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Wisconsin Football: Big Ten Power Rankings

By Tanner Nestle

MADISON, WI - OCTOBER 15: Alex Hornibrook #12 of the Wisconsin Badgers runs with the football during the second quarter against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Camp Randall Stadium on October 15, 2016 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Mike McGinnis/Getty Images)
MADISON, WI - OCTOBER 15: Alex Hornibrook #12 of the Wisconsin Badgers runs with the football during the second quarter against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Camp Randall Stadium on October 15, 2016 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Mike McGinnis/Getty Images) /
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MINNEAPOLIS, MN – OCTOBER 21: Head coach P.J. Fleck of the Minnesota Golden Gophers leads his team onto the field before the game against the Illinois Fighting Illini on October 21, 2017 at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Golden Gophers defeated the Fighting Illini 24-17. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – OCTOBER 21: Head coach P.J. Fleck of the Minnesota Golden Gophers leads his team onto the field before the game against the Illinois Fighting Illini on October 21, 2017 at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Golden Gophers defeated the Fighting Illini 24-17. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

10. Minnesota Golden Gophers

I’m only going to list ten teams in these rankings, since teams beyond here won’t really make much noise. I don’t expect Minnesota to be that spectacular in 2018, but as long as P.J. Fleck is in charge anything can happen.

Minnesota had a pretty up-and-down season last year. The highlight of the year could be the 48-14 blowout of Oregon State early in the season, or the 51-24 beat down of Nebraska later on. Both wins were nice to have, but the final two games of the season were abysmal. The Golden Gophers played two more games after the win over Nebraska, against Northwestern and Wisconsin, but failed to score in both of them.

The Golden Gophers don’t have a ton of expectations for Fleck’s second season, which is why they’re low in these rankings. Offensively, the Gophers have a long way to go. They don’t have anybody that jumps off the page and didn’t really have any standout performers last year.

The Gophers will pose a tough challenge to some of the lower ranked teams on this list, but that’s about it. Until Fleck rights the ship, Minnesota is a lower-tier team. They should be moving up this list a bit soon, but it’s hard to pinpoint exactly who they can pass up. As I mentioned before, the Big Ten is a deep conference.