Fox Sports North: Minnesota’s bowl game history

BleedGopher

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per FSN:

Minnesota closed out the regular season with a 37-15 win over Wisconsin, their first since 2003, improving to 6-6 and setting the stage for their 20th appearance in a bowl game.

Those appearances have been a mixed bag.

The Gophers have been a pretty reliable bowl team in recent years, playing in the Texas, Citrus, Quick Lane and Holiday bowls from 2012-16.

They’ll return to Detroit’s Ford Field for the Quick Lane Bowl on Dec. 26, where they’ll take on Georgia Tech in the first meeting between the two programs.

That’s a far cry from the Gophers’ auspicious bowl history.

Minnesota appeared in the Rose Bowl in 1961 and 1962, falling 17-7 to Washington in the first, and beating UCLA 21-3 in the second.

However, they’ve won the last two, Minnesota’s first bowl wins since the 2004 Music City Bowl, although that previous appearance in the Quick Lane Bowl requires a bit of an asterisk.

Minnesota finished 5-7 in 2015, but received a bowl nod anyway after just 77 teams finished the regular season eligible for one of the 80 bowl games played that year.

But hey, quarterback Mitch Leidner led the Gophers to a win anyway, and a payout is a payout.

https://www.foxsports.com/north/story/minnesota-gophers-bowl-game-history-quick-lane-bowl-120518

Go Gophers!!
 

That bowl loss streak between 2005 and 2014 was rough. Three points to Virginia, the Texas Tech collapse, one point to Iowa State, three points to Texas Tech, four points to Syracuse. Even the 2015 Citrus bowl was within 2 points going into the fourth quarter. It was nice to break that with the Quick Lane and Holiday bowls. Hopefully we add another in the win column.
 

the 2003 Sun Bowl was a heck of a game. Gophers beat Oregon 31-30 on a late Rhys Lloyd FG.
Looking back at that 2003 team, they lost two home games to ranked teams by 6 points and (I think) 3 points. A couple of breaks, and that team could have been 10-2 or even 11-1 in the regular season. Mason's best team without question.
 

Me In Attendance Bowl Record: 3-4

-1999 Sun Bowl: L
-2000 MicronPC Bowl: L
-2002 Music City Bowl: W
-2004 Music City Bowl: W
-2009 Insight Bowl: L
-2015 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl: L
-2016 Holiday Bowl: W
 

They were bowl eligible from 2002-06, taking a year off before appearing in the Insight Bowl (since renamed the Cheez-It Bowl) in 2008 and 2009.

Minnesota set some records during that run in the Insight Bowl.

Eric Decker went off for 149 yards on eight receptions against Kansas in 2008, both program records for a bowl game, while the Gophers scored a record five touchdowns during their overtime loss to Texas Tech in 2006.

With Decker’s help, Adam Weber set a Gophers record with 19 completions in 2008, after Bryan Cupito threw for a record 263 yards in 2006.

Cedric McKinley had two sacks in 2008 and Kyle Theret had two interceptions in 2009, both tying program records.
 


Me In Attendance Bowl Record: 3-4

-1999 Sun Bowl: L
-2000 MicronPC Bowl: L
-2002 Music City Bowl: W
-2004 Music City Bowl: W
-2009 Insight Bowl: L
-2015 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl: L
-2016 Holiday Bowl: W

Georgia Tech will be my 10th Gophers bowl game -- I had witnessed six consecutive defeats until the Holiday Bowl.

2003 Sun vs. Oregon (W)
2004 Music City vs. Alabama (W)
2005 Music City vs. Virginia (L)
2006 Insight vs. Texas Tech (L)
2008 Insight vs. Kansas (L)
2012 Texas vs. Texas Tech (L)
2013 Texas vs. Syracuse (L)
2014 Citrus vs. Missouri (L)
2016 Holiday vs. Washington State (W)
 




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