2016 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

2016 Minnesota Golden Gophers football
2016 Minnesota Golden Gophers football
Holiday Bowl champion
Holiday Bowl, W 17–12 vs. Washington State
Conference	Big Ten Conference
	West Division
Record	9–4 (5–4 Big Ten)
Head coach	Tracy Claeys (1st season);
Offensive coordinator	Jay Johnson (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple
Defensive coordinator	Jay Sawvel (1st season)
Base defense	4–3
Captains	Mitch Leidner; Brandon Lingen; Jack Lynn; Damarius Travis;
Home stadium	TCF Bank Stadium
	Seasons ← 2015 2017 →

The 2016 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented the University of Minnesota in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They played home games at TCF Bank Stadium. They were a member of the West Division of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 9–4, 5–4 in conference play to finish in fourth place in the West Division. They were invited to the Holiday Bowl where they defeated Washington State.

ConferenceBig Ten Conference

West Division

Record9–4 (5–4 Big Ten)

Headcoach

Tracy Claeys (1st season)

Quick facts Minnesota Golden Gophers football, Holiday Bowl champion ...

Close

More information Conf., Overall ...

2016 Big Ten Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
East Division
No. 7 Penn State xy$	8	–	1	11	–	3
No. 6 Ohio State x^	8	–	1	11	–	2
No. 10 Michigan	7	–	2	10	–	3
Indiana	4	–	5	6	–	7
Maryland	3	–	6	6	–	7
Michigan State	1	–	8	3	–	9
Rutgers	0	–	9	2	–	10
West Division
No. 9 Wisconsin xy	7	–	2	11	–	3
Iowa	6	–	3	8	–	5
Nebraska	6	–	3	9	–	4
Minnesota	5	–	4	9	–	4
Northwestern	5	–	4	7	–	6
Illinois	2	–	7	3	–	9
Purdue	1	–	8	3	–	9
Championship: Penn State 38, Wisconsin 31
^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

Close

The Golden Gophers were led by Tracy Claeys in his first and only season as head coach. Claeys was fired by the university on January 3 after he publicy backed a player-led boycott of the Holiday Bowl, following the suspension of ten players that were accused of sexual assault.^[1]

[1]

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	8:00 pm	Oregon State*	TCF Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN	BTN	W 30–23	44,582
September 10	11:00 am	Indiana State*	TCF Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN	ESPNews	W 58–28	41,026
September 24	11:00 am	Colorado State*	TCF Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN	ESPNU	W 31–24	44,854
October 1	2:30 pm	at Penn State	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (Governor's Victory Bell)	BTN	L 26–29 ^OT	95,332
October 8	11:00 am	Iowa	TCF Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN (rivalry)	ESPN2	L 7–14	49,145
October 15	11:00 am	at Maryland	Maryland Stadium College Park, MD	ESPNU	W 31–10	41,465
October 22	11:00 am	Rutgers	TCF Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN	ESPNU	W 34–32	46,096
October 29	11:00 am	at Illinois	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	BTN	W 40–17	40,090
November 5	2:30 pm	Purdue	TCF Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN	BTN	W 44–31	42,832
November 12	6:30 pm	at No. 21 Nebraska	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE (rivalry)	BTN	L 17–24	90,456
November 19	2:30 pm	Northwestern	TCF Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN	BTN	W 29–12	38,162
November 26	2:30 pm	at No. 5 Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI (rivalry)	BTN	L 17–31	77,216
December 27	6:00 pm	vs. Washington State*	Qualcomm Stadium San Diego, CA (Holiday Bowl)	ESPN	W 17–12	48,704
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

	1	2	3	4	Total
Beavers	7	7	9	0	23
Golden Gophers	0	17	0	13	30

	1	2	3	4	Total
Sycamores	7	0	14	7	28
Golden Gophers	14	24	10	10	58

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rams	7	0	10	7	24
Golden Gophers	7	10	7	7	31

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Golden Gophers	3	10	0	10	3	26
Nittany Lions	0	3	17	3	6	29

2016 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

Schedule

Game summaries

Oregon State

Indiana State

Colorado State

At Penn State

Iowa

At Maryland

Rutgers

At Illinois

Purdue

At #21 Nebraska

Northwestern

At #6 Wisconsin

Washington State–Holiday Bowl

Personnel

Coaching staff

Roster

Awards and honors

Players drafted into the NFL

References

Related Articles

Timelines

Top Qs

Fact Checks

Name	Position	Alma mater	Joined Staff
Tracy Claeys	Head coach	Kansas State (1994)	2010
Brian Anderson	Wide receivers coach	Illinois (1994)	2010
Jay Johnson	Offensive coordinator / quarterbacks coach	Northern Iowa (1993)	2015
Bart Miller	Offensive line coach	New Mexico (2007)	2015
Jeff Phelps	Defensive line coach	Ball State (1997)	2010
Pat Poore	Running backs coach / co-special team coordinator	Fort Hays State (1984)	2010
Rob Reeves	H-backs coach / tight ends coach	Saginaw Valley State (1996)	2010
Jay Sawvel	Defensive coordinator	Mount Union (1993)	2010
Mike Sherels	Linebackers coach	Minnesota (2007)	2013
Dan O'Brien	Assistant Defensive Backs / co-special team coordinator / assistant head coach	St. Thomas (1987)	2010
Eric Klein	Strength and conditioning	Carleton College (1993)	2010

Player	Award	Date Awarded	Ref.
Emmit Carpenter	Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week	October 3, 2016	^[3]
Rodney Smith	Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week	October 24, 2016	^[4]
Emmit Carpenter	Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week	November 7, 2016	^[5]
Blake Cashman	Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week	November 21, 2016	^[6]