Where Do Minnesota Gophers Rank in CFB Top 134?

The 6-4 Minnesota Gophers enjoyed a bye over the weekend, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Because next up on the schedule is their toughest test of 2024, and final home game of the season vs No. 4 Penn State. Next Saturday, they’ll put a bow on an up and down fall on rivalry week game in Madison, vs the Wisconsin Badgers.

They’re just a couple of plays away from potentially being 8-2, but you know what they say, “almost” only counts in horseshoes and one-night stands. Had they pulled out victories vs North Carolina and Michigan, we’d be talking about a much different looking postseason outlook.

But, they didn’t. Instead, they are a middling Big Ten team that needs a miracle this weekend to have any chance at eight regular season wins. So, out of 134 FBS teams, where do the Gophers actually stack up? They do not qualify in any of the top 25 rankings. So we have to look elsewhere.

Minnesota Gophers ranked 41st best team in the country

Chris Vannini, a college football insider and writer for The Athletic, just dropped his latest full rankings of all 134 college football teams. The Minnesota Gophers came in just outside the top-40, and right behind one of their biggest rivals, the Iowa Hawkeyes.

40-45

• 40 – Iowa
• 41 – Minnesota
• 42 – TCU
• 43 – Florida
• 44 – Washington
• 45 – USC

Vannini ranks the Gophers as the 41st-best team in college football, just behind Iowa at 40. Interestingly, they’re also placed ahead of Big Ten teams like Washington and USC.

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This feels like a tough, but very fair ranking. Sitting at 6-4, they’ve had their share of rough losses, like the ones to North Carolina and Rutgers. But they’ve also pulled off some impressive wins, taking down ranked teams like USC and Illinois.

Why are the Gophers ranked where they are?

Transfer quarterback Max Brosmer has taken the Minnesota passing offense to another level, but it doesn’t show up in the team statistics, where the Gophers rank 69th in the nation in pass yards per game, at 228.6.

• (2024) – 2251 Passing Yards
• (2023) – 1864 Passing Yards
• (2022) – 2369 Passing Yards
• (2021) – 2106 Passing Yards
• (2020) – 1394 Passing Yards

Their run offense has really fallen off a cliff, rushing for just 104.7 yards per game, good for 122nd in the country (out of 134, remember). But, where Brosmer excels in decision-making and that certainly shows up in the numbers, where the Gophers rank 14th in the nation, averaging less than a turnover per game (0.8).

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Where the 2024 Minnesota Golden Gophers have impressed this season is on defense, where they rank top-20 nationally in turnovers, points allowed, yards allowed and pass yards allowed per game.

• 12th – Points Allowed (17.7)
• 11th – Total Yards Allowed (296.4)
• 17th – Pass Yards Allowed (176.6)
• 35th – Rush Yards Allowed (119.8)
• 12th – Turnovers Forced (2.0)

With two games left, the Gophers still have a shot at cracking the top 30 and maybe the actual AP (Associated Press) top 25 by season’s end if they can pull off wins against Penn State and Wisconsin. It’s a tough challenge, no doubt, but it’s not out of the question.