College Football Rankings: 2019 Pre-Spring Top 130 Teams (35. Minnesota)

per Athlon:

35. Minnesota

The Golden Gophers will be an intriguing sleeper team to watch in the Big Ten West in 2019. Receiver Tyler Johnson passed on the NFL for another season in Minneapolis, and the backfield is among the best in the Big Ten. Coach P.J. Fleck needs Tanner Morgan or Zack Annexstad to emerge as the clear answer under center, and the defense under coordinator Joe Rossi has to pick up where it left off in December to crack the top 25.

https://athlonsports.com/college-football/college-football-rankings-top-130-teams-pre-spring-2019

Go Gophers!!

Here's how the Gophers compare to teams on our schedule (according to Athlon):

13) Penn State

17) Iowa

18) Wisconsin

19) Nebraska

24) Northwestern

35) MINNESOTA

46) Fresno State

54) Purdue

67) Georgia Southern

70) Maryland

85) Illinois

107) Rutgers

Unranked) South Dakota State

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We know these early rankings are pure speculation, but I'll admit I do find it interesting that most of the ones I've seen so far are pretty consistent as to where they rank the Maroon and Gold.

On the other hand, they seem to vary pretty dramatically when it comes to their takes on Nebraska.

Hmmmmm...