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
Guaranteed Rate Bowl champion
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
DivisionWest Division
Record9–4 (6–3 Big Ten)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorMike Sanford Jr. (2nd season)
Co-offensive coordinatorMatt Simon (2nd season)
Offensive schemeSpread option
Defensive coordinatorJoe Rossi (4th season)
Co-defensive coordinatorJoe Harasymiak (2nd season)
Base defense4–3
Home stadiumHuntington Bank Stadium
Uniform
Seasons
← 2020
2022 →
2021 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
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
  • ^ – College Football Playoff participant
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

Roster

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2021 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
WR 0 Lemeke Brockington Fr
RB 1 Cam Wiley   So
QB 2 Tanner Morgan   Sr
RB 3 Treyson Potts   So
RB 4 Mar'Keise Irving Fr
QB 5 Zack Annexstad   Jr
WR 6 Douglas Emilien   Fr
WR 7 Chris Autman-Bell   Sr
RB 8 Ky Thomas   Fr
WR 9 Daniel Jackson So
QB 11 Lonenoa Faoa Fr
QB 12 Cole Kramer   So
WR 14 Brady Boyd Fr
QB 15 Jacob Clark   So
WR 16 Dylan Wright   So
QB 17 Athan Kaliakmanis Fr
WR 18 Clay Geary   Sr
QB 19 Samuel Pickerign   Sr
WR 20 Larry Wright   So
RB 21 Bryce Williams   Jr
WR 22 Mike Brown-Stephens   So
WR 23 Dylan Hillard-McGill Fr
RB 24 Mohamed Ibrahim     Sr
RB 25 Preston Jelen   Jr
WR 27 Quentin Redding Fr
RB 31 Kendall Moore   Fr
TE 42 Ko Kieft   Sr
TE 47 Wyatt Schroeder   Fr
OL 50 J. J. Guedet   So
OL 55 Karter Shaw   Jr
OL 56 Curtis Dunlap Jr.   Jr
OL 57 Cameron James Fr
OL 58 Jackson Hunter Fr
OL 60 John Michael Schmitz   Sr
OL 63 Austin Beier   Jr
OL 64 Conner Olson   Sr
OL 65 Axel Ruschmeyer   Sr
OL 66 Nathan Boe   Jr
OL 68 Jackson Ruschmeyer   Fr
OL 69 Aireontae Ersery   Fr
OL 70 Sam Schlueter   Sr
OL 71 Martes Lewis   Fr
OL 73 Tyrell Lawrence   Fr
OL 75 Tyler Cooper   So
OL 76 Saia Mapakaitolo Fr
OL 77 Blaise Andries   Sr
OL 78 Daniel Faalele Sr
OL 79 Logan Purcell Fr
WR 80 Dino Kaliakmanis Fr
WR 81 Brock Annexstad   Sr
WR 82 Jonathan Mann   Fr
TE 83 Austin Henderson   Fr
WR 84 Peter Udoibok   So
TE 85 Bryce Witham   Sr
TE 86 Jameson Geers Fr
TE 87 Nick Kallerup   So
TE 88 Brevyn Spann-Ford   Jr
WR 89 Nnamdi Adim-Madumere   So
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DB 0 Justin Walley Fr
DB 1 Calvin Swenson   Sr
DB 2 Phillip Howard   Sr
DL 3 M. J. Anderson   So
DB 4 Terell Smith Sr
DL 5 Nyles Pinckney GS
DB 6 Miles Fleming   Fr
DB 7 Solomon Brown   So
DL 8 Thomas Rush Sr
DL 9 Esezi Otomewo   Sr
DB 11 Michael Dixon So
DB 12 Jalen Glaze   Fr
LB 13 James Gordon IV   So
LB 14 Braelen Oliver   So
LB 15 Jaqwondis Burns   Fr
DB 16 Coney Durr   Sr
DL 17 Gage Keys   Fr
DL 18 Micah Dew-Treadway GS
LB 20 Donald Willis   So
DB 21 Justus Harris GS
DB 22 Steven Ortiz Jr. Fr
DB 23 Jordan Howden Sr
DB 26 Victor Pless   Fr
DB 27 Tyler Nubin Jr
DB 28 Matt Guggemos   So
LB 29 Josh Aune   Jr
DB 30 Jordan Nubin Fr
LB 33 Devon Williams Fr
DL 34 Boye Mafe   Sr
LB 35 Derik LeCaptian   So
DB 36 Bishop McDonald GS
LB 41 Connor Keyes   Fr
LB 43 Eli Mau Fr
DL 44 Rashad Cheney Jr.   So
LB 45 Cody Lindenberg So
LB 46 Lucas Finnessy   Fr
LB 47 Jack Gibbens GS
LB 49 Pete Bercich   So
DL 52 Luther McCoy Fr
LB 53 Ben Wileman   Fr
LB 55 Mariano Sori-Marin Sr
DL 56 Val Martin GS
LB 57 Jack Kern   Jr
DL 62 Jacob Schuster Fr
DL 89 Nate Becker Fr
DL 90 Jah Joyner   Fr
DL 91 Deven Eastern Fr
DL 92 Danny Striggow   Fr
DL 94 Austin Booker Fr
DL 96 Logan Richter   So
DL 97 Jalen Logan-Redding   Fr
DL 99 DeAngelo Carter   So
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K 34 Brock Walker   Jr
LS 37 Brady Weeks Jr
P 38 Daniel Sparks So
LS 49 Austin Sullivan   So
K 91 Will Mobley   Sr
K 95 Matthew Trickett Sr
P 96 Mark Crawford So
K 99 Dragan Kesich So
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
  • Mike Sanford Jr. (offensive coordinator / quarterbacks)
  • Joe Rossi (defensive coordinator / linebackers)
  • Rob Wenger (special teams coordinator / outside linebackers)
  • Kenni Burns (assistant head coach / running backs)
  • Paul Haynes (cornerbacks)
  • Brian Callahan (run game coordinators / offensive line)
  • Joe Harasymiak (defensive backs / safeties)
  • Chad Wilt (defensive line)
  • Clay Patterson (tight ends)
  • Matt Simon (passing game coordinator / wide receivers)
  • Gerrit Chernoff (general manager)
  • Dan Nichol (head strength & conditioning)
  • Norries Wilson (director of player development)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  •   Injured
  •   Redshirt

Roster
Last update: December 28, 2021

Schedule

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DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 2 7:00 p.m. No. 4 Ohio State FOX L 31–45 50,805
September 11 11:00 a.m. Miami (OH)*
  • Huntington Bank Stadium
  • Minneapolis, MN
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*
  • Huntington Bank Stadium
  • Minneapolis, MN
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
  • Huntington Bank Stadium
  • Minneapolis, MN
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
  • Huntington Bank Stadium
  • Minneapolis, MN
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

[1]

Game summaries

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vs No. 4 Ohio State

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Ohio State at Minnesota
1 234Total
No. 4 Ohio State 7 32114 45
Minnesota 0 14710 31

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
First downs 17 23
Plays–yards 48-495 75-409
Rushes–yards 26-201 50-203
Passing yards 294 206
Passing: compattint 13-22-1 14-25-0
Time of possession 21:19 38:41
Team Category Player Statistics
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
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score
Plays Yards TOP Ohio State Minnesota
1st 7:22 5 92 1:42 OSU Miyan Williams 71-yard touchdown run, Noah Ruggles kick good 7 0
2nd 12:50 14 74 6:47 OSU 35-yard field goal by Ruggles 10 0
2nd 9:11 6 80 3:39 MINN Dylan Wright 13-yard touchdown reception from Tanner Morgan, Matthew Trickett kick good 10 7
2nd 3:32 8 37 4:31 MINN Mohamed Ibrahim 1-yard touchdown run, Trickett kick good 10 14
3rd 12:43 7 81 2:17 OSU Chris Olave 38-yard touchdown reception from C. J. Stroud, Ruggles kick good 17 14
3rd 10:03 5 75 2:40 MINN Ibrahim 19-yard touchdown run, Trickett kick good 17 21
3rd 5:12 1 56 0:08 OSU Garrett Wilson 56-yard touchdown reception from Stroud, Ruggles kick good 24 21
3rd 2:18 5 7 2:54 OSU Fumble recovery returned 32 yards for touchdown by Haskell Garrett, Ruggles kick good 31 21
4th 10:39 12 47 6:39 MINN 46-yard field goal by Trickett 31 24
4th 9:43 3 75 0:56 OSU TreVeyon Henderson 70-yard touchdown reception from Stroud, Ruggles kick good 38 24
4th 5:31 9 75 4:12 MINN Bryce Williams 2-yard touchdown run, Trickett kick good 38 31
4th 4:39 2 75 0:52 OSU Olave 61-yard touchdown reception from Stroud, Ruggles kick good 45 31
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 45 31

vs No. 14 Wisconsin

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Wisconsin at Minnesota
1 234Total
No. 14 Wisconsin 0 1030 13
Minnesota 3 3143 23
  • Date: November 27, 2021
  • Location:
    Huntington Bank Stadium
    Minneapolis, MN
  • Game start: 4:00 p.m. EST
  • Game attendance: 49,736
  • Game weather: Sunny 38 degrees, Wind NW @ 9 mph
  • TV announcers (FOX): Tim Brando (play by play), Spencer Tillman (analyst)
Statistics Wisconsin Minnesota
First downs 19 16
Plays–yards 60-203 53-278
Rushes–yards 22-62 35-79
Passing yards 171 199
Passing: compattint 21-38-1 11-16-1
Time of possession 29:53 30:07
Team Category Player Statistics
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

vs. West Virginia (Guaranteed Rate Bowl)

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West Virginia Mountaineers (6–6) vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers (8–4) (2021 Guaranteed Rate Bowl)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
West Virginia 0 6 006
Minnesota 0 15 3018

at Chase FieldPhoenix, Arizona

  • Date: Tuesday, December 28, 2021
  • Game time: 10:15 p.m. EST (8:15 p.m. local MST)
  • Game attendance: 21,220
  • TV announcers (ESPN): Dave Flemming (play-by-play), Rod Gilmore (analyst), and Stormy Buonantony (sideline)
  • Box score
Game information
First quarter
No scoring plays
Second quarter
  • 14:19 MIN – Daniel Faalele 2-yard rush, Brock Annexstad conversion rush good. Drive: 7 plays, 54 yards, 4:00. Minnesota 8–0
  • 8:48 WVU – Jarret Doege 1-yard rush, conversion pass incomplete. Drive: 12 plays, 75 yards, 5:31. Minnesota 8–6
  • 2:14 MIN – Ky Thomas 5-yard rush, Matthew Trickett kick good. Drive: 14 plays, 61 yards, 2:17. Minnesota 15–6
Third quarter
  • 5:53 MIN – Matthew Trickett 49-yard field goal. Drive: 8 plays, 39 yards, 4:58. Minnesota 18–6
Fourth quarter
No scoring plays

Statistics

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Statistics WVU MIN
First downs 16 17
Plays–yards 58–206 64–358
Rushes–yards 27–66 51–249
Passing yards 140 109
Passing: compattint 18–31–1 8–13–1
Time of possession 21:31 38:29
Team Category Player Statistics
West Virginia Passing Jarret Doege 18/31, 140 yards, INT
Rushing Tony Mathis Jr. 13 carries, 56 yards
Receiving Sam James 3 receptions, 40 yards
Minnesota Passing Tanner Morgan 8/13, 109 yards, INT
Rushing Ky Thomas 21 carries, 144 yards, TD
Receiving Dylan Wright 2 receptions, 58 yards

References

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  1. ^ "2021 Minnesota Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  2. ^ City News Service - College football drives ABC’s victory in Aug. 30-Sept. 5 Nielsen ratings race. Los Angeles Times, September 8, 2021
  3. ^ Bauder, David - College football's return boosts television ratings. Associated Press, September 9, 2021