Gophers picked to finish third in Big Ten West behind Wisconsin, Iowa
Elijah Spencer had 11 catches for 133 yards and a touchdown in the Gophers Spring Game. (University of Minnesota Athletics)
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The University of Minnesota football team will likely enter the 2023 season with a chip on its shoulder.
The Gophers on Tuesday were picked to finish third in the Big Ten West by media who contributed to the annual Cleveland.com preseason poll, behind rivals Wisconsin and Iowa. With a new head coach in Luke Fickell, the Badgers got 233 total votes and 20 first place votes.
Iowa had 232 votes, including 16 first place votes. Entering P.J. Fleck’s seventh season, Minnesota got 176 votes and one first place vote. Over in the East Division, Michigan is predicted to take first with Ohio State right behind. The Gophers have never won a division title.
The Gophers and Fleck are coming off winning at least nine games for the third time in the last four seasons. Fleck has beaten Wisconsin three out of the last four years, but the Hawkeyes continue to be the thorn in the side of Minnesota. The Gophers are 0-6 against Iowa in Fleck’s tenure.
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Gophers football: Players talk 2023 season at media day
The Gophers football team held media day on campus this week to talk about the 2023 season ahead.
Minnesota has one of the most difficult schedules in the country in 2023. The Gophers open the regular season against Nebraska on Aug. 31, a game with early Big Ten West implications and a game you can watch on Fox 9. The Gophers also travel to North Carolina to face Drake May, host Michigan and travel to Ohio State as part of their crossover schedule.
Senior safety Tyler Nubin, a preseason All-Big Ten pick, didn’t hold back when asked about the tough schedule.
"Everybody wants us to be scared of this schedule that we got, everybody wants us to back down to the teams that we’re going to be playing against. That’s not how we see it, we’ve got a lot of competitive, hard-working dudes on this team, and we see that schedule as an opportunity to really do something special here," Nubin said.
NUBIN, SPANN-FORD EARN BIG TEN PRESEASON HONORS
The Gophers are in Indianapolis this week at Big Ten Media Days, and two players on Tuesday were named to the Preseason Honors List.
The list features 10 players, five in each division, which are voted on by media. The only other team to have two players on the list was Michigan, the projected East winner.
Nubin, and tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford made the list. Nubin was a Second-Team All-Big Ten pick last season after finishing with 55 tackles, two tackles for loss, four interceptions and three pass break-ups. He has 154 tackles and eight interceptions in 43 career games.
Spann-Ford led the Gophers with 42 catches last year in 13 starts. He was second in receiving yards (497), and had two touchdowns. He came back for a fifth season instead of opting for the NFL Draft, and is healthy after offseason shoulder surgery.