Kickoff: 8 p.m. | TV: BTN | Radio: 100.3 FM.
Fan's guide for the Gophers football opener against New Mexico State
Huntington Bank Stadium has some new food options, and the area around the stadium will have several pregame party options. Plus TV, radio, ticket and transportation info.
September 1, 2022 at 5:17AM
Pregame: Tailgate lots open at 2 p.m., though St. Paul Parking Lot (S108) will be unavailable because of the State Fair. The Gopher Garden opens outside 3M Arena at Mariucci at 5 p.m., with the Ski-U-March (team welcome near Gate C) starting at 5:30 p.m.
The pregame party outside McNamara Alumni Center begins at 6 p.m., and the Gopher Spirit Rally starts at 7 p.m. The stadium gates open at 6:30 with lowered food and beverage options until kickoff on the West Plaza. The University of Minnesota Marching Band begins its on-field performance at 7:40 p.m.
Weather: The forecast says it will be 81 degrees and clear for kickoff, dropping only to 75 by game's end.
Crowd: As of Wednesday, the Gophers had plenty of seats remaining. They sold out last year's opener against Ohio State but drew an announced crowd of 43,372 for the next game against Miami (Ohio).
Food: Newcomers this year are Chick-fil-A (Section 123), Hockey Mom Brownies (Section 110) and Stadium Sweet Treats (West Plaza) with its donut sundae.
Star Tribune beat writer Randy Johnson sampled the stadium food selection and reports that the Parlour Burger (West Plaza) was "hands down, the best thing I had. Great combo of ground chuck, ribeye and brisket." He also gave thumbs up to the Elote Dog by Relish (Sections 109 and 140) — featuring elote corn and crema atop a hot dog and the Hawaiian Spam Burger by Sizzle (Section 135).
Broadcasts: Mark Followill, Matt Millen and Elise Menaker will be the broadcasting crew on Big Ten Network. Mike Grimm, Darrell Thompson and Justin Gaard are back for KFAN (100.3-FM).
Junior Mara Braun rebroke the same bone in her foot as last season, so the 6-0 Gophers will be without their leading scorer and top overall player.
