Bowl projections: What is the Gophers' season-long outlook after Week 1?

The Big Ten went a combined 16-2 as a conference in Week 1.

Jan 3, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; Flavor Flav surprises Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck and his team after their 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

Week 1 is probably too early to break down updated bowl game projections, but that doesn't mean we can't talk about Minnesota's season-long outlook. We learned a lot about some teams in the Big Ten, which went a combined 16-2 as a conference to open the season.

Gophers bowl game projections

• On3 (Brett McMurphy): Rate Bowl vs. BYU
• ESPN (Mark Sclabach): Rate Bowl vs. Baylor
• ESPN (Kyle Bonagura): Music City Bowl vs. Oklahoma
• Athlon (Steve Lassan): Rate Bowl vs. Baylor
• CBSSports: Rate Bowl vs. Kansas State

Dec 28, 2021; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach P. J. Fleck (center) celebrates with the trophy alongside players Tyler Nubin (left) and Ky Thomas (right) after defeating the West Virginia Mountaineers at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images | Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

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

CFP

• Preseason: 14-1 (+1400)
• Post Week 1: 16-1 (+1600)

Big Ten title

• Preseason: 125-1 (+12500)
• Post Week 1: 80-1 (+8000)

Big Ten standings

The Big Ten has previously had some early conference games for some programs, but that is not the case this season. The first conference game will be played in Week 3 between Oregon and Northwestern, and then the majority of teams begin conference play in Weeks 4 and 5.

In Week 1, the conference came up big in some marquee spots with Ohio State knocking off No. 1 Texas and Nebraska surviving against Cincinnati. The only teams that lost their season openers were Northwestern at Tulane and UCLA got blown out at home against Utah.

Week 2 will have great nonconference opportunities for some programs, as Iowa takes on Iowa State, Michigan plays Oklahoma on the road and Illinois plays at Duke. We will learn a lot about all three programs.

Overall outlook

After the dust has settled from Week 1, the Gophers did not receive a single vote in the Associated Press (AP) top 25 poll, nor the coaches poll. Their Week 3 game at California is becoming increasingly important. Golden Bears true freshman QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele looks like a stud, and it will be Minnesota's first opportunity to make a statement on the national scale before a bye the following week.

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