2012 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

2012 Minnesota Golden Gophers football
Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas vs. Texas Tech, L 31–34
Conference	Big Ten Conference Legends Division
2012 record	6–7 (2–6 Big Ten)
Head coach	Jerry Kill (2nd year)
Offensive coordinator	Matt Limegrover (2nd year)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Tracy Claeys (2nd year)
Home stadium	TCF Bank Stadium (Capacity: 50,805)
Seasons « 2011 2013 »

2012 Big Ten football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Legends
#25 Nebraska xy		7	–	1					10	–	4
#24 Michigan		6	–	2					8	–	5
#17 Northwestern		5	–	3					10	–	3
Michigan State		3	–	5					7	–	6
Minnesota		2	–	6					6	–	7
Iowa		2	–	6					4	–	8
Leaders
#3 Ohio State* x		8	–	0					12	–	0
Penn State*		6	–	2					8	–	4
Wisconsin y†		4	–	4					8	–	6
Purdue		3	–	5					6	–	7
Indiana		2	–	6					4	–	8
Illinois		0	–	8					2	–	10
Championship: Wisconsin 70, Nebraska 31
† – BCS representative as champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Ohio State and Penn State ineligible for conference championship game and post-season bowl games due to NCAA sanctions As of January 8, 2013 • Rankings from AP Poll

The 2012 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented the University of Minnesota in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by second year head coach Jerry Kill and played their home games at TCF Bank Stadium. They were a member of the Legends Division of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 6–7, 2–6 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for fifth place in the Legends Division. They were invited to the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas where they were defeated by Texas Tech.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 30*	10:00 PM	at UNLV	Sam Boyd Stadium • Whitney, NV	CBSSN	W 30–27 3OT	16,013
September 8*	11:00 AM	#14 (FCS) New Hampshire	TCF Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, MN	BTN	W 44–7	47,022
September 15*	11:00 AM	Western Michigan	TCF Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, MN	BTN	W 28–23	44,921
September 22*	7:00 PM	Syracuse	TCF Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, MN	BTN	W 17–10	50,805
September 29	11:00 AM	at Iowa	Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA (Floyd of Rosedale)	ESPN2	L 13–31	70,585
October 13†	11:00 AM	Northwestern	TCF Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, MN	ESPN2	L 13–21	49,651
October 20	11:00 AM	at Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI (Paul Bunyan's Axe)	ESPNU	L 13–38	80,587
October 27	2:30 PM	Purdue	TCF Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, MN	BTN	W 44–28	41,062
November 3	11:00 AM	Michigan	TCF Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, MN (Little Brown Jug)	BTN	L 13–35	48,801
November 10	2:30 PM	at Illinois	Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL	BTN	W 17–3	46,912
November 17	2:30 PM	at #14 Nebraska	Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE	BTN	L 14–38	85,330
November 24	2:30 PM	Michigan State	TCF Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, MN	BTN	L 10–26	44,194
December 28*	8:00 PM	vs. Texas Tech	Reliant Stadium • Houston, TX (Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas)	ESPN	L 31–34	50,386
*Non-Conference Game. †Homecoming. #Rankings from Coaches Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

• Source: Schedule

Roster

The preliminary roster is based on the previous season's roster and eligibility, along with incoming recruits. All numbers are from www.gophersports.com.

2012 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 1 Green, BrandonBrandon Green File:Redshirt.svg 4.5 !Sr QB 3 Foreman, DexterDexter Foreman File:Redshirt.svg 1.5 !Fr QB 5 Gray, MarQueisMarQueis Gray 7.0 !Sr QB 7 Leidner, MitchMitch Leidner 1.0 !Fr WR 8 Wilson, CameronCameron Wilson File:Redshirt.svg 2.5 !So QB 9 Nelson, PhilipPhilip Nelson 1.0 !Fr QB 11 Shortell, MaxMax Shortell 3.0 !So WR 12 McDonald, AndreAndre McDonald 1.0 !Fr WR 14 Fruechte, IsaacIsaac Fruechte 3.0 !So WR 15 Jones, MarcusMarcus Jones 3.0 !So WR 16 Harbison, JamelJamel Harbison 1.0 !Fr WR 17 Cesario, C.J.C.J. Cesario File:Redshirt.svg 2.5 !So WR 18 Engel, DerrickDerrick Engel File:Redshirt.svg 3.5 !Jr WR 19 Kloss, MattMatt Kloss 7.0 !Sr RB 20 Kirkwood, DonnellDonnell Kirkwood File:Redshirt.svg 2.5 !So RB 21 Gillum, JamesJames Gillum 5.0 !Jr RB 25 Wright, DevonDevon Wright File:Redshirt.svg 2.5 !So RB 27 Cobb, DavidDavid Cobb 3.0 !So TE 28 Alipate, MosesMoses Alipate File:Redshirt.svg 3.5 !Jr FB 30 Henry, MikeMike Henry File:Redshirt.svg 3.5 !Jr RB 31 Banham, ColeCole Banham File:Redshirt.svg 2.5 !So RB 35 Williams, RodrickRodrick Williams 1.0 !Fr TE 39 Mezzenga, GabeGabe Mezzenga File:Redshirt.svg 2.5 !So RB 44 Harper, JoJuanJoJuan Harper 1.0 !Fr TE 47 Bisch, AlexAlex Bisch File:Redshirt.svg 2.5 !So OL 52 Epping, ZacZac Epping File:Redshirt.svg 2.5 !So OG 53 Olson, TommyTommy Olson 3.0 !So OT 58 Olson, EdEd Olson File:Redshirt.svg 3.5 !Jr OC 62 Mottla, ZachZach Mottla File:Redshirt.svg 3.5 !Jr OL 63 Christenson, JonJon Christenson File:Redshirt.svg 1.5 !Fr OL 64 Bak, CalebCaleb Bak File:Redshirt.svg 2.5 !So OL 65 Campion, JoshJosh Campion File:Redshirt.svg 1.5 !Fr OL 66 McAvoy, LukeLuke McAvoy File:Redshirt.svg 1.5 !Fr OL 68 Hayes, IssacIssac Hayes 1.0 !Fr OL 70 Ferguson, SeanSean Ferguson File:Redshirt.svg 2.5 !So OL 71 McAvoy, KyleKyle McAvoy File:Redshirt.svg 1.5 !Fr OL 73 Bjorklund, JoeJoe Bjorklund File:Redshirt.svg 1.5 !Fr OL 74 Lenkiewicz, MarekMarek Lenkiewicz File:Redshirt.svg 2.5 !So OL 75 Heifort, ErnieErnie Heifort File:Redshirt.svg 1.5 !Fr OT 76 Gjere, JimmyJimmy Gjere File:Redshirt.svg 2.5 !So OL 77 Bush, FosterFoster Bush File:Redshirt.svg 1.5 !Fr OT 78 Lauer, BenBen Lauer 1.0 !Fr OT 79 Pirsig, JonahJonah Pirsig 1.0 !Fr WR 80 Crawford-Tufts, DevinDevin Crawford-Tufts 3.0 !So TE 81 Rabe, JohnJohn Rabe 7.0 !Sr TE 83 Goodger, DrewDrew Goodger 3.0 !So WR 84 Keise, VictorVictor Keise File:Redshirt.svg 3.5 !Jr WR 86 Moulton, MalcolmMalcolm Moulton 5.0 !Jr TE 87 Ngekia, SahrSahr Ngekia File:Redshirt.svg 3.5 !Jr TE 88 Williams, MaxxMaxx Williams 1.0 !Fr WR 89 Hutton, LoganLogan Hutton File:Redshirt.svg 2.5 !So TE 91 Gregory-McGhee, KendallKendall Gregory-McGhee File:Redshirt.svg 2.5 !So	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 1 Beal, BrendanBrendan Beal File:Redshirt.svg 3.5 !Jr DB 2 Stoudermire, TroyTroy Stoudermire 7.0 !Sr DB 3 Shabazz, MartezMartez Shabazz 5.0 !Jr LB 4 Cooper, KeanonKeanon Cooper File:Redshirt.svg 4.5 !Sr DB 6 Carter, MichaelMichael Carter 7.0 !Sr DB 7 Travis, DamariusDamarius Travis 1.0 !Fr LB 8 Reeves, SpencerSpencer Reeves 7.0 !Sr DB 11 Johnson, AntonioAntonio Johnson 1.0 !Fr DB 13 Wells, DerrickDerrick Wells 3.0 !So DB 16 Montgomery, StevenSteven Montgomery File:Redshirt.svg 1.5 !Fr LB 17 Rallis, NickNick Rallis 1.0 !Fr LB 18 Westerhaus, PeterPeter Westerhaus File:Redshirt.svg 1.5 !Fr DB 19 Dicke, CedricCedric Dicke 1.0 !Fr DB 21 Vereen, BrockBrock Vereen 5.0 !Jr DB 22 Baltazar, JeremyJeremy Baltazar 5.0 !Jr DB 23 Levine, GraysonGrayson Levine 3.0 !So LB 24 Manuel, JamesJames Manuel 5.0 !Jr LB 26 Rallis, MikeMike Rallis File:Redshirt.svg 4.5 !Sr DB 27 Thompson, CedricCedric Thompson 3.0 !So DB 28 Watkins, KennyKenny Watkins 5.0 !Jr DB 29 Boddy, BrieanBriean Boddy 3.0 !So DB 31 Murray, EricEric Murray 1.0 !Fr LB 32 Edwards, LamonteLamonte Edwards File:Redshirt.svg 2.5 !So LB 34 Matilus, JephteJephte Matilus File:Redshirt.svg 1.5 !Fr LB 35 Schultz, DominicDominic Schultz File:Redshirt.svg 1.5 !Fr DB 40 Tow-Arnett, NathanNathan Tow-Arnett File:Redshirt.svg 4.5 !Sr DL 42 Bronson, GavinGavin Bronson File:Redshirt.svg 1.5 !Fr LB 43 Grant, RyanRyan Grant File:Redshirt.svg 4.5 !Sr DB 45 Holcomb, BenBen Holcomb 1.0 !Fr DL 46 Botticelli, CameronCameron Botticelli File:Redshirt.svg 2.5 !So LB 47 Bauducco, QuinnQuinn Bauducco File:Redshirt.svg 1.5 !Fr LB 48 Paffrath, JuddJudd Paffrath File:Redshirt.svg 3.5 !Jr DE 49 Garin, MattMatt Garin 5.0 !Jr LB 50 Lynn, JackJack Lynn 1.0 !Fr DT 52 Timms, YoshoubYoshoub Timms 1.0 !Fr DE 55 Cockran, ThierenThieren Cockran File:Redshirt.svg 1.5 !Fr DL 56 Delaney, CurranCurran Delaney File:Redshirt.svg 4.5 !Sr LB 57 Hill, AaronAaron Hill File:Redshirt.svg 3.5 !Jr LB 59 Balthazor, JoeyJoey Balthazor File:Redshirt.svg 3.5 !Jr DL 62 Jacques, EricEric Jacques File:Redshirt.svg 3.5 !Jr DL 67 Stommes, DavidDavid Stommes File:Redshirt.svg 3.5 !Jr DL 69 Hartmann, TylerTyler Hartmann 1.0 !Fr DL 90 Hahn, AustinAustin Hahn File:Redshirt.svg 4.5 !Sr DE 91 Keith, AlexAlex Keith 1.0 !Fr DT 92 Johnson, RolandRoland Johnson 5.0 !Jr DE 93 Perry, BenBen Perry File:Redshirt.svg 2.5 !So DL 94 Legania, HaroldHarold Legania File:Redshirt.svg 2.5 !So DE 95 Wilhite, D.L.D.L. Wilhite File:Redshirt.svg 4.5 !Sr DT 97 Ekpe, ScottScott Ekpe 1.0 !Fr DE 98 Amaefula, MichaelMichael Amaefula 3.0 !So DT 99 Hageman, Ra'ShedeRa'Shede Hageman File:Redshirt.svg 3.5 !Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 36 Hawthorne, ChrisChris Hawthorne 5.0 !Jr P 37 Mortell, PeterPeter Mortell File:Redshirt.svg 1.5 !Fr K 38 Schwerman, DavidDavid Schwerman File:Redshirt.svg 4.5 !Sr K 39 Wettstein, JordanJordan Wettstein 7.0 !Sr LS 40 Hartman, JaredJared Hartman File:Redshirt.svg 1.5 !Fr P 41 Oreske, DanDan Oreske File:Redshirt.svg 3.5 !Jr LS 48 Filkins, JakeJake Filkins 5.0 !Jr LS 96 Ramlet, DaveDave Ramlet File:Redshirt.svg 2.5 !So	Head coach Jerry Kill Coordinators/assistant coaches Matt Limegrover (Offensive coordinator) Tracy Claeys (Defensive coordinator) Bill Miller (Assistant Head Coach / Linebackers) Brian Anderson (Running Backs) Jeff Phelps (Defensive Line) Pat Poore (Wide Receivers) Rob Reeves (H-Backs / Tight Ends) Jay Sawvel (Defensive Backs / Special Teams) Jim Zebrowski (Quarterbacks) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: November 19, 2012

Game notes

Syracuse

Syracuse at Minnesota

by Quarter 1 2 3 4 Total Syracuse 3 0 0 7 10 • Minnesota 7 0 7 3 17 Date: Saturday, September 22 Location: TCF Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minnesota Game start: 8:00 p.m. EST Source: ESPN Scoring summary 1 6:59 MINN Donnell Kirkwood 2 yard run (Jordan Wettstein kick) MINN 7-0 1 1:54 SYR Ross Krautman 33 yard field goal MINN 7-3 3 10:13 MINN Donnell Kirkwood 1 yard run (Jordan Wettstein kick) MINN 14-3 4 3:20 MINN Jordan Wettstein 43 yard field goal MINN 17-3 4 0:46 SYR Marcus Sales 14 yard pass from Ryan Nassib (Ross Krautman kick) MINN 17-10

Minnesota's best start since 2008