Minnesota Football: 5 reasons the Gophers can win Big Ten West in 2017

Minnesota football can realistically win the Big Ten West in 2017 and here’s why the Gophers will be the popular pick soon enough.

Coming off a 9-4 season, you would think that Minnesota football would get a little more credit from national pundits, but that’s surprisingly not the case. In fact, the Gophers are looked at as a mid-level Big Ten squad for the 2017 season, despite bringing back a plethora of talent.

Not just that, but the program fired Tracy Claeys amid team chemistry issues and the Gophers have since hired P.J. Fleck. The former Western Michigan head coach was the hottest commodity on the market and just came off a 13-1 campaign with the Broncos in which he led them to a New Year’s Six bowl.

The program is in good shape and the coaching staff has been upgraded, so why the constant disrespect? Honestly, who knows. This is just another case of a solid program proving itself the year before getting nationally overlooked.

Here’s why the Golden Gophers can realistically come away with the Big Ten West crown in 2017.

5. Solid defense

Last season, Minnesota had one of the top defenses in the Big Ten. The Gophers ranked No. 21 in the nation in terms of scoring defense as well as total defense. They really excelled against the run, ranking 14th in rushing yards allowed per game.

Although there are seven starters who will be replaced in 2017, the linebacking corps are as deep as ever and Jon Celestin leads the way. He will be back as the starter in the middle of the defense and could be an All-Big Ten candidate. The run defense will be just as good as it was a season ago.

On top of that, defensive tackle Steven Richardson and safety Antoine Winfield Jr. all return as starters and can be difference-makers for this group.

Despite losing starters, Fleck has the potential to replace those guys with just as talented players and potentially even better playmakers. This defense will be strong enough to contend in the Big Ten West.