Big Ten lands 4 teams in ESPN's 'way-too-early' 2024 football poll
Playing Michigan and Ohio State this past season was a tough pill for the Minnesota Gophers football team to swallow as both were ranked among the best in the nation and the Wolverines cruised to an undefeated national championship.
In 2024, Minnesota's schedule will be far from a walk in the park, but they face only two teams in ESPN's "Way-Too-Early college football Top 25 rankings."
That's partially the product of only four teams from the soon-to-be 18-team Big Ten being in the poll. Ohio State is No. 2, Oregon No. 3, Penn State No. 8 and Michigan No. 13. Iowa and Wisconsin "just missed" being included in the top 25.
Big Ten newcomers Washington, UCLA and USC aren't in the top 25.
Penn State and Michigan are the only teams in the early poll on Minnesota's schedule. The Gophers play at Michigan on Sept. 28 and host Penn State on Nov. 23.
Minnesota, for obvious reasons, isn't sniffing the way-too-early top 25, though with a new-look roster and a quarterback (Max Brosmer) who appears fit for the job of reviving a lackluster passing attack, the Gophers could be a team on the rise in 2024.
How high can the Gophers climb in 2024? It remains to be seen, but only two Gophers teams since 1970 have been ranked higher than 15th in the AP Top-25 Poll: the 1999 Gophers (12th), 2004 Gophers (13th) and the 2019 Gophers (7th).
The 2019 team is the only Gophers club in the past 20 years to be ranked in the AP's postseason poll (they were 10th in the final poll).
Nov 25, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers wide receiver Daniel Jackson (9) out runs Wisconsin Badgers safety Preston Zachman (14) to score a touchdown during the first quarter at Huntington Bank Stadium.
Credit: Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via USA TODAY NETWORK
