American college football season
The 2023 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented the University of Minnesota in the West Division of the Big Ten Conference during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season . The Golden Gophers were led by P. J. Fleck in his seventh year as head coach. They played their home games at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis . The team was originally ineligible for a bowl game due to a losing record; however, they were awarded a berth due to having the highest Academic Progress Rating among 5–7 teams.[1]
Schedule [ edit ] Date Time Opponent Site TV Result Attendance 7:00 p.m. Nebraska FOX W 13–1053,629 September 9 6:30 p.m. Eastern Michigan * Huntington Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN BTN W 25–648,101 September 16 2:30 p.m. at No. 20 North Carolina * ESPN L 13–3145,151 September 23 6:30 p.m. at Northwestern BTN L 34–37 OT 20,148 September 30 11:00 a.m. Louisiana * Huntington Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN BTN W 35–2446,843 October 7 6:30 p.m. No. 2 Michigan NBC L 10–5252,179 October 21 2:30 p.m. at No. 24 Iowa NBC W 12–1069,250 October 28 2:30 p.m. Michigan State Huntington Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN BTN W 27–1247,392 November 4 2:30 p.m. Illinois Huntington Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN BTN L 26–2742,906 November 11 2:30 p.m. at Purdue NBC L 30–4959,049 November 18 3:00 p.m. at No. 2 Ohio State BTN L 3–37104,019 November 25 2:30 p.m. Wisconsin FS1 L 14–2848,119 1:00 p.m. vs. Bowling Green ESPN W 30–2428,521
Rankings [ edit ] Ranking movementsLegend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes Week Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Final AP RV RV RV — — — — — — — — — — — — Coaches RV RV RV — — — — — — — — — — — — CFP Not released — — — — — — Not released
Game summaries [ edit ] Nebraska [ edit ] Nebraska at Minnesota Rivalry 1 2 3 4 Total Cornhuskers 0 0 7 3 10 • Golden Gophers 0 3 0 10 13
Scoring summary 2 12:31 Minn Dragan Kesich 34-yard field goalMinn 3–0 3 14:03 Neb Alex Bullock 34-yard pass from Jeff Sims (Tristan Alvano kick) Neb 7–3 4 12:42 Neb Tristan Alvano 27-yard field goal Neb 10–3 2:32 Minn Daniel Jackson 13-yard pass from Athan Kaliakmanis (Dragan Kesich kick) Tied 10–10 0:00 Minn Dragan Kesich 47-yard field goal Minn 13–10
Sunset over a sold-out Huntington Bank Stadium for the season opener. WR Daniel Jackson and QB Athan Kaliakmanis talk about Jackson's game-tying, toe-dragging touchdown catch in the 4th Quarter against Nebraska. [3]
Eastern Michigan [ edit ] Eastern Michigan at Minnesota 1 2 3 4 Total Eagles 0 6 0 0 6 • Golden Gophers 0 10 10 5 25
Date: September 9Location: Huntington Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN Game start: 6:40 pm CDT Elapsed time: 3:05Game attendance: 48,101Game weather: 69 °F (21 °C), Cloudy, Wind NW 11 mph (18 km/h)Referee: Mark KluczynskiTV announcers (BTN ): Connor Onion (play-by-play), Tommy Olson (analyst), and Audrey Dahlgren (sideline)
at No. 20 North Carolina [ edit ] Minnesota at No. 20 North Carolina 1 2 3 4 Total Golden Gophers 0 10 3 0 13 • No. 20 Tar Heels 7 14 3 7 31
at Northwestern [ edit ] Minnesota at Northwestern 1 2 3 4 Total Golden Gophers 7 17 7 0 31 Wildcats 0 7 3 21 31
Date: September 23Location: Ryan Field Evanston, IL Game start: 6:40 pm CDT Elapsed time: 3:39Game attendance: 20,148Game weather: 70 °F (21 °C), Clear, Wind E 9 mph (14 km/h)Referee: Tim O'DeyTV announcers (BTN): Lisa Byington (play-by-play), Anthony Herron (analyst), and Elise Menaker (sideline)
Louisiana [ edit ] Louisiana at Minnesota 1 2 3 4 Total Ragin' Cajuns 7 10 0 7 24 • Golden Gophers 7 7 7 14 35
Date: September 30Location: Huntington Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN Game start: 11:01 am CDT Elapsed time: 3:06Game attendance: 46,843Game weather: 76 °F (24 °C), SunnyReferee: Ron SnodgrassTV announcers (BTN): Chris Vosters (play-by-play), Brock Vereen (analyst), and Dannie Rogers (sideline) Scoring summary 1 10:36 LA Peter LeBlanc 7-yard pass from Zeon Chriss (Kenneth Almendares kick)(10 plays, 75 yards, 4:24) LA 7–0 02:30 MIN Daniel Jackson 10-yard pass from Athan Kaliakmanis (Dragan Kesich kick)(9 plays, 86 yards, 5:03) TIE 7–7 2 13:26 LA Kenneth Almendares 28-yard field goal(7 plays, 64 yards, 4:04) LA 10–7 07:21 MIN Athan Kaliakmanis 2-yard rush (Dragan Kesich kick)(10 plays, 75 yards, 6:05) MIN 14–10 01:47 LA Robert Williams 6-yard pass from Zeon Chriss (Kenneth Almendares kick)(11 plays, 75 yards, 5:41) LA 17–14 3 08:48 MIN Zach Evans 18-yard rush (Dragan Kesich kick)(11 plays, 80 yards, 6:09) MIN 21–17 4 13:45 MIN Bryce Williams 2-yard rush (Dragan Kesich kick)(8 plays, 42 yards, 3:59) MIN 28–17 05:21 MIN Daniel Jackson 37-yard pass from Athan Kaliakmanis (Dragan Kesich kick)(7 plays, 56 yards, 4:30) MIN 35–17 03:01 LA Jacob Kibodi 52-yard rush (Kenneth Almendares kick)(6 plays, 75 yards, 2:20) MIN 35–24
No. 2 Michigan [ edit ] Michigan at Minnesota Little Brown Jug 1 2 3 4 Total • No. 2 Wolverines 10 14 21 7 52 Golden Gophers 3 7 0 0 10
at No. 24 Iowa [ edit ] Minnesota at Iowa Floyd of Rosedale 1 2 3 4 Total • Golden Gophers 3 0 6 3 12 No. 24 Hawkeyes 3 7 0 0 10
Date: October 21Location: Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA Game start: 2:33 pm CDT Elapsed time: 3:38Game attendance: 69,250Game weather: 67 °F (19 °C), Sunny, Wind NW 22 mph (35 km/h)Referee: Tim O'DeyTelevision network: NBC
Michigan State [ edit ] Michigan State at Minnesota 1 2 3 4 Total Spartans 6 0 0 6 12 • Golden Gophers 0 10 0 17 27
Date: October 28Location: Huntington Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN Game start: 2:40 pm CDT Elapsed time: 3:10Game attendance: 47,392Game weather: 33 °F (1 °C), Cloudy, Wind W 8 mph (13 km/h)Referee: Chris Coyte
Illinois [ edit ] Illinois at Minnesota 1 2 3 4 Total • Fighting Illini 14 0 7 6 27 Golden Gophers 7 10 3 6 26
Date: November 4Location: Huntington Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN Game start: 2:45 pm CST Elapsed time: 3:08Game attendance: 42,906Game weather: 49 °F (9 °C), Sunny, Wind S 6 mph (9.7 km/h)Referee: Gregory Blum
at Purdue [ edit ] Minnesota at Purdue 1 2 3 4 Total Golden Gophers 10 10 0 10 30 • Boilermakers 14 14 7 14 49
Date: November 11Location: Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN Game start: 3:32 pm EST Elapsed time: 3:29Game attendance: 59,049Game weather: 52 °F (11 °C), Sunny, Wind E 4 mph (6.4 km/h)Referee: Jeffrey Servinski
at Ohio State [ edit ] Minnesota at Ohio State 1 2 3 4 Total Golden Gophers 0 0 0 3 3 • Buckeyes 7 6 17 7 37
Date: November 18Location: Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH Game start: 4:01 pm EST Elapsed time: 2:55Game attendance: 104,019Game weather: 49 °F (9 °C), Sunny, Wind S 4 mph (6.4 km/h)Referee: Kole Knueppel
Wisconsin [ edit ] Wisconsin at Minnesota Paul Bunyan's Axe 1 2 3 4 Total • Badgers 0 14 14 0 28 Golden Gophers 7 7 0 0 14
Date: November 25Location: Huntington Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN Game start: 2:40 pm CST Elapsed time: 3:07Game attendance: 48,119Game weather: 31 °F (−1 °C), Cloudy, Wind SW 9 mph (14 km/h)Referee: Larry Smith
Despite the loss giving them an overall 5–7 record, the Golden Gophers would head to a bowl game due to their Academic Progress Rate .
vs. Bowling Green (Quick Lane Bowl) [ edit ] Quick Lane Bowl: Bowling Green vs. Minnesota 1 2 3 4 Total Falcons 7 3 0 14 24 • Golden Gophers 6 3 14 7 30
Date: December 26Location: Ford Field Detroit, Michigan Game start: 2:04 pm EST Elapsed time: 3:20Game attendance: 28,521Game weather: IndoorReferee: Tim RichTelevision network: ESPN
References [ edit ]
Venues Bowls & rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons National championship seasons in bold