With Big Ten Media Days starting next week, college football is nearly here. Within the next few weeks, programs around the country will begin their fall practices as they prepare for the 2022 season.

Minnesota in 2022 is looking to finally win the Big Ten West and clinch their ticket to Indianapolis. The Gophers return 12 starts overall entering this season and are very much a contender in the Big Ten West alongside the likes of Wisconsin and Iowa.

Overall, the Gophers' 2022 schedule on paper is rather favorable, with five or six games on paper that the Gophers should win, however, those remaining games will ultimately decide their fate. Below, we rank each of the Gophers' 12 games on their 2022 regular season schedule from weakest to toughest.

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This one is pretty self-explanatory, Minnesota should be able to take care of business quite easily on September 10 against Western Illinois. The Leathernecks struggled throughout the 2021 season going 2-9 and are not expected to be a vastly improved team. If the Gopher struggle in this one, P.J Fleck and his staff are looking at a long season ahead.

Jerry Kill returns to the Twin Cities this time as the head coach of the New Mexico State Aggies. One of the worst programs in the country, New Mexico State hasn't recorded a .500 or better record in a full season since 2002. They're not expected to have one in 2022 either.

Rutgers is slowly but surely improving under Greg Schiano, that being said in 2022 the Scarlet Knights are still a team that has a long way to go to be continuously competitive in the Big Ten. They will give teams strong fights throughout the season but overall this should be a very winnable game for the Gophers.

Which Northwestern will the Big Ten get this season? We'll find out in September but the Wildcats are known to bounce back well from poor seasons under head coach Pat Fitzgerald. Quarterback remains a big question for the Wildcats but they have a strong combination at running back in Evan Hull and Cam Porter. Don't be surprised if the Wildcats are back strong enough to go bowling this postseason.

Colorado is a tough team to gauge of where they're at in their program trajectory. Head coach Karl Dorrell is a solid coach who made bowl games in six of his seven seasons. The Buffaloes struggled last season on both sides of the ball but do return 13 starters overall including seven offensively this season. While they should be a bit improved from last season, they won't be a team that should keep anyone up awake at night.

It was a tough call between Northwestern and Illinois. Neither team is particularly good but year one under Bret Bielema was rather successful and the Illini return 13 starters overall including seven on offense in 2022. The Illini upset Penn State last year and was 4-1 as an underdog on the road last season. A small stat to remember as we head into next season. Minnesota is by far a better team than the Fighting Illini but this is not the Illinois program we saw under Lovie Smith.

Purdue is an interesting team to look at entering this season, they have one of the better quarterbacks in the conference in Aidan O'Connell but lose David Bell his top weapon as well as WR Milton Wright due to academics. Their rushing attack has consistently been one of the worst in the country over the past few seasons so if Tyrone Tracy, Charlie Jones, or Broc Thompson fails to take a step forward the Boilermakers' offense could be in for a long season. Defensively, Purdue will look to take a step forward after another poor season last year, seven returning starters defensively should help quite a bit. This matchup will likely come down to that Purdue offense and if they can match the output that we saw last year.

You've probably heard it already this offseason, whether some say it as a joke or are truly serious, Nebraska in 2021 was the best 3-9 team in the history of college football. The 2021 Nebraska Cornhuskers were certainly a team to remember for all the bad reasons, despite outscoring their opponents 335-272 they finished 3-9, and eight of their nine losses were by one score or less. Simply remarkable to say the least. While we sit here and debate if Nebraska was "the best 3-9 team ever", the one thing for sure is that Scott Frost needs to start winning. He's about to enter his fifth season in Lincoln and has yet to have a .500 record or better. The Gophers are 3-1 against the Scott Frost-led Cornhuskers though that one loss did come in Lincoln back in 2018.

Nebraska should be an improved team in 2022 including a revamped offense led by Texas quarterback transfer Casey Thompson and offensive coordinator Mark Whipple who made the move to Lincoln after a record-breaking season with Pittsburgh. I'm not ready to call the Cornhuskers a Big Ten West contender but I think there's a good chance that finally go bowling this season under Scott Frost.

Michigan State's success under Mel Tucker last year feels unsustainable long-term, at least to the degree of 11 wins. The Spartans heavily relied on transfers to help right the ship of the program and to Tucker's credit, they did just that, however, their recruiting doesn't scream that of a perennial Big Ten East and therefore Big Ten title contender. The Spartans should be a very good team once again in 2022 but don't expect a second-straight 10+ win season. Their success this upcoming season will be decided by how they replace key losses on the offensive side of the ball including running back Kenneth Walker. This will be a very tough game for the Gophers but is also very much winnable.

Iowa as always will be a contender for a Big Ten West title in 2021 thanks to strong offensive line player and a great defense. That should remain so in 2022, however, much like the team we'll talk about next, the Hawkeyes' ceiling will be determined by their quarterback play. Spencer Petras didn't take any steps forward last year and was a mediocre quarterback at best, if the senior quarterback can take that next step in 2022, their ceiling is without a doubt a trip to Indianapolis. That being said, the Gophers get lucky this year by hosting the Hawkeyes and not having to travel to Kinnick Stadium in what could end up being a pivotal game in the penultimate week of the season.

Paul Bunyan's Axe will of course be on the line for the Gophers as the wrap of their 2022 season on November 26. The Gophers will look to keep the axe in the Twin Cities after a 23-13 win over the Badgers last season. If the Gophers can in fact beat Wisconsin for a second-straight season, it would be the first time since the 1993-1994 seasons that the Gophers defeated Wisconsin in back-to-back seasons.

Wisconsin is an intriguing team entering 2022 as, despite the feel of a down season in 2021, the Badgers still finished 9-4 with a Las Vegas Bowl victory over Arizona State. Their 2022 season will come down to quarterback Graham Mertz, we know the Badgers have a premier running back in Braelon Allen and their defense will once again be among the best in the country, but if Mertz can't take that next step forward, the Badgers may once again be spinning their tires against the top team's on their schedule this season, including Minnesota. All in all, going into Camp Randall is never easy and the Gophers will be looking for just their second in Madison since 1994.

Also notable about this season's matchup is that Minnesota will have an opportunity to tie the series all-time. Wisconsin currently holds a 62-61-8 record all-time.

Very few atmospheres in college football match the energy and sound of the Penn State White Out. Penn State usually hosts teams such as Ohio State, Michigan, or a premier out-of-conference opponent, this season, Minnesota drew the lucky number to be hosted in the White Out. The decision is partially due to Fox and the World Series but nonetheless, the game will provide a great chance for both the Minnesota program and fans alike to experience the vaunted Penn State White Out. Not only is Penn State one of the best teams Minnesota will face in 2022 but adding in the White Out easily makes this game the most difficult on the Gophers' schedule this season.

Minnesota's schedule overall is one that ranks about the middle of the pack in terms of difficulty, the start of their season is quite manageable. There's a quite high probability they start their season off 3-0 with New Mexico State, Western Illinois, and Colorado before a tough pair of back-to-back games against Michigan State and Purdue. If the Gophers could at the least split those two games and be 4-1 heading into their bye week, you have to like their chances down the stretch.

In their final seven games, Illinois, Rutgers, and Northwestern all on paper should be wins for the Gophers. Games against Penn State and Nebraska will be tough but are both winnable as well. That all being said, their final two games of the season being against Iowa and then on the road against Wisconsin is a tough way to end the regular season, especially with Big Ten Championship aspirations.The best likely case scenario for Minnesota is going 3-2 against the likes of Michigan State, Penn State, Nebraska, Iowa, and Wisconsin. But that also means they must win each of their seven other games to get to a 10-2 record. At that point the question would be, is 10-2 enough to win the Big Ten West? That remains to be seen, however, it would be safe to say if the Gophers do get to Indianapolis, they would have absolutely earned their way there.

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