Nobody Believes in the Minnesota Gophers

The Big Ten will look much different this season and that isn’t a benefit to P.J. Fleck and the Minnesota Gophers. The growth of the conference has Minnesota looking to find their footing. Right now it doesn’t appear that national outlets think they’ll be fruitful in year one.

Big ten football predictions down on Minnesota Gophers

The Pac-12 is no more, and the Big Ten now has a boatload of participants. The Minnesota Gophers must welcome multiple new foes to Huntington Bank Stadium this year. They aren’t expected to be on the right side of the score too often however.

Stewart Mandel , college football writer for The Athletic, put out a handful of predictions for the Big Ten this year. Of course the cream of the crop in the division will be both the Ohio State Buckeyes and Oregon Ducks. Michigan is in a period of transition after Jim Harbaugh bolted for the NFL . Penn State still needs to prove they are a force. Iowa remains looking for an offense.

Mandel doesn’t specifically highlight the Gophers, but he doesn’t see them faring well given the record. Fleck’s Gophers are coming off a losing regular season that saw them get a bowl berth based on academic excellence.

Related: Minnesota Gophers Star Running Back Leaves Practice with Apparent Injury

Minnesota picked up a sixth win as they defeated Bowling Green in the Quick Lane Bowl.

Minnesota Gophers face tough test in new Big Ten

Although the Wolverines are coming off a National Championship, they aren’t seen as a juggernaut this season. The door is open for former Pac-12 powerhouse Oregon to make their impact felt. Ohio State is probably the best team in the conference.

“The Big Ten got a lot bigger. I don’t know that it will actually be better, though, in 2024.”

Mandel on the Big Ten conference

This seems to be the most straightforward takeaway. The Big Ten doesn’t have the same traditional powers it may when everything is going right. Both the Nittany Lions and Wolverines were discussed already. The Badgers could be middling and host Alabama this season. Rutgers jumped above the .500 mark last year, and they could make some noise in the middle as well.

The conference as a whole seems to be incredibly top heavy. There will be opportunity for the Gophers to make noise in the middle, but they will have to outperform expectations . Fleck has hung his hat on inflated results for the most part, and his direct competition just got a lot better.

Related: Gophers WR Catches Strays of “Little-Known” Praise from National CFB Expert

Minnesota starts with a tough test as the open with North Carolina coming to Minneapolis.

More must-reads:

• Minnesota Gophers Star Running Back Leaves Practice with Apparent Injury
• Gophers WR Catches Strays of “Little-Known” Praise from National CFB Expert
• Two Minnesota Gophers Officially Become Freaks