For a football team playing at the FBS level, its schedule serves somewhat like a frequent buyer punch card. Win a game, and the team gets to punch out one spot on the card. Win six, and the team’s reward is a bowl game. Keep on winning and punching out spots, and the bowl destination improves.
Gophers bowl game destination: Best-case scenarios, key factors at play
The Gophers are 6-3 with games remaining against Rutgers, Penn State and Wisconsin. If they keep winning, they could see the Florida sun.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
November 5, 2024 at 12:30AM
Such is the case with the Gophers, who on Saturday punched out the sixth win on their schedule, beating No. 24 Illinois 25-17 in Champaign, Ill. In the process, the Gophers (6-3, 4-2 Big Ten) won their fourth consecutive game and gained bowl eligibility for the sixth time in coach P.J. Fleck’s eight years in Minneapolis.
They can add a seventh punch to the card with a victory on Saturday at Rutgers (4-4, 1-4), a team riding a four-game losing streak and coming off a bye. The Gophers and Scarlet Knights have several common bonds. Fleck coached for three years under Rutgers coach Greg Schiano. The Scarlet Knights’ offensive and defensive coordinators, Kirk Ciarrocca and Joe Harasymiak, were Gophers’ O.C. and defensive backs coach, respectively. Gophers D.C. Corey Hetherman was Rutgers linebackers coach.
And, of course, Scarlet Knights’ starting quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis held the same job for the Gophers last year before transferring to Rutgers.
Fleck, though, didn’t have time to talk old home week during his Monday news conference. His focus was inward, and he had little to say about the Scarlet Knights.
“The best way I can say it is they’ve got an extra week on us, and our team is looking to be 1-0, period,” Fleck said. “And we’ve got a lot of preparation to catch up on.”
Schiano, who was Fleck’s boss for two years at Rutgers and for one year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, had a lot to praise about the Gophers.
“Now we get ready for what might be one of the hottest teams in America right now, winning four straight and really playing very complementary football,” Schiano said. “When you watch the way their offense, defense and special teams have been performing, it will be a great challenge.”
They’re bowling, but where?
Saturday’s 11 a.m. game in Piscataway, N.J., begins a season-ending stretch of three games in four weeks for the Gophers. They have their second bye on Nov. 16, then play their home finale against No. 6 Penn State on Nov. 23 and travel to Wisconsin on Nov. 29.
More punches on that schedule card will improve Minnesota’s bowl location, and the win at Illinois gave the Gophers a boost. If they win all three of their remaining games, then a trip to either the Citrus Bowl in Orlando or the ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa, Fla., becomes possible.
A 2-1 finish could land them in Tampa, Charlotte for the Duke’s Mayo Bowl (Jan. 3) or Nashville for the Music City Bowl (Dec. 30).
If they go 1-2 or 0-3, the Pinstripe Bowl (Dec. 28, New York), Rate Bowl (Dec. 26, Phoenix) and possibly the GameAbove Sports Bowl (Dec. 26, Detroit) could be in play.
One factor that will help determine the Gophers’ bowl destination is how many Big Ten teams earn spots in the College Football Playoff. Oregon, Ohio State, Indiana and Penn State are strong contenders, and if all four make it, then the remainder of the Big Ten teams move up a slot. If it’s only three Big Ten teams in the playoff, the destination changes.
Projections by national outlets on Monday have the Gophers targeted to the following bowls:
• Three to the Duke’s Mayo Bowl vs. an ACC team (CBS Sports, 247Sports, Action Network).
• Two to the Citrus Bowl vs. an SEC team (College Football News, USA Today).
• One each to the ReliaQuest Bowl vs. an SEC team (Mark Schlabach of ESPN) and the Music City Bowl vs. an SEC team (Kyle Bonagura of ESPN).
For Fleck, though, any bowl talk will wait until the end of the season.
“We’ve got to find a way to be the best football team we can be come Saturday,” he said.
Kesich honored by Big Ten
Gophers kicker Dragan Kesich was named Big Ten special teams player of the week after kicking four field goals in Minnesota’s 25-17 win over then-No. 24 Illinois on Saturday. Kesich connected from 20, 45, 38 and 46 yards without a miss. The reigning Big Ten kicker of the year missed five of his first 11 field-goal attempts to start the season but has made seven of his past eight kicks.
Aaron Huglen and wife Maddie are expecting their first baby right before the Gophers take aim at a sixth NCAA title.
