2019 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

The 2019 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented the University of Minnesota in the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Golden Gophers played their home games at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and competed in the West Division of the Big Ten Conference. They were led by third-year head coach P. J. Fleck.

2019 Minnesota Golden Gophers football
Big Ten West Division co-champion Outback Bowl champion
Outback Bowl, W 31–24 vs. Auburn
Conference	Big Ten Conference
	West Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 10
AP	No. 10
2019 record	11–2 (7–2 Big Ten)
Head coach	P. J. Fleck (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Kirk Ciarrocca (3rd season)
Defensive coordinator	Joe Rossi (2nd season)
Home stadium	TCF Bank Stadium (Capacity: 50,805)
Uniform

2019 Big Ten Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
No. 3 Ohio State xy$^		9	–	0					13	–	1
No. 9 Penn State		7	–	2					11	–	2
No. 18 Michigan		6	–	3					9	–	4
Indiana		5	–	4					8	–	5
Michigan State		4	–	5					7	–	6
Maryland		1	–	8					3	–	9
Rutgers		0	–	9					2	–	10
West Division
No. 11 Wisconsin xy		7	–	2					10	–	4
No. 10 Minnesota x		7	–	2					11	–	2
No. 15 Iowa		6	–	3					10	–	3
Illinois		4	–	5					6	–	7
Purdue		3	–	6					4	–	8
Nebraska		3	–	6					5	–	7
Northwestern		1	–	8					3	–	9
Championship: Ohio State 34, Wisconsin 21
^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

Minnesota was projected to finish in sixth place in the Big Ten West Division by the preseason media poll.[1] Instead, Minnesota had its most successful season in over 50 years. The Gophers won their first nine games of the year, punctuated with a home win over then-No. 4 Penn State, and rose to eighth in the College Football Playoff rankings. They suffered their first loss of the year the next week on the road against Iowa. In the final game of the regular season, in a game that decided the West Division, Minnesota lost to rival Wisconsin, 38–17. The team was invited to the Outback Bowl to play then-No. 12 Auburn, where Minnesota won by a score of 31–24. Minnesota ended the season with a record of 11–2, their 11 wins being the school's most since 1904. They were ranked 10th in the final AP Poll of the season, their first ranked finish since 2003, and highest finish since 1962.[2]

The Gophers' offense was led by redshirt sophomore quarterback Tanner Morgan, who had 3,253 passing yards and 30 touchdowns, and was named second-team All-Big Ten. Wide receivers Rashod Bateman and Tyler Johnson both finished with more than 1,200 yards and were both named first-team all-conference. Running back Rodney Smith finished in third in the conference with 1,163 yards. The defense was led by first-team all-conference safety Antoine Winfield Jr., who led the team in tackles and had seven interceptions on the year. Head coach P. J. Fleck was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year by the other coaches.

Previous season

The Golden Gophers finished the 2018 season 7–6, 3–6 in Big Ten play to finish tied for fifth place in the West Division. They were invited to the Quick Lane Bowl, where they defeated Georgia Tech.

Preseason

Preseason Big Ten poll

Although the Big Ten Conference has not held an official preseason poll since 2010, Cleveland.com has polled sports journalists representing all member schools as a de facto preseason media poll since 2011. For the 2019 poll, Minnesota was projected to finish in sixth in the West Division.[1]

Media poll (West Division)
Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Nebraska	198 (14)
2	Iowa	194.5 (14)
3	Wisconsin	172.5 (4)
4	Northwestern	142.5 (1)
5	Purdue	110.5
6	Minnesota	100 (1)
7	Illinois	34

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 29, 2019	8:00 p.m.	No. 3 (FCS) South Dakota State*		TCF Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN	FS1	W 28–21	49,112
September 7	9:30 p.m.	at Fresno State*		Bulldog Stadium Fresno, CA	CBSSN	W 38–35 ^2OT	34,790
September 14	2:30 p.m.	Georgia Southern*		TCF Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN	BTN	W 35–32	41,021
September 28	2:30 p.m.	at Purdue		Ross-Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	ESPN2	W 38–31	50,629
October 5	2:30 p.m.	Illinois		TCF Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN	BTN	W 40–17	39,341
October 12	6:30 p.m.	Nebraska		TCF Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN ($5 Bits of Broken Chair Trophy)	FS1	W 34–7	43,502
October 19	2:30 p.m.	at Rutgers	No. 20	SHI Stadium Piscataway, NJ	BTN	W 42–7	26,429
October 26	2:30 p.m.	Maryland	No. 17	TCF Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN	ESPN	W 52–10	44,715
November 9	11:00 a.m.	No. 4 Penn State	No. 17	TCF Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN (Governor's Victory Bell)	ABC	W 31–26	51,883
November 16	3:00 p.m.	at No. 20 Iowa	No. 8	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA (Floyd of Rosedale)	FOX	L 19–23	67,518
November 23	11:00 a.m.	at Northwestern	No. 10	Ryan Field Evanston, IL	ABC	W 38–22	30,246
November 30	2:30 p.m.	No. 12 Wisconsin	No. 8	TCF Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN (Paul Bunyan's Axe/College GameDay)	ABC	L 17–38	53,756
January 1, 2020	12:00 p.m.	vs. No. 12 Auburn*	No. 18	Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL (Outback Bowl)	ESPN	W 31–24	45,652
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings (after November 5) released prior to game All times are in Central time

Source:[3]

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.

	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	RV	RV	20	17	13	13	7	11	9	15	16	10
Coaches	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	25	20	16	13	13	7	11	9	15	16	10
CFP	Not released										17	8	10	8	18	18	Not released

Game summaries

South Dakota State

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 3 (FCS) Jackrabbits	0	7	14	0	21
Golden Gophers	0	13	7	8	28

Down 1, the Gophers won the game with a short TD run by Mohamed Ibrahim and a two point conversion late in the 4th Quarter to win 28–21. [4]

at Fresno State

	1	2	3	4	OT	2OT	Total
Golden Gophers	7	7	0	14	7	3	38
Bulldogs	0	10	11	7	7	0	35

Georgia Southern

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	10	10	0	12	32
Golden Gophers	14	7	0	14	35

at Purdue

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Gophers	14	14	10	0	38
Boilermakers	3	7	7	14	31

Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
Fighting Illini	7	3	7	0	17
Golden Gophers	3	13	14	10	40

Nebraska

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cornhuskers	0	0	0	7	7
Golden Gophers	7	7	20	0	34

at Rutgers

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 20 Golden Gophers	7	7	7	21	42
Scarlet Knights	0	0	0	7	7

Maryland

	1	2	3	4	Total
Terrapins	0	3	0	7	10
No. 17 Golden Gophers	14	14	10	14	52

Penn State

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 4 Nittany Lions	10	3	6	7	26
No. 17 Golden Gophers	14	10	0	7	31

at Iowa

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 8 Golden Gophers	0	6	7	6	19
No. 20 Hawkeyes	13	7	0	3	23

at Northwestern

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 10 Golden Gophers	14	7	7	10	38
Wildcats	0	9	7	6	22

Wisconsin

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 12 Badgers	0	10	14	14	38
No. 8 Golden Gophers	7	0	3	7	17

vs. Auburn (Outback Bowl)

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 18 Golden Gophers	10	14	0	7	31
No. 12 Tigers	10	7	7	0	24

Despite losing an opportunity to go to the BIG 10 Championship and a shot at the Rose Bowl, the Gophers would earn a spot in the Outback Bowl on New Year's Day against the Auburn Tigers, the first ever meeting between the two teams. The game would be played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, Florida. Auburn had impressive victories in their season, beating the Pac-12 champion Oregon Ducks in Texas to open the season and more recently knocking off the Alabama Crimson Tide in the Iron Bowl. The game was a back and forth affair with both teams trading field goals then touchdowns to make it 10–10 after the 1st Quarter. The lone Gopher 1st quarter touchdown came from Mohamed Ibrahim on a 16 yard TD run. About midway through the second, Seth Green found offensive lineman Bryce Witham in the end zone to give the Gophers a 17–10 lead, their first lead of the game. After Bo Nix connected with Sal Cannella for a 37 yard score, the Gophers would end the half with a drive that ultimately ended with an impressive Tyler Johnson touchdown reception to give them a 24–17 lead. Auburn would score the only points of the 3rd Quarter as Jordan Whitlow ran a touchdown in from three yards out. Finally, Tyler Johnson finished his final collegiate game with a 73 yard touchdown catch and run in the 4th Quarter to give Minnesota the lead. It would be the deciding score as the Gophers stopped the Tigers on their final drive to win the Outback Bowl 31–24.

Roster

2019 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB 1 Rodney Smith  Sr QB 2 Tanner Morgan  So RB 3 Cam Wiley Fr RB 4 Shannon Brooks  Sr QB 5 Zack Annexstad So WR 6 Tyler Johnson Sr WR 7 Chris Autman-Bell  So WR 11 Jornell Brooks  Fr WR 12 Erik Gibson  Fr WR 13 Rashod Bateman So QB 14 Cole Kramer Fr QB 15 Jacob Clark Fr QB 16 Jon Santaga  So WR 17 Seth Green  Jr WR 18 Clay Geary  Jr QB 19 Samuel Pickerign  So WR 20 Larry Wright Fr RB 21 Bryce Williams So WR 22 Mike Brown-Stephens Fr RB 23 Treyson Potts Fr RB 24 Mohamed Ibrahim  So RB 25 Preston Jelen  Fr WR 26 True Thompson  Jr WR 27 Jimmy Buck Fr RB 28 Jason Williamson  Fr TE 42 Ko Kieft  Jr OL 50 J. J. Guedet Fr OL 51 Curtis Dunlap Jr.  Fr OL 56 Kody Smith Fr OL 60 John Michael Schmitz  So OL 63 Austin Beier  Fr OL 64 Conner Olson  Jr OL 65 Axel Ruschmeyer  So OL 66 Nathan Boe  Fr OL 67 Nate Umlor  So OL 70 Sam Schlueter  Jr OL 71 Ben Davis  Jr OL 74 Kyle Sassack  So OL 75 Tyler Cooper Fr OL 77 Blaise Andries  So OL 78 Daniel Faalele So OL 79 Jason Dickson  Jr TE 80 Jake Paulson  So WR 81 Brock Annexstad   So WR 82 Demetrius Douglas  So WR 83 Harry Van Dyne  So WR 84 Peter Udoibok Fr TE 85 Bryce Witham  Jr TE 86 Clayton Witherspoon  So TE 87 Nick Kallerup Fr TE 88 Brevyn Spann-Ford  Fr WR 89 Nnamdi Adim-Madumere Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 1 Calvin Swenson  Jr DB 2 Phillip Howard  Jr DL 3 M. J. Anderson Fr DB 4 Terell Smith So LB 5 Trenton Guthrie  So DB 6 Chris Williamson  Sr DB 7 Solomon Brown Fr LB 8 Thomas Rush So DL 9 Esezi Otomewo  So DB 11 Antoine Winfield Jr.  So DL 12 Tai'yon Devers Sr LB 13 James Gordon IV Fr LB 14 Braelen Oliver  Fr DB 15 C. J. Smith  Fr DB 16 Coney Durr  Jr DL 18 Micah Dew-Treadway  Sr DL 19 Keonte Schad Jr LB 20 Donald Willis Fr LB 21 Kamal Martin Sr DB 22 Benny Sapp III So DB 23 Jordan Howden So DB 25 Benjamin St-Juste  Sr DB 26 Justus Harris Jr DB 27 Tyler Nubin Fr DB 28 Matt Guggemos Fr LB 29 Josh Aune  Fr DB 30 Caden Fey Fr DB 31 Kiondre Thomas  Jr DL 33 D'Vion Harris Fr DL 34 Boye Mafe  So LB 35 Danny Anderson  So DB 36 Bishop McDonald  Jr DB 40 Alex Strazzanti  So LB 41 Thomas Barber Sr DB 42 Austin Winfield Fr LB 43 Bailey Schoenfelder  Jr DL 44 Rashad Cheney Jr. Fr LB 45 Carter Coughlin Sr DL 46 Winston DeLattiboudere  Sr DL 48 Ben McNaboe Fr DL 52 Jamaal Teague So LB 55 Mariano Sori-Marin So LB 56 Ty Barron  Fr LB 57 Jack Kern Fr DL 59 Derik LeCaptain  Fr DL 75 Malcolm Robinson  So DL 90 Sam Renner  Sr DL 91 Noah Hickcox  So DL 92 Mayan Ahanotu  Fr DL 93 Connor Novak-Goar  Jr DL 94 Abi N-Okonji  Fr DL 96 Logan Richter Fr DL 97 Micah Roane  Fr DL 99 DeAngelo Carter Fr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class H 14 Casey O'Brien  So K, P 33 Grant Ryerse  So K 34 Brock Walker  Fr LS 37 Brady Weeks Fr K 38 Michael Lantz Fr LS 39 Michael Vojvodich  Fr P 46 Alex Melvin  Sr P 47 Jacob Herbers  Sr K 48 Anders Gelecinskyj  So K 97 Michael Tarbutt  Sr P 98 Tom Foley Fr	Head coach P. J. Fleck (Head Coach) Coordinators/assistant coaches Kirk Ciarrocca (Offensive Coordinator / Quarterbacks) Joe Rossi (Defensive Coordinator / Linebackers) Rob Wenger (Special Teams Coordinator / Outside Linebackers) Kenni Burns (Assistant Head Coach / Running Backs) Rod Chance (Cornerbacks) Brian Callahan (Run Game Coordinators / Offensive Line) Joe Harasymiak (Defensive backs / Safeties) Jim Panagos (Defensive Line) Clay Patterson (Tight Ends) Matt Simon (Passing Game Coordinator / Wide Receivers) Gerrit Chernoff (General Manager) Dan Nichol (Head Strength & Conditioning) Norries Wilson (Director of Player Development) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: April 18, 2019

Players drafted into the NFL

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL Club
2	45	Antoine Winfield Jr.	S	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
5	161	Tyler Johnson	WR	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
5	175	Kamal Martin	ILB	Green Bay Packers
7	218	Carter Coughlin	OLB	New York Giants
7	247	Chris Williamson	CB	New York Giants

References

1. Lesmerises, Doug (July 18, 2019). "Michigan named Big Ten football favorite in cleveland.com 2019 preseason poll". Cleveland.com.
2. "Minnesota Golden Gophers Football Record By Year". sports-reference.com. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
3. "2019 Football Schedule". University of Minnesota Athletics.
4. "Football History vs South Dakota State University". University of Minnesota Athletics. Retrieved 2020-10-20.