It's not surprising to see members of the media pick the Gophers to finish toward the bottom of the West. Most of the other programs have been competitive for a conference title in recent years, we really haven't. We have always been the "sleeper" team, but never gotten there. No issue with the media selections-especially when most of them probably don't do in-depth analysis of every team before voting.
As I look at this Gopher team, it's easy to make the case they can win the West. The questions on the team are ones that, with a little luck, could never really materialize as problems. As I see it, the biggest issues for this Gopher team are:
Offense:
1, QB: When your top 4 QBs have a combined one season of experience (and your top 2 both essentially have a half season under their belts), people will question whether you can win your conference. However, both Annexstad and Morgan played fairly well last season. If they take a step forward, big things could happen.
2. Offensive line depth: This offensive line has the potential to be elite. And they might already be from a run blocking perspective when fully healthy. IF there aren't a ton of injuries at bad times, the offense could really click.
Defense:
1. Interior line: Not a great amount of depth/experience here. If they can find a good rotation, it will help the experienced and talented linebackers be even better.
2. DB depth: This is the one that could be trouble. With some guys who have injury history and not a ton of experience behind them, this is where I'm most nervous about our chances in the Big Ten.
All-in-all, I can see why media members who aren't fully learned on the Gophers would put them sixth. But, i still think they are wrong as I really like the core of this team. I say Minnesota finishes no worse than 3rd with upside of 1.