# 2014 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

The 2014 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented the University of Minnesota in the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by fourth-year head coach Jerry Kill 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 8–5, 5–3 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for second place in the West Division. They were invited to the Citrus Bowl where they lost to Missouri. It was their first New Year's Day bowl game appearance in 53 years, their previous was the 1962 Rose Bowl.

## Preseason

Heading into their fourth off-season, Jerry Kill's coaching staff at Minnesota suffered their first departure as linebackers and assistant head coach Bill Miller accepted the linebackers coach position at Florida State. After a brief coaching search, the Gophers named Mike Sherels the new linebackers coach. Sherels had an extensive history with the University of Minnesota, playing middle linebacker for the team from 2003-2007 and then serving as a special assistant and then defensive graduate assistant under Jerry Kill from 2011-2013.
The Gophers also saw quarterback Philip Nelson leave the team, announcing his transfer to Rutgers University shortly after the conclusion of the 2013 season. During the off season, Nelson was charged with first-degree assault after allegedly kicking Isaac Kolstad in the head during a late-night scuffle in downtown Mankato, Minnesota. These charges led to Nelson's dismissal from the Rutgers Scarlet Knights football program on May 14, 2014.
College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | 40$^‡$ | Commit date |
| Melvin Holland WR | Ashburn, VA | Briar Woods HS | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | 4.5 | Jan 27, 2014 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN: |||||||
| Jeff Jones RB | Minneapolis, MN | Washburn HS | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | 4.7 | Feb 2, 2013 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 80 |||||||
| Connor Mayes OL | Van Alstyne, TX | Van Alstyne HS | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 335 lb (152 kg) | 5.4 | Jun 17, 2013 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN: |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: |||||||

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 28 | 6:00 pm | No. 16 (FCS) Eastern Illinois* | | TCF Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN | BTN | W 42–20 | 44,344 |
| September 6 | 2:30 pm | Middle Tennessee* | | TCF Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN | BTN | W 35–24 | 47,223 |
| September 13 | 3:00 pm | at TCU* | | Amon G. Carter StadiumFort Worth, TX | FS1 | L 7–30 | 43,958 |
| September 20 | 3:00 pm | San Jose State* | | TCF Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN | BTN | W 24–7 | 47,739 |
| September 27 | 2:30 pm | at Michigan | | Michigan StadiumAnn Arbor, MI (Little Brown Jug) | ABC, ESPN2 | W 30–14 | 102,926 |
| October 11 | 11:00 am | Northwestern | | TCF Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN | BTN | W 24–17 | 49,051 |
| October 18 | 11:00 am | Purdue | | TCF Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN | BTN | W 39–38 | 51,241 |
| October 25 | 11:00 am | at Illinois | | Memorial StadiumChampaign, IL | ESPNU | L 24–28 | 44,437 |
| November 8 | 11:00 am | Iowa | | TCF Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN (rivalry) | ESPN2 | W 51–14 | 49,680 |
| November 15 | 11:00 am | No. 8 Ohio State | No. 25 | TCF Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN | ABC | L 24–31 | 45,778 |
| November 22 | 11:00 am | at No. 23 Nebraska | No. 25 | Memorial StadiumLincoln, NE (rivalry) | ESPN | W 28–24 | 91,186 |
| November 29 | 2:30 pm | at No. 14 Wisconsin | No. 18 | Camp Randall StadiumMadison, WI (rivalry) | BTN | L 24–34 | 80,341 |
| January 1 | 12:00 pm | vs. No. 16 Missouri* | No. 25 | Orlando Citrus Bowl StadiumOrlando, FL (Citrus Bowl) | ABC | L 17–33 | 48,624 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after October 28 released prior to gameAll times are in Central time ||||||||

## Game summaries
### Eastern Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| E. Illinois | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 20 |
| • Minnesota | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 | 42 |

### Middle Tennessee

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Mid Tennessee | 0 | 0 | 17 | 7 | 24 |
| • Minnesota | 7 | 21 | 7 | 0 | 35 |

### TCU

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Minnesota | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| • TCU | 10 | 14 | 6 | 0 | 30 |

### San Jose State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| San Jose St | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| • Minnesota | 10 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 24 |

### Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Minnesota | 0 | 10 | 17 | 3 | 30 |
| Michigan | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
* David Cobb 32 Rush, 183 Yds

### Northwestern

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Northwestern | 0 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| • Minnesota | 7 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 24 |

### Purdue

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Purdue | 14 | 17 | 7 | 0 | 38 |
| • Minnesota | 14 | 6 | 16 | 3 | 39 |

### Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Minnesota | 0 | 3 | 21 | 0 | 24 |
| • Illinois | 14 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 28 |

### Iowa

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Iowa | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| • Minnesota | 7 | 28 | 7 | 9 | 51 |

### Ohio State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Ohio St | 14 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 31 |
| Minnesota | 0 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 24 |

### Nebraska

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Minnesota | 7 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 28 |
| Nebraska | 7 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 24 |

### Wisconsin

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Minnesota | 14 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 24 |
| • Wisconsin | 3 | 10 | 7 | 14 | 34 |

### Citrus Bowl

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Missouri | 0 | 10 | 9 | 14 | 33 |
| Minnesota | 7 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 17 |

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Final |
| AP | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | RV | — | — | RV | RV | 22 | RV | RV | RV |
| Coaches | RV | RV | RV | — | — | RV | RV | RV | 24 | RV | RV | RV | RV | 22 | 25 | RV | RV |
| CFP | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | — | — | 25 | 25 | 18 | — | 25 | Not released |

## Players Drafted into the NFL

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | NFL Club |
| 2 | 55 | Maxx Williams | TE | Baltimore Ravens |
| 4 | 127 | Damien Wilson | LB | Dallas Cowboys |
| 5 | 138 | David Cobb | RB | Tennessee Titans |
| 5 | 150 | Cedric Thompson | S | Miami Dolphins |