# 2016 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

The 2016 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented the University of Minnesota in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by first-year head coach Tracy Claeys and played their home games at TCF Bank Stadium. They were a member of the West Division of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 9–4, 5–4 in conference play to finish in fourth place in the West Division. They were invited to the Holiday Bowl where they defeated Washington State.

## Schedule

Minnesota faced all six West Division opponents: Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue, and Wisconsin. The Gophers also faced East Division opponents Maryland, Penn State, and Rutgers. Minnesota played three non-conference games: Oregon State of the Pac-12 Conference, Indiana State of the Missouri Valley Football Conference, and Colorado State of the Mountain West Conference. Minnesota had one bye week during the season between their games against Indiana State and Colorado State.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 1 | 8:00 pm | Oregon State* | TCF Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN | BTN | W 30–23 | 44,582 |
| September 10 | 11:00 am | Indiana State* | TCF Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN | ESPNews | W 58–28 | 41,026 |
| September 24 | 11:00 am | Colorado State* | TCF Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN | ESPNU | W 31–24 | 44,854 |
| October 1 | 2:30 pm | at Penn State | Beaver StadiumUniversity Park, PA (Governor's Victory Bell) | BTN | L 26–29 $^{OT}$ | 95,332 |
| October 8 | 11:00 am | Iowa | TCF Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN (Floyd of Rosedale) | ESPN2 | L 7–14 | 49,145 |
| October 15 | 11:00 am | at Maryland | Maryland StadiumCollege Park, MD | ESPNU | W 31–10 | 41,465 |
| October 22 | 11:00 am | Rutgers | TCF Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN | ESPNU | W 34–32 | 46,096 |
| October 29 | 11:00 am | at Illinois | Memorial StadiumChampaign, IL | BTN | W 40–17 | 40,090 |
| November 5 | 2:30 pm | Purdue | TCF Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN | BTN | W 44–31 | 42,832 |
| November 12 | 6:30 pm | at No. 21 Nebraska | Memorial StadiumLincoln, NE ($5 Bits of Broken Chair Trophy) | BTN | L 17–24 | 90,456 |
| November 19 | 2:30 pm | Northwestern | TCF Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN | BTN | W 29–12 | 38,162 |
| November 26 | 2:30 pm | at No. 5 Wisconsin | Camp Randall StadiumMadison, WI (Paul Bunyan's Axe) | BTN | L 17–31 | 77,216 |
| December 27 | 6:00 pm | vs. Washington State* | Qualcomm StadiumSan Diego, CA (Holiday Bowl) | ESPN | W 17–12 | 48,704 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time |||||||

## Game summaries
### Oregon State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Beavers | 7 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 23 |
| Golden Gophers | 0 | 17 | 0 | 13 | 30 |

### Indiana State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Sycamores | 7 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 28 |
| Golden Gophers | 14 | 24 | 10 | 10 | 58 |

### Colorado State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Rams | 7 | 0 | 10 | 7 | 24 |
| Golden Gophers | 7 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 31 |

### At Penn State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| Golden Gophers | 3 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 26 |
| Nittany Lions | 0 | 3 | 17 | 3 | 6 | 29 |

### Iowa

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Hawkeyes | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 14 |
| Golden Gophers | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |

### At Maryland

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Gophers | 0 | 14 | 3 | 14 | 31 |
| Terrapins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 10 |

### Rutgers

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Scarlet Knights | 3 | 7 | 13 | 9 | 32 |
| Golden Gophers | 21 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 34 |

### At Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Gophers | 14 | 0 | 7 | 19 | 40 |
| Fighting Illini | 7 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 17 |

### Purdue

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Boilermakers | 14 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 31 |
| Golden Gophers | 10 | 13 | 7 | 14 | 44 |

### At #21 Nebraska

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Gophers | 7 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| #21 Cornhuskers | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 24 |

### Northwestern

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Wildcats | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 12 |
| Golden Gophers | 6 | 6 | 3 | 14 | 29 |

### At #6 Wisconsin

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Gophers | 3 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| #6 Badgers | 0 | 7 | 3 | 21 | 31 |

### Washington State–Holiday Bowl

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Gophers | 0 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 17 |
| Cougars | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 12 |

## Personnel
### Coaching sStaff

| Name | Position | Alma mater | Joined Staff |
| Tracy Claeys | Head coach | Kansas State (1994) | 2010 |
| Brian Anderson | Wide receivers coach | Illinois (1994) | 2010 |
| Jay Johnson | Offensive coordinator / quarterbacks coach | Northern Iowa (1993) | 2015 |
| Bart Miller | Offensive line coach | New Mexico (2007) | 2015 |
| Jeff Phelps | Defensive line coach | Ball State (1997) | 2010 |
| Pat Poore | Running backs coach / co-special team coordinator | Fort Hays State (1984) | 2010 |
| Rob Reeves | H-backs coach / tight ends coach | Saginaw Valley State (1996) | 2010 |
| Jay Sawvel | Defensive coordinator | Mount Union (1993) | 2010 |
| Mike Sherels | Linebackers coach | Minnesota (2007) | 2013 |
| Dan O'Brien | Assistant Defensive Backs / co-special team coordinator / assistant head coach | St. Thomas (1987) | 2010 |
| Eric Klein | Strength and conditioning | Carleton College (1993) | 2010 |

### Roster
## Awards and honors

Weekly Awards :
| Player | Award | Date Awarded |
| Emmit Carpenter | Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week | October 3, 2016 |
| Rodney Smith | Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week | October 24, 2016 |
| Emmit Carpenter | Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week | November 7, 2016 |
| Blake Cashman | Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week | November 21, 2016 |

## Players drafted into the NFL

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | NFL Club |
| 7 | 222 | Jalen Myrick | CB | Jacksonville Jaguars |