2006 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team The 2006 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented the University of Minnesota in the college football season of 2006 – 2007 . Coached by Glen Mason , the Gophers played their home games at the Metrodome in Minneapolis , Minnesota , as they had since Memorial Stadium closed after the 1981 season . Mason was fired on December 31 , 2006 , two days after the Gophers ' epic collapse in the last 20 minutes of the Insight Bowl against Texas Tech , which saw Minnesota blow a 38 – 7 lead to lose 44 – 41 in overtime . The Tech comeback was the biggest in NCAA Division I - A postseason history . Previous season . 2005 was the ninth season under head coach Glen Mason . He led the team to a 7 – 5 record and an appearance in the Music City Bowl . The most notable game of the season came when Minnesota defeated Michigan for the first time in 19 years to win the Little Brown Jug . Pre - season . The 2006 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team received votes in the Coaches ' Poll . Schedule . Game notes . Kent State . " All - time record against Kent State : 1 – 0 – 0 ( First Meeting ) " This was the season opener for the Minnesota Golden Gophers . It was played on a Thursday in Kent , Ohio in Dix Stadium . The Golden Gophers were quite successful in the game , scoring on seven of their ten drives . The Golden Gophers dominated this game from the start of the game to the finish . Converted linebacker Alex Daniels rushed for 155 yards and 3 touchdowns . Kent State additionally had six of their ten drives ended by turnovers . Minnesota averaged a starting position of their own 36 yard line , 16 yards better than the Golden Flashes . Interestingly , this game was a homecoming for Minnesota head coach Glen Mason , whose first head coaching job was at Kent State . Kent State is currently 6 – 5 . California . " All - time record against California : 2 – 3 – 0 " The Golden Gophers faced off against their first team from a BCS since the 2000 season , and the first time the Minnesota Golden Gophers faced off against a team from the Pac - 10 in the regular season since 1988 . The Golden Gophers and Golden Bears remained close until the California scored twice in a three - minute span in the second quarter . The Gophers did manage a field - goal to close the second half , but were unable to find the red - zone in the second half . Golden Gophers quarterback Bryan Cupito did manage to pass for 243 yards with a 64 % completion percentage . However , he had two interceptions and no touchdowns . Dominic Jones did manage to score on a kick - off return . California is currently 8 – 3 . Temple . " All - time record against Temple : 1 – 0 – 0 " The Golden Gophers had their highest scoring game since September 2003 , as they dominated the Temple Owls . The Golden Gophers were led by Bryan Cupito , who had 8 completions on 10 attempts , with 148 yards passing and 4 touchdowns . Additionally , the Gopher rushing attack combined for 284 yards rushing . Temple only twice advanced into Minnesota ' s side of the field . Additionally , the starting position of the Owls was 29 yards worse than the Golden Gophers . The win was the Gophers ' twelfth straight victory in a home opener . Temple finished the 2006 season 1 – 11 . Purdue . " All - time record against Purdue : 31 – 29 – 3 " The Golden Gophers opened up the 2006 Big Ten season against Purdue . The Gophers had beat the Boilermakers in a double - overtime game the previous season . Amir Pinnix rushed for 183 yards on the day , but did not score once . Notably , the Gophers and Boilermakers had identical amounts of offensive output ( 421 yards ) . But the Golden Gophers turned the ball over twice , in comparison to no turnovers for the Boilermakers . Purdue was led by Curtis Painter who completed 67 % of his passes for 243 yards and 2 touchdowns . This game marked the first time the Gophers had lost their first Big Ten game of the season since 2002 , when they lost to Purdue . Michigan . " All - time record against Michigan : 24 – 68 – 3 " Minnesota came into the oldest trophy game in college football with a rare opportunity . The Gophers had not won two straight games against the University of Michigan since 1962 and 1963 . Michigan came into the game highly ranked in both the AP and Coaches Polls . The Golden Gophers did manage to not turn the ball over in the game , but they didn ' t force any turnovers either . The Wolverines did rack up nearly 200 more yards of offense in the game . Bryan Cupito led the Gophers , passing for 215 yards and 2 touchdowns . He was outdone , however , by Michigan ' s Chad Henne , who passed for 284 yards and 3 touchdowns . Converting third - down attempts also hurt the Golden Gophers , as Minnesota went 3 for 12 in 3rd down conversions . In comparison , Michigan went 10 for 15 . Penn State . " All - time record against Penn State : 4 – 6 – 0 " Minnesota had another trophy on the line , as the Golden Gophers and the Nittany Lions squared off in the Metrodome . The two teams traded the lead back and forth until the game knotted at 21 all . The Golden Gophers had the first possession of over time , and scored , but missed the extra point . Penn State then had their opportunity . Controversy stuck as Penn State found themselves in a fourth and nine situation in overtime . The pass was incomplete , but the ruling on the field was defensive pass interference , giving Penn State a fresh set of downs . There were widespread rumors on the internet that the Big Ten apologized for the alleged blown call , but this was denied by the conference . Penn State went on to score and convert their extra point , winning by one point . Wisconsin . " All - time record against Wisconsin : 59 – 49 – 8 " Minnesota had their third straight week playing for a rivalry trophy , as they faced off against heated rival , Wisconsin . The highly ranked Badgers made quick work of the Golden Gophers , racing to a 28 – 3 lead by the half . Amir Pinnix rushed for 97 yards on the day , but Golden Gopher quarterback Bryan Cupito had only 94 yards passing on 28 attempts . The Gophers had far more problems converting on third downs as well , converting 3 of 14 attempts , compared to Wisconsin ' s 6 of 10 ratio . The Badgers held onto Paul Bunyan ' s Axe for the third straight year . North Dakota State . " All - time record against North Dakota State : 7 – 0 – 0 " Minnesota took a break from Big Ten play , hosting regional rival North Dakota State . The Bison outgained the Gophers in offensive yards by 140 yards . Each team missed two field goal tries in the game , North Dakota State missing a try as time expired . Bryan Cupito passed for 150 yards on 14 completions . Amir Pinnix racked up 97 yards and one touch down . Minnesota benefited on the from great punting , as Minnesota ' s Justin Kucek had six punts and averaged 47 . 6 yards per punt . Ohio State . " All - time record against Ohio State : 7 – 39 – 0 " The Golden Gophers ran into the buzz saw that was the 2006 Ohio State Buckeyes , and came away dominated . The Gophers gave up over two hundred more yards than they gained on the day offensively . The Golden Gophers were led offensively by Byran Cupito who passed for 120 yards on 13 completions . Minnesota ' s Deon Hightower recorded 13 tackles on the day . The Gophers were 4 of 14 on third down , while the Buckeyes were 7 of 10 . Indiana . " All - time record against Indiana : 36 – 25 – 3 " The Golden Gophers went into Indiana , facing a stiff tasking , knowing they needed to win their final three games to become bowl eligible . Their first task was to beat Indiana for the second straight game . The Golden Gophers raced out to a 35 point lead half way into the second quarter on the way to a 63 - 26 route . Bryan Cupito went 22 of 33 , and 378 yards with 4 touchdowns . Golden Gopher receivers Logan Payne and Ernie Wheelwright both eclipsed 100 yards receiving on the day . It was the most points scored since their season opening victory over Toledo in 2004 . Michigan State . " All - time record against Michigan State : 16 – 25 – 0 " In their final regular season road trip of the season , Minnesota traveled to East Lansing , Michigan . Michigan State opened up a nine point lead in the first quarter . The Gophers scored the next 17 points on their way to victory . Bryan Cupito passed for 243 yards . Golden Gopher running back Amir Pinnix added 113 yards offensively on the day . The win kept the Golden Gophers bowl hopes alive going into their final regular season game . Iowa . " All - time record against Iowa : 59 – 39 – 2 " The battle for Floyd of Rosedale took place with two teams looking at two different goals . The Hawkeyes were attempting to stop a losing skid , while the Gophers were looking to win their third straight game and to become bowl eligible . Several offensive players on each side had big days . Iowa ' s Drew Tate passed for 354 yards , and Hawkeye running back Albert Young rushed for 133 yards . For the Golden Gophers , Bryan Cupito passed for 267 yards , while Minnesota running back Amir Pinnix rushed for 119 yards . Turnovers proved to be crucial on the day , as Minnesota had a plus four turnover ratio . The win gave Minnesota a 6 – 6 record and made them bowl eligible . Texas Tech . " All - time record against Texas Tech : 0 – 1 – 0 " In the 2006 Insight Bowl , the Gophers would score early and often . In the first quarter , QB Bryan Cupito threw a two - yard pass to tight end Jack Simmons to give the Gophers a 7 – 0 lead . Texas Tech responded by driving within the Minnesota 10 , Graham Harrell , the Tech QB , fumbled on a sack and Minnesota responded with their longest drive of the season . The Gophers extended the lead on a 14 - yard pass from Cupito to Ernie Wheelwright , which came off the a touchback by Tech , when it appeared they would score to trim the lead . Tech got on the board with 4 : 32 left in the first half when they scored on a 1 - yard run by Shannon Woods However , the Gophers would score one more touchdown in the first half , off Cupito ' s third touchdown of the game , a 3 - yard pass to Logan Payne with 32 seconds left in the first half . The Gophers led 35 – 7 at the half . In the 2nd half , Minnesota added to their lead with a 32 - yard field goal by Joel Monroe to make it 38 – 7 . However , Texas Tech began their miracle comeback on the ensuing drive when Harrell hit Joel Filani on a 43 - yard pass to cut the lead to 38 – 14 . To start the 4th quarter , Harrell hit Robert Johnson to cut the lead to 38 – 21 . To respond , Minnesota drove down to the Tech 31 , however , coach Glen Mason decided to go for it on a 4th - and - seven from the 31 , and Cupito was subsequently sacked . Tech responded when Harrell ran a QB sneak to cut the score to 38 – 28 . Minnesota then went 3 - and - out , followed by a 40 - yard punt return by Tech punt returner Danny Amendola . Nine plays after the return , Shannon Woods scored on a 1 - yard run to cut the lead to a mere field goal , 38 – 35 . They subsequently failed on the onside kick , and Minnesota recovered . Despite having to use two timeouts , they forced another 3 - and - out . However , the punt coupled with a false start left Tech at their own seven , forcing Tech to use their two - minute offense that got them down to the Minnesota 35 . From there , Tech kicker Alex Trlica nailed a 52 - yard field goal , tying the game as time expired . To start overtime , the Gophers kicked a 32 - yard field goal to get the lead back at 41 – 38 . However , the Red Raiders would move downfield and they would cap off their comeback when Woods scored his third touchdown of the game from three yards out to give Tech a 44 – 41 victory . The Insight Bowl turned out to be coach Glen Mason ' s final game as head coach , as , two days after the collapse , athletic director Joel Maturi fired Mason citing that , had the collapse not happened , Mason would likely still have the job .