Minnesota — Big Ten
HC
P.J. Fleck · Huntington Bank Stadium · Minneapolis, MN · 50,850 cap
PPA off / def
0.11 / 0.18
2025
Class rank
#28
class of 2026
Returning PPA
65%
returning production
| 2025 |
OSU W 42–3 | Columbus |
| 2023 |
OSU W 37–3 | Columbus |
| 2021 |
OSU W 45–31 | away |
| 2018 |
OSU W 30–14 | Columbus |
| 2015 |
OSU W 28–14 | Columbus |
| 2014 |
OSU W 31–24 | away |
| 2010 |
OSU W 52–10 | away |
| 2009 |
OSU W 38–7 | Columbus |
| 2008 |
OSU W 34–21 | Columbus |
| 2007 |
OSU W 30–7 | away |
| + 46 earlier meetings in archive |
2026 schedule
2025 results (8–5)
Statistical comps — 2025 Minnesota's closest analogs
Nearest neighbors by z-scored success rate, explosiveness, run rate & havoc (offense + defense), 2015–25.
2025 leaders
Transfer portal — 2026 (19 in / 20 out)
Origins
Five national titles in the 1930s and 40s, all under Bierman, when Minnesota was simply the best program in football. The Little Brown Jug is the oldest trophy in the sport.
Founded 1851 · Founded as a preparatory school seven years before statehood · first football 1882 · defined by Bernie Bierman
All-time record
All-time
733–544–42
1892–2025
Win %
57.2%
134 seasons played
Winning seasons
82
61% of seasons
| Best seasons | W | L | Conference |
|---|
| 1903 | 14 | 0 | Western |
| 1904 | 13 | 0 | Western |
| 2019 | 11 | 2 | Big Ten |
| 1900 | 10 | 0 | Western |
| 1905 | 10 | 1 | Western |
Season records from CollegeFootballData, which is why the span starts at 1892 — that is where its coverage of this program begins, not necessarily the first year it fielded a team.
Play-calling tendencies (2025 · garbage time excluded)
| Situation | Plays | Run % | Success % | Nat'l | Avg yds | Expl % |
|---|
| 1st down | 291 | 43% |
41% | 83 of 136 | 5.3 | 10% |
| 2nd down | 225 | 46% |
32% | 122 of 136 | 4.5 | 7% |
| 3rd & short (≤3) | 35 | 80% |
57% | — | 2.6 | 0% |
| 3rd & medium (4–7) | 58 | 19% |
47% | — | 6.0 | 10% |
| 3rd & long (8+) | 60 | 13% |
35% | — | 5.5 | 8% |
| 4th down | 11 | 91% |
55% | — | 2.4 | 9% |
142 drives · 32% ended in points · 7.1 plays and 38.4 yards per drive · 0.50 PPA per drive
Success: 50% of yardage needed on 1st, 70% on 2nd, 100% on 3rd/4th. Explosive: 12+ yd rush / 16+ yd pass. National rank is shown only for 1st and 2nd down, where every team has 100+ plays; the later buckets average 18-43 and a rank there would be noise.
League leaderboard →Most valuable plays (by PPA, 2025)
| Wk | Opp | Play | Yds | PPA |
|---|
| 8 | Nebraska |
Darius Taylor run for 71 yds to the NEB 1 for a 1ST down |
71 | 5.44 |
| 14 | Wisconsin |
(02:52) Shotgun #1 D.Taylor rush middle for 49 yards gain to the WISC00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 0… |
49 | 5.12 |
| 5 | Rutgers |
Drake Lindsey pass complete to Jalen Smith for 78 yds to the RUTG 3 for a 1ST down |
78 | 4.97 |
| 1 | Buffalo |
Drake Lindsey pass complete to Jalen Smith for 60 yds for a TD (Brady Denaburg KICK) |
60 | 4.76 |
| 14 | Wisconsin |
End of 3rd quarter. |
66 | 4.09 |
| 13 | Northwestern |
(05:20) No Huddle-Shotgun #5 D.Lindsey pass complete short right to #0 L.Brockington caugh… |
15 | 3.52 |
| 2 | Northwestern State |
Drake Lindsey pass complete to Javon Tracy for 45 yds for a TD (Brady Denaburg KICK) |
45 | 3.48 |
| 1 | Buffalo |
Drake Lindsey pass complete to Jalen Smith for 22 yds to the BUF 49 for a 1ST down |
22 | 3.47 |