2020 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

The 2020 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented the University of Minnesota in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Golden Gophers played their home games at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and competed in the West Division of the Big Ten Conference. They were led by fourth-year head coach P. J. Fleck.

2020 Minnesota Golden Gophers football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
DivisionWest Division
2020 record3–4 (3–4 Big Ten)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorMike Sanford Jr. (1st season)
Co-offensive coordinatorMatt Simon (1st season)
Defensive coordinatorJoe Rossi (3rd season)
Co-defensive coordinatorJoe Harasymiak (1st season)
Home stadiumTCF Bank Stadium
(Capacity: 50,805)
Uniform
2020 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
East Division
No. 2 Ohio State xy$^  5 –0     7 –1  
No. 12 Indiana  6 –1     6 –2  
Penn State  4 –5     4 –5  
Maryland  2 –3     2 –3  
Rutgers  3 –6     3 –6  
Michigan  2 –4     2 –4  
Michigan State  2 –5     2 –5  
West Division
No. 10 Northwestern xy  6 –1     7 –2  
No. 16 Iowa  6 –2     6 –2  
Wisconsin  3 –3     4 –3  
Minnesota  3 –4     3 –4  
Nebraska  3 –5     3 –5  
Purdue  2 –4     2 –4  
Illinois  2 –6     2 –6  
Championship: Ohio State 22, Northwestern 10
  • ^ – College Football Playoff participant
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
  • Note: Due to COVID-19, the Big Ten suspended the season on August 11, but later decided to begin play on October 24. In addition to the title game that was played on December 19, the conference seeded all remaining teams for "championship week" games.[1]
Rankings from AP Poll.

On August 11, 2020, the Big Ten Conference canceled all fall sports competitions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] However, on September 16, the Big Ten reinstated the season, announcing an eight-game season beginning on October 24.[3]

After compiling a 3–4 record, all in conference play, the program announced on December 20 that they were declined to play in any bowl game.[4]

Previous season

The Golden Gophers finished the 2019 season as arguably the best since their 1960 National Champion team. They finished with their highest win total ever, at 11–2, 7–2 in Big Ten play to finish tied for first place in the West Division. They were invited to the Outback Bowl, where they defeated Auburn and finished #10 in the AP poll.

Schedule

Minnesota had games scheduled against Florida Atlantic, Tennessee Tech, and BYU, but canceled these games on July 9 due to the Big Ten Conference's decision to play a conference-only schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5]

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
October 246:30 p.m. No. 18 MichiganNo. 21
ABCL 24–49589
October 306:30 p.m.at Maryland
ESPNL 44–45 OT0
November 72:30 p.m.at Illinois
BTNW 41–14863
November 136:00 p.m.Iowa
FS1L 7–35771
November 206:30 p.m.Purdue
  • TCF Bank Stadium
  • Minneapolis, MN
BTNW 34–31593
November 27at Wisconsin
No Contest[6]
December 511:00 a.m.Northwestern
  • TCF Bank Stadium
  • Minneapolis, MN
BTN/FS1No Contest
December 1211:00 a.m.at Nebraska
FS1W 24–170
December 193:00 p.m.at Wisconsin
BTNL 17–20 OT1

Source:[7]

    Rankings
    Further information: 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings
    Ranking movements
    Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
    NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.
    Week
    Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Final 
    AP 19 19* NR NR RV 25 24 21 RV NR  
    Coaches 18 18* NR 22 RV RV 25 21 RV NR  
    CFP Not released Not released

    References
    1. Stevens, Matthew. "Big Ten To Play A "Championship Weekend" 9th Game Of 2020 Season". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
    2. "Big Ten Statement on 2020–21 Fall Season". bigten.org. August 11, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
    3. "The Big Ten Conference Adopts Stringent Medical Protocols; Football Season to Resume October 23–24, 2020". bigten.org. September 16, 2020. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
    4. Greder, Andy (December 20, 2020). "Gophers opt out of bowl game in 2020". twincities.com. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
    5. Myerberg, Paul. "Big Ten football reduces season schedule to only conference games, maybe setting stage for others to follow". USA TODAY. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
    6. "UW-Minnesota cancellation ends 113-year streak". ESPN.com. November 24, 2020.
    7. "2020 Football Schedule". University of Minnesota Athletics.
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