Where will the Gophers finish in 2019? A roundup of expert predictions

Your crack TDG Staff has weighed in on their predictions for the 2019 season and it is fairly optimistic. But what does everybody else think? Here is a roundup of “expert” predictions for the Big Ten and Big Ten West.

The Athletic

Place: tied for 3rd or 4th
B1G Record: 5-4, 8-4 overall
LINK

Three esteemed Athletic writers give their predictions and then share a group text as they “discuss” their predictions. Essentially they agree that the Gophers could be better but it may not reflect in their record.

CBS

Place: 4th-6th
B1G Record: n/a
LINK

Here you get 6CBS experts making their picks. Two guys have the Gophers as 4th while the other four have them slated to finish 5th or 6th.

ESPN

Place: 3rd
B1G Record: n/a
LINK

While acknowledging that ANYTHING is possible in the West (except Illinois winning).

Big Ten Network

Place: 6th place with 1 first place vote
B1G Record: n/a
LINK

This was a collection of 34 writers who came to the consensus that the Gophers will finish 6th in their division, just barely behind Purdue.

Athlon

Place: 5th
B1G Record: 4-5
LINK

Here the Gophers are picked to finish 5th but all three writers selected the Gophers as their “sleeper team.”

The Sporting News

Place: 6th
B1G Record: n/a
LINK

A rather low prediction while also calling the Gophers a sleeper team mostly due to their easy Big Ten East crossover schedule.

So there you have a roundup of expert predictions that all have the Gophers somewhere between 4th and 6th in the division. A stark contrast to the extreme optimism you’ll find here.