BleedGopher
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 11, 2008
- Messages
- 60,752
- Reaction score
- 16,106
- Points
- 113
per Dave:
There has finally been a lot of preseason national dialogue about the Big Ten West division, and it is no longer being looked at as an after-thought. It may not feature a College Football Playoff contender such as Ohio State or Michigan, but it is wide-open. Outside of Illinois — which has a real chance of returning to the postseason — an argument can be made that any of the remaining teams can claim the division whether due to talent or breaks in the schedule.
Minnesota’s 2019 slate kicks off this Thursday at home against South Dakota State, and it also has a non-conference tilt in Minneapolis against Georgia Southern. Those are visitors that the Gophers should handle. A road contest at Fresno State is certainly going to be difficult. Worst-case scenario, though, is a loss does not affect the Big Ten race.
To be in contention for the West division title, the Gophers have to steal a road game. The likeliest occurrence would be in West Lafayette or Evanston. On the home side of things, the Gophers have to take care of either Penn State or Nebraska. Despite their youth, the Nittany Lions have talent littered across the field on both sides of the ball. That’s a very difficult test for Fleck & Co. Meanwhile, Scott Frost certainly has his Cornhuskers trending in the right direction fast, but their schedule is the main reason why they are considered by some to be the division favorites. If the offense gets a clean, sound and productive game from Morgan to help out a defense that will have its hands full against Adrian Martinez and the Huskers offense, the Gophers can certainly win this game at home.
Minnesota has the talent and schedule to head into its regular-season finale at home against Wisconsin with 8 wins and a chance to claim the division crown. The Badgers certainly can bounce back if Jack Coan plays solid enough to supplement what will be a productive season on the ground from Jonathan Taylor, who is a preseason Heisman Trophy candidate. Expect Paul Chryst’s team to rebound after a down 2018 campaign, but the Gophers certainly have the ingredients to win that matchup.
https://saturdaytradition.com/minne...e-bowl-path-exists-in-wide-open-big-ten-west/
Go Gophers!!
There has finally been a lot of preseason national dialogue about the Big Ten West division, and it is no longer being looked at as an after-thought. It may not feature a College Football Playoff contender such as Ohio State or Michigan, but it is wide-open. Outside of Illinois — which has a real chance of returning to the postseason — an argument can be made that any of the remaining teams can claim the division whether due to talent or breaks in the schedule.
Minnesota’s 2019 slate kicks off this Thursday at home against South Dakota State, and it also has a non-conference tilt in Minneapolis against Georgia Southern. Those are visitors that the Gophers should handle. A road contest at Fresno State is certainly going to be difficult. Worst-case scenario, though, is a loss does not affect the Big Ten race.
To be in contention for the West division title, the Gophers have to steal a road game. The likeliest occurrence would be in West Lafayette or Evanston. On the home side of things, the Gophers have to take care of either Penn State or Nebraska. Despite their youth, the Nittany Lions have talent littered across the field on both sides of the ball. That’s a very difficult test for Fleck & Co. Meanwhile, Scott Frost certainly has his Cornhuskers trending in the right direction fast, but their schedule is the main reason why they are considered by some to be the division favorites. If the offense gets a clean, sound and productive game from Morgan to help out a defense that will have its hands full against Adrian Martinez and the Huskers offense, the Gophers can certainly win this game at home.
Minnesota has the talent and schedule to head into its regular-season finale at home against Wisconsin with 8 wins and a chance to claim the division crown. The Badgers certainly can bounce back if Jack Coan plays solid enough to supplement what will be a productive season on the ground from Jonathan Taylor, who is a preseason Heisman Trophy candidate. Expect Paul Chryst’s team to rebound after a down 2018 campaign, but the Gophers certainly have the ingredients to win that matchup.
https://saturdaytradition.com/minne...e-bowl-path-exists-in-wide-open-big-ten-west/
Go Gophers!!
