National analyst ranks Gophers as top-25 team, could 'easily' be higher

Minnesota had the opportunity to make serious noise in 2024.

Aug 29, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers running back Marcus Major (24) fields a fumble against the North Carolina Tar Heels during the second half at Huntington Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

The Gophers finished an incredibly up-and-down 2024 regular season with a 7-5 record. Most polls have them nowhere near the top 25, but one national college football analyst views them as the 25th-best team in the country.

CBSSports' Josh Pate releases a weekly "JP Poll" on his Josh Pate's College Football Show. The poll is more of a rating system based on his own computer model, and following last week's win over Wisconsin, he placed the Gophers at No. 25.

“Minnesota could so easily be in this thing if just one or two things had gone their way," Pate said.

There are a lot of ways you could take that statement, but anyone who followed the Gophers this season is well aware of how different the season could've been with one or two different bounces.

Notably, in Week 1, Minnesota's preseason All-American kicker Dragan Kesich missed a 47-yard field goal with two seconds remaining, which would've given the Gophers a win over North Carolina. Their 17-point loss in Week 4 to Iowa was their only defeat by more than one possession, so it's hard to argue that.

The following week at Michigan, the Gophers received a phantom offsides penalty on a converted onside kick attempt that would've set them up in prime position for a game-winning drive against the Wolverines. They rattled off four straight wins before falling by seven points on the road to Rutgers. Their final loss of the season came to Penn State in a game that Minnesota was on the wrong side of some controversial calls.

For as many games that easily could've bounced in Minnesota's favor, you could also argue USC and UCLA games could've bounced the other way into Minnesota losses. It's always easy to look back at what could've been, but there's no denying that the Gophers' last two performances against Penn State and Wisconsin have looked like a top-25 team.