Sep 6, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers defensive back Darius Green (12) celebrates against the Northwestern State Demons during the first quarter at Huntington Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

Bowl projections: Minnesota is firmly in Big Ten's second tier after two weeks

Originally posted on Minnesota Golden Gophers on SI
By Tony Liebert | Last updated Sep 8, 2025 2:53 PM ET

Week 2 is still way too early to start seriously talking about bowl games, but that doesn't mean there haven't been significant results across the country. The Gophers have taken care of business against a Mid-American Conference (MAC) and Southland Conference team, so let's see where they stand before a pivotal Week 3 clash against California.

Gophers bowl game projections

On3 (Brett McMurphy): TBA
ESPN (Mark Sclabach): Rate Bowl vs. BYU
ESPN (Kyle Bonagura): Pinstripe Bowl vs. Louisville
Athlon (Steve Lassan): TBA
CBSSports: Rate Bowl vs. Baylor

Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

College Football Playoff/Big Ten championship betting odds (via FanDuel)

CFP

Post Week 1: 16-1 (+1600)
Post Week 2: 15-1 (+1500)

Big Ten title

Post Week 1: 80-1 (+8000)
Post Week 2: 80-1 (+8000)

Big Ten standings

We learned a lot about the middle of the Big Ten in Week 2. Illinois looks like a legit College Football Playoff contender after blowing out Illinois 45-19 on the road. Michigan looks a year away after losing to Oklahoma on the road. Iowa's Mark Gronowski experiment has seemingly failed before it started after another abysmal offensive performance in a road loss to Iowa State. Lastly, Michigan State picked up a very important win at home against Boston College in double overtime.

The elite tier of the conference is still Ohio State, Penn State and Oregon. Illinois looks like the most reasonable choice to be fourth at the moment. Minnesota is firmly in a logjam in the middle of the second tier alongside teams like Washington, USC, Nebraska, Indiana, Michigan State and probably still Michigan and Iowa.

Post-Week 2 Big Ten power rankings

Ohio State
Oregon
Penn State
Illinois
USC
Washington
Minnesota
Nebraska
Indiana
Michigan
Michigan State
Iowa
Rutgers
Maryland
Wisconsin
Purdue
Northwestern
UCLA

Overall outlook

In the new 12-team era, there will likely be a minimum of four Big Ten teams invited to the College Football Playoff. Through two weeks, there seems to be a clear top four, but there hasn't been a single Big Ten game played, and there is obviously still so much football left to be played.

The five most interesting teams in the conference right now include USC, Washington, Indiana, Minnesota and Nebraska. The Trojans go to Purdue this week, but Minnesota has a real chance to make a statement at California, as the most significant Week 3 test for any of the five teams.

With a bye week looming, the Gophers have more than enough time to regroup before Big Ten play, but the result of this week's game in Berkley is their first chance to make a statement as a team that should be mentioned in polls and near the top of conference standings.