Gophers football: Perspective on Big Ten opponents is key after season openers

The expanded Big Ten Conference went 17-1 in Week 1 of the college football season — with the Gophers being the only reason the league wasn’t perfect.

Minnesota’s 19-17 loss to two-point favorite North Carolina will keep stinging because it was a winnable game lost because the U had so many errors on Thursday night at Huntington Bank Stadium.

“We had every opportunity to win that football game, and we didn’t,” head coach P.J. Fleck said Monday. “They took advantage, and we didn’t.”

The loss, in context of the broader conference, might look bad at first glance for Minnesota, but that only comes for those with haste.

The Gophers were one of three total Big Ten teams to play an opponent from one of the now-four power conferences. No. 23 USC had the best win of any conference member (new or old), 27-20 over No. 13 LSU on Sunday night. Meanwhile, No. 8 Penn State beat West Virginia 34-12 on Saturday.

That’s the complete list.

Nine other Big Ten teams played opponents from Group of Five conferences, while six other conference members stepped down and most-often easily beat lower-level Football Championship Subdivision teams. No. 3 Oregon turned some heads with the trouble it had against Idaho in a 24-14 win.

“Let’s not forget this is a really good North Carolina team,” Fleck said. “This team is going to compete for the ACC title. I think we are a really good football team. Kicking off Week 1, I mean, those are the games that you go into and you find out a lot about your team in the middle of the game.

“Then you look after the game, because you are playing a really good opponent — that is almost like looking in a mirror.”

While Fleck said the Gophers had a very physical battle with the Tar Heels, his team won’t be looking at a resemblance of themselves in the next two weeks. Minnesota welcomes…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/gophers-football-perspective-big-ten-185500249.html

Author : Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.

Publish date : 2024-09-02 18:55:00

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