P.J. Fleck's first Gophers team picked to finish low in West by Big Ten media

Wisconsin picked to win the West; only Purdue and Illinois rank below Gophers in division predictions.

July 21, 2017 at 4:42PM
Football coach P.J. Fleck is eyeing a change of sidelines for the Gophers at TCF Bank Stadium.
P.J. Fleck will be looking to prove media members wrong this fall, starting Aug. 31 vs. Buffalo. (Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Hiring P.J. Fleck hasn't ratcheted Gophers football expectations across the Big Ten, at least for this season.

Minnesota was picked to finish fifth in the Big Ten West on Friday, in the seventh annual preseason media poll released by Cleveland.com. A panel of 38 voters who cover the conference picked Wisconsin, Northwestern, Nebraska and Iowa to finish ahead of the Gophers, followed by Purdue and Illinois.

The Gophers also were picked fifth in the West last season, under then-coach Tracy Claeys. Minnesota went 5-4 in conference play, finishing behind Wisconsin (7-2), Iowa (6-3) and Nebraska (6-3). Northwestern also went 5-4, but the Gophers defeated the Wildcats at TCF Bank Stadium.

The media picked the Gophers third in the West in 2015, when they stumbled to 2-6 in conference play, tying for fifth in the division.

This year, the media picked Ohio State to win the Big Ten East, followed by Penn State, Michigan, Michigan State, Indiana, Maryland and Rutgers. The voters predict Ohio State will defeat Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game, with 26 of 38 predicting the Buckeyes will return to the College Football Playoff.

about the writer

about the writer

Joe Christensen

Sports team leader

Joe Christensen, a Minnesota Star Tribune sports team leader, graduated from the University of Minnesota and spent 15 years covering Major League Baseball, including stops at the Riverside Press-Enterprise and Baltimore Sun. He joined the Minnesota Star Tribune in 2005 and spent four years covering Gophers football.

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