Fact or Fiction: Minnesota will win the Big Ten West
Rivals national recruiting analyst Clint Cosgrove with Sean Williams of The Gopher Report, Zack Carpenter of InsideNebraska.com and Alec Busse of EMAWOnline.com tackle three topics and determine whether they believe each statement is FACT or FICTION.
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1. Minnesota will win the Big Ten West.
Cosgrove's take: FACT. There does not appear to be a clearly dominant team in the West and barring a slew of injuries, Minnesota is a potential breakout candidate here. The Golden Gophers have returning starters at almost every skill position on offense in addition to the majority of their offensive line which includes Rimington Award watch list center John Michael Schmitz.
The big catalyst here is the fact that Ohio State and Michigan are not on the Gophers' schedule. They get Purdue, Iowa and Northwestern at home. The big road tests will be Michigan State, Penn State, Wisconsin and an improving Illinois team. Even in a scenario where the Gophers drop a game or two, I see enough parity in the West that a team with a conference loss or two making it to the Big Ten Championship Game.
Williams' take: FACT. The schedule sets up well for Minnesota this season to win the Big Ten West and play for a conference championship. The Gophers have two critical road games against Michigan State and Penn State, I think they split those, but both are winnable. The Big Ten West lacks strength early on with Wisconsin off to a tough start and while Iowa has been P.J. Fleck's kryptonite since he's been in Minneapolis, the Hawkeyes have struggled to find the end zone so far this season. The Gophers could slip up at Illinois or against Purdue, but overall, they have the talent, experience and depth to pave their way to Indianapolis in December.
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2. Mickey Joseph has a legitimate shot to earn the Nebraska head coaching job.
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Cosgrove's take: FACT. Mickey Joseph is walking into the perfect situation in terms of auditioning for the Nebraska head coaching job. He is taking over a Huskers team that appears to be in shambles and will be given plenty of time to install his brand of football and prove that he is a winner. Joseph literally has nothing to lose and those with nothing to lose are sometimes the hardest to beat. The players love him, he is a proven motivator with a track record of success as an assistant and knows what it takes to win a championship.
College football is an emotional game and a shift in culture alone can directly result in wins. Should Joseph get things going early and instill confidence in his team, there is no telling what kind of roll the Huskers can go on if the pendulum shifts in their favor. Joseph is also a star recruiter. Should he manage to salvage the 2023 recruiting class, land Malachi Coleman and find a way for the Huskers to make the slightest improvements on the field, I see no reason why he should not receive serious consideration for the permanent job.
Carpenter's take: FACT. Mickey Joseph is essentially entering a nine-game audition for the role of Huskers’ head coach. Nebraska athletic director Trev Alberts spoke on Sunday following his decision to fire Scott Frost and said that the program will conduct “a national search. And if at that point Mickey is an obvious candidate, he'll be part of that conversation as well.”
Inside Nebraska senior recruiting analyst Greg Smith reported that the vibes from the players in the locker room were good when Joseph was announced as the interim head coach, and they welcomed the news with open arms. Much of Joseph’s candidacy will center around wins and losses, but the other major factor is if he can establish a good culture and atmosphere in and around that locker room. He’s got nine games to show Alberts and the rest of us that he can do it.
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3. Kansas State is really in the mix for four-star DE Williams Nwaneri.
Cosgrove's take: FICTION. Williams Nwaneri should and will likely give Kansas State a close look when it comes to his recruitment, but in the end I see him as a prospect who signs with one of college football's blueblood programs. After seeing him at practice last week, I believe he is a five-star talent and his recruitment will reflect that all of the way up to signing day. Nwaneri is good enough to star at any program in the country and while there are some relationships which will likely draw him toward Kansas State, I see the Alabama and Oklahoma types of the world making his recruitment a little too much for Kansas State to overcome.
Busse's take: FACT. I think this recruitment is still a bit too early to evaluate in terms of where Nwaneri is going to end up. While he certainly has an impressive offer list and has taken visits to higher-profile programs, Nwaneri has a strong relationship with current edge rusher Felix Anudike-Uzomah who Kansas State is developing into a likely top-three-round draft pick. Relationships matter in recruiting, and Kansas State has it with Nwaneri and Manhattan is fairly close to Lee's Summit.