Minnesota football bowl projections following week 12
The Minnesota Golden Gophers suffered a blowout loss to the No. 8 Oregon Ducks this past Friday and fell to 6-4 (4-3) on the season.
Despite their most recent setback, the Gophers are already bowl eligible and have the opportunity to finish their regular season with an 8-4 record with matchups against Northwestern and Wisconsin remaining.
Below, Gophers Nation takes a look at the latest bowl projections for Minnesota heading into week 12 of the college football season.
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On3 (McMurphy): Pinstripe Bowl (Dec. 27 – Bronx, NY) – Louisville vs. Minnesota
McMurphy continues to project Minnesota to the Pinstripe Bowl in New York City on December 27. After projecting the Gophers to play the Pittsburgh Panthers last week, the projected opponent has changed to the Louisville Cardinals. The Gophers and Cardinals have never met on the gridiron. Minnesota’s last trip to the Pinstripe Bowl came in 2022, a 28-20 win over the Syracuse Orange.
Athlon Sports (Steven Lassan): Music City Bowl (Dec. 30 – Nashville, TN) – LSU vs. Minnesota
Lassan continues to project the Gophers to head to Nashville for the Music City Bowl at the end of December with a matchup against the LSU Tigers. The Gophers and Tigers have never met. Minnesota has played in the Music City Bowl three times, all between 2002 and 2005. The Gophers lost that 2005 matchup to the Virginia Cavaliers 34-31.
CBS Sports: Rate Bowl (Dec. 26 – Phoenix, AZ) – Iowa State vs. Minnesota
CBS Sports continues to project Minnesota to the Rate Bowl in Phoenix, Arizona, at Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Gophers and Cyclones have met 26 times, but have not met since the 2009 season, a 14-13 win for the Cyclones in the Insight Bowl. The Gophers’ last appearance in the Rate Bowl was in 2021, an 18-6 win over the West Virginia Mountaineers.
ESPN (Kyle Bonagura): Pinestripe Bowl (Dec. 27 – Bronx, NY) – Pittsburgh vs. Minnesota
Bonagura continues to like the Gophers’ potential matchup against the Pittsburgh Panthers in the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl on December 27. Minnesota and Pittsburgh have met 12 times all-time, their last meeting coming over 30 years ago in 1992, 14-13 home loss for the Gophers.
ESPN (Mark Schlabach): Music City Bowl (Dec. 30 – Nashville, TN) – LSU vs. Minnesota
Schlabach also continues to like his projection of Minnesota to face LSU in the Music City Bowl. The Gophers have faced nine SEC opponents all-time and hold a 7-10-1 record against the conference all-time.
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