Week 3 Big Ten Power Rankings Thread

BleedGopher

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Buckeyes Wire first out of the gate:

8. Minnesota

Why the Ranking​

What would we be talking about with Minnesota if Nebraska didn’t find a way to gift the game to the Gophers in Week 1. The truth is that the Golden Gophers have some real issues on offense. It truly does look like a rowboat going against speed boats out there. We saw that rowboat run aground in Chapel Hill and you have to wonder where things go from here to generate yards and points. The good news is that even a rowboat can beat a sinking Northwestern ship next week.

Last Week’s Power Ranking | 6 (⇓ down 2 spots)
Last Result | Lost at North Carolina, 31-13

Next Up … at Northwestern​



Go Gophers!!
 

Nittany Lions Wire chimes in:

6. Minnesota

Last game: North Carolina 31, Minnesota 13

Previous ranking: 6

Minnesota’s offensive struggles continued on the road against North Carolina, but it was the defense that had a rough outing in ACC territory. Minnesota had few answers for Drake Maye on the road as they took their first loss of the season.


Go Gophers!!
 

Wolverines Wire chimes in:

8. Minnesota

Yes, Minnesota moved up after its first loss, but it faced a tough opponent on the road in North Carolina. It also says a lot more about the teams below the Gophers that they moved up.

Drake Maye picked the Minnesota defense apart after some solid early showings to begin the season. Athan Kaliakmanis was more than pedestrian, and with Big Ten play starting next week, PJ Fleck will need to figure some things out.


Go Gophers!!
 

Hawkeyes Wire chimes in:

8: Minnesota


Last Week’s Ranking: 8
Week 3 Result: North Carolina 31, Minnesota 12
Record: 2-1
Up Next: at 2-1 Northwestern at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 23
The Athan Kaliakmanis hype train has completely derailed. Many were excited to see what he could do this year, taking the reigns from longtime starter Tanner Morgan. He has a great arm, but that’s really it. He’s just not ready for this stage. The shame is that Minnesota really does have a good defense.


Go Gophers!!
 

Spartans Wire chimes in:

Record: 2-1 (1-0 in Big Ten)

This week’s result: Loss at North Carolina

Next Game: at Northwestern on Sept. 23

Like Michigan State, Minnesota got a dose of reality this week in a blowout non-conference loss against North Carolina. The Golden Gophers offense is dreadful right now, and it’s going to be tough for them to reach bowl eligibility if we don’t see strides on that side of the ball.


Go Gophers!!
 


My power rankings

Team (last week)
1) Michigan (1)
2) Ohio state (3)
3) Penn State (2)
4) Iowa (4)
5) maryland (6)
6) Minnesota (5)
7) Rutgers (8)
8) Wisconsin (9)
9) Illinois (10)
10) Nebraska (12)
11) Purdue (11)
12) Michigan State (7)
13) Indiana (13)
14) northwestern (14)


tiers seem to be
1-3 pretty interchangeable
4-9 pretty interchangeable
10-12 are teams with talent but issues
13-14 clear bottom


Michigan state is biggest dropper. I think their off the field stuff causes me to no longer give them the benefit of the doubt and tier 2 status
 

Spartans Wire chimes in:

The Golden Gophers offense is dreadful right now, and it’s going to be tough for them to reach bowl eligibility if we don’t see strides on that side of the ball.

A blunt but not unfair appraisal. Perhaps it's time to reevaluate the seasonal outlook. Finishing 7-5 would look good right now and even 6-6 might seem like a relief before the regular season is finished.

At the same time, it's worth remembering that this team has experienced early season blowouts like this before (Iowa and Michigan in 2013; TCU in 2014) and still finished with decent seasons. The team only finished 7-6 in 2018 but that outcome didn't seem so bad after a 3-4 start where the closest margin of loss among the four was 16 points.
 

After three games, I'd say the only conference teams we have a right to rank above are:

Northwestern, Nebraska, Purdue, probably Michigan State and Indiana, and maybe Illinois.
 

After three games, I'd say the only conference teams we have a right to rank above are:

Northwestern, Nebraska, Purdue, and probably Michigan State and Indiana.
have to, certainly
Could?
There is a pretty good case to be made the gophers are the 4th best team as everyone except the big 3 have serious flaws.

I don’t think they are 4th. But it isn’t insane to say Minnesota is better than Wisconsin or Maryland
 








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