Predicting the remainder of Minnesota's 2025 schedule
The Minnesota Golden Gophers enter their first bye week of the season with a 2-1 record. Three games in, we’ve learned quite a bit about both Minnesota and the rest of its 2025 opponents.
Below, Gophers Nation breaks down the remaining schedule and offers our predictions.
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September 27 – vs Rutgers
The Scarlet Knights are 3-0 entering this weekend, but those three wins are against Ohio, Miami (OH), and Norfolk State, so we really still don’t know much about Rutgers. We’ll learn more about Greg Schiano’s squad this weekend when they take on the Iowa Hawkeyes. Overall, Rutgers and Minnesota are probably very similar, and home-field advantage could be the ultimate difference maker.
Pick: Minnesota
Record: 3-1 (1-0)
October 4 – at Ohio State
The defending national champions are currently 3-0 and have yet to look dominant. That will eventually come, though the Golden Gophers would prefer it not to be before their October 4 matchup in Columbus. Even if the Buckeyes are not finely tuned in time for this matchup, they’ll still be heavy favorites, and it’s hard to see an avenue to victory for the Gophers.
Pick: Ohio State
Record: 3-2 (1-1)
October 11 – vs Purdue
The Boilermakers are an improved team in 2025, but just how improved are they? We’ll find out over the next few weeks. After a 33-17 loss to USC last week, Purdue will now face Notre Dame this Saturday and Illinois on October 4 before facing the Gophers. While Purdue does appear to be a more competitive team in 2025, we still like the Gophers to win this game, especially at home.
Pick: Minnesota
Record: 4-2 (2-1)
October 17 – vs Nebraska
The Cornhuskers were a team I was high on entering the fall, and through three weeks, Matt Rhule’s team has shown plenty of potential. After a 20-17 win over Cincinnati in week one, they had a pair of cupcakes in the last two weeks against Akron and Houston Christian. They’ll face their biggest test this weekend when they host the Michigan Wolverines. They’ll also face Michigan State and Maryland before facing the Gophers. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Cornhuskers are 6-0 entering this game. I could see Minnesota winning this matchup, but right now, I’d have to lean with Nebraska.
Pick: Nebraska
Record: 4-3 (2-2)
October 25 – at Iowa
The Hawkeyes are 2-1 with wins over Albany and UMass while falling to rival Iowa State in week two. Through three weeks, the Hawkeyes look to be another prototypical Iowa team. Strong defense and a lackluster offense. Very similar to the Rutgers matchup, we believe home-field advantage could play a big factor in this matchup. Unfortunately for the Gophers, this year’s matchup is in Iowa City.
Pick: Iowa
Record: 4-4 (2-3)
November 1 – vs Michigan State
Michigan State is off to a 3-0 start this season and looks quite a bit improved from last season. They’ll face USC this week, which should give us a better idea of where the Spartans are as a whole. They’ll also face Nebraska, UCLA, Indiana, and Michigan before facing the Golden Gophers. This is another true coin flip game; we could see it going either way, but like Rutgers and Iowa, we’re going to go with the home-field advantage, which, of course, favors the Gophers.
Pick: Minnesota
Record: 5-4 (3-3)
November 14 – at Oregon
The Ducks are picking up right where they left off last season and are among the Big Ten’s best teams. Autzen Stadium is also one of the toughest places to play in all of college football for road teams. One thing for going for the Gophers entering this game will be that they’re coming off a bye week; perhaps they catch the Ducks on a bad day, but it’s hard to go against the Ducks to win.
Pick: Oregon
Record: 5-5 (3-4)
November 22 – at Northwestern
The Northwestern Wildcats are 1-2 this season with losses to Tulane and Oregon. They’ll next face UCLA and have Louisiana-Monroe also on their schedule. All in all, we expect the Wildcats to finish at the bottom of the Big Ten standings this season, but they’ll still be a team that comes out and fights every week. It won’t be an easy win for the Gophers; add in late November weather in Chicago, and there could be quite a few factors in play. But ultimately, we like the Gophers to win this late November matchup.
Pick: Minnesota
Record: 6-5 (4-4)
November 29 – vs Wisconsin
This is a bad Wisconsin team, make no doubt about that. This past weekend, the Badgers fell to the Alabama Crimson Tide 38-14. Before their first loss of the season, they picked up wins over Miami (OH) and Middle Tennessee, and weren’t overly impressive in either win. The Gophers are currently set to face Wisconsin after the Badgers face four top-25 teams in five games spanning from October 18 through November 22. I expect the Badgers to be under .500 coming into the season finale. Luke Fickell could potentially already be gone as well; perhaps Wisconsin is just ready for the season to be over. That being said, give me the Gophers to win.
Pick: Minnesota
Record: 7-5 (5-4)
That’s how we see the Gophers’ remaining 2025 schedule playing out. How about you? What do you believe the Gophers’ final record will be this season? Let us know on the Inside Gophers Nation forum!
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