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What have the surprising storylines in the Big Ten been this season?
Ohio State has looked much more dominant than many thought, Wisconsin looked like a juggernaut (up until the Illinois debacle), Penn State looks better than anticipated and Michigan already has two losses.
But, wait. There’s another that isn’t getting nearly the attention as those points I just mentioned.
Minnesota is 7-0. It is still undefeated. And next week? The Gophers host Maryland, a team that has struggled since its 2-0 start to 2019. Minnesota will have a bye after the Maryland game and will be favored to be undefeated going into the month of November.
RELATED: Minnesota accomplishes program first after Week 8 win over Rutgers
How crazy is that?
On Sunday night, Tim Brando — for Fox Sports — talked about the Gophers (after talking about Baylor):
"It's time we pay attention to them."@TimBrando gives some love to @GopherFootball and @BUFootball in this week's #OnBrando 🙌 pic.twitter.com/hfEzK7UuPj
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 20, 2019
Brando’s right, that Minnesota certainly doesn’t have the pull of an Alabama, Ohio State or even Clemson now. It’s not close. But if the Gophers continue to reel off wins, it’ll be hard to ignore an undefeated B1G team at the end of the season.
Minnesota’s first big test will come on Nov. 9 when the team hosts No. 6 Penn State.
Kevin covers Big Ten football for Saturday Tradition.