Ranking the Top 131 College Football Programs of the Last 40 Years: 62. Minnesota
Ski U Mah
1930’s Minnesota wants Bama, don’t @ me. Despite a long stretch of ~80 years of middling play, Minnesota used to be one of the premier teams in football. Hall of Fame coach Bernie Bierman led the Gophers to 5 national titles from 1934-41, and HOFer Henry L. Williams led them to a 136-33-11 record and 1 national title from 1900-21.
Best Seasons and Highlights
+------+-----------+------+--------------+--------+
| rank | team | year | resume score | record |
+------+-----------+------+--------------+--------+
| 14 | Minnesota | 2019 | 27.912 | 11-2 |
| 19 | Minnesota | 2003 | 21.203 | 10-3 |
| 28 | Minnesota | 2021 | 16.099 | 9-4 |
| 18 | Minnesota | 1999 | 13.978 | 8-4 |
| 33 | Minnesota | 2016 | 12.407 | 9-4 |
| 28 | Minnesota | 2022 | 10.405 | 9-4 |
| 37 | Minnesota | 2014 | 7.992 | 8-5 |
| 46 | Minnesota | 2013 | 4.091 | 8-5 |
| 36 | Minnesota | 2005 | 3.769 | 7-5 |
| 42 | Minnesota | 2002 | 2.738 | 8-5 |
| 38 | Minnesota | 1985 | 1.223 | 7-5 |
| 39 | Minnesota | 2004 | 1.181 | 7-5 |
| 52 | Minnesota | 2018 | -1.317 | 7-6 |
| 50 | Minnesota | 1990 | -5.266 | 6-5 |
| 52 | Minnesota | 2000 | -6.198 | 6-6 |
| 48 | Minnesota | 1986 | -6.388 | 6-6 |
| 48 | Minnesota | 1989 | -6.424 | 6-5 |
| 64 | Minnesota | 2009 | -7.912 | 6-7 |
| 61 | Minnesota | 2006 | -8.765 | 6-7 |
| 68 | Minnesota | 2015 | -9.451 | 6-7 |
| 50 | Minnesota | 1987 | -10.353 | 6-5 |
| 77 | Minnesota | 2020 | -11.926 | 3-4 |
| 59 | Minnesota | 1998 | -12.029 | 5-6 |
| 66 | Minnesota | 2008 | -12.063 | 7-6 |
| 67 | Minnesota | 1996 | -18.028 | 4-7 |
| 83 | Minnesota | 2017 | -18.058 | 5-7 |
| 78 | Minnesota | 2012 | -19.194 | 6-7 |
| 77 | Minnesota | 2001 | -20.322 | 4-7 |
| 74 | Minnesota | 1984 | -21.284 | 4-7 |
| 72 | Minnesota | 1993 | -22.32 | 4-7 |
| 78 | Minnesota | 1988 | -25.785 | 2-7-2 |
| 71 | Minnesota | 1995 | -26.166 | 3-8 |
| 89 | Minnesota | 2010 | -27.139 | 3-9 |
| 82 | Minnesota | 1994 | -28.1 | 3-8 |
| 98 | Minnesota | 2011 | -32.378 | 3-9 |
| 94 | Minnesota | 1992 | -35.935 | 2-9 |
| 92 | Minnesota | 1997 | -36.434 | 3-9 |
| 91 | Minnesota | 1991 | -41.511 | 2-9 |
| 111 | Minnesota | 2007 | -48.426 | 1-11 |
| 103 | Minnesota | 1983 | -57.911 | 1-10 |
+------+-----------+------+--------------+--------+
Overall Score: 15584 (62nd)221-252-2 record
0 conference titles
10-10 bowl record
5 consensus All-Americans
72 NFL players drafted
Minnesota is the master of mid, with over 1/3 of their seasons ending with 6 of 7 wins. It’s also cool to see how well PJ Fleck’s done, with 3 of his seasons falling in Minnesota’s top 6. In terms of bowls, it was rough sledding for a while. They were just 0-7 from 2005-14, but have gone 6-0 since—another benefit of the Fleckster, finishing seasons on a high. NFL Hall of Fame alumni include Bronko Nagurski, Carl Eller, Bobby Bell, Tony Dungy, and Bud Grant. More recent players include WR Eric Decker, RB Marion Barber, LB De’Vondre Campbell, and S Antoine Winfield Jr. Consensus All-Americans include OL Ben Hamilton (1999 and 2000), and OL Greg Eslinger (2005), winner of the Outland and Rimington Trophies.
Top 5 Seasons
Worst Season: 1983 (1-10 overall, 0-9 Big Ten)
I apologize to the 1983 team, I was not familiar with your game. I thought for sure the worst Minnesota team would be Tim Brewster’s 2007 debacle. Their only win was against Rice in the opener, who went 1-10 themselves. Then “the Nebraska game” happened. #1 Nebraska came to the Metrodome, and put up 12 TDs in less than 14 minutes of possession time in an 84-13 destruction of the Gophers. Things would only get marginally better, with losses of 18-69 to Ohio State, 17-56 to Wisconsin, 23-50 to Illinois, 10-58 to Michigan, and 10-61 to Iowa. Minnesota started 3-0 the previous year, but lost their last 8 games to make it 18 losses in 19 games by the end of the 1983 season. The QBs combined for 14 TD 25 INT, the run game averaged less than 3 yards per carry, and the defense gave up an NCAA-worst 47.1 PPG. The 2007 team was bad, but at least they didn’t lose any games 13-84.
5. 2016 (9-4 overall, 5-4 Big Ten)
Just when it seemed like Minnesota had found their coach in Jerry Kill from 2011-15, he retired due to health issues. Long-time Kill assistant Tracy Claeys took over though, and they didn’t skip a beat. “Future 1st round pick but also throws as many interceptions as touchdowns” QB Mitch Leidner returned for his senior season and third year as a starter, putting up the offense’s best PPG numbers in over a decade. Minnesota had a solid year, beating the teams they should and losing to the teams they should. Non-conference wins included Oregon State and a bowl-bound Colorado State, with the best conference win being 29-12 over 7-6 Northwestern. Leidner ended his career with a 17-12 win over Washington State in the Holiday Bowl, completing Minnesota’s best season since 2003. Leidner’s play was sufficient at best, throwing 8 TD 12 INT but also adding 10 rushing TD. RB Rodney Smith ran for 1000+ yards, and would go on to become Minnesota’s 2nd all time leading rusher by the end of his career in 2019. Claeys was fired despite the 9-4 season due to players’ sexual assault allegations dividing the team and fans, and the subsequent hiring of PJ Fleck has turned out to be a home run.
4. 1999 (8-4 overall, 5-3 Big Ten)
This is definitely up there for the best team. They certainly had one of the biggest wins ever. Entering the season, Minnesota hadn’t made a bowl since 1986, the longest drought in the Big Ten. So when they lined up for a 32 yard FG for the win, down 2 against #2 Penn State in Happy Valley, as a 5-3 team needing one more win for a bowl, this was for all the marbles. Kicker Dan Nystrom hit it right down the middle, sending Glen Mason’s Minnesota sideline into a frenzy. The monkey was off their back, and they finished strong, winning 2 more and getting all the way up to #12 before losing to Oregon in the bowl and finishing #18, their first postseason ranking in 37 years. In a loaded Big Ten, Minnesota tied for 4th place, with the top 7 teams all finishing in the AP Top 25. Surprisingly, none of them were Ohio State. S Tyrone Carter was a game-breaker, earning consensus All-American status and winning the Jim Thorpe Award and Jack Tatum Trophy. C Ben Hamilton also joined him as a consensus AA, and would repeat in 2000. RB Thomas Hamner was the bell cow, rushing for 1400+ yards and 10 TD, earning 1st Team All-Big Ten.
3. 2021 (9-4 overall, 6-3 Big Ten)
A college football team walks into a bar and says “I’ll get the close loss to #4 Ohio State and 30-0 shutout of Colorado, hold the win against Bowling Green.” That team is Minnesota. After impressive performances against Power 5 teams, the MAC continued to be Minnesota’s kryptonite, losing to a 4-8 Bowling Green team and barely beating Miami (OH). Despite the 2-2 start, Minnesota became one of the premier contenders in the B1G West, beating Purdue, Nebraska, Northwestern, Maryland in a row. After an upset loss to Illinois and loss to eventual division champ Iowa, Minnesota was out of the running at 6-4. But they saved the best for last—a 23-13 win over #14 Wisconsin for just their 2nd Paul Bunyan Axe win in 18 years. The defense continued their dominance through the bowl game, beating West Virginia 18-6 to finish 9-4 as a borderline top 25 team. The 6’8 384(!) lb OT Daniel Faalele earned 1st Team All-Big Ten, while 3 other linemen earned 2nd/3rd Team.
2. 2003 (10-3 overall, 5-3 Big Ten)
Ah yes, the season where Minnesota won 10 games for the first time in nearly 100 years. A year of highs and lows for them, but mostly highs. One of the best RB tandems in the country in Marion Barber and Laurence Maroney led a top 10 scoring offense to a 6-0 start, mostly thanks to a soft non-conference schedule of all non-Power 6 teams, but also wins at Penn State and Northwestern. That set up a huge game at the Metrodome, #17 Minnesota vs #20 Michigan. For 3 quarters, the Gophers dominated, taking a 28-7 lead heading into the 4th, but a 31 point quarter from Michigan stormed back to take the game 38-35. The loss was so stunning, it still hurts fans to this day, and former players think it killed any upward trajectory of Minnesota football for over a decade. After came a lifeless loss to #15 Michigan State, but bounced back to combine for 773 rushing yards in blowout wins over Illinois and Indiana to improve to 8-2. Against Wisconsin for the Paul Bunyan Axe, kicker Rhys Lloyd hit a 35 yard FG as time expired for a 37-34 win, a nice consolation for the Michigan loss earlier. After a loss to Iowa, Minny survived Oregon 31-30 in the Sun Bowl, holding off a spirited 377 yard performance from Oregon QB Kellen Clemens.
The 2003 Gophers averaged 38.7 PPG while giving up just 21.9 per game. A 3-headed monster of RBs Barber, Maroney, and Thomas Tapeh led the way for one of the nation’s best rushing attacks, with Barber going for 1196 yards 17 TD, Maroney going for 1121 yards 10 TD, and Tapeh for 570 yards 11 TD. QB Asad Abdul-Khaliq played efficient football, leading the Big Ten in passing yards per attempt (9.6), throwing for 2400+ yards with 17 TD to just 5 INT. Barber and Maroney would end their careers 4th and 2nd in school history in rushing yards, respectively, while Tapeh was drafted in the 5th round after the season.
1. 2019 (11-2 overall, 7-2 Big Ten)
In true Minnesota fashion, the season started with a less than stellar performance against a weaker opponent, needing a 4th quarter TD to beat South Dakota State 28-21. Fresno State, down 35-38 in OT, had a receiver wide open in the end zone for the win…until Antoine Winfield Jr came OUT OF NOWHERE to pick off the pass, his 2nd year in a row with a game winning interception against Fresno State. Even still they struggled to beat Georgia Southern at home, needing a go-ahead TD with 13 seconds left to scrape by 35-32. Was this team even going to be competitive in the B1G?? Conference play started and Minnesota improved week to week. The schedule was forgivable, but none of these games were guaranteed wins and Minnesota was blowing teams out like Illinois, Nebraska, Rutgers, and Maryland. That set up #4 8-0 Penn State vs #17 8-0 Minnesota in the biggest home game for the Gophers in years. Winfield Jr came to play, picking off QB Sean Clifford twice in a 31-26 Gopher victory, and suddenly, Minnesota was in the national title picture. It didn’t last long after a loss to #23 Iowa, and a loss to #12 Wisconsin in the final week pushed them out of first place in the Big Ten West. Still, they beat #12 Auburn in the bowl thanks to 204 receiving yards and 2 TD from WR Tyler Johnson, and that capped off an 11 win, #10 final ranking season.
In hindsight, this team was pretty loaded. 9 players on defense have since been drafted into the NFL, the most notable being 2nd round picks S Antoine Winfield Jr and DE Boye Mafe. Winfield was a consensus All-American, leading the Big Ten with 7 INTs. The offense had two 1000+ yard receivers in Tyler Johnson (1318, 13 TD) and Rashod Bateman (1219, 11 TD) who was a 1st round pick by the Baltimore Ravens. RB Rodney Smith ran for 1000+ yards, the third season of his career running for 950+ yards. Backup RB Mohamed Ibrahim added 604, and had 1000+ yards in three seasons himself, rushing for 1665 yards in 2022! That made life easy for QB Tanner Morgan, who statistically had an outlier year for him with 3000+ passing yards with 30 TD 7 INT, also leading the conference in YPA. This was clearly the best Minnesota team in over 50 years.
5th Quarter
Agree with Minnesota’s ranking, and the ranking of their individual seasons? What do you remember about each of them? If Minnesota avoids the loss to Iowa in 2019, do they end up winning the Big Ten and making the playoff? What would it take for Minnesota to recreate the 2019 magic but this time actually win the conference? Who’s your favorite Gopher offensive, defensive, and special teams player from the last 40 years? Where would Minnesota football be today if they hadn’t choked the game against Michigan in 2003?
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