Writers pick Gophers to finish fifth in Big Ten West, behind Northwestern

The Gophers are headed for a fifth-place finish this year in the Big Ten West, behind Northwestern, according to a poll of 29 writers conducted by Cleveland.com.

The same poll predicted the Gophers would finish last in the Legends Division last year, and the Gophers responded with a 4-4 conference record, finishing ahead of Michigan (3-5) and Northwestern (1-7).

Heading into their fourth year under Coach Jerry Kill, the Gophers need to replace NFL draft picks Ra'Shede Hageman and Brock Vereen, along with quarterback Philip Nelson and leading receiver Derrick Engel. But overall, it's an older team that expects to take another step forward this year.

The Big Ten scrapped its Legends and Leaders format and adopted East and West divisions with Rutgers and Maryland joining the conference this year. The Big Ten does not conduct its own media poll, so Cleveland.com has been putting this together for four years. I'm one of the voters and had the Gophers finishing fourth in the West, ahead of Northwestern, Illinois and Purdue.

Here's the predicted order of finish -- note there were more than 29 first-place votes in each division because of predicted ties:

WEST

1. Wisconsin, 183.5 points (15 first-place votes)

3. Nebraska, 157.5 points (5)

4. Northwestern, 112 points (1)

5. Minnesota, 96.5 points

6. Illinois, 58 points

7. Purdue, 31.5 points

1. Ohio State, 195 points (23 first-place votes)

2. Michigan State, 180 points (10)

3. Michigan, 136 points

4. Penn State, 105.5 points

5. Maryland, 84 points

7. Rutgers, 33 points

Big Ten title game matchup predictions

Ohio State over Wisconsin, 12 votes

Michigan State over Iowa, 5

Ohio State over Iowa, 4

Michigan State over Wisconsin, 2

Michigan State over Nebraska, 1

Michigan State over Northwestern, 1

Nebraska over Ohio State, 1

Preseason vote for Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year

2. Randy Gregory, Nebraska (10)

3. Michael Bennett, Ohio State (4)

4. Joey Bosa, Ohio State (1)

4. Jake Ryan, Michigan (1)

Big Ten Preseason Offensive Player of the Year Award

2. Melvin Gordon, Wisconsin RB (5)

3. Ameer Abdullah, Nebraska RB (2)