Earlier this week, ESPN's Bill Connelly released his final SP+ of the offseason as the 2024 college football season continues to draw closer.
According to the final SP+ rankings of the offseason, the Golden Gophers are a top-50 team in the country entering this season, ranked No. 46 in the country but will have a tough schedule ahead of them this fall.
The Gophers are led heavily in the SP+ rankings by their defense and special teams which enter the season ranked 22nd and 19th respectively.
There however is not much faith in the Gophers' offense entering this fall, ranked by the SP+ as the No. 89 offense entering this fall.
The Gophers also received a nice boost, thanks to their returning production from last season.
According to Connelly, 70% of the Gophers production from 2023 returns including 74% on the defensive side of the ball which ranks 17th in the country. Their offense returns 67% of their production from a season ago, ranking 49th.
Big Ten programs ranked ahead of Minnesota include Ohio State (No. 2), Oregon (No. 3), Penn State (No. 6), Michigan (No. 7), USC (No. 21), Iowa (No. 24), Wisconsin (No. 26), Washington (No. 32), UCLA (NO. 37), Nebraska (No. 42), and Maryland (No. 46).
When it comes to the Gophers non-conference opponents this season, North Carolina ranks No. 40 while Nevada ranks No. 121.
While ESPN's SP+ does include FCS opponents, Connelly released his FCS rankings on Saturday with the Gophers' lone FCS opponent of the year, Rhode Island being ranked 37th in the FCS.
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