Sporting News Pre-season 2019 Poll: Gophers #25

MisterGopher

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25. Minnesota

“Row the Boat, indeed.” We know the risks of ranking the Gophers, but P.J. Fleck had this team playing at a high level with blowout wins against Purdue and Wisconsin in November before an impressive bowl rout against Georgia Tech. Plus, the Gophers' schedule is a little easier than the other contenders.


http://www.sportingnews.com/us/ncaa...ticle-BBRRhDy,Article-BBRSoo3,Article-BBRSypM

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They won't be ranked in the pre-season (nor should they be) but they will be ranked at some point during the season.
 

Except they are now. (Sporting News).


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Now the players need to continue to get better to prove they belong in the top 25.
 

This is surprising, but it is deserved. We are who we were the last 4 games and that is a pretty good football team.
 



What would a season be like rooting for a Top 25 Gopher team 13 or so games? Be pretty cool! Are we there already?
 

What was so impressive to me was the way we finished the season. Last year we were terrible the last few games. This year we were outstanding. I am thinking at least 10 wins next year because of the favorable schedule.
 






If we end up ranked in the top 25 it will mean we got some good BIG TEN WINS (shout out to Wren), which would be a very nice result.
Top 25 would probably mean 9 wins minimum (3 wins non-con, and 6 in the Big Ten). As wide open as the West should be, a top 25 season would likely mean we are contending for the West title.
 

Get used to it this offseason. The Gophers are going to be a very trendy sleeper pick for next year, as they check most all of the boxes for a writer looking to go out on a limb or two while still proposing something reasonable. We'll see a mix of a lot of people picking the Gophers in their customary 5th in the West slot, and at least a couple national touts pegging them as high as Top 15 based on schedule, returners, trajectory, and opportunity in the B1G West. Either group could be correct, as there's plenty of reason to see the Gophers finishing anywhere from 1st to 6th in the West in 2019.

Wisconsin no longer looking insurmountable will also contribute to at least a few writers picking the Gophers to win the West in August.
 



I have no idea to the degree Wisconsin will bounce back but it is amazing how finally getting a win over them makes them at least seem mortal. And, despite a rought stretch with Iowa, they always at least seem beatable. And, Nebraska has had a lot of frustrations in recent seasons and my impression is they are no longer college football royalty. But, all three will pose HUGE challenges next year and there isn't a 'gimme' on the conference schedule.

In a vacuum, the current Gopher revival and improvement would be a lot more fun than it is within the reality of several other B1G West teams improving at the same time. Hopefully this isn't just a situation where the Gophers improve dramatically, only to stay among their familiar slot in the conference standings due to other teams improving too.
 

I don't expect most polls will include us, and yeah we probably haven't earned it yet.

Unless a lot of schools stumble, or PJ has more media reach than I think he does, we probably need to go well into the B1G season with some impressive wins before we get a ranking.
 

Next Year's schedule:

SDSU W
@ Fresno St W?
Georgia Sou W
@ Purdue W?
Illinois W
Nebraska W?
@ Rutgers W
Maryland W?
Penn State L?
@ Iowa L?
@ NW L?
Wisconsin W?

That's a 4-0 record in no-doubt games and 5-3 in games I see being competitive. 6-3 in conference probably makes us 2nd in the west. 9-3 overall with an easier schedule.

Tough Games:

At Fresno: We beat them at home in a close game saved by Winfield. Hard to say if we could pull it off at their place, although the Gophers improved greatly after we beat them during the course of the season.

@ Purdue; Which Purdue team shows up? I could see us manhandling them with our o-line or we could collapse against their offense and lose. Simple let em decide it in the trenches game plan would most likely give us the W.

Nebraska: I can never hope for good things against Neb. But you figure we will be favored at home and should be able to pull this out.

Maryland: I thought we'd beat them this past fall with all their off-field problems and we got slammed. I say its a win on paper but who knows we play better against these guys when I think we should lose.

Penn State: We have a solid shot at entering this game 8-0, 5-0! Could this be the College Game Day breakthrough for the Gophers? Here's hoping! I'm hoping we can pull this off, but my experience says neigh.

@ Iowa and @ NW: we could win either of these games but I feel we have a better chance in Iowa City than in Evanston. Do we ever play well @ NW? Figur on 2 Ls.

Wisconsin: Here's hoping we started our own streak with our breakthrough this past fall. Badgers have some good pieces coming back and this will be hotly contested. Figure Gophs by 2 for the line.

9-3 would be a little disappointing. 10-2 or better is my hope. 7 or less is hot seat for the coach IMO.
 


Next Year's schedule:

SDSU W
@ Fresno St W?
Georgia Sou W
@ Purdue W?
Illinois W
Nebraska W?
@ Rutgers W
Maryland W?
Penn State L?
@ Iowa L?
@ NW L?
Wisconsin W?

That's a 4-0 record in no-doubt games and 5-3 in games I see being competitive. 6-3 in conference probably makes us 2nd in the west. 9-3 overall with an easier schedule.

Tough Games:

At Fresno: We beat them at home in a close game saved by Winfield. Hard to say if we could pull it off at their place, although the Gophers improved greatly after we beat them during the course of the season.

@ Purdue; Which Purdue team shows up? I could see us manhandling them with our o-line or we could collapse against their offense and lose. Simple let em decide it in the trenches game plan would most likely give us the W.

Nebraska: I can never hope for good things against Neb. But you figure we will be favored at home and should be able to pull this out.

Maryland: I thought we'd beat them this past fall with all their off-field problems and we got slammed. I say its a win on paper but who knows we play better against these guys when I think we should lose.

Penn State: We have a solid shot at entering this game 8-0, 5-0! Could this be the College Game Day breakthrough for the Gophers? Here's hoping! I'm hoping we can pull this off, but my experience says neigh.

@ Iowa and @ NW: we could win either of these games but I feel we have a better chance in Iowa City than in Evanston. Do we ever play well @ NW? Figur on 2 Ls.

Wisconsin: Here's hoping we started our own streak with our breakthrough this past fall. Badgers have some good pieces coming back and this will be hotly contested. Figure Gophs by 2 for the line.

9-3 would be a little disappointing. 10-2 or better is my hope. 7 or less is hot seat for the coach IMO.

Agree with most of your thoughts. I believe Fresno loses some key starters to graduation, so I think that is less of a question mark. MD, Neb, and Ill were all very winnable games this year but for the messed up defensive scheme. Fun to speculate...how awesome would it be to be undefeated going into the PSU match up? Gameday possibilities...
 

Next Year's schedule:

SDSU W
@ Fresno St W?
Georgia Sou W
@ Purdue W?
Illinois W
Nebraska W?
@ Rutgers W
Maryland W?
Penn State L?
@ Iowa L?
@ NW L?
Wisconsin W?

That's a 4-0 record in no-doubt games and 5-3 in games I see being competitive. 6-3 in conference probably makes us 2nd in the west. 9-3 overall with an easier schedule.

Tough Games:

At Fresno: We beat them at home in a close game saved by Winfield. Hard to say if we could pull it off at their place, although the Gophers improved greatly after we beat them during the course of the season.

@ Purdue; Which Purdue team shows up? I could see us manhandling them with our o-line or we could collapse against their offense and lose. Simple let em decide it in the trenches game plan would most likely give us the W.

Nebraska: I can never hope for good things against Neb. But you figure we will be favored at home and should be able to pull this out.

Maryland: I thought we'd beat them this past fall with all their off-field problems and we got slammed. I say its a win on paper but who knows we play better against these guys when I think we should lose.

Penn State: We have a solid shot at entering this game 8-0, 5-0! Could this be the College Game Day breakthrough for the Gophers? Here's hoping! I'm hoping we can pull this off, but my experience says neigh.

@ Iowa and @ NW: we could win either of these games but I feel we have a better chance in Iowa City than in Evanston. Do we ever play well @ NW? Figur on 2 Ls.

Wisconsin: Here's hoping we started our own streak with our breakthrough this past fall. Badgers have some good pieces coming back and this will be hotly contested. Figure Gophs by 2 for the line.

9-3 would be a little disappointing. 10-2 or better is my hope. 7 or less is hot seat for the coach IMO.


I think if we go 5-0 we'll be getting votes, and then we'll get ranked if we beat Nebraska to go 6-0. Would love to blow through non-conference play with all games being double digit wins and no major injuries, would really add some hype for the Purdue game. If we start 4-0 I'll be very hopeful for the season.
 


As always, I can see both sides of the argument.

Coming off the Wins over Wisconsin and Georgia Tech, there is reason for optimism.

But, there are still question marks about this team. The seniors have to be replaced, and even if we think the young players have a lot of upside, we haven't seen them play in extended duty.

And, the QB play still has a lot of room for improvement. New players have to mesh with the returning group in the OL. have to find a new Kicker.

So - potential to be good - but a good team can still lose games to another good team. I could see a lot of close games next year. if the Gophers find a way to win the close games, it could be a very good year. But, one or two close losses can turn a 9-win season into a 7-win season.

in closing - The Gophers are improving. but I don't think any opponent is going to run off the field in terror at the very thought of playing the Gophers. It would be fun to reach that level - but they're not there yet.
 


Nice to see some national recognition in January regardless of who or where it comes from. I do think this team played well enough over the last month of the season to earn this.

I am cautiously optimistic this team can win 9 games this year, however, I am also trying to be realistic and know that this team will lose a game (or two) they should win. Purdue, Northwestern and Iowa are always tough road games regardless of record. Maryland has also been a tough game the last couple years. It's easy to say these games are wins on paper but they are anything but as history should tell us.

The schedule is definitely much more favorable this year with Maryland, Penn State, Wisconsin and Nebraska all at home. No Michigan, Michigan State or Ohio State.
 
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I try not to count chickens with this program. I have good feelings about next year, but Fresno certainly isn't going to roll over for Minnesota after they fly 4 hours to the West Coast. Should be fun to watch!
 

I try not to count chickens with this program. I have good feelings about next year, but Fresno certainly isn't going to roll over for Minnesota after they fly 4 hours to the West Coast. Should be fun to watch!

We will need to retain our nutritionist who we had for the trip to Oregon State to win at Fresno.
 


I think if we go 5-0 we'll be getting votes, and then we'll get ranked if we beat Nebraska to go 6-0. Would love to blow through non-conference play with all games being double digit wins and no major injuries, would really add some hype for the Purdue game. If we start 4-0 I'll be very hopeful for the season.

I've been thinking about this same scenario. Problem is, every year I get ahead of myself and then get disappointed. Oh well, I guess that's part of the fun of being a fan. The KEY is going to be staying healthy. If we can keep Brooks, Smith, Winfield healthy, we just might be able to catch lightening in a bottle next year. First goal, go 3 and 0 in non-conference with the Fresno State game being HUGE and the most difficult. IF, and they are big "if's", we are healthy and 3 and 0, a win at Purdue is definitely do-able followed by 2 wins at home, Nebraska being the tougher of the 2. We definitely will not let down against and Illinois team that we should've drubbed this year as well. Rutgers BETTER be a win and then a home game against a Maryland team that we have not looked very good against the past 2 years and we should beat next year. Then PSU comes to town. IF, we at 8 and 0 going into that game, well, wouldn't it be fun. It would arguably be the biggest home game since we laid that awful egg against Michigan at the Dome in front of a full house. Anything can happen but that's a scenario that is fun to think about in the off-season. Let's stay healthy and hope for the best. Go Gophers!
 

I see ESPN's "Way too early top 25" came out last night. Minnesota does not crack their top 25.

Other B1G in their rankings:
tOSU at #4
Mich. at #11
PSU at #17
Northwestern at #19
Wisconsin at #21
Nebraska at #24
 


Sporting News has the Gopher Football team in their 2019 Top 25 Poll

Paid site that I don't have...all I can tell you. Sorry.
 




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