Minnesota Golden Gophers
Big Ten
0-0 (0-0 conf)
SP+ #70
Ratings
2025 final
- SP+
- 1.5 (#70)
- SP+ Offense
- 23.8
- SP+ Defense
- 20.8
- SRS
- 0.7
- FPI
- 1.1
- Elo
- 1516
- Talent
- 711
- Recruiting
- —
2026 Outlook
Projected wins
5.0p10 4.0 — p90 7.0
| Round | Prob | |
|---|---|---|
| Win conference | 0.0% | |
| Make CFP | 0.0% | |
| Quarterfinal | 0.0% | |
| Semifinal | 0.0% | |
| Natl. final | 0.0% | |
| Natl. champ | 0.0% |
Schedule
proj record 5.6–6.4
Schedule
32nd
toughest of 136
Offenses faced
64th
toughest of 136
Defenses faced
20th
toughest of 136
Strength of schedule — how tough this team's opponents are, ranked 1 (hardest) to 136 (easiest) · by 2025 SP+ · 1 FCS game.
| Wk | Opponent | SP+ | Score | Proj | Win% | Res |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | vsEastern Illinois | FCS | 44-4* | +40.8 | 99% | — |
| 2 | vsMississippi State | +4.1 | 26-27 | -0.7 | 48% | — |
| 3 | vsAkron | -13.9 | 39-17 | +21.3 | 93% | — |
| 4 | @Washington | +18.4 | 24-33 | -9.2 | 26% | — |
| 5 | vsMichigan | +12.4 | 24-33 | -8.6 | 27% | — |
| 6 | @Purdue | -6.1 | 28-28 | -0.2 | 49% | — |
| 8 | vsIowa | +19.7 | 23-31 | -8.3 | 28% | — |
| 9 | @Indiana | +32.4 | 18-36 | -18.4 | 9% | — |
| 10 | vsUCLA | -8.7 | 29-22 | +6.8 | 68% | — |
| 11 | @Penn State | +18.1 | 18-33 | -15.2 | 14% | — |
| 12 | vsNorthwestern | +5.8 | 27-28 | -1.3 | 46% | — |
| 13 | @Wisconsin | -4.4 | 27-27 | -0.7 | 48% | — |
* FBS-vs-FCS estimate from the SP+ gap — no per-game model for FCS opponents.
Quarterbacks · 4
2026 · 70
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB | 1st | Drake Lindsey | FR | 6'5" | 230 | — |
| QB | 2nd | Michael Merdinger← Liberty | FR | 6'2" | 210 | ★★★ |
| QB | 3rd | Max Shikenjanski | SO | 6'2" | 185 | — |
| QB | 4th | Dylan Wittke | SO | 6'1" | 215 | ★★★ |
Running Backs · 7
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RB | 1st | Darius Taylor | JR | 6'0" | 215 | ★★★★ |
| RB | 2nd | Cam Davis | SR | 6'1" | 215 | ★★★★ |
| RB | 3rd | Grant Washington | FR | 5'10" | 200 | ★★★ |
| RB | 4th | A.J. Turner | JR | 6'0" | 195 | ★★★ |
| RB | 5th | Xavier Ford | FR | 5'10" | 210 | — |
| RB | 6th | Jaron Thomas← Purdue | FR | 6'0" | 210 | ★★★ |
| RB | — | TJ Thomas Jr.← Elon | — | — | — | ★★★ |
Wide Receivers · 8
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WR | 1st | Le'Meke Brockington | SR | 6'0" | 195 | ★★★ |
| WR | 2nd | Javon Tracy | JR | 6'0" | 205 | ★★★ |
| WR | 3rd | Jalen Smith | FR | 6'1" | 195 | — |
| WR | 4th | Zion Steptoe← Tulsa | JR | 5'11" | 195 | ★★★ |
| WR | 5th | Noah Jennings← Cincinnati | JR | 6'0" | 190 | ★★★ |
| WR | 6th | Perry Thompson← Auburn | SO | 6'3" | 220 | ★★★★ |
| WR | 7th | Logan Loya | SR | 5'11" | 190 | ★★★★ |
| WR | 8th | Quentin Redding | SR | 5'7" | 160 | — |
Tight Ends · 5
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TE | 1st | Jameson Geers | SR | 6'5" | 250 | — |
| TE | 2nd | Drew Biber | SR | 6'4" | 245 | ★★★ |
| TE | 3rd | Kaden Helms← Oklahoma | JR | 6'5" | 238 | ★★★ |
| TE | 4th | Pierce Walsh | SO | 6'4" | 250 | ★★★ |
| TE | 5th | Frank Bierman | SR | 6'4" | 250 | — |
Offensive Line · 2
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OL | — | Greg Johnson | JR | 6'6" | 325 | — |
| OT | — | Bennett Warren← Tennessee | FR | 6'7" | 325 | ★★★ |
Defensive Line · 13
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DL | 1st | Karter Menz | SO | 6'5" | 240 | — |
| DL | 2nd | Jaxon Howard | SO | 6'4" | 250 | ★★★★ |
| DL | 3rd | Naquan Crowder← Marshall | SO | 6'3" | 320 | ★★★ |
| DL | 4th | Rushawn Lawrence | SR | 6'2" | 270 | — |
| DL | 5th | Sid Kaba← Marshall | SO | 6'3" | 275 | ★★★ |
| DL | 6th | Jalen Logan-Redding | SR | 6'4" | 295 | — |
| DL | 7th | Xion Chapman← Florida International | SO | 6'4" | 300 | ★★★★ |
| DL | 8th | Nate Becker | SR | 6'6" | 300 | — |
| DL | 9th | Lucas Finnessy | SR | 6'3" | 255 | — |
| DL | 10th | Jaylin Hicks | FR | 6'3" | 260 | — |
| DL | 11th | Adam Kissayi | FR | 6'8" | 255 | — |
| DL | 12th | Riley Sunram | FR | 6'5" | 305 | ★★★★ |
| EDGE | 1st | TJ Bush Jr.← California | JR | 6'3" | 265 | ★★★ |
Linebackers · 10
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LB | 1st | Maverick Baranowski | JR | 6'2" | 230 | ★★★ |
| LB | 2nd | Devon Williams | SR | 6'1" | 230 | ★★★ |
| LB | 3rd | Andrew Marshall← Eastern Michigan | JR | 6'2" | 235 | ★★★ |
| LB | 4th | Matt Kingsbury | SO | 6'3" | 230 | ★★★ |
| LB | 5th | Emmanuel Karmo | FR | 6'2" | 225 | ★★★★ |
| LB | 6th | Joey Gerlach | JR | 6'3" | 225 | ★★★ |
| LB | 7th | Mason Carrier | FR | 6'3" | 235 | — |
| LB | 8th | Derik LeCaptain | SR | 6'2" | 235 | ★★ |
| LB | 9th | Jeff Roberson | SR | 6'2" | 230 | — |
| LB | 10th | Ethan Stendel | FR | 6'3" | 235 | — |
Defensive Backs · 15
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CB | 1st | Aydan West← Michigan State | FR | 5'11" | 190 | ★★★ |
| CB | — | Elisha West← Michigan State | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| CB | — | Parker Knutson← Southwest Minnesota State | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| DB | 1st | Kerry Brown | SO | 5'10" | 190 | ★★★ |
| DB | 2nd | John Nestor | JR | 6'1" | 205 | — |
| DB | 3rd | Aidan Gousby | JR | 6'0" | 190 | — |
| DB | 4th | Jai'Onte' McMillan | SR | 5'10" | 190 | — |
| DB | 5th | Darius Green | SR | 6'0" | 210 | — |
| DB | 6th | Mike Gerald | FR | 6'0" | 190 | — |
| DB | 7th | Garrison Monroe | SO | 6'0" | 205 | ★★★ |
| DB | 8th | Zack Harden | FR | 6'1" | 200 | — |
| DB | 9th | Rhyland Kelly | JR | 6'1" | 200 | — |
| DB | 10th | Simon Seidl | FR | 5'10" | 180 | — |
| DB | 11th | Naiim Parrish | FR | 5'11" | 175 | ★★★ |
| S | — | Mekhai Smith← Lehigh | — | — | — | ★★★ |
Special Teams · 6
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| K | 1st | Beckham Sunderland← Michigan | SR | 6'1" | 216 | — |
| LS | 1st | Alan Soukup | SO | 6'1" | 210 | — |
| P | 1st | Tom Weston | SO | 6'3" | 215 | — |
| P | 2nd | Zachary Robbins← Utah State | FR | 6'3" | 220 | — |
| PK | 1st | Brady Denaburg | SR | 5'11" | 195 | — |
| PK | — | Daniel Jackson | FR | 5'10" | 175 | ★★★ |
Season History · last 12
0 AP top-10 · 10 postseason
| Season | Record | Conf | SP+ | AP | Post |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 7-5 | 5-4 | #70 | — | 1-0 |
| 2024 | 7-5 | 5-4 | #27 | — | 1-0 |
| 2023 | 5-7 | 3-6 | #63 | — | 1-0 |
| 2022 | 8-4 | 5-4 | #16 | #21 | 1-0 |
| 2021 | 8-4 | 6-3 | #18 | — | 1-0 |
| 2020 | 3-4 | 3-4 | #48 | — | — |
| 2019 | 10-2 | 7-2 | #13 | — | 1-0 |
| 2018 | 6-6 | 3-6 | #45 | — | 1-0 |
| 2017 | 5-7 | 2-7 | #72 | — | — |
| 2016 | 8-4 | 5-4 | #24 | — | 1-0 |
| 2015 | 5-7 | 2-6 | #46 | — | 1-0 |
| 2014 | 8-4 | 5-3 | #49 | — | 0-1 |
Recruiting Classes
avg #47 · 22 blue-chip
■ 5★■ 4★■ 3★151 rated signees
| Class | Natl | Pts | 5★ | 4★ | 3★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #49 | 201 | 0 | 3 | 11 |
| 2024 | #37 | 212 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
| 2023 | #45 | 201 | 0 | 2 | 12 |
| 2022 | #49 | 189 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| 2021 | #37 | 199 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| 2020 | #38 | 199 | 0 | 3 | 9 |
| 2019 | #45 | 194 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 2018 | #38 | 207 | 0 | 3 | 22 |
| 2017 | #59 | 171 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 2016 | #46 | 182 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
247Sports composite · class rank vs all FBS
Roster Talent
2026
Portal in 19net -1Out 20
Portal avg stars (in / out)3.1 / 2.9
Notable Portal Moves
| ▲ | Xion Chapman | DL | 4★ | ← Florida International |
| ▲ | Perry Thompson | WR | 4★ | ← Auburn |
| ▲ | Sid Kaba | DL | 3★ | ← Marshall |
| ▲ | TJ Bush Jr. | EDGE | 3★ | ← California |
| ▼ | Koi Perich | S | 4★ | → Oregon |
| ▼ | Cristian Driver | WR | 4★ | → — |
| ▼ | Za'Quan Bryan | CB | 3★ | → South Florida |
| ▼ | Kahlee Tafai | OT | 3★ | → California |
returning PPA · portal · talent composite · 2026
Injury Report · 0
No injuries reported.
Team News
3 items
- EA Sports CFB 27 Ratings Revealed for Gophers' Top Offensive and Defensive PlayersMinnesota will have a talented roster in this year's college football video game.MINN4d
- Entering Year10 of PJ Fleck, what have a we loved (or hated)?Things to love and things to hate as PJ Fleck enters his 10th season leading the Minnesota Gopher Football programMINN5d
- Iowa football offers 2028 Minnesota TE prospectAfter a visit with Iowa football on June 19, the Hawkeyes have extended a scholarship offer to a skilled 2028 Minnesota tight end prospect.MINN7d