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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.