CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2009 Minnesota

6–⁠7 (3–⁠5 Big Ten), coached by Tim Brewster.

Schedule and results

Minnesota in 2009, game by game: won at Syracuse 23–20; won vs. Air Force 20–13; lost vs. No. 8 California 21–35; won at Northwestern 35–24; lost vs. Wisconsin 28–31; won vs. Purdue 35–20; lost at No. 14 Penn State 0–20; lost at No. 18 Ohio State 7–38; won vs. Michigan State 42–34; lost vs. Illinois 32–35; won vs. South Dakota State 16–13; lost at No. 15 Iowa 0–12; lost vs. Iowa State 13–14+15−31Won 23–20 at Syracuse+3SyracuseWon 20–13 vs. Air Force+7Air ForceLost 21–35 vs. No. 8 California-14No. 8 CaliforniaWon 35–24 at Northwestern+11NorthwesternLost 28–31 vs. Wisconsin-3WisconsinWon 35–20 vs. Purdue+15PurdueLost 0–20 at No. 14 Penn State-20No. 14 Penn StateLost 7–38 at No. 18 Ohio State-31No. 18 Ohio StateWon 42–34 vs. Michigan State+8Michigan StateLost 32–35 vs. Illinois-3IllinoisWon 16–13 vs. South Dakota State+3South Dakota St…Lost 0–12 at No. 15 Iowa-12No. 15 IowaLost 13–14 vs. Iowa State-1Iowa State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5atSyracuseW 23–⁠2053%
Sep 12vsAir ForceW 20–⁠1348%
Sep 19vs8CaliforniaL 21–⁠3539%
Sep 26atNorthwesternW 35–⁠2434%
Oct 3vsWisconsinL 28–⁠3144%
Oct 10vsPurdueW 35–⁠2066%
Oct 17at14Penn StateL 0–⁠2021%
Oct 24at18Ohio StateL 7–⁠3821%
Oct 31vsMichigan StateW 42–⁠3444%
Nov 7vsIllinoisL 32–⁠3568%
Nov 14vsSouth Dakota StateW 16–⁠1360%
Nov 21at15IowaL 0–⁠1222%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvsIowa StateInsight BowlL 13–⁠1458%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Iowa State 14–⁠13 in the Insight Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 8th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The tied 98th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

Record
6–⁠7
Conference
3–⁠5 8th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked
Points
272–⁠309
Coach
Tim Brewster
Elo
1486 +27 this season
SP+ rating
0.3 No. 65 of 120; offense No. 89, defense No. 41, special teams No. 36
SRS
−0.5 No. 63 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 35
Offensive coordinator
Jedd Fisch
Defensive coordinators
Kevin Cosgrove and Ronnie Lee
Captains
Garrett Brown, Lee Campbell, Eric Decker, Eric Small and Adam Weber
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense83rd of 120
  • Defense72nd of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted68th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted81st of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0137%0.9983rd of 120
Defense0.0642%0.9472nd of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.04 off
0.05 def		39% off
42% def		—68th off
81st def
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. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.4own 312% allowed
Defense-0.1own 312% 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.

Leaders

Passing yardsAdam Weber QB2,582 yds
Passing touchdownsAdam Weber QB13 TD
Rushing yardsDuane Bennett RB376 yds
Rushing touchdownsDuane Bennett RB6 TD
Receiving yardsEric Decker WR758 yds
Receiving touchdownsEric Decker WR5 TD
InterceptionsKyle Theret DB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2009 class

Michael Carter CB★★★★No. 196
Moses Alipate PRO★★★★No. 200
Ra’shede Hageman TE★★★★No. 359
Matt Garin WDE★★★No. 397
Ed Olson OT★★★No. 946

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

The 2009 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.918
Receivers23.50.851
Offensive line33.00.843
Defensive line22.50.833
Defensive backs14.00.919
Athletes and specialists23.00.835
Whole class113.20.855

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 2010

The 2010 draft
Rd 3Eric Decker WRDenver Broncos
Rd 5Nathan Triplett ILBMinnesota Vikings

Roster 101

The 2009 roster

101 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2009 line; 30 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big Ten

1 first team

First team

From Wikipedia’s 2009 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2009 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State7–⁠111–⁠25
Iowa6–⁠211–⁠27
Penn State6–⁠211–⁠29
Wisconsin5–⁠310–⁠316
Northwestern5–⁠38–⁠5
Michigan State4–⁠46–⁠7
Purdue4–⁠45–⁠7
Minnesota3–⁠56–⁠7
Illinois2–⁠63–⁠9
Michigan1–⁠75–⁠7
Indiana1–⁠74–⁠8

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