![After 15 years Minnesota took back the Paul Bunyan Axe after they defeated Wisconsin 37-15 at Camp Randall Stadium, Saturday, November 24, 2018 in Madison, Wis. It's the 128th meeting between the two teams. ] ELIZABETH FLORES ' liz.flores@startribune.com](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/5UBSMC7L4D7SF7Q2ZTGTR47FB4.jpg?&w=1080)
We know that the Gophers will be going to a bowl game, but we won't know where coach P.J. Fleck's team will end up until Sunday, after the College Football Playoff pairings and selection committee bowls are announced. There appear to be three, possibly four, destinations that make sense for Minnesota.
A variable in where the Gophers end up is how many Big Ten teams land in the New Year's Six bowls – the playoff semifinals (Orange, Cotton) and selection committee bowls (Rose, Sugar, Peach, Fiesta). Most projections have the Big Ten landing only two New Year's Six teams, with Penn State getting edged out by LSU. Of course, if Northwestern upsets Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship Game, the Wildcats would go to the Rose Bowl and Michigan and Ohio State would have solid shots to both land in selection committee bowls.
Here is a look at four possible bowls for the Gophers and a sampling of national projections:
Redbox Bowl
Dec. 31, Santa Clara, Calif., vs. Pac-12 team
The Gophers (6-6) landing in Levi's Stadium – where the CFP championship will be played Jan. 7 – might hinge on the Big Ten getting three teams into the New Year's Six bowls, thus bumping other conference members up a notch, but Minnesota is under consideration by the Redbox Bowl.
The Gophers' 37-15 win at Wisconsin impressed Ryan Oppelt, executive director of the Redbox Bowl.
"It's just a huge victory for them, and we're really excited that they're now bowl-eligible, and certainly they're one of the teams that could be in our mix,'' said Oppelt, who has three or four teams he's considering. "… Minnesota, coming off that big victory, makes them very attractive.''