The Gophers football team is firmly entrenched in ESPN.com's rankings at No. 9. Unfortunately, it is the rankings of the Bottom 10 teams in college football. Minnesota was actually No. 8 last week before losing 58-0 to Michigan. Before the season started, the Gophers were not ranked. Per this week's writeup on the site:

With everything that's happened to Minnesota this season, it's hard not to feel sorry for the Gophers. Maybe they'll find a little relief in Saturday's trip to Purdue.

Ouch. While we still sense a good amount of long-term optimism from fans regarding Jerry Kill, the short-term pessimism is hard to ignore.