Gophers' 2023 schedule includes 5 teams in preseason top 25
We'll all know soon enough how good the Minnesota Gophers football team is, but if you haven't examined the 2023 schedule now is a good time to learn that it's poised to test the Gophers on a weekly basis.
Minnesota faces five teams that are ranked in the preseason AP Top 25:
- North Carolina - 21st
- Iowa - 25th
- Wisconsin - 19th
- Ohio State - 3rd
- Michigan - 2nd
After a tough opener at Huntington Bank Stadium against Nebraska on Aug. 31, the Gophers should roll over Eastern Michigan before facing No. 21 North Carolina. The Tar Heels are led by quarterback Drake Maye, who could very well be the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
They get a break in Week 4 against a troubled Northwestern program and then should dump Louisiana in Week 5 before a showdown in Minneapolis against national championship contender Michigan on Oct. 7.
The first bye is timed perfectly after the Michigan game, which should allow the Gophers to regroup before a tough road game against Iowa on Oct. 21. That's followable by winnable games against Michigan, Illinois and Purdue before heading to Columbus for the Nov. 18 game at Ohio State.
The regular season closes in Minneapolis against Wisconsin.
Overall, that's 41.6% of Minnesota's schedule against teams ranked in the preseason top 25. For context, Alabama and LSU each play four teams ranked in the preseason top 25 while the No. 1 team in the country Georgia only has two games against teams ranked in the preseason top 25.
Despite those facts, the College Football News recently ranked Minnesota's schedule the 36th hardest in the country and sixth toughest in the Big Ten.
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.