Bound for Pasadena? Gophers projected to face Utah in Rose Bowl
Minnesota's postseason fate is yet to be determined, and the sky is the limit for the undefeated leaders of the Big Ten West division. At this point, the Gophers have put themselves in a good position to one, have a chance to reach the four team College Football Playoff, or two, go to the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1962.
At this point, none of the national pundits think the Gophers are going to upset Ohio State in a potential Big Ten Championship Game, but all of the experts are picking Minnesota to face Utah in the Rose Bowl, which always features a game between Big Ten and Pac 12 powers.
Here's the clean sweep of projections:
- ESPN's Kyle Bonagura: Gophers vs. Utah in the Rose Bowl.
- ESPN's Mark Schlabach: Gophers vs. Utah in the Rose Bowl.
- CBS Sports' Brad Crawford: Gophers vs. Utah in the Rose Bowl.
- Stadium's Brett McMurphy: Gophers vs. Utah in the Rose Bowl.
- Sporting News' Bill Bender: Gophers vs. Utah in the Rose Bowl.
- CollegeFootballNews.com: Gophers vs. Utah in the Rose Bowl.
To reach the College Football Playoff, which we have more details on right here, the Gophers might have to run the table and finish the regular season 12-0, then win the Big Ten Championship Game.
Things get really interesting if Ohio State loses one of its final three games. The Buckeyes should romp Rutgers this weekend, but they close the season with games Nov. 23 at home against Penn State and at rival Michigan on Nov. 30. Albeit unlikely, it's definitely possible that Ohio State loses its two toughest games to close the season.
If that happens, Minnesota might suddenly look like the most dominant team in the Big Ten. Of course, that always requires the Gophers beating Iowa this weekend at Kinnick Stadium, which they haven't done since 1999, and taking down Wisconsin the regular season finale Nov. 30 at TCF Bank Stadium.
"Could we see an unbeaten Gophers team fall to Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship Game? If so, P.J. Fleck will campaign for his team to be in the final four mix against the likes of at-large Alabama and potential conference champions Oklahoma, Oregon or Utah," says McMurphy.
"Minnesota's win over Penn State on Saturday makes the Gophers a real threat to the New Year's Six with this Rose Bid going to them or the Wisconsin Badgers.
We'll have more on the Gophers when the new College Football Playoff rankings are released at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Title: Bring Me The Sports co-owner, editor Email: joe@bringmethenews.com Twitter: @JoeBMTN Education: Southwest Minnesota State University Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota Expertise: All things Minnesota sports Nelson has covered Minnesota sports for two decades, starting his media career in sports radio. He worked at small market Minnesota stations in Marshall and St. Cloud before joining one of the nation's highest-rated sports stations, KFAN-FM 100.3 in the Twin Cities. There, he was the producer of the top-rated mid-morning sports show with Minnesota Vikings announcer Paul Allen. His radio experience helped blossom a career as a sports writer, joining Minneapolis-based Bring Me The News in 2011. Nelson and Adam Uren became co-owners of Bring Me The News in 2018 and have since more than tripled the site's traffic and launched Bring Me The Sports in cooperation with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation umbrella. Nelson has covered the Super Bowl and numerous training camps, NFL combines, the MLB All-Star Game and Minnesota playoff games, in addition to the day-to-day happenings on and off the field of play. Nelson also has extensive knowledge of non-sports subjects, including news and weather. He works closely with Bring Me The News meteorologist Sven Sundgaard to produce a bevy of weather and climate information for Minnesota readers. Nelson helped launch and manage the Bring Me The News Radio Network, which provided more than 50 radio stations around Minnesota with daily news, sports and weather reports from 2011-17.