# 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.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 2 | 7:00 p.m. | No. 4 Ohio State | | Huntington Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN | FOX | L 31–45 | 50,805 |
| September 11 | 11:00 a.m. | Miami (OH)* | | Huntington Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN | ESPNU | W 31–26 | 43,372 |
| September 18 | 12:00 p.m. | at Colorado* | | Folsom FieldBoulder, CO | P12N | W 30–0 | 47,482 |
| September 25 | 11:00 a.m. | Bowling Green* | | Huntington Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN | ESPNU | L 10–14 | 46,236 |
| October 2 | 11:00 a.m. | at Purdue | | Ross–Ade StadiumWest Lafayette, IN | BTN | W 20–13 | 51,111 |
| October 16 | 11:00 a.m. | Nebraska | | Huntington Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN ($5 Bits of Broken Chair Trophy) | ESPN2 | W 30–23 | 45,436 |
| October 23 | 2:30 p.m. | Maryland | | Huntington Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN | ESPN2 | W 34–16 | 41,011 |
| October 30 | 2:30 p.m. | at Northwestern | | Ryan FieldEvanston, IL | BTN | W 41–14 | 28,158 |
| November 6 | 11:00 a.m. | Illinois | No. 20 | Huntington Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN | ESPN2 | L 6–14 | 46,382 |
| November 13 | 2:30 p.m. | at No. 20 Iowa | | Kinnick StadiumIowa City, IA (Floyd of Rosedale) | BTN | L 22–27 | 69,250 |
| November 20 | 2:30 p.m. | at Indiana | | Memorial StadiumBloomington, IN | BTN | W 35–14 | 38,079 |
| November 27 | 3:00 p.m. | No. 14 Wisconsin | | Huntington Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN (Paul Bunyan's Axe) | FOX | W 23–13 | 49,736 |
| December 28 | 9:15 p.m. | vs. West Virginia* | | Chase FieldPhoenix, AZ (Guaranteed Rate Bowl) | ESPN | W 18–6 | 21,220 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from AP Poll (and CFP Rankings, after November 2) - Released prior to gameAll times are in Central time ||||||||

## Game summaries
### vs No. 4 Ohio State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 4 Ohio State | 7 | 3 | 21 | 14 | 45 |
| Minnesota | 0 | 14 | 7 | 10 | 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. That is the largest audience for an opening-week college football telecast on Fox.
| 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: comp–att–int | 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 |
| Ohio State | Rushing | Miyan Williams | 9 car, 125 yds, 1 TD |
| Ohio State | Receiving | Chris Olave | 4 receptions, 117 yds, 2 TD |
| Minnesota | Passing | Tanner Morgan | 14-25, 205 yds, 1 TD |
| Minnesota | Rushing | Mohamed Ibrahim | 30 car, 153 yds, 2 TD |
| Minnesota | Receiving | Daniel Jackson | 3 rec, 58 yds |
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | 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. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 45 | 31 |

### vs No. 14 Wisconsin

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 14 Wisconsin | 0 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 13 |
| • Minnesota | 3 | 3 | 14 | 3 | 23 |
| Statistics | Wisconsin | Minnesota |
| 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 |
| Wisconsin | Passing | Graham Mertz | 21-38, 162 yds, 1 INT |
| Wisconsin | Rushing | Braelon Allen | 17 car, 47 yds |
| Wisconsin | Receiving | Danny Davis III | 5 rec, 60 yds |
| Minnesota | Passing | Tanner Morgan | 11-16, 199 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT |
| Minnesota | Rushing | Ky Thomas | 18 car, 55 yds, 1 TD |
| Minnesota | Receiving | Brevyn Spann-Ford | 3 rec, 62 yds |

### vs. West Virginia (Guaranteed Rate Bowl)

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| West Virginia | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Minnesota | 0 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 18 |
at Chase Field • Phoenix, 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

### Statistics

| Statistics | WVU | MIN |
| First downs | 16 | 17 |
| Plays–yards | 58–206 | 64–358 |
| Rushes–yards | 27–66 | 51–249 |
| Passing yards | 140 | 109 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 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 |
| West Virginia | Rushing | Tony Mathis Jr. | 13 carries, 56 yards |
| West Virginia | Receiving | Sam James | 3 receptions, 40 yards |
| Minnesota | Passing | Tanner Morgan | 8/13, 109 yards, INT |
| Minnesota | Rushing | Ky Thomas | 21 carries, 144 yards, TD |
| Minnesota | Receiving | Dylan Wright | 2 receptions, 58 yards |