# 2022 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

The 2022 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented the University of Minnesota during the 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Golden Gophers played their home games at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and competed as members of the Big Ten Conference. They were led by head coach P. J. Fleck, in his sixth season.

## Offseason

Positions key :
| C | Center | CB | Cornerback | DB | Defensive back | DE | Defensive end |
| DL | Defensive lineman | DT | Defensive tackle | FB | Fullback | FS | Free safety |
| G | Guard | K | Kicker | KR | Kickoff returner | LB | Linebacker |
| LS | Long snapper | MLB | Middle linebacker | OT | Offensive tackle | OL | Offensive lineman |
| OLB | Outside linebacker | NT | Nose tackle | P | Punter | PR | Punt returner |
| QB | Quarterback | RS | Return specialist | RB | Running back | S | Safety |
| SS | Strong safety | TE | Tight end | WR | Wide receiver |
* 1 2 May sometimes be referred to as an edge rusher (EDGE)
* ↑ Also known as offensive guard (OG)
* ↑ Also known as placekicker (PK)
* ↑ Also known as inside linebacker (ILB)

### 2022 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Zach Evans RB | Heath, Texas | Rockwall-Heath High School | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Jun 11, 2021 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 78 ||||||
| Hayden Schwartz DT | Jacksonville, Florida | The Bolles School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 245 lb (111 kg) | Dec 12, 2021 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 78 ||||||
| Cade McConnell OL | Choctaw, Oklahoma | Choctaw High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 300 lb (140 kg) | Dec 12, 2021 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 77 ||||||
| Ike White WR | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Saint Frances Academy | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Jun 16, 2021 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 80 ||||||
| Rhyland Kelly CB | Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada | Clear Water Academy | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Jun 20, 2021 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 78 ||||||
| Tariq Watson CB | Gretna, Louisiana | Helen Cox High School | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Jun 20, 2021 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 76 ||||||
| Coleman Bryson S | Waynesville, North Carolina | Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Mar 21, 2021 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 76 ||||||
| Maverick Baranowski LB | Ponce Inlet, Florida | Spruce Creek High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Dec 12, 2021 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 72 ||||||
| Spencer Alvarez TE | Columbia Heights, Minnesota | Columbia Heights High School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 260 lb (120 kg) | Jun 10, 2021 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 72 ||||||
| Trey Bixby DE | Eden Prairie, Minnesota | Eden Prairie High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 259 lb (117 kg) | Aug 13, 2020 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 80 ||||||
| Anthony Smith DE | Shippensburg, Pennsylvania | Shippensburg High School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 280 lb (130 kg) | Jun 21, 2021 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 78 ||||||
| Jacob Knuth QB | Harrisburg, South Dakota | Harrisburg High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Feb 27, 2021 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 78 ||||||
| Aidan Gousby ATH | Lehigh Acres, Florida | Lehigh Senior High School | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Jun 20, 2021 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 79 ||||||
| Kristen Hoskins WR | Alexandria, Minnesota | Alexandria High School | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Feb 19, 2021 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 77 ||||||
| Ashton Beers OL | Slinger, Wisconsin | Slinger High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 300 lb (140 kg) | Dec 5, 2021 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 74 ||||||
| Tony Nelson OT | Tracy, Minnesota | Tracy-Milory-Balaton High School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 280 lb (130 kg) | Mar 7, 2021 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 73 ||||||
| Joey Gerlach LB | Woodbury, Minnesota | Woodbury High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Nov 30, 2021 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 74 ||||||
| Nathan Jones OT / TE | Brock, Texas | Brock High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 235 lb (107 kg) | Oct 26, 2021 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 74 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: 49 247Sports: 53 ||||||
| 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: "Rivals commits". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 2, 2022. "ESPN commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 2, 2022. "2022 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 2, 2022. "247Sports commits". 247sports.com. Retrieved February 2, 2022. ||||||

## Schedule

Minnesota announced its 2022 football schedule on January 12, 2022. The 2022 schedule will consist of seven home games and five away games in the regular season. The Gophers will host Big Ten foes Purdue, Rutgers, Northwestern, and Iowa and will travel to Michigan State, Illinois, Penn State, Nebraska, and Wisconsin.
The Golden Gophers will host all of the three non-conference opponents, New Mexico State from the FBS Independents, Western Illinois from Division I FCS and Colorado from the Pac-12.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 1 | 8:00 p.m. | New Mexico State* | | Huntington Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN | BTN Mark Followill, Matt Millen, Elise Menaker | W 38–0 | 44,012 |
| September 10 | 11:00 a.m. | Western Illinois* | | Huntington Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN | BTN Jason Ross, Jr., Brock Vereen, Emily Ehman | W 62–10 | 43,859 |
| September 17 | 2:30 p.m. | Colorado* | | Huntington Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN | ESPNews/ESPN2 Beth Mowins, Kirk Morrison, Stormy Buonantony | W 49–7 | 42,101 |
| September 24 | 2:30 p.m. | at Michigan State | | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI | BTN Brandon Gaudin, Joshua Perry, Rick Pizzo | W 34–7 | 74,587 |
| October 1 | 11:00 a.m. | Purdue | No. 21 | Huntington Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN | ESPN2 Anish Shroff, Brock Osweiler, Taylor McGregor | L 10–20 | 48,288 |
| October 15 | 11:00 a.m. | at No. 24 Illinois | | Memorial StadiumChampaign, IL | BTN Brandon Gaudin, Jake Butt, Rick Pizzo | L 14–26 | 45,683 |
| October 22 | 6:30 p.m. | at No. 16 Penn State | | Beaver StadiumUniversity Park, PA (rivalry) | ESPNews/ABC Joe Tessitore, Greg McElroy, Katie George | L 17–45 | 109,813 |
| October 29 | 1:30 p.m. | Rutgers | | Huntington Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN | BTN Cory Provus, Matt Millen, Rick Pizzo | W 31–0 | 49,368 |
| November 5 | 11:00 a.m. | at Nebraska | | Memorial StadiumLincoln, NE (rivalry) | ESPN2 Anish Shroff, Brock Osweiler, Taylor McGregor | W 20–13 | 86,284 |
| November 12 | 2:30 p.m. | Northwestern | | Huntington Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN | BTN Jeff Levering, Matt Millen, Elise Menaker | W 31–3 | 41,686 |
| November 19 | 3:00 p.m. | Iowa | | Huntington Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN (rivalry) | FOX Tim Brando, Spencer Tillman | L 10–13 | 45,816 |
| November 26 | 2:30 p.m. | at Wisconsin | | Camp Randall StadiumMadison, WI (rivalry) | ESPN Brian Custer, Dustin Fox, Lauren Sisler | W 23–16 | 75,728 |
| December 29 | 1:00 p.m. | vs. Syracuse* | | Yankee StadiumBronx, NY (Pinstripe Bowl) | ESPN/ESPN Radio Wes Durham, Roddy Jones, Taylor Davis/Chris Carlin, Mark Herzlich, Dawn Davenport | W 28–20 | 31,131 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time ||||||||

## Game summaries
### New Mexico State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Aggies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Gophers | 7 | 17 | 14 | 0 | 38 |
at Huntington Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minnesota
* Date: September 1
* Game time: 7:00 p.m. MDT/8:00 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: Clear • Temperature: 83 °F (28 °C) • Wind: N 7 MPH
* Game attendance: 44,012
* Referee: Mark Kluczynski
* TV announcers (BTN): Mark Followill (play-by-play), Matt Millen (analyst), and Elise Menaker (sideline)
* Box score
Statistics
| Statistics | NMSU | MINN |
| First downs | 6 | 31 |
| Total yards | 91 | 485 |
| Rushing yards | 38 | 297 |
| Passing yards | 53 | 188 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 15:30 | 44:30 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| New Mexico State | Passing | Gavin Frakes | 2/7, 43 yards, INT |
| New Mexico State | Rushing | Diego Pavia | 3 rushes, 14 yards |
| New Mexico State | Receiving | Justice Powers | 1 reception, 34 yards |
| Minnesota | Passing | Tanner Morgan | 13/19, 174 yards |
| Minnesota | Rushing | Mohamed Ibrahim | 21 rushes, 132 yards, 2 TD |
| Minnesota | Receiving | Mike Brown-Stephens | 3 receptions, 52 yards |

### Western Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Leathernecks | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
| Golden Gophers | 14 | 17 | 21 | 10 | 62 |

### Colorado

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Buffaloes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| Golden Gophers | 14 | 21 | 7 | 7 | 49 |
at Huntington Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, MN
* Date: September 17, 2022
* Game time: 2:30 p.m. CST
* Game weather: Partly cloudy, 77 °F (25 °C)
* Game attendance: 42,101
* Referee: Ron Snodgrass
* TV announcers (ESPNews/ESPN): Beth Mowins (play-by-play), Kirk Morrison (analyst), and Stormy Buonantony (sideline)
| Statistics | COL | MINN |
| First downs | 14 | 29 |
| Total yards | 226 | 500 |
| Rushes/yards | 34–136 | 52–334 |
| Passing yards | 90 | 166 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 10–24–0 | 12–20–1 |
| Time of possession | 23:53 | 36:07 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Colorado | Passing | Owen McCown | 4/7, 52 yards |
| Colorado | Rushing | Deion Smith | 10 carries, 70 yards |
| Colorado | Receiving | Jaylon Jackson | 1 reception, 28 yards |
| Minnesota | Passing | Tanner Morgan | 11/16, 157 yards, 3 TD, INT |
| Minnesota | Rushing | Mohamed Ibrahim | 23 carries, 202 yards, 3 TD |
| Minnesota | Receiving | Chris Autman-Bell | 3 receptions, 58 yards, TD |

### At Michigan State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Gophers | 14 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 34 |
| Spartans | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
at Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI
* Date: September 24, 2022
* Game time: 3:40 p.m.
* Game weather: 61 °F (16 °C), Cloudy, Wind: S 3 mph (4.8 km/h)
* Game attendance: 74,587
* Referee: Jeffrey Servinski
* TV announcers (BTN): Brandon Gaudin (play-by-play), Joshua Perry (analyst), and Rick Pizzo (sideline)
* Sources:
Game information :
First Quarter
(09:50) MINN TD: Mohamed Ibrahim 2-yard run (Matthew Trickett kick) MINN 7–0; 10 plays, 75 yards, 5:10
(02:57) MINN TD: Daniel Jackson 23-yard pass from Tanner Morgan (Matthew Trickett kick) NINN 14–0; 9 plays, 77 yards, 5:01
Second Quarter
(10:14) MINN FG: Matthew Trickett 26-yard field goal MINN 17–0; 12 plays, 66 yards, 6:15
Third Quarter
(03:26) MINN TD: Nick Kallerup 6-yard pass from Tanner Mortgan MINN 24–0; 12 plays, 90 yards, 6:53
Fourth Quarter
(14L08) MINN TD: Daniel Jackson 4-yard pass from Tanner Morgan (Matthew Trickett kick) MINN 31–0; 6 plays, 28 yards, 3:44
(01:48) MINN FG: Matthew Trickett 22-yard field goal MINN 34–0; 15 plays, 76 yards, 10:37
(00:17) MSU TD: Germie Bernard 27-yard pass from Noah Kim (Jack Stone kick) MINN 34–7; 8 plays 75 yards, 1:31
Passing
MINN – Tanner Morgan: 23/26, 268 yards, 3 TD
MSU – Payton Thorne: 17/24, 132 yards, 2 INT
Rushing
MINN – Mohamed Ibrahim: 22 carries, 110 yards, 1 TD
MSU – Jarek Broussard: 6 carries, 23 yards
Receiving
MINN – Michael Brown-Stephens: 6 receptions, 73 yards
MSU – Cade McDonald: 3 receptions, 31yards, :

### Purdue

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Boilermakers | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 20 |
| No. 21 Golden Gophers | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 10 |

### At No. 24 Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Gophers | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| No. 24 Fighting Illini | 7 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 26 |

### At No. 16 Penn State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Gophers | 3 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| No. 16 Nittany Lions | 0 | 17 | 21 | 7 | 45 |
at Beaver Stadium, University Park, Pennsylvania
* Date: October 22
* Game time: 6:30 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: 58 °F (14 °C), partly cloudy
* Game attendance: 109,813
* Referee: Larry Smith
* TV announcers (ESPNews/ABC): Joe Tessitore (play-by-play), Greg McElroy (analyst), and Katie George (sideline)
* ESPN box score, GoPSUsports.com box score
| Statistics | UM | PSU |
| First downs | 16 | 24 |
| Plays–yards | 68–340 | 67–479 |
| Rushes–yards | 46–165 | 34–175 |
| Passing yards | 175 | 304 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 9–22–1 | 24–33–1 |
| Time of possession | 31:30 | 28:30 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Minnesota | Passing | Athan Kaliakmanis | 9/22, 175 yards, TD, INT |
| Minnesota | Rushing | Mohamed Ibrahim | 30 carries, 102 yards, TD |
| Minnesota | Receiving | Brevyn Spann-Ford | 5 receptions, 68 yards, TD |
| Penn State | Passing | Sean Clifford | 23/31, 295 yards, 4 TD, INT |
| Penn State | Rushing | Nicholas Singleton | 13 carries, 79 yards, 2 TD |
| Penn State | Receiving | Theo Johnson | 5 receptions, 75 yards, TD |

### Rutgers

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Scarlet Knights | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Gophers | 0 | 14 | 0 | 17 | 31 |

### At Nebraska

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Gophers | 0 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 20 |
| Cornhuskers | 10 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 13 |
at Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE
* Date: November 5, 2022
* Game time: 11:00 a.m.
* Game weather: Sunny, 40 °F (4 °C)
* Game attendance: 86,284
* Referee: Mark Kluczynski
* TV announcers (ESPN2): Anish Shroff (play-by-play), Brock Osweiler (analyst), and Taylor McGregor (sideline)
* Sources: gophersports.com
| Statistics | MINN | NEB |
| First downs | 18 | 13 |
| Total yards | 300 | 267 |
| Rushes/yards | 45–125 | 35–146 |
| Passing yards | 175 | 121 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 12–20–0 | 11–26–1 |
| Time of possession | 34:41 | 25:19 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Minnesota | Passing | Athan Kaliakmanis | 6/12, 137 yards |
| Minnesota | Rushing | Mohamed Ibrahim | 32 carries, 128 yards, 2 TD |
| Minnesota | Receiving | Daniel Jackson | 5 receptions, 88 yards |
| Nebraska | Passing | Logan Smothers | 5/10, 80 yards |
| Nebraska | Rushing | Anthony Grant | 21 carries, 115 yards |
| Nebraska | Receiving | Marcus Washington | 2 receptions, 63 yards |

### Northwestern

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Wildcats | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Golden Gophers | 7 | 7 | 3 | 14 | 31 |

### Iowa

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Hawkeyes | 10 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 13 |
| Golden Gophers | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 10 |

### At Wisconsin

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Gophers | 7 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 23 |
| Badgers | 3 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 16 |
at Camp Randall Stadium, Madison, Wisconsin
* Date: November 26, 2022
* Game time: 2:34 p.m.
* Game weather: 51 °F (11 °C) • Wind: SW at 15 miles per hour (24 km/h) • Weather: Sunny
* Game attendance: 75,728
* Referee: Michael Cannon
* TV announcers (ESPN): Brian Custer (play-by-play), Dustin Fox (analyst), and Lauren Sisler (sideline)
Game information :
First quarter
WIS – Nate Van Zelst 40-yard field goal, 9:39 Wisconsin 3-0, Drive: 11 plays, 53 yards, 5:21
MIN - Daniel Jackson 6-yard pass from Athan Kaliakmanis (Matthew Trickett Kick), 3:45 Minnesota 7-3, Drive: 10 plays, 81 yards, 5:49
Second quarter
WIS – Nate Van Zelst 43-yard field goal, 8:51 Minnesota 7-6, Drive: 12 plays, 65 yards, 6:04
MIN – Matthew Trickett 25-yard field goal, 0:00 Minnesota 10-6, Drive: 13 plays, 75 yards, 4:40
Third quarter
MIN – Matthew Trickett 50-yard field goal, 10:59 Minnesota 13-6, Drive: 8 plays, 49 yards, 3:56
WIS – Nate Van Zelst 36-yard field goal, 7:58 Minnesota 13-10, Drive: 9 plays, 57 yards, 3:01
WIS – Chimere Dike 9-yard run (Nate Van Zelst kick), 3:14 Wisconsin 16-13, Drive: 6 plays, 54 yards, 3:07
Fourth quarter
MIN – Matthew Trickett 27-yard field goal, 7:58 Tie 16-16, Drive: 9 plays, 69 yards, 3:03
MIN - Le'Meke Brockington 45-yard pass from Athan Kaliakmanis (Matthew Trickett Kick), 3:40 Minnesota 23-16, Drive: 6 plays, 71 yards, 2:41
Top passers
MIN – Athan Kaliakmanis – 19/29, 319 yards, 2 TD
WIS – Graham Mertz – 16/27, 170 yards, INT
Top rushers
MIN – Mohamed Ibrahim – 27 carries, 70 yards
WIS – Chez Mellusi – 19 carries, 75 yards
Top receivers
MIN – Brevyn Spann-Ford – 7 receptions, 95 yards
WIS – Chimere Dike – 5 receptions, 52 yards
Top defenders
MIN – Justin Walley – 4 tackles, INT
WIS – Maema Njongmeta – 12 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 0.5 sack, QB hurry :

### Vs. Syracuse (Pinstripe Bowl)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Orange | 0 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 20 |
| Golden Gophers | 0 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 28 |

## 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 |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Final |
| AP | RV | RV | RV | RV | 21 | RV | RV | RV | — | RV | — | RV | — | RV | RV | RV |
| Coaches | RV | RV | RV | RV | 23 | RV | RV | — | — | — | RV | RV | — | RV | RV | RV |
| CFP | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | — | — | — | — | — | — | Not released |