2012 Minnesota
6–7 (2–6 Big Ten), coached by Jerry Kill. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat New Hampshire 44–7Sep 8
By 37 points, its widest win.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 30 | at UNLV | W 30–27 | 52% |
| Sep 8 | vs New Hampshire | W 44–7 | 56% |
| Sep 15 | vs Western Michigan | W 28–23 | 55% |
| Sep 22 | vs Syracuse | W 17–10 | 62% |
| Sep 29 | at Iowa | L 13–31 | 35% |
| Oct 13 | vs Northwestern | L 13–21 | 48% |
| Oct 20 | at Wisconsin | L 13–38 | 17% |
| Oct 27 | vs Purdue | W 44–28 | 54% |
| Nov 3 | vs Michigan | L 13–35 | 35% |
| Nov 10 | at Illinois | W 17–3 | 53% |
| Nov 17 | at 16Nebraska | L 14–38 | 18% |
| Nov 24 | vs Michigan State | L 10–26 | 40% |
| Dec 28Bowls & playoff | vs Texas TechMeineke Car Care Bowl of Texas | L 31–34 | 37% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Lost to Texas Tech 34–31 in the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 9th in the Big Ten.
In program history: The 113th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).
- Record
- 6–7
- Conference
- 2–6 tied for 9th in Big Ten
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 287–321
- Coach
- Jerry Kill
- Elo
- 1434 +13 this season
- SP+ rating
- -0.9 No. 69 of 124; offense No. 94, defense No. 47, special teams No. 63
- SRS
- −3.6 No. 73 of 124 in FBS
- Recruiting class
- No. 59
- Offensive coordinator
- Matt Limegrover
- Defensive coordinator
- Tracy Claeys
- Offense
- Spread
- Defense
- 4–3
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | -0.01 | 39% | 0.87 | 108th of 124 |
| Defense | 0.05 | 44% | 0.90 | 54th of 124 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.02 off 0.06 def | 39% off 43% def | — | 113th off 61st 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 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | -0.2 | own 31 | 3% allowed |
| Defense | 0.0 | own 30 | 3% 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 yards | Philip Nelson QB | 873 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Philip Nelson QB | 8 TD |
| Rushing yards | Donnell Kirkwood RB | 926 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Donnell Kirkwood RB | 6 TD |
| Receiving yards | A.J. Barker WR | 577 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | A.J. Barker WR | 7 TD |
| Interceptions | Michael Carter DB | 4 INT |
Top recruits in the 2012 class
| Andre McDonald WR | ★★★ | No. 531 |
| Jonah Pirsig OT | ★★★ | No. 547 |
| Jamel Harbison WR | ★★★ | No. 566 |
| Isaac Hayes OC | ★★★ | No. 570 |
| Philip Nelson PRO | ★★★ | No. 725 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2012 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 2 | 3.0 | 0.854 |
| Running backs | 1 | 3.0 | 0.845 |
| Receivers | 4 | 2.8 | 0.842 |
| Offensive line | 3 | 2.7 | 0.835 |
| Defensive line | 5 | 2.8 | 0.795 |
| Linebackers | 1 | 3.0 | 0.828 |
| Defensive backs | 4 | 2.8 | 0.792 |
| Athletes and specialists | 3 | 2.3 | 0.791 |
| Whole class | 23 | 2.7 | 0.816 |
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.
Roster 122
The 2012 roster122 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2012 line; 37 have a stat line. See the roster
All-Big Ten
1 second teamSecond team
D.L. WilhiteDLMedia-2
From Wikipedia’s 2012 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).
2012 Big Ten standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
 Ohio State | 8–0 | 12–0 | 3 |
| Nebraska | 7–1 | 10–4 | 25 |
 Penn State | 6–2 | 8–4 | |
| Michigan | 6–2 | 8–5 | 24 |
| Northwestern | 5–3 | 10–3 | 17 |
| Wisconsin | 4–4 | 8–6 | |
| Michigan State | 3–5 | 7–6 | |
| Purdue | 3–5 | 6–7 | |
| Minnesota | 2–6 | 6–7 | |
 Indiana | 2–6 | 4–8 | |
| Iowa | 2–6 | 4–8 | |
| Illinois | 0–8 | 2–10 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.