The 16th annual Cleveland.com poll of the conference’s reporters has Minnesota slated to finish 10th in the 18-team league in 2026. The Gophers finished seventh last season with an overall record of 8-5, 5-4 in conference play.

Ohio State, Oregon and Indiana were picked to finish in the top three.

The Gophers are seventh overall among all 138 FBS programs in returning production (68%), according to March reporting by ESPN. The U’s offense retains 71%, 10th best in the nation, while its defense keeps 65%, 12th most in the country.

Going into his 10th season, Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck returns starting offensive coordinator Greg Harbaugh, defensive coordinator Danny Collins with Lindsey entering his redshirt sophomore season.

“The expectation that we put on our players on the field and off the field is astronomical,” Fleck said last week. “It’s really, really high. They perform at a high level. I couldn’t ask more of them. They gave us everything they had from January through right now and one more week to go before we start training camp.”

Smith garners preseason recognition

A lot is expected of Gophers defensive end Anthony Smith this fall.

The 16th annual Cleveland.com poll of Big Ten Conference reporters pegged Smith as its preseason defensive player of the year on Monday as the conference prepared for the league’s football media days in Chicago.

The redshirt senior from Shippensburg, Pa., edged four players from Oregon for the honor.

Smith received 26 total votes and two first-place tallies, followed by Ducks cornerback Brandon Finney Jr., who totaled 25 votes and six first-place votes. Safety Koi Perich, who transferred from Minnesota after last season, got 22 and four, defensive end Teitum Tuioti 20 and six, and A’Mauri Washington 20 and five.

Last fall, Smith led the conference with 12½ sacks and was second with 17½ tackles for lost yards. He had 38 total tackles over 13 games.

At 6 feet 6 and 285 pounds, Smith is considered a pass rusher who relies on power, an assertion he pushed back at last week on the Gophers’ media day.

“I’m an all-around rusher,” Smith said on July 22. “They say ‘speed rusher, power rusher.’ I just think I’m a pass rusher; that’s the only thing I want to be classified as. … Not a power rusher, not a speed rusher. Be a unicorn; that’s what I want to be.”

Gophers quarterback Drake Lindsey received one vote for preseason offensive player of the year in the poll. As a redshirt freshman last year, Lindsey competed 63% of his passes (246 for 389) for 2,382 yards, 18 touchdowns and six interceptions over 13 games.

Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith received the most votes for offensive player of the year with 82 overall and 21 first-place votes. Oregon quarterback Dante Moore was second with 62 votes (eight first place), followed by Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin with 25 (two first place).

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