2021 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team
The 2021 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented the University of Minnesota during the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Golden Gophers played their home games at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and competed in the West Division of the Big Ten Conference. They were led by fifth-year head coach P. J. Fleck.
2021 Minnesota Golden Gophers football | |
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Guaranteed Rate Bowl champion | |
Guaranteed Rate Bowl, W 18–6 vs. West Virginia | |
Conference | Big Ten Conference |
West Division | |
Record | 9–4 (6–3 Big Ten) |
Head coach |
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Offensive coordinator | Mike Sanford Jr. (2nd season) |
Co-offensive coordinator | Matt Simon (2nd season) |
Defensive coordinator | Joe Rossi (4th season) |
Co-defensive coordinator | Joe Harasymiak (2nd season) |
Home stadium | Huntington Bank Stadium (Capacity: 50,805) |
Uniform | |
Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
East Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 3 Michigan xy$^ | 8 | – | 1 | 12 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 6 Ohio State x | 8 | – | 1 | 11 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 9 Michigan State | 7 | – | 2 | 11 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Penn State | 4 | – | 5 | 7 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Maryland | 3 | – | 6 | 7 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rutgers | 2 | – | 7 | 5 | – | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Indiana | 0 | – | 9 | 2 | – | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
West Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 23 Iowa xy | 7 | – | 2 | 10 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Minnesota | 6 | – | 3 | 9 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wisconsin | 6 | – | 3 | 9 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Purdue | 6 | – | 3 | 9 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Illinois | 4 | – | 5 | 5 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nebraska | 1 | – | 8 | 3 | – | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Northwestern | 1 | – | 8 | 3 | – | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Championship: Michigan 42, Iowa 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Roster
2021 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Offense
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Defense
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Special teams
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Roster |
Schedule
Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | ||
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September 2 | 7:00 p.m. | No. 4 Ohio State | FOX | L 31–45 | 50,805 | ||||
September 11 | 11:00 a.m. | Miami (OH)* |
| ESPNU | W 31–26 | 43,372 | |||
September 18 | 12:00 p.m. | at Colorado* | P12N | W 30–0 | 47,482 | ||||
September 25 | 11:00 a.m. | Bowling Green* |
| ESPNU | L 10–14 | 46,236 | |||
October 2 | 11:00 a.m. | at Purdue | BTN | W 20–13 | 51,111 | ||||
October 16 | 11:00 a.m. | Nebraska |
| ESPN2 | W 30–23 | 45,436 | |||
October 23 | 2:30 p.m. | Maryland |
| ESPN2 | W 34–16 | 41,011 | |||
October 30 | 2:30 p.m. | at Northwestern | BTN | W 41–14 | 28,158 | ||||
November 6 | 11:00 a.m. | Illinois | No. 20 |
| ESPN2 | L 6–14 | 46,382 | ||
November 13 | 2:30 p.m. | at No. 20 Iowa | BTN | L 22–27 | 69,250 | ||||
November 20 | 2:30 p.m. | at Indiana | BTN | W 35–14 | 38,079 | ||||
November 27 | 3:00 p.m. | No. 14 Wisconsin |
| FOX | W 23–13 | 49,736 | |||
December 28 | 9:15 p.m. | vs. West Virginia* | ESPN | W 18–6 | 21,220 | ||||
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Game summaries
vs No. 4 Ohio State
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The Golden Gophers opens the 2021 season at Huntington Bank Stadium, where they will host the 4th ranked team in the nation the Ohio State Buckeyes. This will be the 51st meeting between the 2 teams, with Ohio State having a winning record against the Gophers at 44-7-0. The Buckeyes have won 10 straight, which is their 2nd longest current Big Ten winning Streak. The teams last met in 2018, with the Buckeyes winning 30–14 at Ohio Stadium.
The TV Broadcast on Fox was the fourth most-watched broadcast television program of the week, averaging 6.295 million viewers.[2] That is the largest audience for an opening-week college football telecast on Fox.[3]
Statistics | Ohio State | Minnesota |
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First downs | 17 | 23 |
Plays–yards | 48-495 | 75-409 |
Rushes–yards | 26-201 | 50-203 |
Passing yards | 294 | 206 |
Passing: comp–att–int | 13-22-1 | 14-25-0 |
Time of possession | 21:19 | 38:41 |
Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
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Ohio State | Passing | C. J. Stroud | 13-22, 294 yds, 4 TD, 1 INT |
Rushing | Miyan Williams | 9 car, 125 yds, 1 TD | |
Receiving | Chris Olave | 4 receptions, 117 yds, 2 TD | |
Minnesota | Passing | Tanner Morgan | 14-25, 205 yds, 1 TD |
Rushing | Mohamed Ibrahim | 30 car, 153 yds, 2 TD | |
Receiving | Daniel Jackson | 3 rec, 58 yds |
Scoring summary | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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vs No. 14 Wisconsin
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Statistics | Wisconsin | Minnesota |
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First downs | 19 | 16 |
Plays–yards | 60-203 | 53-278 |
Rushes–yards | 22-62 | 35-79 |
Passing yards | 171 | 199 |
Passing: comp–att–int | 21-38-1 | 11-16-1 |
Time of possession | 29:53 | 30:07 |
Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
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Wisconsin | Passing | Graham Mertz | 21-38, 162 yds, 1 INT |
Rushing | Braelon Allen | 17 car, 47 yds | |
Receiving | Danny Davis III | 5 rec, 60 yds | |
Minnesota | Passing | Tanner Morgan | 11-16, 199 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT |
Rushing | Ky Thomas | 18 car, 55 yds, 1 TD | |
Receiving | Brevyn Spann-Ford | 3 rec, 62 yds |
References
- "2021 Minnesota Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
- City News Service - College football drives ABC’s victory in Aug. 30-Sept. 5 Nielsen ratings race. Los Angeles Times, September 8, 2021
- Bauder, David - College football's return boosts television ratings. Associated Press, September 9, 2021