2021 SCHEDULE MINNESOTA VS. #4/4 OHIO STATE DATE OPPONENT TIME TV RESULT Date/Time: Sept. 2, 2021 / 7 p.m. CT Television: FOX SEPTEMBER Site: Minneapolis Gus Johnson (PXP) 2 #4/4 Ohio State* 7:00 p.m. FOX Stadium: Huntington Bank Joel Klatt (Analyst) 11 Miami (OH) 11:00 a.m. ESPNU Surface: FieldTurf Jenny Taft (Reporter) 18 at Colorado 12:00 p.m. PAC12N Capacity: 50,805 Series Overall: Ohio State Leads 45-7 25 Bowling Green^ 11:00 a.m. TBA Minnesota Ohio State Radio: KFAN 2020: 3-4, 3-4 B1G 2020: 7-1, 5-0 B1G Streak: Ohio State Won 11 OCTOBER Mike Grimm (Play by Play) HC P.J. Fleck HC Ryan Day Series in MN: Ohio State Leads 22-4 2 at Purdue* 11:00 a.m. TBA Darrell Thompson (Analyst) 9th Year (5th at Minnesota) 4th Year (all at Ohio State) Streak: Ohio State Won 13 16 Nebraska* TBA TBA Last Meeting: Ohio State won 30-14 Justin Gaard (Reporter) at Minnesota: 26-19 at Ohio State: 23-2 23 Maryland* TBA TBA in Columbus (10/13/18) Corbu Stathes (Host) vs. Ohio State: 0-1 vs. Minnesota: 0-0 30 at Northwestern* TBA TBA Last U win: 29-17 in Columbus Dan Rowbotham (Engineer) Overall Record: 56-41 at Ohio State: 23-2 NOVEMBER (10/14/00) vs. Ohio State: 0-2 vs. Minnesota: 0-0 6 Illinois* TBA TBA Last U win in MN: 35-31 (11/7/81) 13 at Iowa* TBA TBA 20 at Indiana* TBA TBA FIVE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW 27 Wisconsin* TBA TBA * Big Ten game // ^ Homecoming game // All times Central University of Minnesota football begins its 138th season, 1 and fifth under head coach P.J. Fleck, Thursday night as WEEKLY MEDIA SCHEDULE it hosts No. 4/4 Ohio State at Huntington Bank Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. with a national TV audience 8/27 2 p.m. Head Coach P.J. Fleck, student-athletes on FOX. press conference (in person) 8/28 No Availability Minnesota is 96-35-6 all-time in season openers, includ- 8/29 No Availability 2 ing wins in four of their last five openers (3-1 under head coach P.J. Fleck). The Golden Gophers are 100-30-7 8/30 12 p.m. DC Joe Rossi, OC Mike Sanford, Jr. (via Zoom) all-time in home openers with an identical stretch of four 8/31 6:30 p.m. Gopher Football Weekly with P.J. Fleck (KFAN) wins in their past five home openers (also 3-1 under Fleck). 9/1 No Availability Minnesota is 8-4 in home openers since Huntington Bank 9/2 7 p.m. vs. Ohio State Stadium opened in 2009. UPDATED BIOS & STATS For the second straight season, Minnesota opens the 3 year with a Big Ten opponent after facing Michigan last Visit GopherSports.com for updated bios and career stats. year in a schedule that featured only league action. Thursday’s matchup with the Buckeyes will be the 10th time Mohamed Ibrahim has run for over 100 yards in each TABLE OF CONTENTS in program history that Minnesota faces a conference foe of his last eight games, a school record. He’s averaging in the season opener. The Gophers are 2-7 in those previ- 152.0 yards per game and has scored 16 touchdowns Pages 2-3 Notes, Quick Facts, Stat Comparison, Standings ous games, including an 0-2 mark against Ohio State. The during the span. Pages 4-5 Notes, Series History, Polls, Preseason Honors Gophers also opened the season with the Buckeyes in 1973 Pages 6 Record Book and 1974. Overall, Minnesota is 63-54-8 in Big Ten openers, including a 71-49-5 mark at home. Pages 7-8 Coach Fleck Pages 9-10 Roster Mohamed Ibrahim is the Big Ten’s reigning Ameche-Dayne Running Back of the Year. He has 13 career 100-yard Pages 11-12 Single Game Career Highs 4 rushing games, which includes a current streak of eight in a row (2020 Outback Bowl and all seven games in 2020). Pages 13-14 Last Time Ibrahim’s eight-game streak is the longest in program history, breaking a tie of seven with former Gopher great Pages 15-16 Scoring Drives, Career Starts, Longest Plays Laurence Maroney. An All-Big Ten First Team honoree and AP Third-Team All-American last year, Ibrahim ran 201 times Page 17 Starting Lineups (25th most in school single-season history) for 1,076 yards (23rd most in school single season-history) and 15 touchdowns Pages 18-30 Stats (most ever for a junior at Minnesota and ranks fourth in school-single season history). He led the Big Ten in the following categories: rushing attempts (201), rushing yards (1,076), rushing yards per game (153.7), rushing touchdowns (15), scor- ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS ing (90), points per game (12.9) and all-purpose yards per game (168.4). Ibrahim also set a school record with a rushing average of 153.7 yards per game and twice tied a school record with four rushing touchdowns in one game (at Maryland Minnesota Athletic Communications and at Illinois). 516 15th Avenue S.E., Suite 225 Minneapolis, MN 55455 The 2021 campaign is the fifth for head coach P.J. Fleck at Minnesota. He enters the year with a record of 26-19. 5 In Minnesota football history, only Henry L. Williams (42, 1900-03) had more wins in his first four seasons than Paul Rovnak Fleck’s 26. In addition, Fleck’s 15 wins in Big Ten play are tied with Cal Stoll (1972-75) for the most in a coach’s first e-mail: [email protected] | cell: 651-592-5741 four years with the Gophers. Overall, Fleck is already ninth in program history for wins, while his .578 win percentage is Karl Anderson third best among the 11 Minnesota coaches with at least 45 games under their helm behind only Williams (.786, 1900-21) e-mail: [email protected] | cell: 612-910-2564 and Bernie Bierman (.716, 1932-41, ‘45-50). Ski-U-Mah // Row The Boat Minnesota vs. Ohio State // Sept. 2, 2021 David Cobb ran 27 times for 145 yards and three QUICK FACTS FACING OHIO STATE touchdowns for Minnesota in the loss, while on the other Minnesota and Ohio State meet for the 53rd time on side of the ball Briean Boddy-Calhoun forced two turn- Thursday. The Buckeyes hold a 45-7 edge in the series, UNIVERSITY FACTS overs (interception, forced fumble) for the Gophers in the including 11 straight wins, marking the Gophers’ longest Location: Minneapolis, Minn. coldest kickoff in the history of Huntington Bank Stadium at Population: 413,651 active losing streak against one opponent. 15 degrees. For the Buckeyes, J.T. Barrett threw for three Founded: 1851 At home, Minnesota is 4-22 against Ohio State, and touchdowns and ran for an Ohio State quarterback-record Joined Big Ten: 1896 (charter member) the Buckeyes have won 13 straight in Minneapolis. 189 yards and another score. First Year of Big Ten Football: 1896 Minnesota is looking for its first win at home over OSU Enrollment: 47,568 since a 35-31 victory in 1981. CAREER STATS VS. OHIO STATE Minnesota has nine Ohioans on the roster: Austin PLAYER GP/GS C-A INT TD YDS RTG Nickname: Golden Gophers Annexstad, Z. 1/1 13-23 2 0 218 118.75 Beier, Mike Brown-Stephens, Miles Fleming, Conner Colors: Maroon and Gold PLAYER GP/GS RSH YDS TD AVG LG Band: University of Minnesota Marching Band Keyes, Gage Keys, Thomas Rush, Matthew Trickett, Ibrahim 1/1 23 157 2 6.8 34 President: Joan T.A. Gabel Devon Williams, Donald Willis. Ohio State has no Williams, B. 1/0 2 7 0 3.5 4 Annexstad, Z. 1/1 3 -6 0 -2.0 3 Director of Athletics: Mark Coyle Minnesotans on its roster. Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck began his coach- PLAYER GP/GS REC YDS TD AVG LG Faculty Reps: Frances Homans, Donald Dengel Williams, B. 1/0 1 14 0 14.0 14 ing career as an Ohio State graduate assistant in 2006. Ticket Office Phone: 612-624-8080 PLAYER GP/GS TKL TFL (SK) INT PBU FF/FR Website: GopherSports.com Cornerbacks coach Paul Haynes was at Ohio State from Pinckney* 2/1 3 0.0 0 0 0/0 2005-2011, holding the position of co-defensive coordi- Otomewo 1/0 2 0.0 0 0 0/0 nator/secondary coach in 2011 after being the secondary Durr 1/1 1 0.0 0 3 0/0 TEAM INFORMATION * stats recorded while at Clemson Offensive Formation: Multiple coach from 2005-10. Defensive Formation: 4-3 Thursday’s game will mark the fourth time that Letterwinners returning: Minnesota will face a team that played in the previous MEMORABLE GAMES VS. OSU 58 (25 offense, 29 defense, 4 specialist) year’s national championship game since the BCS began Oct. 14, 2000: Ron Johnson caught eight passes for Letterwinners lost: in 1998. All of the matchups have come against Ohio State, 163 yards and a touchdown in Minnesota’s 29-17 upset of 15 (4 offense, 6 defense, 5 specialists) and the Buckeyes have won each of the meetings. First No. 6 Ohio State in Columbus. The Buckeyes managed just Starters Returning: was a 30-7 loss in 2007, followed by a 34-21 setback the 200 yards of total offense. 22 (10 offense, 10 defense, 2 specialst) following year and a 28-14 defeat in 2015.