ESPN's Bennett on BT West: Minnesota is my sleeper in the division

BleedGopher

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per Bennett's Q&A:

@EvanKnowlton
@BennettESPN @ESPN_BigTen How will the West be won this year? Will we see a race going into final weekend, or will someone run the table?

Brian Bennett: Well, you're asking the guy who definitely didn't see Iowa running the table in the regular season last year (not that anyone did). So take this prediction for what it's worth, which is less than what you paid to read this.

I don't see Iowa or any West Division team repeating that magical 12-0 run, especially with the arrival of nine-game Big Ten conference schedules. The West race should be pretty good this year, with Nebraska likely improved, Wisconsin being Wisconsin and Northwestern coming off a 10-win season with potential for more on offense. Minnesota is my sleeper in the division, and with a little better injury luck, the Gophers should be in the hunt all season. Illinois is not a contender, but Lovie Smith will have those guys playing hard and probably knocking off at least one of the bigger dogs. Purdue, well, things can't get much worse, can they?

The schedules aren't quite as backloaded as they were in 2015, so someone could have it wrapped up before the final weekend. But I would bet that the Wisconsin-Minnesota and Nebraska-Iowa games on Thanksgiving weekend will still have a say in who ends up in Indianapolis.

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post...ins-chances-against-lsu-west-division-outlook

Go Gophers!!
 





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