CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2006 Minnesota

6–⁠7 (3–⁠5 Big Ten), coached by Glen Mason.

Schedule and results

Minnesota in 2006, game by game: won at Kent State 44–0; lost at No. 22 California 17–42; won vs. Temple 62–0; lost at Purdue 21–27; lost vs. No. 6 Michigan 14–28; lost vs. Penn State 27–28; lost at No. 25 Wisconsin 12–48; won vs. North Dakota State 10–9; lost at No. 1 Ohio State 0–44; won vs. Indiana 63–26; won at Michigan State 31–18; won vs. Iowa 34–24; lost vs. Texas Tech 41–44+62−44Won 44–0 at Kent State+44Kent StateLost 17–42 at No. 22 California-25No. 22 CaliforniaWon 62–0 vs. Temple+62TempleLost 21–27 at Purdue-6PurdueLost 14–28 vs. No. 6 Michigan-14No. 6 MichiganLost 27–28 vs. Penn State-1Penn StateLost 12–48 at No. 25 Wisconsin-36No. 25 WisconsinWon 10–9 vs. North Dakota State+1North Dakota St…Lost 0–44 at No. 1 Ohio State-44No. 1 Ohio StateWon 63–26 vs. Indiana+37IndianaWon 31–18 at Michigan State+13Michigan StateWon 34–24 vs. Iowa+10IowaLost 41–44 vs. Texas Tech-3Texas Tech
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31atKent StateW 44–⁠068%
Sep 9at22CaliforniaL 17–⁠4242%
Sep 16vsTempleW 62–⁠084%
Sep 23atPurdueL 21–⁠2741%
Sep 30vs6MichiganL 14–⁠2837%
Oct 7vsPenn StateL 27–⁠2842%
Oct 14at25WisconsinL 12–⁠4824%
Oct 21vsNorth Dakota StateW 10–⁠966%
Oct 28at1Ohio StateL 0–⁠4411%
Nov 4vsIndianaW 63–⁠2664%
Nov 11atMichigan StateW 31–⁠1850%
Nov 18vsIowaW 34–⁠2455%
Dec 29Bowls & playoffvsTexas TechInsight BowlL 41–⁠4447%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Texas Tech 44–⁠41 in the Insight Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 6th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 65th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

John Mackey AwardMatt Spaeth, TE

Record
6–⁠7
Conference
3–⁠5 tied for 6th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked
Points
376–⁠338
Coach
Glen Mason
Elo
1555 +9 this season
SP+ rating
3.8 No. 53 of 119; offense No. 28, defense No. 80, special teams No. 78
SRS
3.3 No. 50 of 119 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 59
Offensive coordinators
Mitch Browning and Tony Petersen
Defensive coordinator
David Lockwood
Captains
Mike Sherels and Matt Spaeth

How good, play by play

  • Offense25th of 119
  • Defense111th of 119
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0844%0.9725th of 119
Defense0.1547%0.92111th of 119
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense0.0own 322% allowed
Defense-0.2own 264% caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Top recruits in the 2006 class

Garrett Brown DT★★★No. 782
Willie Dyson WDE★★★No. 1045
Dominic Alford OG★★No. 1223
Andy Brinkhaus OG★★No. 1223
E.J. Jones ATH★★No. 1223

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2006 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Receivers12.00.783
Offensive line22.00.789
Defensive line23.00.822
Linebackers22.00.767
Defensive backs12.00.767
Athletes and specialists22.00.745
Whole class102.20.779

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2007

The 2007 draft
Rd 3Matt Spaeth TEPittsburgh Steelers

All-Big Ten

1 first team, 1 second team

First team

Second team

  • Willie VandesteegDLMedia-2

From Wikipedia’s 2006 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2006 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State8–⁠012–⁠12
Wisconsin7–⁠112–⁠17
Michigan7–⁠111–⁠28
Penn State5–⁠39–⁠424
Purdue5–⁠38–⁠6
Minnesota3–⁠56–⁠7
Indiana3–⁠55–⁠7
Iowa2–⁠66–⁠7
Northwestern2–⁠64–⁠8
Michigan State1–⁠74–⁠8
Illinois1–⁠72–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.