Minnesota jumps up to 13th in latest AP poll
Minnesota Athletics
The Minnesota Golden Gopher football team has a big matchup against Penn State looming on Nov. 9, but for now, the progress continues after constructing the program's longest winning streak since the early 1940s.
After a dominating win over Maryland on Saturday, the Gophers made another leap in the Associated Press Top 25 poll as Minnesota checked in at 13th. The ranking is the Gophers' highest since 1999.
Outside of ranking, the Gophers are off to their best start in decades. Minnesota's 8-0 record is its best since winning the national championship in 1941 and their 5-0 start in the Big Ten is their best start in conference play since 1961.
In addition, the Gophers are now on a ten-game winning streak dating back to last season's victory over Wisconsin, which is tied for the fourth-longest winning streak in the nation along with Baylor.
While the Gophers start has been nice, it hasn't come without its share of criticism. Minnesota has yet to play a ranked team this season and the opponents they have seen have displayed a slew of backup quarterbacks.
That will change when the Gophers return from next week's bye as they'll face ranked opponents for three of their final four games including the showdown with the fifth-ranked Nittany Lions.
Either way, the success that the Gophers are having is starting to achieve national recognition and with a push to have ESPN's College GameDay to come to town for the matchup with Penn State, the Gophers have a great chance to make the 2019 season a special one.
