa said:
I would group it like this.

Tier 1
Ohio St
Penn St
Oregon

Tier 2
Michigan
Indiana
Illinois

Tier 3
Iowa
Nebraska
USC
Washington
Minnesota

Tier 4
Wisconsin
Michigan St
Rutgers
UCLA

Tier 5
Maryland
Northwestern
Purdue
Click to expand...
I would merge 2 and 3 into group

I would Put Maryland in tier 4 instead of 5
 

Some guy said:
The voters likely didn’t analyze the schedules.
The voters have the gophers picked higher than 5 of their big ten opponents.

Another team on the schedule is picked 10.
So if the gophers beat all the teams their picked higher than + one upset of 10th place Washington, that’s a 6-3 season
Click to expand...

I don't think the Gophers play Washington this season...

fbschedules.com

2025 Minnesota Football Schedule | FBSchedules.com

View the 2025 Minnesota Football Schedule at FBSchedules.com. The Golden Gophers football schedule includes opponents, date, time, and TV.
fbschedules.com
 



So 5 teams on the Gophers' schedule are ranked below them in this poll.

If I was going to pick a Gopher win against a team the media ranked above the Gophers, I'd choose the Friday night game at Huntington Bank Stadium vs Nebraska. A Minnesota win at home against the Huskers isn't really that big of an upset in my mind.

Win those 6 B1G games plus the three non-conference games and the Gophers would be 9-3. Add a win in a decent bowl game and you have a 10-win season in what is really a bit of a rebuilding year.
 

GophersInIowa said:
I would group it like this.

Tier 1
Ohio St
Penn St
Oregon

Tier 2
Michigan
Indiana
Illinois

Tier 3
Iowa
Nebraska
USC
Washington
Minnesota

Tier 4
Wisconsin
Michigan St
Rutgers
UCLA

Tier 5
Maryland
Northwestern
Purdue
Click to expand...

Mostly agree. Purdue belongs in their own tier of ineptitude.
 

For anyone who is interested, I thought Klatt made some good observations here. Wisconsin and Washington are B1G teams he mentions. Also, he has some thoughts on Cal, a Gopher opponent in 2025.

 





RememberMurray said:
It may or may not be relevant to this thread, but I keep looking at Wisconsin's schedule...

fbschedules.com

2025 Wisconsin Football Schedule | FBSchedules.com

View the 2025 Wisconsin Football Schedule at FBSchedules.com. The Badgers football schedule includes opponents, date, time, and TV.
fbschedules.com
Click to expand...
Let's pray they are a dumpster fire this year. The NCAA just ruled Nyzan Fourquean is also ineligible for another year, after previously giving it to him.
 


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