2005 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

2005 Minnesota Golden Gophers football

Music City Bowl, L 31–34 vs. Virginia
Conference	Big Ten Conference
2005 record	7–5 (4–4 Big Ten)
Head coach	Glen Mason
Home stadium	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (Capacity: 64,172)

2005 Big Ten football standings
	Conf				Overall
Team		W		L		W		L
#3 Penn State $+		7	–	1		11	–	1
#4 Ohio State %+		7	–	1		10	–	2
#15 Wisconsin		5	–	3		10	–	3
Michigan		5	–	3		7	–	5
Northwestern		5	–	3		7	–	5
Iowa		5	–	3		7	–	5
Minnesota		4	–	4		7	–	5
Purdue		3	–	5		5	–	6
Michigan State		2	–	6		5	–	6
Indiana		1	–	7		4	–	7
Illinois		0	–	8		2	–	9

$ – BCS representative as conference champion % – BCS at-large representative + – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 2005 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented the University of Minnesota during the 2005 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team's head coach was Glen Mason. Minnesota played its home games at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The most notable win of the season came as Minnesota defeated Michigan to win the Little Brown Jug for the first time since 1986.

Previous season

2004 was the eighth season under head coach Glen Mason. He led the team to a 7–5 record and an appearance in the Music City Bowl. The Gophers won their first five games before falling in five of their final seven contests.

Polls

The 2005 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team was not ranked in either the final Coaches' Poll or AP Poll.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent^#	Rank^#	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	9:30 PM	at Tulsa*		Skelly Stadium • Tulsa, OK	ESPN2	W 41–10	33,410^[1]
September 10	1:00 PM	Colorado State*		Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome • Minneapolis, MN	ESPN2	W 56–24	40,221^[2]
September 17	7:30 PM	Florida Atlantic*		Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome • Minneapolis, MN	FSN	W 46–7	40,709^[3]
September 24	11:00 AM	#11 Purdue*		Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome • Minneapolis, MN	ESPN	W 42–35 ^2OT	48,116^[4]
October 1	2:30 PM	at Penn State	#18	Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA (Governor's Victory Bell)	ABC	L 14–44	106,604^[5]
October 8	12:00 PM	at #21 Michigan		Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI (Little Brown Jug)	ABC	W 23–20	111,117^[6]
October 15	11:00 AM	#23 Wisconsin	#22	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome • Minneapolis, MN (Paul Bunyan's Axe)	ESPN	L 34–38	65,089^[7]
October 29	11:00 AM	#12 Ohio State		Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome • Minneapolis, MN	ABC	L 31–45	54,825^[8]
November 5	11:00 AM	at Indiana		Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, IN	ESPN2	W 42–21	30,656^[9]
November 12	11:00 AM	Michigan State		Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome • Minneapolis, MN	ESPN+	W 41–18	45,187^[10]
November 19	11:00 AM	at Iowa		Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA (Floyd of Rosedale)	ESPN2	L 28–52	70,585^[11]
December 30	11:00 AM	vs. Virginia*		The Coliseum • Nashville, TN (Music Bowl)	ESPN	L 31–34	40,519^[12]
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. All times are in Central Time.

Game notes

Tulsa

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Gophers	17	7	3	14	41
Golden Hurricanes	0	3	0	7	10

All-time record against Tulsa: 2–0–0

The Gophers open the 2005 season in dominating fashion. Laurence Maroney rushed for 203 yards and 2 touchdowns. Bryan Cupito added 235 yards passing and 1 touchdown. Gary Russell had only six carries but two touchdowns, both coming in the fourth quarter.

Colorado State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rams	0	10	0	14	24
Golden Gophers	3	19	20	14	56

All-time record against Colorado State: 2–0–0

The Gophers continued their high scoring ways to open the season, romping over Colorado State. Laurence Maroney had another big day, rushing for 133 yards and 2 touchdowns. Gary Russell had 2 touchdowns on seven carries. The Golden Gophers had fantastic average field position, starting at their own 40-yard line, but Tulsa averaged their starting at their own 21-yard line.

Florida Atlantic

	1	2	3	4	Total
Owls	0	0	7	0	7
Golden Gophers	20	20	6	0	46

All-time record against Florida Atlantic: 1–0–0

The Golden Gophers won the third game of the season, defeating the Florida Atlantic Owls. Bryan Cupito passed 10 for 17 and 230 yards, with 2 touchdowns. Laurence Maroney and Gary Russell each scored two touchdowns on the day. The Minnesota rushing attack accumulated 349 yards on the ground. The Gophers once again had better field position than their opponents, as the Gophers were 16 yards better than the Owls, starting at the 37-yard line.

Purdue

	1	2	3	4	OT	2OT	Total
Boilermakers	0	7	7	14	7	0	35
Golden Gophers	3	7	10	8	7	7	42

All-time record against Purdue: 31–28–3 (as of 2005)

The Golden Gophers won their fourth game of the season, winning in double overtime of Purdue. Laurence Maroney had another big day for the Golden Gophers, rushing for 217 yards. Bryan Cupito passed for 271 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for a two-point conversion in the waning time of the fourth quarter, giving a tying score that would eventually force overtime. Logan Payne caught a touchdown in the first overtime, and Gary Russell scored the go-ahead touchdown in the second overtime, giving Minnesota the victory.

Penn State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Gophers	0	7	0	7	14
Nittany Lions	10	10	17	7	44

All-time record against Penn State: 4–5–0 (as of 2005)

Penn State raced out to a 20-point lead on the way to a 30-point victory over the Golden Gophers. Minnesota's normally potent ground game was held to 113 yards. Bryan Cupito passed for 174 yards on the day. The Golden Gophers turned the ball over twice, compared to no turnovers for the Nittany Lions. The Nittany Lions regained the Governor's Victory Bell for the first time since 1998.

Michigan

Minnesota at #21 Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Minnesota	0	10	10	3	23
Michigan	3	10	7	0	20

Date: Saturday, October 8
Location: Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Game start: 1:00 P.M. EST
TV announcers (ABC): Brad Nessler & Bob Griese

Source: ESPN

Scoring summary

1	10:26	Michigan	Garrett Rivas 23-yard field goal	Michigan 3-0

2	12:40	Minnesota	Jason Giannini 29-yard field goal	Tie 3-3

2	5:50	Michigan	Garrett Rivas 47-yard field goal	MICH 6-3

2	3:10	Michigan	Mike Hart 1-yard run (Garrett Rivas kick)	Michigan 13-3

2	0:58	Minnesota	Ernie Wheelwright 20-yard pass from Bryan Cupito (Jason Giannini kick)	Michigan 13-10

3	12:40	Minnesota	Jason Giannini 26-yard field goal	Tie 13-13

3	12:25	Michigan	Steve Breaston 95-yard kickoff return (Garrett Rivas kick)	Michigan 20-13

3	6:12	Minnesota	Laurence Maroney 1-yard run (Jason Giannini kick)	Tie 20-20

4	0:01	Minnesota	Jason Giannini 30-yard field goal	Minnesota 23-20

All-time record against Michigan: 24–67–3 (as of 2005)

The Minnesota Golden Gophers won the Little Brown Jug for the first time since 1986. Laurence Maroney rushed for 129 yards on the day. Gary Russell ran for 128 yards on the day, nearly half the yards coming from one rush with under two minutes left in the game. That rush set up a final field goal by Jason Giannini. It was the first win for the Golden Gophers under Glen Mason. It was Michigan's was third loss on the season.

Wisconsin

	1	2	3	4	Total
Badgers	7	3	7	21	38
Golden Gophers	0	10	17	7	34

All-time record against Wisconsin: 59–48–8 (as of 2005)

Coming off one of the biggest wins in recent memory, the Golden Gophers faced off against border rival, Wisconsin. The two teams traded the lead through the first half. With 3:27 left in the game, the Golden Gophers stretched the lead to 34–24. The Badgers then scored a touchdown, bringing the lead back down to a three-point gap. With 30 seconds left, the Badgers blocked a punt and recovered it for a touchdown. The Badgers kept Paul Bunyan's Axe for the third straight year.

Ohio State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Buckeyes	17	0	14	14	45
Golden Gophers	10	7	7	7	31

All-time record against Ohio State: 7–38–0 (as of 2005)

Minnesota dropped the game to Ohio State, despite a solid performance from the Golden Gophers offense. Bryan Cupito had 26 completions on 35 attempts, and had 395 yards passing. Laurence Maroney rushed for 125 yards. The Golden Gophers out gained the Buckeyes by 130 yards on offense, but had several drives stall. Twice the ball was turned over on downs, once on a missed field goal, and the Gophers had one fumble.

Indiana

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Gophers	7	0	27	8	42
Hoosiers	0	14	0	7	21

All-time record against Indiana: 35–25–3 (as of 2005)

Minnesota's Gary Russell rushed for 188 yards and three touchdowns on the way to the first Gopher victory in Indiana since 1985. The Golden Gophers had 200 more yards of offensive production on the day. The Golden Gophers broke the game open, scoring four touchdowns. Gary Russell had three touchdowns on the day. Minnesota had no turnovers on the day. The Gophers were successful on seven of the twelve third-down attempts. The win made the Golden Gophers bowl eligible.

Michigan State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Spartans	0	3	0	15	18
Golden Gophers	7	14	7	13	41

All-time record against Michigan State: 15–25–0 (as of 2005)

Amir Pinnix rushed for 206 yards as the Golden Gophers won, 41–18. Bryan Cupito only passed 13 times, but connected on eight of those passes, and two touchdowns. The Golden Gophers had only two drives on the game that didn't result in a score. In addition, the Gophers dominated the time of possession, having offensive control for 36 minutes in the game. The Spartans missed two field goal attempts on the game.

Iowa

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Gophers	0	7	0	21	28
Hawkeyes	14	24	7	7	52

All-time record against Iowa: 58–39–2 (as of 2005)

In the 99th addition of the Minnesota-Iowa rivalry, the Golden Gophers dropped their fifth straight game to the Hawkeyes. Bryan Cupito passed for 315 yards, but had two interceptions and barely more than a 50 percent passing completion. Defensively, the Golden Gophers gave up 615 yards of offense. Two different Hawkeye running backs eclipsed 100 yards rushing, and Iowa's Drew Tate threw for 351 yards passing and four touchdowns. Iowa continued to retain the Floyd of Rosedale trophy.

Virginia

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cavaliers	7	3	14	10	34
Golden Gophers	14	7	3	7	31

All-time record against Virginia: 0–1–0

In the Golden Gophers' third appearance in the Music City Bowl, the Gophers dropped a close game against Virginia. Bryan Cupito passed for 263 yards and 4 touchdowns on the day. Running back Laurence Maroney rushed for 109 yards. The Gophers lost the lead for the first time with 1:08 remaining as they gave up a 39-yard field goal try. The loss was the Gophers' first loss in a bowl game since 2000.

References

Minnesota Golden Gophers football

Venues	Athletic Park (1892–98) University of Minnesota Armory (1892–98) Northrop Field (1899–1923) Memorial Stadium (1924–81) Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (1982–2008) TCF Bank Stadium (2009–present)

Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Iowa (Floyd of Rosedale) Michigan (Little Brown Jug) Nebraska (Bits of Wooden Chair) Penn State (Governor's Victory Bell) Wisconsin (Slab of Bacon, 1930–43; Paul Bunyan's Axe, 1948–present)

Culture & lore	Goldy Gopher "Minnesota Rouser" Marching band Minnesota shift T formation

People	Head coaches Statistical leaders NFL draftees

Seasons	1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

National championship seasons in bold

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