Bowl projections: What's the Gophers' outlook after thrilling win over Rutgers

Minnesota is a perfect 1-0 in conference play after Saturday's win over the Scarlet Knights.

Sep 27, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers defensive back Kerry Brown (14) celebrates his interception against Rutgers Scarlet Knights during the second quarter at Huntington Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nick Wosika-Imagn Images | Nick Wosika-Imagn Images

The Gophers opened Big Ten play with a much-needed come-from-behind win against Rutgers, and they're now 3-1 heading into a marquee matchup with No. 1 Ohio State. With 25% of their regular-season games in the books, let's take a look at where the experts think they could go bowling this winter.

Gophers bowl game projections

• On3 (Brett McMurphy): Frisco Bowl vs. Arizona
• ESPN (Mark Schlabach): GameAbove Sports Bowl vs. Central Michigan
• ESPN (Kyle Bonagura): Rate Bowl vs. Kansas
• Athlon (Steve Lassan): Music City Bowl vs. Auburn
• CBSSports: GameAbove Sports Bowl vs. Ohio

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The five major bowl game projections have the Gophers all over the place. The GameAbove Sports Bowl in Detroit, Michigan, is a place Minnesota fans have become notoriously familiar with, and it's the common destination after last week's win over Rutgers.

Dec 26, 2023; Detroit, MI, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers running back Darius Taylor (1) and head coach P.J. Fleck hold up the Quick Lane Bowl trophy after defeating the Bowling Green Falcons at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images | Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

Big Ten outlook

The Gophers' nonconference loss at Cal does not impact their conference standings. After their Big Ten opening win over Rutgers, they're one of six teams with an unbeaten record. There was likely no result more notable than Oregon's win at Penn State in Week 5, and we're starting to get a clear picture of who the contenders are in the conference.

Big Ten standings after Week 5 | Picture via: ESPN

Indiana continues to impress with another impressive win at Iowa, while Illinois bounced back nicely with a much-needed home win over USC.

Maryland faces an interesting test in Week 6 at home against Washington, while Michigan State and Nebraska meet in a pivotal battle between 0-1 teams. Minnesota's meeting with No. 1 Ohio State is arguably the most intriguing Big Ten game this upcoming week.

Liebert's post-Week 5 Big Ten power rankings

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

Overall outlook

Minnesota's loss to Cal looked questionable this time last week, but the Golden Bears bounced back with a road win at Boston College. It was incredibly important for Minnesota to find a way to beat Rutgers with this week's monumental task at Ohio State. The Gophers look like a middle-tier Big Ten team thus far, but they have an opportunity to pull off a shocking upset and change their outlook this week against the Buckeyes.