nitramnaed
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Yup. One of them is the Gophers. Don't necessarily disagree.
Outside of Ohio State and Michigan, what goes up must come down in the Big Ten.
Each of the past 4 seasons, there’s been a breakthrough team in the B1G — Minnesota (2019), Indiana and Northwestern (2020), Michigan State (2021), and both Penn State and Illinois last year. Each of those teams shaved at least 3 losses off their total from the previous season.
But there’s another side to that story.
In each of those seasons, a B1G team has also stumbled in a major way.
Northwestern fell from 9-5 in 2018 to 3-9 in 2019. Penn State and Minnesota both won 11 games in 2019, then finished below .500 in the shortened 2020 schedule. In 2020, Indiana won more games against 8 opponents (6) than it did against 12 opponents in 2021 (2).
Last season was Michigan State’s turn to stumble. After finishing 9th in the country with an 11-2 mark in 2021, the Spartans were a disappointing 5-7 last year.
With that being the trend, you can just about guarantee a 2023 B1G team will have at least 3 fewer wins than it did a year ago. And that might be a best-case scenario given how dramatically the previous teams have fallen.
So, who are the prime candidates for a 2023 regression?
Why the Golden Gophers could stumble:
PJ Fleck’s program has posted back-to-back 9-win seasons, making this Minnesota’s most successful multi-year stretch by winning percentage since 1960-62.
But Minnesota’s past 2 teams were veteran-laden squads, and the 2023 Gophers are 87th nationally in returning production. Simply getting back to a bowl game might be closer to this team’s ceiling than another 9-win campaign.
Like Penn State, Minnesota has youthful talent that might be a year away from meeting its full potential.
The young Gophers also have some challenges early in the season.
Minnesota opens with Nebraska, which is going to be perhaps greatly improved under new coach Matt Rhule. The Gophers travel to North Carolina to face Heisman contender Drake Maye and the Tar Heels. A Week 5 matchup against a Louisiana-Lafayette program that’s been among the best in the Group of 5 in recent seasons won’t be a walk in the park, either.
The Gophers could very well struggle early before rounding into shape late in the season.
Click link to see the write-up on Penn State and Purdue
saturdaytradition.com
3 teams with potential to be the Michigan State of the 2023 Big Ten
Alex HickeyOutside of Ohio State and Michigan, what goes up must come down in the Big Ten.
Each of the past 4 seasons, there’s been a breakthrough team in the B1G — Minnesota (2019), Indiana and Northwestern (2020), Michigan State (2021), and both Penn State and Illinois last year. Each of those teams shaved at least 3 losses off their total from the previous season.
But there’s another side to that story.
In each of those seasons, a B1G team has also stumbled in a major way.
Northwestern fell from 9-5 in 2018 to 3-9 in 2019. Penn State and Minnesota both won 11 games in 2019, then finished below .500 in the shortened 2020 schedule. In 2020, Indiana won more games against 8 opponents (6) than it did against 12 opponents in 2021 (2).
Last season was Michigan State’s turn to stumble. After finishing 9th in the country with an 11-2 mark in 2021, the Spartans were a disappointing 5-7 last year.
With that being the trend, you can just about guarantee a 2023 B1G team will have at least 3 fewer wins than it did a year ago. And that might be a best-case scenario given how dramatically the previous teams have fallen.
So, who are the prime candidates for a 2023 regression?
Minnesota
2022 record: 9-4Why the Golden Gophers could stumble:
PJ Fleck’s program has posted back-to-back 9-win seasons, making this Minnesota’s most successful multi-year stretch by winning percentage since 1960-62.
But Minnesota’s past 2 teams were veteran-laden squads, and the 2023 Gophers are 87th nationally in returning production. Simply getting back to a bowl game might be closer to this team’s ceiling than another 9-win campaign.
Like Penn State, Minnesota has youthful talent that might be a year away from meeting its full potential.
The young Gophers also have some challenges early in the season.
Minnesota opens with Nebraska, which is going to be perhaps greatly improved under new coach Matt Rhule. The Gophers travel to North Carolina to face Heisman contender Drake Maye and the Tar Heels. A Week 5 matchup against a Louisiana-Lafayette program that’s been among the best in the Group of 5 in recent seasons won’t be a walk in the park, either.
The Gophers could very well struggle early before rounding into shape late in the season.
Click link to see the write-up on Penn State and Purdue
3 teams with potential to be the Michigan State of the 2023 Big Ten
Michigan State went from an 11-win boom in 2021 to a major bust in 2022. These 3 Big Ten teams are most likely to slip up in 2023.
saturdaytradition.com