# 2009 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

The 2009 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team was the third under head coach Tim Brewster. They began play on September 5, 2009, at Syracuse, a member of the Big East Conference. On September 12, the Minnesota opened the new TCF Bank Stadium with a 20–13 win against Air Force, moving from the Metrodome, which had been their home stadium since 1982. The Golden Gophers finished the season 6–7 and 3–5 in Big Ten play and lost 13–14 to Iowa State in the Insight Bowl. Despite the worse overall record, the Golden Gophers only suffered two blowout losses in the 2009 season (20-0 to Penn State and 38–7 to Ohio State), compared to 3 in 2008 (55–0 to Iowa, 42–21 to Kansas, 29–6 to a 3–9 Michigan team, and one could possibly also include a 34–21 loss to Ohio State that was 34–6 until the Buckeye reserves came in).

## Preseason

The Golden Gophers came off a 7–6 season after starting 7–1, capped by an appearance in the 2008 Insight Bowl. On January 6, offensive coordinator Mike Dunbar resigned and defensive coordinator Ted Roof left Minnesota for Auburn. On January 9, former Nebraska defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove was hired as the co-defensive coordinator, a position he will share with Ronnie Lee. On January 21, Jedd Fisch was named the offensive coordinator. He had previously been the wide receivers coach for the Denver Broncos.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 5 | 11:00 am | at Syracuse* | Carrier DomeSyracuse, NY | ESPN2 | W 23–20 $^{OT}$ | 48,617 |
| September 12 | 6:00 pm | Air Force* | TCF Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN | BTN | W 20–13 | 50,805 |
| September 19 | 11:00 am | No. 8 California* | TCF Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN | ESPN | L 21–35 | 50,805 |
| September 26 | 11:00 am | at Northwestern | Ryan FieldEvanston, IL | BTN | W 35–24 | 22,091 |
| October 3 | 11:00 am | Wisconsin | TCF Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN (Battle for Paul Bunyan's Axe) | ESPN | L 28–31 | 50,805 |
| October 10 | 11:00 am | Purdue | TCF Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN | ESPN2 | W 35–20 | 50,805 |
| October 17 | 2:30 pm | at No. 14 Penn State | Beaver StadiumUniversity Park, PA (Battle for the Governor's Victory Bell) | ABC/ESPN | L 0–20 | 107,981 |
| October 24 | 11:00 am | at No. 18 Ohio State | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | ESPN | L 7–38 | 105,011 |
| October 31 | 7:00 pm | Michigan State | TCF Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN | BTN | W 42–34 | 50,805 |
| November 7 | 11:00 am | Illinois | TCF Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN | BTN | L 32–35 | 50,805 |
| November 14 | 11:00 am | South Dakota State* | TCF Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN | BTN | W 16–13 | 50,805 |
| November 21 | 11:00 am | at No. 15 Iowa | Kinnick StadiumIowa City, IA (Battle for Floyd of Rosedale) | ESPN | L 0–12 | 70,585 |
| December 31 | 5:00 pm | vs. Iowa State* | Sun Devil StadiumTempe, AZ (Insight Bowl) | NFLN | L 13–14 | 45,090 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time |||||||

## Regular season
### Syracuse

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| Golden Gophers | 14 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 23 |
| Orange | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 |

### Air Force

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Falcons | 0 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 13 |
| Golden Gophers | 3 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 20 |

### California

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Bears | 14 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 35 |
| Golden Gophers | 0 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 21 |

### Northwestern

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Gophers | 7 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 35 |
| Wildcats | 3 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 24 |

### Wisconsin

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Badgers | 7 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 31 |
| Golden Gophers | 10 | 3 | 0 | 15 | 28 |

### Purdue

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Boilermakers | 10 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 20 |
| Golden Gophers | 0 | 14 | 21 | 0 | 35 |

### Penn State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Gophers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nittany Lions | 3 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 20 |

### Ohio State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Gophers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| Buckeyes | 0 | 7 | 21 | 10 | 38 |

### Michigan State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Spartans | 3 | 7 | 21 | 3 | 34 |
| Golden Gophers | 14 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 42 |

### Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Fighting Illini | 14 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 35 |
| Golden Gophers | 0 | 7 | 3 | 22 | 32 |

### South Dakota State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Jackrabbits | 0 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 13 |
| Golden Gophers | 6 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 16 |

### Iowa

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Gophers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hawkeyes | 3 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 12 |

## Insight Bowl
### Iowa State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Gophers | 3 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 13 |
| Cyclones | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 |