Offseason Big Ten Power Rankings

Where do the Gophers rank amongst the new 18-team Big Ten?

Sep 23, 2023; Evanston, Illinois, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers running back Darius Taylor (1) leaps / David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

We are only 109 days away from the Gophers kicking off their 2024 season. Where do they rank amongst the new 18-team Big Ten?

Elite National Championship Contenders

1. Oregon

2. Ohio State

The Ducks and Buckeyes are two programs that will be disappointed with anything less than a National Championship and/or Big Ten title. Neither team has any real weakness, and both made major moves this offseason. Ohio State hired Chip Kelly as its offensive coordinator and Oregon has a Heisman favorite QB, Dillon Gabriel. Any team that wants to win this conference will have to go through Oregon and OSU.

CFB Playoff Contenders

This tier of team has the talent to compete for a conference title, but they all have major questions. With the new 12-team playoff coming into effect this season, all three teams have real hope they could play in the new tournament.

3. Penn State

4. Michigan

5. USC

With QB Drew Allar and the RB duo Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen returning, talent will not be a question with the Nittany Lions. The question is whether or not James Franklin can get over the hump.

Michigan has to replace nearly its entire team from last year's National Championship and its head coach. New QB Alex Orji and head coach Sherrone Moore have potential, but they need to prove it first. Lincoln Riley and USC face the same question of whether their defense will hold up, but they made major coaching changes. On offense, new QB Miller Moss could be one of the best in the conference.

Low-Ceiling, High-Floor

6. Iowa

7. Washington

8. Wisconsin

These three teams all have veteran QBs Cade McNamra, Will Rogers and Tyler Van Dyke, who have all proven to be successful on the major conference level. But all three players have also struggled at times, leaving questions about their ceiling in 2024. They all could compete with just about any team in the conference, but they could also lose to any team in the conference.

Frisky

9. Minnesota

10. Nebraska

11. Michigan State

If you're a die-hard fan of any of these teams, you're probably thinking that you've been "disrespected" and deserve more hype from the media, but it's probably warranted because you have major questions. Max Brosmer (Minnesota), Dylan Raiola (Nebraska) and Aidan Chiles (Michigan St) might be the three biggest unknown QBs in the conference, but they all could have surprisingly successful seasons.

Sneaky

12. Rutgers

13. Illinois

14. Indiana

15. Northwestern

Rutgers, Illinois and Indiana all have things to like as programs, but also face an implied ceiling with their roster talent. All seven of these teams could have stretches during the season where they look like they've figured things out, but I also wouldn't be surprised if any of these teams missed a bowl game.

Major Questions

16. Maryland

17. UCLA

18. Purdue

If your team is in this list, you're probably a little nervous heading into the season. All three head coaches on this list – Mike Locksley (Maryland), DeShaun Foster (UCLA) and Ryan Walters (Purdue) – haven't really proved much, if anything at all. I would not be surprised if the bottom fell out on any of these three programs this season or in the near future.