Bowl projections: Minnesota is firmly in Big Ten's second tier after two weeks

There were plenty of interesting results across college football in Week 2.

Sep 6, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers defensive back Darius Green (12) celebrates against the Northwestern State Demons during the first quarter at Huntington Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

Week 2 is still way too early to start seriously talking about bowl games, but that doesn't mean there haven't been significant results across the country. The Gophers have taken care of business against a Mid-American Conference (MAC) team and a Southland Conference foe, so let's see where they stand before a pivotal Week 3 clash against California.

Gophers bowl game projections

• On3 (Brett McMurphy): TBA
• ESPN (Mark Sclabach): Rate Bowl vs. BYU
• ESPN (Kyle Bonagura): Pinstripe Bowl vs. Louisville
• Athlon (Steve Lassan): TBA
• CBSSports: Rate Bowl vs. Baylor

Jan 3, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck reacts to the mayo dump after his teams’ win over Virginia Tech Hokies at the Duke’s Mayo Bowl at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

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College Football Playoff/Big Ten championship odds (via FanDuel)

College Football Playoff

• Post Week 1: 16-1 (+1600)
• Post Week 2: 15-1 (+1500)

Big Ten title

• Post Week 1: 80-1 (+8000)
• Post Week 2: 80-1 (+8000)

Big Ten standings

We learned a lot about the middle of the Big Ten in Week 2. Illinois looks like a legit College Football Playoff contender after blowing out Duke 45-19 on the road. Michigan looks a year away after losing to Oklahoma on the road. Iowa's Mark Gronowski experiment has seemingly failed after another abysmal offensive performance in a road loss to Iowa State. Lastly, Michigan State picked up a very important win at home against Boston College in double overtime.

The elite tier of the conference is still Ohio State, Penn State and Oregon. Illinois looks like the most reasonable choice to be fourth at the moment. Minnesota is firmly in a logjam in the middle of the second tier alongside teams like Washington, USC, Nebraska, Indiana, Michigan State and probably still Michigan and Iowa.

Liebert's post-Week 2 Big Ten power rankings

1. Ohio State
2. Oregon
3. Penn State
4. Illinois
5. USC
6. Washington
7. Minnesota
8. Nebraska
9. Indiana
10. Michigan
11. Michigan State
12. Iowa
13. Rutgers
14. Maryland
15. Wisconsin
16. Purdue
17. Northwestern
18. UCLA

Overall outlook

In the new 12-team era, there will likely be a minimum of four Big Ten teams invited to the College Football Playoff. Through two weeks, there seems to be a clear top four, but there hasn't been a single Big Ten game played, and there is obviously still so much football left to be played.

The five most interesting teams in the conference right now include USC, Washington, Indiana, Minnesota and Nebraska. The Trojans go to Purdue this week, but Minnesota has a real chance to make a statement at California. The Gophers have the most significant Week 3 test of any of the five teams.

With a bye week looming, the Gophers have more than enough time to regroup before Big Ten play, but the result of this week's game in Berkley is their first chance to make a statement as a team that should be mentioned in polls and near the top of conference standings.