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College Football Rankings: Way-too-early Top 25 projections for 2020

By Zach Bigalke

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - JANUARY 13: Terrace Marshall Jr. #6 of the LSU Tigers celebrates his touchdown against Clemson Tigers in the College Football Playoff National Championship game at Mercedes Benz Superdome on January 13, 2020 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - JANUARY 13: Terrace Marshall Jr. #6 of the LSU Tigers celebrates his touchdown against Clemson Tigers in the College Football Playoff National Championship game at Mercedes Benz Superdome on January 13, 2020 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
(Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /

13. 852. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. Minnesota Golden Gophers. won Outback Bowl 31-24 vs. Auburn. player. 11-2 in 2019

P.J. Fleck has instilled a boatload of confidence into the Golden Gophers program. In his third season in Minneapolis, Fleck guided Minnesota to 11 games and put them in contention for the Big Ten West title. As they head into Fleck’s fourth year at the helm, the Golden Gophers will be locked somewhere right around the midsection of the AP Top 25 and the Coaches Poll.

Part of that will be due to their convincing 31-24 win over Auburn in the Outback Bowl. Tanner Morgan went 19-of-29 for 278 yards and two touchdowns, and he’ll be back to guide the Gophers offense once again in 2020. After running for 140 yards and a score against the Tigers, Mohamed Ibrahim will also be back next season. The offense will be stacked, though the defense will have to do some retooling — especially after defensive back Antoine Winfield Jr. opted to go into the draft.

Still, the future remains bright for the Golden Gophers next season. C-USA champion Florida Atlantic comes to the Twin Cities to open 2020, and Minnesota also has home games against FCS Tennessee Tech and independent middleweight BYU out of conference. They also miss Ohio State and Penn State from the Big Ten East in the regular season, giving them a weaker schedule but a good chance for another season with 10 or more wins.

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