# 2017 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

The 2017 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented the University of Minnesota during the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Gophers were led by first-year head coach P. J. Fleck and played their home games at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Minnesota competed as a member of the West Division of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 5–7, 2–7 in Big Ten play to finish in sixth place in the West Division.

## Recruiting
### Position key

| Back | B | Center | C | Cornerback | CB | Defensive back | DB |
| Defensive end | DE | Defensive lineman | DL | Defensive tackle | DT | End | E |
| Fullback | FB | Guard | G | Halfback | HB | Kicker | K |
| Kickoff returner | KR | Offensive tackle | OT | Offensive lineman | OL | Linebacker | LB |
| Long snapper | LS | Punter | P | Punt returner | PR | Quarterback | QB |
| Running back | RB | Safety | S | Tight end | TE | Wide receiver | WR |

### Recruits

The Gophers signed a total of 26 recruits.
US college sports recruiting information for 2017 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Blaise Andries OT | Marshall, Minnesota | Marshall HS | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 280 lb (130 kg) | Apr 9, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Eric Abojei OT | Minneapolis, Minnesota | Robbinsdale Cooper HS | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Apr 17, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Grant Ryerse K | Woodbury, Minnesota | East Ridge HS | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | Jun 8, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Dominik London RB | Woodbury, Minnesota | East Ridge HS | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | 196 lb (89 kg) | Jun 15, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Nathan Bursch TE | Woodbury, Minnesota | Woodbury HS | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 235 lb (107 kg) | Jun 20, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Neil McLaurin QB | Laurel, Mississippi | West Jones HS/Southwest Mississippi Community College | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Dec 11, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Tanner Morgan QB | Union, Kentucky | Ryle HS | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 203 lb (92 kg) | Jan 6, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Esezi Otomewo DE | Indianapolis, Indiana | Ben Davis HS | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Jan 6, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Trenton Guthrie LB | Pinckney, Michigan | Northville HS | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 204 lb (93 kg) | Jan 6, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| John Schmitz OG | Flossmoor, Illinois | Homewood-Flossmoor HS | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 285 lb (129 kg) | Jan 6, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Noah Hickcox DE | Rockford, Illinois | Boylan Catholic HS | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 279 lb (127 kg) | Jan 6, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Chris Autman-Bell WR | Kankakee, Illinois | Bishop McNamara HS | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 178 lb (81 kg) | Jan 6, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: N/A |||||||
| Mohamed Ibrahim RB | Olney, Maryland | Good Counsel HS | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | 178 lb (81 kg) | Jan 8, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Kyle Sassack OT | Pontiac, Michigan | Notre Dame Prep | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 270 lb (120 kg) | Jan 8, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Nate Ulmor TE | Allendale, Michigan | Allendale HS | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 270 lb (120 kg) | Jan 8, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Jacob Paulson TE | Louisville, Kentucky | Christian Academy of Louisville | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 245 lb (111 kg) | Jan 11, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Demetrius Douglas CB | Portland, Oregon | Jesuit HS | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 173 lb (78 kg) | Jan 14, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Harrison Van Dyke WR | Stilwell, Kansas | Blue Valley HS | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Jan 15, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: N/A |||||||
| Reyondous Estes QB | East Saint Louis, Illinois | East St. Louis HS | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 164 lb (74 kg) | Jan 18, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Kendarian Handy-Holly S | Jackson, Alabama | Jackson HS | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 192 lb (87 kg) | Jan 21, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Adam Beck CB | Richmond, Texas | George Ranch HS | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Jan 22, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Austin Schirck DT | Carroll, Iowa | Carroll HS | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 265 lb (120 kg) | Jan 29, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A |||||||
| Justus Harris CB | Roswell, Georgia | Roswell HS | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Jan 29, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A |||||||
| Royal Silver DT | Cedar Rapids, Iowa | Iowa Western Community College | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 290 lb (130 kg) | Jan 29, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: N/A |||||||
| Malcolm Robinson DT | Massillon, Ohio | Massillon Washington HS | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 280 lb (130 kg) | Jan 30, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Boye Mafe DE | Minnetonka, Minnesota | Hopkins HS | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 225 lb (102 kg) | Feb 1, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A |||||||
| 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: "Minnesota Football Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 1, 2017. "2017 Minnesota Football Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved February 1, 2017. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 1, 2017. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved February 1, 2017. "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 1, 2017. |||||||

## Schedule

The Gophers' 2017 schedule consisted of 7 home games and 5 away games. Minnesota hosted two of its non-conference games; against Buffalo from the MAC and against Middle Tennessee from Conference USA; the Gophers played on the road against Oregon State from the Pac-12.
The Gophers played nine conference games; they hosted Maryland, Michigan State, Illinois, Nebraska, and Wisconsin. They traveled to Purdue, Iowa, and Michigan, and Northwestern.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 31 | 6:00 p.m. | Buffalo* | TCF Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN | BTN | W 17–7 | 43,224 |
| September 9 | 9:00 p.m. | at Oregon State* | Reser StadiumCorvallis, OR | FS1 | W 48–14 | 35,206 |
| September 16 | 2:30 p.m. | Middle Tennessee* | TCF Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN | BTN | W 34–3 | 43,727 |
| September 30 | 11:00 a.m. | Maryland | TCF Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN | FS1 | L 24–31 | 43,511 |
| October 7 | 2:30 p.m. | at Purdue | Ross–Ade StadiumWest Lafayette, IN | ESPN2 | L 17–31 | 42,085 |
| October 14 | 7:00 p.m. | No. 21 Michigan State | TCF Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN | BTN | L 27–30 | 47,541 |
| October 21 | 2:30 p.m. | Illinois | TCF Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN | BTN | W 24–17 | 45,243 |
| October 28 | 5:30 p.m. | at Iowa | Kinnick StadiumIowa City, IA (rivalry) | FS1 | L 10–17 | 66,292 |
| November 4 | 6:30 p.m. | at Michigan | Michigan StadiumAnn Arbor, MI (Little Brown Jug) | FOX | L 10–33 | 111,090 |
| November 11 | 11:00 a.m. | Nebraska | TCF Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN (rivalry) | FS1 | W 54–21 | 39,933 |
| November 18 | 11:00 a.m. | at Northwestern | Ryan FieldEvanston, IL | BTN | L 0–39 | 30,014 |
| November 25 | 2:30 p.m. | No. 5 Wisconsin | TCF Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN (rivalry) | ABC | L 0–31 | 47,327 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time |||||||

## Game summaries
### Buffalo

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bulls | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Golden Gophers | 14 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 17 |

### At Oregon State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Gophers | 10 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 48 |
| Beavers | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 |

### Middle Tennessee

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Blue Raiders | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Golden Gophers | 3 | 17 | 7 | 7 | 34 |

### Maryland

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Terrapins | 7 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 31 |
| Golden Gophers | 0 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 24 |

### At Purdue

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Gophers | 7 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 17 |
| Boilermakers | 6 | 0 | 7 | 18 | 31 |

### Michigan State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 21 Spartans | 10 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 30 |
| Golden Gophers | 6 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 27 |

### Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Fighting Illini | 7 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 17 |
| Golden Gophers | 7 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 24 |

### At Iowa

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Gophers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 10 |
| Hawkeyes | 7 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 17 |

### At Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Gophers | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 |
| Wolverines | 13 | 7 | 13 | 0 | 33 |

### Nebraska

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cornhuskers | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
| Golden Gophers | 14 | 16 | 10 | 14 | 54 |

### At Northwestern

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Gophers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wildcats | 0 | 25 | 7 | 7 | 39 |

### Wisconsin

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 5 Badgers | 7 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 31 |
| Golden Gophers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |