2018 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

The 2018 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented the University of Minnesota in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Golden Gophers played their home games at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota and competed in the West Division of the Big Ten Conference. They were led by second-year head coach P. J. Fleck.

2018 Minnesota Golden Gophers football
Quick Lane Bowl champion
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
DivisionWest Division
2018 record7–6 (3–6 Big Ten)
Head coachP. J. Fleck (2nd season)
Offensive coordinatorKirk Ciarrocca (2nd season)
Offensive schemeSpread
Defensive coordinatorRobb Smith (2nd season; fired Nov. 4)
Joe Rossi
Base defense4–3
Home stadiumTCF Bank Stadium
(Capacity: 50,805)
Uniform
2018 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
East Division
No. 3 Ohio State xy$  8 –1     13 –1  
No. 14 Michigan x  8 –1     10 –3  
No. 17 Penn State  6 –3     9 –4  
Michigan State  5 –4     7 –6  
Maryland  3 –6     5 –7  
Indiana  2 –7     5 –7  
Rutgers  0 –9     1 –11  
West Division
No. 21 Northwestern xy  8 –1     9 –5  
Wisconsin  5 –4     8 –5  
No. 25 Iowa  5 –4     9 –4  
Purdue  5 –4     6 –7  
Minnesota  3 –6     7 –6  
Nebraska  3 –6     4 –8  
Illinois  2 –7     4 –8  
Championship: Ohio State 45, Northwestern 24
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

Minnesota began the year by sweeping its non-conference slate against New Mexico State, Fresno State, and Miami (OH); but opened Big Ten Conference play with four straight losses. The team secured wins against Indiana and Purdue, and then secured bowl eligibility by defeating rival Wisconsin for the first time since 2003, and the first time on the road since 1994. The team finished the regular season tied for fifth in the Big Ten West Division with a conference record of 3–6. They were invited to the Quick Lane Bowl where they defeated Georgia Tech to end the year with an overall record of 7–6.

The team's starting quarterback was true freshman Zack Annexstad before he suffered an internal midsection injury in the game against Nebraska on October 20.[1] He did not return for the rest of the season, and redshirt freshman Tanner Morgan took his place under center. Both Annexstad and Morgan finished with nine touchdowns on the year.[2] The team's leading rusher was Mohamed Ibrahim, with 1,160 rushing yards; and the team's leading receiver was Tyler Johnson with 1,169 receiving yards and 12 receiving touchdowns, which tied for the conference lead.[2][3] Johnson was named first-team All-Big Ten by the media voters.[4] Defensive lineman Carter Coughlin and linebacker Blake Cashman each finished with 15 tackles for loss and were both named second-team All-Big Ten.

Previous season

The Golden Gophers finished the 2017 season 5–7, 2–7 in Big Ten play to finish in sixth place in the West Division.

Preseason

Award watch lists
Award Player Position Year
Rimington Trophy[5] Jared Weyler C SR
Chuck Bednarik Award[6] Thomas Barber LB JR
Maxwell Award[7] Rodney Smith RB SR
Doak Walker Award[8] Rodney Smith RB SR
Butkus Award[9] Thomas Barber LB JR
Lou Groza Award[10] Emmit Carpenter K SR
Paul Hornung Award[11] Rodney Smith RB/KR JR
Wuerffel Trophy[12] Emmit Carpenter K SR

Schedule
DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
August 306:00 p.m.New Mexico State*
BTNW 48–1041,291
September 86:30 p.m.Fresno State*
  • TCF Bank Stadium
  • Minneapolis, MN
FS1W 21–1438,280
September 152:30 p.m.Miami (OH)*
  • TCF Bank Stadium
  • Minneapolis, MN
BTNW 26–341,162
September 2211:00 a.m.at Maryland
BTNL 13–4236,211
October 62:30 p.m.Iowa
BTNL 31–4848,199
October 1311:00 a.m.at No. 3 Ohio State
FS1L 14–30100,042
October 202:30 p.m.at Nebraska
BTNL 28–5389,272
October 267:00 p.m.Indiana
  • TCF Bank Stadium
  • Minneapolis, MN
FS1W 38–3133,273
November 32:30 p.m.at Illinois
BTNL 31–5535,774
November 102:30 p.m.Purdue
  • TCF Bank Stadium
  • Minneapolis, MN
ESPN2W 41–1031,068
November 1711:00 a.m.Northwestern
  • TCF Bank Stadium
  • Minneapolis, MN
BTNL 14–2432,134
November 242:30 p.m.at Wisconsin
ESPN2W 37–1574,038
December 264:15 p.m.vs. Georgia Tech*
ESPNW 34–1027,228
  • *Non-conference game
  • Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Central time

Source:[13]

Roster
2018 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
RB 1 Rodney Smith  Sr
QB 2 Tanner Morgan  Fr
WR 3 Chris Autman-Bell  Fr
RB 4 Shannon Brooks Sr
QB 5 Zach Annexstad Fr
WR 6 Tyler Johnson Jr
RB 8 Nolan Edmonds Fr
WR 11 Jornell Manns Fr
WR 13 Rashod Bateman Fr
QB 11 Jon Santaga  Fr
WR 17 Seth Green  So
WR 18 Clay Geary  So
QB 19 Samuel Pickerign  Fr
RB 21 Bryce Williams Fr
RB 24 Mohamed Ibrahim  Fr
WR 25 Phillip Howard  So
WR 26 True Thompson  So
WR 27 Paul Gossage  Jr
RB 28 Jonathan Femi-Cole  Jr
RB 31 Domink London  Fr
RB 38 Preston Jelen Fr
TE 42 Ko Kieft  So
TE 44 Colton Beebe  Jr
OL 51 Carlos Dunlap Jr. Fr
OL 58 Quinn Oseland  Jr
OL 60 John Michael Schmitz  Fr
OL 61 Bronson Dovich  Jr
OL 62 Jared Weyler  Sr
OL 63 Austin Beier Fr
OL 64 Conner Olson  So
OL 65 Axel Ruschmeyer  Fr
OL 66 Nathan Boe Fr
OL 70 Sam Schlueter  So
OL 71 Ben Davis  So
OL 73 Donnell Greene  Sr
OL 74 Grant Norton Fr
OL 75 Kyle Sassack  Fr
OL 76 Jack York Fr
OL 77 Blaise Andries  Fr
OL 78 Daniel Faalele Fr
OL 79 Jason Dickson Jr
TE 80 Jake Paulson  Fr
WR 81 Brock Annexstad  Fr
WR 82 Demetrius Douglas  Fr
WR 83 Harry Van Dyne  Fr
WR 84 Erik Gibson Fr
TE 85 Bryce Witham  Jr
TE 86 Clayton Witherspoon Fr
WR 87 Yale Van Dyne  So
TE 88 Brevyn Spann-Ford Fr
WR 89 Matt Morse  Jr
TE 96 Nathan Bursch  Fr
TE 98 Max Jones Fr
 Defense
Pos.#NameClass
DB 2 Jacob Huff Sr
DL 3 Jerry Gibson  Sr
DB 4 Terell Smith Fr
LB 5 Trenton Guthrie  Fr
DB 6 Chris Williamson  Jr
DB 7 Ray Estes  Fr
LB 8 Thomas Rush Fr
DL 9 Esezi Otomewo  Fr
DB 11 Antoine Winfield Jr.  So
DL 12 Tai'yon Devers Jr
DB 14 Braelen Oliver Fr
LB 15 C. J. Smith Fr
DB 16 Coney Durr Jr
DL 19 Gary Moore  Sr
LB 20 Julian Huff Sr
LB 21 Kamal Martin Jr
DB 22 Benny Sapp III Fr
DB 23 Jordan Howden Fr
DB 24 Bishop McDonald (I) Jr
DB 26 Justus Harris So
DB 27 Calvin Swenson  So
DB 29 Jack Leius  So
DL 30 Alex Reigelsperger Fr
DB 31 Kiondre Thomas  So
LB 32 Joe Russell  Fr
DB 34 Antonio Shenault Sr
LB 35 Danny Anderson  Fr
LB 36 Blake Cashman Sr
DB 40 Alex Strazzanti  Fr
LB 41 Thomas Barber Jr
LB 43 Bailey Schoenfelder  So
LB 45 Carter Coughlin Jr
DL 46 Winston DeLattiboudere  Jr
DB 49 Josh Aune Fr
DL 52 Jamaal Teague Fr
LB 53 Owen Piche Fr
LB 55 Mariano Sori-Marin Fr
LB 56 Ty Barron Fr
DL 59 Michael Roane Fr
DL 67 Jack Kern Fr
DL 69 Boye Mafe  Fr
DL 75 Malcolm Robinson  Fr
DL 87 Nate Umlor So
DL 90 Sam Renner  Jr
DL 91 Noah Hickcox  Fr
DL 92 Mayan Ahanotu Fr
DL 93 Connor Novak-Goar  So
DL 94 Abi N-Okonji Fr
DL 95 Victor White (I)  So
DL 97 Royal Silver  Jr
DL 99 O.J. Smith  Sr
 Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
H 14 Casey O'Brien  Fr
LS 25 Payton Jordahl  Sr
K, P 33 Grant Ryerse  Fr
K 34 Brock Walker Fr
K 37 John Mack  So
K 38 Emmit Carpenter  Sr
LS 39 Michael Vojvodich Fr
P 46 Alex Melvin  Jr
P 47 Jacob Herbers  Jr
K 48 Anders Gelecinskyj (I) So
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
  • Kirk Ciarrocca (Offensive Coordinator / Quarterbacks)
  • Robb Smith (Defensive Coordinator / Linebackers)
  • Rob Wenger (Special Teams Coordinator / Outside Linebackers)
  • Jahmile Addae (Defensive Backs)
  • Kenni Burns (Running Backs)
  • Brian Callahan (Offensive Line)
  • Clay Patterson (Tight Ends)
  • Joe Rossi (Defensive Line)
  • Matt Simon (Wide Receivers)
  • Marcus West (Defensive Line Pass Rush Specialist)
  • Gerrit Chernoff (General Manager)
  • Dan Nichol (Head Strength & Conditioning)
  • Norries Wilson (Director of Player Development)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured
  • Redshirt

Roster
Last update: August 29, 2018

Game summaries

New Mexico State
1 2 3 4 Total
Aggies 7 3 0 0 10
Golden Gophers 7 28 3 10 48
See also: 2018 New Mexico State Aggies football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
1–1 2013 MINN, 44–21

Fresno State
1 2 3 4 Total
Bulldogs 0 0 7 7 14
Golden Gophers 7 3 0 11 21
See also: 2018 Fresno State Bulldogs football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
First meeting

Miami (OH)
1 2 3 4 Total
RedHawks 0 3 0 0 3
Golden Gophers 7 12 7 0 26
See also: 2018 Miami RedHawks football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
3–0 2011 MINN, 29–23

at Maryland
1 2 3 4 Total
Golden Gophers 0 10 3 0 13
Terrapins 14 7 14 7 42
See also: 2018 Maryland Terrapins football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
1–2 2017 UMD, 31–24

Iowa
1 2 3 4 Total
Hawkeyes 14 14 10 10 48
Golden Gophers 7 10 7 7 31
See also: 2018 Iowa Hawkeyes football team and Iowa–Minnesota football rivalry
Overall record Last meeting Result
62–47–2 2017 IOWA, 17–10

at Ohio State
1 2 3 4 Total
Golden Gophers 7 7 0 0 14
No. 3 Buckeyes 10 7 3 10 30
See also: 2018 Ohio State Buckeyes football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
7–45 2015 OSU, 28–14

at Nebraska
1 2 3 4 Total
Golden Gophers 0 8 14 6 28
Cornhuskers 14 14 8 17 53
See also: 2018 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team and Minnesota–Nebraska football rivalry
Overall record Last meeting Result
32–24–2 2017 MINN, 54–21

Indiana
1 2 3 4 Total
Hoosiers 6 3 0 22 31
Golden Gophers 7 14 10 7 38
See also: 2018 Indiana Hoosiers football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
38–26–3 2013 MINN, 42–39

at Illinois
1 2 3 4 Total
Golden Gophers 7 10 0 14 31
Fighting Illini 14 10 21 10 55
See also: 2018 Illinois Fighting Illini football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
38–29–3 2017 MINN, 24–17

Purdue
1 2 3 4 Total
Boilermakers 3 0 0 7 10
Golden Gophers 3 10 21 7 41
See also: 2018 Purdue Boilermakers football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
37–33–3 2017 PUR, 31–17

Northwestern
1 2 3 4 Total
Wildcats 7 6 0 11 24
Golden Gophers 0 7 0 7 14
See also: 2018 Northwestern Wildcats football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
53–35–5 2017 NW, 39–0

at Wisconsin
See also: 2018 Wisconsin Badgers football team and Minnesota–Wisconsin football rivalry
Paul Bunyon's Axe: Minnesota Golden Gophers (5–6) at Wisconsin Badgers (7–4)
1 2 34Total
Minnesota 3 14 61437
Wisconsin 0 7 0815

at Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, Wisconsin

  • Date: November 24
  • Game time: 2:30 p.m.
  • Game weather: Cloudy • 42 °F (6 °C) • Wind W 12 miles per hour (19 km/h; 10 kn)
  • Game attendance: 74,038
  • Referee: R. Snodgrass
  • Box Score

vs. Georgia Tech (Quick Lane Bowl)
1 2 3 4 Total
Yellow Jackets 0 3 7 0 10
Golden Gophers 10 3 7 14 34
See also: 2018 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team and 2018 Quick Lane Bowl
Overall record Last meeting Result
First Meeting

Awards and honors
All-Big Ten
Player Position Coaches Media
Tyler Johnson WR 2 1
Carter Coughlin DL 2 2
Blake Cashman LB 3 2
Jacob Huff DB HM HM
Donnell Greene OT HM HM
Jacob Herbers P HM HM
Emmit Carpenter K HM HM
Demetrius Douglas PR/KR – HM
Blaise Andries OG – HM
Daniel Faalele OT – HM
Mohomed Ibrahim RB – HM
Conner Olson OG – HM
Jared Weyler C – HM
HM = Honorable mention. Reference:[4]

Players drafted into the NFL
See also: 2019 NFL Draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionNFL Club
5157Blake CashmanLBNew York Jets

References
  1. Johnson, Randy (October 23, 2018). "Availability of Gophers quarterback Zack Annexstad still uncertain for Indiana game". Star Tribune.
  2. "2018 Minnesota Golden Gophers Stats". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  3. "2018 Big Ten Conference Year Summary". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  4. "2018 All-Big Ten Football Teams and Individual Award Recipients" (PDF). BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. November 28, 2018. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
  5. "Rimington Trophy Press Release". May 30, 2018. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
  6. "2018 Bednarik Award Watch List - Maxwell Football Club". Maxwell Football Club. 2018-07-16. Retrieved 2018-07-17.
  7. "2018 Maxwell Award Watch List". July 16, 2018. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  8. "2018 Doak Walker Award Candidates". July 18, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  9. "Butkus Award - 2018 Collegiate Watchlist". The Butkus Award. July 23, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  10. "Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award Announces 2018 Preseason Watch List". July 25, 2018. Archived from the original on August 17, 2009. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  11. "43 PLAYERS NAMED TO 2018 PAUL HORNUNG AWARD WATCH LIST". July 26, 2018. Archived from the original on July 26, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  12. "Wuerffel Trophy Unveils 2018 Watch List". July 26, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  13. http://www.fbschedules.com/ncaa-18/2018-minnesota-golden-gophers-football-schedule.php
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